Artist: Bryan Christiansen- Trophy Hunter

The idea of our ancestors being hunter gatherers, re-created in a modern urban context, is what inspired Bryan Christiansen to create his found object trophies.
As a fan of found object art, I appreciate the metamorphosis of an item. The more complex the transformation from its original state, the more it inspires the viewer.  

Christiansen takes discarded furniture and household items such as: mattress, couches and La-Z-Boy recliners and reconstructs them into mementos that a hunter might display.  
Essentially he skins a couch and pins the fabric creating an eerily similar effect to that of a skinned animal pelt.  

His deer and doe sculptures are made from mattresses and couches, a wink towards taxidermy.  They remind me of Jared Pankin's works- another artist who creates animal trophy art using synthetic materials.

Christiansen employs a careful and deliberate process when making his sculptural animals and wall- mounted pelts.  After 'hunting' for just the right piece of furniture, Christiansen returns to his studio where he proceeds to skin and gut the object as though it were a fresh kill.  In acknowledgment of Native American traditions [] Christiansen makes sure that nothing goes to waste, saving and bottling everything down to the last bit of sawdust and string. 

I like the idea of a modern day hunter gatherer. Fundamentally that is what a thrifter or vintage shopper is.  The main difference of course being that the average scavenger does not deconstruct their finds but often revers them.  

Are you a sidewalk scavenger? 

Do you have pieces of furniture in your home you've found? 

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember

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DIY Holiday Gift Ideas Under Five Dollars #2

The monkeys had a great time using fabric paint to stencil, trace and paint.

We used tea towels, pillow cases and cotton work gloves and added a personal touch to make gifts that we hope our family and friends will not only enjoy, but use.
These are also great gift to mail as they can be sent in an envelope! 

***** MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***** 

If you are our mama, meme, ciocia, aunt, dziadzia, or zadie- reading on will result in you seeing your gift 

I found unbleached cotton towels at the dollar store- We already had fabric paint but it is easily found at a dollar store, big box store or craft store, the stencils were a dollar store find and we printed paw prints and used an X-acto knife to cut them out. 

As blotters we used wine corks with a bit of sponge from packaging, held on with a rubber band and recycled plastic foam. 

This pillow case is for a animal lover who celebrates Christmas! 

I was able to find cotton pillow cases on clearance for less than a dollar! 

I forgot to take photos- but for the grandfathers we painted cotton work gloves- again found at the dollar store. 

Click to see other
DIY Holiday Gift Ideas #1

DIY Holiday Gift Ideas Under Five Dollars

This year I've decided to try and make as many holiday gifts as possible. Over the next few weeks I will be posting the things we've made:

** Spoiler Alert** 
If you're someone we know 'in real life' reading on may cause you to see your present prior to actually getting it.  

The monkeys mixed up cement- We bought a bag at the hardware store for under three dollars 

 I used recycled cookie tins to pour the cement in- then we used glass beads I bought in the craft section of a big box store for under three dollars

 One of these Stepping Stones is for our neighbor and we added their doggies paw prints and wrote his name.

We actually have a bunch of Stepping Stones in our yard that we've made as Father's Day gifts with the kids hand prints- They are great for walk ways, in gardens, in front of BBQ's and we have some around our pool equipment area- 

Click to see other DIY Holiday Gift Ideas

Marble Drop With Triple Vortex

I guess the marble drop is becoming an annual event- Here is the one we made last year.

This year the monkeys had the genius idea of using these cones, which I have no idea where they got- 

I suppose it would be easy to make them using paper- They loved the anticipation of waiting for the marble to fall and thus the game engaged them for longer. 

We made this marble drop using the cones, recycled egg cartons, gift wrapping cardboard tubes and lots of tape. Egg cartons were numbers at the bottom and points assigned to each cup- 

We have a large mirror which they used- last year they used a window door- makes the tape removal less damaging- 

Do your monkeys love to make marble drops? 

California Academy Of Science

The only place on the planet where you can explore an aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum under one living roof.

The Rainforests Of The World is a climate controlled sphere within the building. 

Visitors enter at the base of the rainforest and continue upwards.

The floor of the rainforest displays animals found there- snakes, insects, lizards, spiders etc. 

As you move upwards you see the animals that live in the canopy- free flying birds and butterflies-

From the top of the sphere an elevator takes you to the base- where the aquarium and over 2,000 reef fish dart about the Technicolored forest of coral. 

 There is a really cool area where visitors are able to touch and examine marine life through a microscope  which transmits the images on a TV screen above. 

I thought this exhibit was pretty cool:

The living roof houses over two and a half acres of native California plants: 

The natural history museum houses African penguins which the monkeys loved- they had a 'show' where they fed the penguins which was a highlight. 

The planetarium had a great show narrated by Jodi Foster- I have not been to a planetarium since I was in HS seeing Led Zeppelin laser shows- not any less trippy and made me a bit dizzy. 

What is your favorite Natural History Museum? 

Did you see laser shows at the planetarium?