Before you accuse me of being a tad too fond of a certain seat-like piece of furniture, let me explain. This chair isn’t exactly that, and although it looks and acts like one, I swear”¦it’s not really a chair.

At least I wouldn’t want to sit on it. Ouch.

Tokujin Yoshioka, the designer of Venus – natural crystal chair, probably doesn’t want me to, either. Rather, he’d like us to think about it – along with its relationship to technology, design and the power of nature.

As part of an exhibition in Japan that he directed, Yoshioka “grew” his Venus natural crystal chairs in large aquariums filled with a mineral solution and the vibrations of classical music that he played directly into the tanks.

Natural yet manipulated by music and man, Venus “”¦makes its appearance over time as if the goddess herself gradually emerges from water. This [chair], which is formed using the laws of nature and embodies a beauty born of coincidence, pushes the boundaries of creativity.”

The words of the artist are as beautiful as his work. He definitely has me thinking – I hope he has you thinking too.

- via Inhabitat

Yoshioka is a 40-year old Japanese conceptual artist/designer extraordinaire who pushes the envelope of anything he gets his hands on. His installations have won awards. He has collaborated with big name designers. Newsweek selected him as one of “100 Japanese respected by the world”. See more of what he does at his website.

I’ve always shied away from art that’s hidden away in cold galleries. Rather, I want to see art that is spontaneous, context-driven and made by the imaginations of people like you and me. Learning To Love You More is a website that’s done just that.

Artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher have posted open-ended artistic assignments online and anybody can choose one (or more), do the work and post their outcome online.

Paintings, photographs, poetry, video – all forms of media are there, and the results have come from everyone, not just professional artists. Interestingly enough, this people-driven art has garnered the interest of a wide variety of display centers for exhibitions worldwide.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of examples posted throughout the website, but here are some that stood out for me. Check out the site and let me know which ones spoke to you.

Feel the News
(shown above)

Write Your Life Story in Less Than a Day

Record the Sound That Is Keeping You Awake
Make a Field Guide to Your Yard

Make an Educational Public Plaque

Recreate an Object from Someone’s Past

AlyssA Angelica James is on a roll. An “˜ecotainment’ pioneer, she has been doing stand-up comedy and making people laugh about their bad habits towards the environment for a few years now.

A self confessed treehugger, AlyssA finds comedy a great way of getting her message across about how we all need to look after the environment. People at the shows might not realize it at the time but amongst all the laughter, she is also educating them about green issues.

AlyssA, however, is not just a comedian.

She is also an amazing singer-songwriter who has just released an album called Within that’s making waves among environmentalists and music lovers.

The music is mellow – a mixture of jazz, gospel, pop, and folk – but the lyrics are tough and thought provoking. The track “˜Pure and Holy’, for example, might have a light toe tapping beat but there’s nothing light about its topic – the impact of government and big business on the environment.

Take a listen. You’ll see what I mean.

Known and adored for his kinetic modern sculptures, paintings and avant-garde mobiles, Alexander Calder was also an eco jewelry maker long before anyone knew what that meant.

During his lifetime, the American artist produced some 1,800 pieces of brass, silver, and gold body ornaments, using wire he twisted into wearable art. Like the stunning flower necklace below, these were often embellished with found objects such as beach glass, wood cuttings, ceramic shards and pieces of mirror.

About 90 of his inventive designs are on exhibit at the “Metropolitan Musuem of Art” in New York beginning December 9th and running through March 1, 2009. Calder Jewelry is the first museum presentation dedicated solely to the artist’s extensive jewelry designs.

According to his bio, the young Calder began collecting copper wire in the streets back in 1906 to adorn his sister’s dolls. That lead to the creation of gorgeous, modern baubles in the 30s and 40s which, like his other installations, were inspired by trees and branches and other shapes and objects found in nature.

Word has it he made many of the necklaces, earrings, bracelets and brooches to give as gifts to his friends and family. Weren’t they the lucky ones! I get banana chocolate chip muffins from my sister but no cool, handmade art.

Among the savvy collectors of Calder’s pieces were artist Georgia O’Keefe and Peggy Guggenheim, two women with discerning eyes, to say the least. Learn more about the sculptor and see more of his fascinating jewelry at the Calder Organization.

Say goodbye to the old cork and hello to the new pulp. This bulletin Board from Plush Pod is made from stacked reprocessed sheets of left-over, pre-printed office forms and fixed into a recyclable paper board frame. A cool design with varied patterns and striations results from combining the printed text and graphics. (Designer: Adin Mumma for Umbra.)

The 12×12 board works just like the conventional corkboards (no factory wood or metal frame) for holding your pins and notes or simply wedging them into the cracks on the surface. A natural for your kitchen or home office. $26.

The economy isn’t stunning (all right, I admit, that’s putting it generously). And climate change just keeps on changing. But the truth is that in spite of great challenges, there are also plenty of things going on in the world – and in your life – to be thankful for. Here’s a list of some of the things for which I’m thankful. 25, to be exact, but there are so many more that could be added to the list. I hope you’ll share what you’re thankful for, as well.

Forgive me for exposing my political inclinations, but Inauguration Day is less than 2 months away. Out with the old, in with the new!

Know that despite what you hear on the evening news, there ARE people making good things happen in the world.

In Macedonia, a country with a population of just 2 million people, soldiers and civilians recently joined together and planted 6 million trees in a single day. Let’s be thankful for this positive act and its ensuing ripple effect.

In similar news, Indonesia, which planted 100 million trees in 2007, is going to plant 100 million more in 2008.

For those of us happy to see organic food come back in style (after decades of pesticide-laden food being the norm), “U.S. sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to an estimated $20 billion in 2007, and are projected to reach nearly $23 billion in 2008. Organic food sales are anticipated to increase an average of 18 percent each year from 2007 to 2010.”
- 2007 OTA Manufacturer Survey

Wal-Mart is buying wind power for its Texas stores, and expects to get 15% of their power from wind. With 460 Wal-Mart stores in Texas, that’s a lot of fossil fuel saved. And it’s a good example for other big businesses, too.

No matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, be thankful that you have access to food, hopefully healthy and delicious, and hopefully enough to share.

Friends and family. Yeah, it’s the old standard of things to be thankful for, but seriously, where would we be without them?

Some endangered species are making a comeback!

Even though we are looking forward to a post-petroleum world, it is rather nice that gas is relatively cheap right now.

Carl Pope provides a great list of things to be thankful for in the Environment.

There really are Good Samaritans left in the world, like Marilyn Mock, a Dallas, TX “Foreclosure Angel.”

Japan vows to spare humpback whales during their annual Antarctic hunt this year, although they still plan to kill other species of whales. Let’s be thankful Sea Shepherd is doing their job disrupting that!

For those of us who are employed, let us be thankful for our jobs and income in these troubled economic times. And for those of us who are unemployed, enjoy the free time and make great use of it – good things can arise from setbacks.

Barack Obama publicly mentioned reading a Michael Pollan article and continued on to make intelligent comments regarding America’s agricultural addiction to oil and monocultures. Let’s hope we’ll see some positive changes in how food is grown in this country.

To see the day’s headlines without feeling depressed afterwards, I’m thankful for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

Let’s be thankful that the season for political ads is over.

Women over 50! (In this case, because they’re likeliest demographic to buy green.)

If Los Angeles can do it, anyone can. Although not known as a particularly ecological city, the Los Angeles city council has voted to ban plastic bags by 2010.

As more people strive to buy food locally, the number of farmers’ markets is still on the rise.

Four states voted to ease marijuana (including medical marijuana) laws in the 2008 elections.

Henry Waxman has toppled the reign of auto-industry-loving, backwords-looking John Dingell, chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. Maybe now we can make some real industry changes without having our hands tied behind our backs.

Thank goodness for environmental artists, bringing our attention back to the nitty gritty of our world.

Mushrooms. And Paul Stamets’ presentation on how they can save the world.

On a final note: kitties again!

Image: Thiru Murugan

There are so many options for encasing plasmas these days, from pricey wall frames that elevate the screens to an artform to pop-up consoles that only reveal the televisions when you’re ready to watch.

I can see why Joe Wilkerson’s new “M21 Flat Panel” made of American black walnut is making such a splash among retro design fans, especially the young L.A. crowd which is snapping up low-slung, mid-century homes and collecting Bauhaus furniture.

The plasma cabinet, described by its designer as “a 1950’s set with maybe a little Jetsons mixed in” was unveiled at the Dwell on Design show in L.A. recently. The design features retro splayed dowel legs and a brick-like front facing grille made from fender amp screen material. The grille is covered with vintage speaker cloth and includes space for a built-in speaker.

The cabinet works with LCD and plasma sets and is made to order at Wilkerson’s workshop in about eight weeks. The 42″ model sells for $3,600 and a larger 50-inch sells for $3,950. (It’s not cheap but you’re really getting an amazing piece of furniture for your family room or bedroom.)

For some other stylish green plasma options for less money, check out the reclaimed Douglas fir console from VivaTerra ($1,425) that doubles as a sleek storage unit for your vino, and the totally zen Budha Plasma TV Stand of reclaimed teak from the Asian Furniture Boutique ($1,198).

I’m scratching my head. What do I feel about this chair?

Designers are supposed to challenge and even infuriate us – and so my hat’s off to Italian designer Fabio Novembre for doing such a good job. First up – the name. However much I love the look (and I love the look) the name of this range is "Histogram". That’s not a word that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling – evoking purgatorial high-school math lessons and thankless, stultifying hours in front of spreadsheets in too many corporate offices. As names go, not warm and charismatic. It might as well be called "Tax Bill".

Then there’s what it’s made of. Hard facts are thin on the ground (it’s only been a month or so since this design was unveiled) but I’m presuming we’re looking at wood slats under a plastic cover. In other words, maybe not so eco. But it looks like it should be cardboard. It looks like cardboard packing material – and more like cardboard furniture than actual cardboard furniture. If this were made with recycled cardboard and lightweight plastics, I’d be very excited. But yes, I know – it probably won’t be.

So help me out here – what do you think?

How do I feel about the Histogram chair?

Here’s something to try at home only if you meet two requirements.

1. Slightly reckless artistic genius.

2. See  requirement 1.

Oh, and a Sharpie, heavyweight of the permanent-marker world and beloved by Americans everywhere, despite an unfortunate patron or two. Sharpie packs sell for around 10 bucks each – and that’s how much it cost Lexmark associate general counsel Charlie Kratzer to decorate his basement. Preparation? A lick of cream paint, and nothing more. And the result, seen in 360-degree view at Kentucky.com…is astonishing.

Oh, it’s far from contemporary or chic. And I’m not sure that George Bernard Shaw ever belongs on the same stretch of wall as Bullwinkle and Rocky. But it’s an intriguingly thrifty concept (and my Inner Child is grinning broadly at the thought of drawing on the wall with marker-pen). Just imagine if a modern Michelangelo grabbed a handful of colored pens and got to work.

And translate it down – why not whitewash a small item badly in need of renovation, and try your hand? You never know what (slightly reckless) artistic genius lurks under the surface…

Image: steakpinball

A little over 15 years ago, Graham Bergh was on his way to work when his bicycle tire went flat. He wound up using the old inner tube as a cradle for his stereo speakers, and began experimenting with other bike parts to create things like clocks, picture frames, and bowls, from old cogs and chains. In 1994 he started Resource Revival and now collects tons of discarded bicycle parts from shops across the nation. Parts are cleaned with mild detergents, sorted into categories and stored on the company property before they’re restored with new life.

 ”Buying recycled products closes the loop and helps keep used parts out of landfills,” says Bergh in his artist’s statement. He’s passionate about bikes and what they stand for: playfulness, a good workout, smart design, and reducing carbon emissions.

Sounds like a modern day Renaissance Man to me – making art from trash. I personally love the rugged look of these items, but there were some naysayers in the group who are not as enamored with the designs as I am. What do you think?