The other day, I locked myself up and rewatched old Silly Symphonies episodes.
The skeleton friends must be my favourites and I love both the 1929 (first Silly Symphonies ever!) as the 1937 version🖤
Just wanted to share a snippet of them with you and hope they make you smile as well.
xez
I love these drawings so much- a pink legged umbrella fish, the vegetable knights, or a soup serving pig…all of them are colourful and creative.
They were made by the children of Emma and Charles Darwin- who in his turn wrote ‘On the Origin of Species...’-the foundation of evolutionary biology and the book that would make him history’s most famous biologist.
After the proofs came back from the publisher, daddy Darwin considered the pages more useful to his kids than to him and so, the back of these important scientific papers doubled as sketching paper.
These little artworks and the emotional value they had to the family, are the sole reason that a few pages of the original manuscript still exist today💕
According to researchers, most of the art was made by 3 of the 10(!)Darwin kids: Francis, George, and Horace. Francis later became a botanist, George an astronomer/mathematician and Horace chose to become an engineer.
All of the children often assisted their father’s research- by collecting butterflies, insects and moths or by making observations on plants in the fields around town.
I love that these drawings show a different Darwin: not just that serious, white bearded, great thinker…but also a family man that inspired his kids, cherished their art and supported their imagination.
Colour images of Darwin’s surviving original scientific manuscripts (including these lovely drawings) can be viewed at the American Museum of Natural History website, in collaboration with the Cambridge University Library.
xez
It’s forty-nine years ago, in February of 1972, that Reverend Jesse Jackson recited this poem with a group of kids on the stoop of 123 Sesame Street.
Its message about the individuality and significance of ALL people however, has not aged since:
”I may be Young
but I am
Somebody.
I may be on Welfare
but I am
Somebody.
I may be on Small
but I am
Somebody.
I may make a Mistake
but I am
Somebody!
My clothes are different,
My face is different,
My hair is different,
but I am
Somebody.
I am black, brown, white.
I speak a different language.
But I must be respected,
protected,
never rejected.
I am God’s child.
I am
Somebody!”
Sesame Street Footage from Episode 0402, aired May 1972
‘I Am - Somebody’ was written in the 1950s by Reverend William Holmes Borders Sr., an African American minister and civil rights leader.
It was popularised and adapted by Reverend Jackson and kept evolving over the years.
Set photos of Rev. Jesse Jackson, EP Jon Stone and the group of children- ©Children's Television Workshop/Everett Collection
xez
Of course I love the brilliant design work by Ray and Charles Eames…but what I adore even more, is the toys they created.
The Eameses shared a firm belief in the importance of play, stimulating young creativity and the philosophy to “take your pleasure seriously.”
They also explored architectural challenges of structure and materials through toy creation, like the well known Elephant- constructed to experiment with moulding plywood into compound curves.
Pundy, the son of photographer and graphic artist Herbert Matter, testing out the Eames Elephant prototype © Eames Office LLC.
The first toys they designed for mass production, were large and colourful animal masks that began as props used in exhibitions, photographs and theatrical skits with friends.
Colour Photographs: Toy Masks prototypes, 1950 © Eames Office LLC / B&W Photographs by Allan Grant for LIFE Magazine, 1951
These masks are my absolute Eames favourites, so it gave me a little jolt of excitement to discover Roosje van Donselaar’s work for VitraHaus!
Roosje created small editions of unique and handmade clay ‘Facials’, inspired by the original Eames’ Toy Masks.
Special ‘Facials’ for the VitraHaus, ©Roosje van Donselaar
Such wonderful work and a lovely reminder to remain playful and curious!
xez
Playful moments between Ray and Charles Eames, all photographs © Eames Office LLC , click to enlarge.
PS: You can create your own paper Eames Elephant with this template here ♥
Just a quick one to share a smile with you, about this brave knight from the seventies!
xez
Photograph from: The Art of Aluminum Foil by Jane Hinton and Hugh Oliver, General Publishing Co., Don Mills, Ontario, 1974
