Whimsy from Oakoak

Dear Reader,

I stumbled across Oakoak a couple of months ago and was struck by the beauty, simplicity and lovely juxtapositions of his work.

The images are always arresting and often surprising in their inspired use of what's lying around.

Hope you have a great weekend and perhaps see some new and whimsical possibilities in the world around you :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

P.S. Oakoak's website has plenty more images.

The Squirrel King Celebrates Soccer!

Dear Reader,

I've been talking about it for a few weeks, teasing you with making of images, well without further ado, here is the final product. Check out our celebration of goalies!


Hope it brings a smile to you. Please share with anyone who enjoys squirrels or soccer :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Cell Animation Delight

Dear Reader,

I've always been a big fan of mixing media right back to the day my mind was blown when I first saw "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". For those of you similarly inclined, here's one to enjoy. It's fun and whimsical and just reminds you how wonderful simple ideas can be :)


Hope you enjoyed Hombre McSteez and much as I did!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Glass Beach

Dear Reader,

At The Squirrel King we think a lot about recycling, repurposing and just generally taking odds and ends and making them more beautiful. It's all part of our Oath.

And it buoys me whenever I'm reminded that Mother Nature has a similar philosophy.

The other day I stumbled across this lovely example of her work. A beach that was once a dumping ground now now sparkles in a unique fashion of its own! I take this as a shining example to all of us to keep at it :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Awesome Squirrely Stop Motion

Dear Reader,

Yesterday an old friend of mine shared with me an awesome stop motion animation filled with squirrels - today I have to share it with you! Check it out:


Following the This Is Colossal link I found Kelli Anderson's site which tells more about what went into the making of this wonderful piece. Lo and behold it turns out she was motivated in large part by a desire close to our hearts: to pull kids and adults into another world by deliberately using lo-fi techniques.

Cheers Kelli, we love what you and your team have done! And we look forward to seeing what you do next :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Floral Dresses - Literally!

Dear Reader,


Some of you may recall an awesome broccoli dress I came across a couple of weeks ago, well somehow artistic abstractions of dresses seem to be the order of the month and today it is flower petals!

This sort of representation of one thing using something completely different always piques me. The wonderfully whimsical nature of such realizations has always been a strong part of the Squirrel King aesthetic.

For more amazing floral dresses check out this website - the text may be in a foreign language, but the images are universal!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Pendulum of Dance

Dear Reader,

Forced to dance? Sounds like a paradox, but for those of you in England there's a new installation by William Forsythe that kind of makes it happen. Visitors dodge swinging pendulums and in doing so become part of the exhibit! Check it out:


Forsythe's website has some even more dancelike clips from the installation, and This Is Colossal has some pics.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Suspended Submarine Shack

Dear Reader,

There's some really exciting things happening behind the scenes right now, and while I can't quite yet share the exact details with you yet, I can say that your squirrels will soon have some options for housing :)

Let's just say for now that these wonderfully whimsical images from Erik Pirolt have inspired me.

Of course in the world of The Squirrel King, we're going to give our own take on this beautiful crafting. Just know for now that things are in the work!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

DIY Cardboard Fasteners!

Dear Reader,

Every now and then in life you stumble across Pure Genius! Earlier this week I was lucky enough to have one of those moments :)

Long time readers of this blog will know how much we love cardboard, yet somehow I had - up to this point - not encountered The Cardboard Collective. These DIY cardboard fasteners are just the tip of the iceberg.

Check out the simplicity in the photo on the right!

From a unique ball to a fashionable cardboard igloo the opportunities seem endless.

The Cardboard collective is sure to get repeat mentions here, but I encourage you to check them out yourself too!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Camping Yarn ..

Dear Reader,

The best thing about camping is spinning a good yarn around the campfire, right? Well here's a take that gives new meaning to that idea! Certainly looks cozy inside that tent :)

And if pavers always feel a little on the cold side, especially in snowy countryside ...

well what if said pavers were made of wool?!
If these fantastic creations tickle your fancy, you should check out Crocheters Anonymous, there's pages of these wonderful creations!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Dresses in All ... Materials

Dear Reader,

The other day I was looking at masking tape - specifically all the wonders it's been applied to - and I came across the dress below. Not sure how comfortable it would be, but it's pretty cool :)

The funny thing is that yesterday I came across the awesome "salad dress" on the right.

I can't tell you how it tickles my heart to see such wackily creative interpretations of everyday forms with such unexpected materials.

Hope you get a kick out of it too :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS To see more photos of Esther's amazing masking tape dress check out the designer's site.

Stickers Stickers Everywhere!

Dear Reader,

What if you started with a white room - a really white room - and gave kids colorful stickers to adorn it ...?

Yayoi Kusama asked and answered that very question!

To me it's a wonderful reiteration of the power of scope, something that has been a guiding principal of The Squirrel King since we first started our journey. Hope you too enjoy the whimsy of it all :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Ultimate Chandelier!

Dear Reader,

Searching around for inspiration for paper structures the other day, I came across this amazing light-fixture.

I can't help but think just a little of the dusting effort required to keep it clean, but doesn't it seem worthwhile!

To see more magnificent works of architectural art check out Cristina Parreno's website.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

A Different Treehouse

Dear Reader,

I was looking at tree houses the other day and came across this little gem from Indiana. Made from a single tree this park structure and kiosk certainly reminds you where it came from :)

I always love seeing the designs of people who see the world a little differently :)

To see a few more pics and read more check out FastCo Design.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Treats From the Trade

Dear Reader,

Earlier this week we took our first steps into the wide world of trade shows.  Not quite sure what to expect we held our breath and headed to Vegas ... To our delight we met a wonderful array of fun loving peeps. In this happy shot alone we have the guys from Flickerz and Strider bikes, both companies devoted to getting kids active and out there!

We were also treated to an amazing display of hacky sack style ability by Cody. Check out his skills:


Naturally a few squirrels found new homes and perhaps best of all we came back fully inspired with more ideas for you :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Tiny Wooden Figures

Dear Reader,

Recently I was delighted to come across the work of Joe Iurato.

I particularly enjoyed his use of forced perspective, such as in the image of the fishermen below, but also the juxtaposing of different media and scale as in his climbers to the right.

It's always exciting to have someone just slightly tweak your view of the world ... for me at least it opens my eyes for a day or two and I look at my surroundings through a lens of possibility. I hope it does the same for you :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

What Would a Youer Do?

Dear Reader,

What a wonderful weekend! Filled with magic moments with two of my favorite girls.

First, riffing on our squirrel kit, Alien Two unleashed her creative whims and made the most magnificent giraffe. Best of all she had a ball doing it :)

And then to top that off, my eldest daughter brought out a poem she'd been quietly working on in her bedroom - she does so love tapping away on her computer. So filled with simplicity and still profound perceptivity ... and I don't think it's just that I'm a proud dad :)

Hope you too had a wonderful weekend!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Cool Crafts with Cardboard!

Dear Reader,

It's amazing how many cool craft toys and ideas are out there!

With just cardboard and paper alone we've recently been inspired by Milimbo's monkeys and the wonderful compressed cardboard chair stacking game that we came across at the San Diego Museum of Art.

We're now cogitating more crafting ideas from the Squirrel King and definitely these are inspiring us!

Stay tuned for more :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Art for Facebook

Dear Reader,

Over the weekend I noticed Facebook is being populated by wonderful pictures of art. The genius is that you are easily involved in the selection! My friend Penny posted this Brett Whitely, which I "liked" and she in turn gave me Christo!

For some time I've felt that I should do a Christo post on The Squirrel King; his scale is something that strikes a deep resonance with our aesthetic. So here is Christo's ...

I'm posting this on The Squirrel King Facebook wall and anyone who likes it I will in turn give a Squirrel King inspired artist to post :)

And if you live in southern California, check out The San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art's Christo exhibit which started yesterday!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS Here I give you a Squirrel King bonus too, Vlad :)

PPS There's no need to feel at all intimidated by this process, a quick google images search readily supplies you with pics to choose from!

From a Tree Trunk ...

Dear Reader,

Sometimes it's important to take a moment and simply appreciate the dedication that someone else has devoted to a single project. Zheng Chunhui spent four years turning this tree into one magnificent sweeping landscape.

So whatever it is you're working on, stay inspired and keep at it. Your own special project can be realized :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS. To see some details of Zheng's work check this site.