Author: jama

Melanie Vugich’s Lovely Still Life Paintings

~ jama ~ 5 Comments

A longtime fan of beautiful tablescapes, I was happy to stumble upon Australian artist Melanie Vugich’s still life paintings recently. Her oil on canvas pieces are a pleasure to behold with their interesting objects, inventive compositions, and rich, bold colors.

I do enjoy seeing what others have collected and how they create a visual story to reflect their mood of the moment. This, in turn, gives the viewer a chance to pause, reflect, and appreciate the familiar in new ways. Melanie’s still lifes are characterized by their sense of intimacy, personal history and cherished memories.

photo of Melanie Vugich in her studio by Jordan Wheatley via Cornerstore Gallery.

Melanie grew up in the remote outback town of Broken Hill in New South Wales, and has been painting since childhood. Even though she didn’t know any female artists or had never visited any major art galleries, she always knew she would be an artist.

Living in such a remote part of the country without many external influences allowed my imagination to run wild, and all of the early childhood paintings my Mum stashed away are a bright and happy reflection of this.

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[racy review] Dinos That Drive by Suzy Levinson and Dustin Harbin

~ jama ~ 25 Comments

Attention Auto Aficionados, Jurassic Junkies and Diehard Dinomaniacs!

Buckle Up and Start Your Engines! Vroom! Zoom! We’re off on a prehysteric prehistoric poetry adventure sure to get your motors humming.

If you relish turbo-charged humor, well-oiled rhymes, fun facts and genius cartoons, steer your way right into Dinos That Drive by Suzy Levinson and Dustin Harbin (Tundra, 2025). This well-versed vehicle consisting of 21 poems is packed with fossilized fun from brontos to buses and triceratops to tractors, with friendly herbivores and one terrifying carnivore throwing a wacky wrench in the works (say that fast five times). Look, here they come now, roarin’ down the highway . . .

DINOS . . . GOING?

You've never seen a dinosaur
that's into driving cars?
You've never seen a dinosaur
that flies a jumbo jet?
You've never seen a dinosaur
that rockets to the stars?
Then buckle up! Let's take a ride . . .
YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!

The concept of putting dinosaurs behind the wheel is brilliant: Dinos + Things That Go = Kid Heaven. Dustin Harbin’s imaginative, immersive Scarry-esque cartoons expand upon the captivating humor of Levinson’s rollicking poems via zany details and cool sight gags.

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nine cool things on a tuesday

~ jama ~ 8 Comments

“Fear not November’s challenge bold. We’ve books and friends, and hearths that never can grow cold. These make amends.” — Alexander L. Fraser 

1. Hello, November! We need a nice big bowl of homemade soup to warm us up. Do you think our badger friend will share some of his? I definitely think so. 🙂

When all feels chaotic and unsettling, escape to the English countryside with Emily Duffin’s charming watercolors. Based in Northamptonshire, England, Emily enjoys depicting the everyday lives of animals. Since she grew up on a small farm and currently lives in a village that has Shetland ponies (and a donkey!), it’s no surprise she’s endlessly inspired by the wildlife in her area.

After graduating with a Fine Arts degree from Northampton University, Emily worked as an estate agent for about a decade. She then met her husband who encouraged her to start drawing again. They moved into a beautiful old cottage with apple trees in the garden and a family of bunnies under the hedge — quite an idyllic setting for creative work.

They had a daughter, Molly, commissions were starting to come in, and she even received an invitation to illustrate a book. But after tragedy struck with the death of her partner, Emily’s life was upended for about a year.

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[magical review] Little Witch’s To-Do List by Helen Kemp Zax and Kiersten Eve Eagan

~ jama ~ 25 Comments

Happy Halloween!

It’s time for ghosts, goblins, spiders and skeletons, black cats, bats, witches and warlocks. Have you ever wondered what our spooky friends are up to before they venture out at night?

In Little Witch’s To-Do List by Helen Kemp Zax and Kiersten Eve Eagan (Abrams Appleseed, 2025), a young witch manages her busy day by methodically tackling a variety of tasks one item at a time. It’s a good thing she’s made a list because there are so many things to finish before bedtime!

Cast a spell for sunshine
Fluff my cobweb bed
Feed my baby phoenix
Turn my black robe red

Once she’s donned her robe and pointy hat, she looks in the mirror, tries to grow a wart hair and practices her scowling. She’s quite determined to master her technique. 🙂

The fun continues with owl training, working on her magic-wand skills, brewing a bee-wing potion, then baking a toadstool cake. With a poof of her magic-wand, she even turns herself into a dragon!

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rommydebommy redux

~ jama ~ 8 Comments
More than just a cake, it’s a handbag!

Happy 10th Birthday to RommydeBommy! 2025 is a banner year marking a decade of being in business!

Today we’re excited to feature more of Netherlands artist and designer Rommy Kuperus’s amazing wearable art. Back in October 2015, she was one of the first artists we interviewed for our Indie Artist Spotlight series. We were blown away by her over-the-top, fun and fanciful food-inspired handbags, purses, and fashion accessories.

We were impressed by how she made everything by hand herself, creating unique, drool-worthy pieces. Now, 10 years later, she’s still a one-woman operation and continues to wow everyone with new designs that defy belief. Whether croissants, a stack of pancakes, a loaf of bread, layer cakes, s’mores, fish ‘n chips, cherry pies, burritos, tacos, TV dinners, fruit tarts, hot cross buns, on and on — all of her hand-painted clay-foam accessories look sooooo realistic and continue to turn heads.

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