Alexander Calder constellations

Some constellation wall sculptures by Alexander Calder. I scanned these from the book Calder's Universe, meaning to relate them to the Zolo toys, but amongst the Ettore Sottsass buzz I completely forgot. Anyway, aren't these awesome? My thought was, how fun would it be to do this with the Zolos? They already have holes drilled in them, so all you'd need is wire (or a thin dowel), and velcro (to keep it in place on a wall), and you'd end up with something like a "Memphis splat". And a way of actually utilizing the Zolos instead of keeping them sequestered away until the age of non-choking-hazard/non-banging-them-on-the-table comes around.
For that matter you could do this with any wooden toy- the Calder above the fireplace somewhat resembles one of those wooden Pinnochio figures, or a Kay Bojesen soldier. Although if you'd do this on a child's wall you'd most likely want to remain in the abstract.



Also, the Breuer's Constellation (middle photo) makes me want to put these into an orrery, or even make a completely strange Sci-Fi one, like a Star Wars orrery, with two suns, Alderaan, Endor, Death Star....

just initial your OK

perfect.

You drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an $80,000 BMW.

and painted it too. That's my name.

ABC

Alexander

Bitchin'

Calder

The Salty Sea

From a quick trip out to Long Island (Maine) on the 4th-

1. speedboat

2. The Corto Maltese, Hugo Pratt's sailor. When I lived in Italy I had a girlfriend who wrote his name, in gum, on the bottom of a bookshelf. The shelf was only about 2 feet over her face when she was in bed, and before she fell asleep each night she'd stick her gum on it. I remember she proudly showed me the multicolored cursive Corto Maltese, among other dots and asterisks and swirls. 

3. A broken stool at the boatyard. I actually took this photo last year, and the stool was going to turn into a bike rack for Tossed & Found, but I left it on the island and never found it again. 

4. The Rime of The Ancient Mariner, illustrated by Alexander Calder. We found this at the bottom of a box, at a yard sale with kids, kids, everywhere. 

5. The ferry back, Casco Bay looking a little like the Mekong, with a crowded whale watch boat.

Calder, Moore, The Viking

The fantastic light-filled studios of Alexander Calder and Henry Moore, from the excellent yard sale book "Architectural Digest Celebrity Homes II" (1981). Notice Calder's beautiful hooked rugs, designed by him and hooked by his wife Louisa. The Moore studio is the less impressive, but the wavy corrugated pvc roof is a great idea, and makes me wonder why more roofs aren't made like this, although the one over our deck will be within a month!

Another take on a personalized something-that-gets-stepped-on is this great idea from Kirk Douglas' backyard: the caption reads, "Stepping-stones inscribed by prominent guests over the years lead from the terrace, across the back lawn, to the screening room."

Unrelated, other than it was at the same yard sale, is this old leather belt themed pipe-smoking-at-the-desk set made by Gucci. Originally I saw just the ashtray, but then Linda said there was a humidor, and then the blotter and stand appeared from deep in the garage.