Matthew Reinhart's Blog, page 16

Word of the Day: Mephitic

Mephitic \muh-FIT-ik\ adjective

1. Offensive to the smell; as, mephitic odors.
2. Poisonous; noxious.

Origin: Mephitic is the adjective form of mephitis, "a foul-smelling or noxious exhalation from the earth; a stench from any source," from Latin.

I Spy: S-L-O-W J-E-L-L-O

It has been a while since we shared and "I Spy" post but everyone at the studio was so mesmerized by this video that we had to share it. This high speed video of gelatin cubes bouncing on a mirror surface is brought to us from the mad geniuses of Modernist Cuisine. I usually reserve 'poetry in motion' for pop-up books and maybe figure skaters but we think this takes the cake. JELL-O turns out to have an interesting origin story - created by industrialist, inventor and philanthropist Peter Cooper. That same scientific approach to food is repeated years later by the folks who developed the amazing videos and photography for their six-volume reinventing of cooking. I can't tell if I am drooling over the Jell-O or these books.

~Kyle

History Lesson: Patent for Blue Jeans is granted

On May 20th, 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis are given the patent to create work pants that are reinforced with metal rivets.  Thus marking the birth of one of the world's most famous garments: blue jeans.

Word of the Day: Embonpoint

Embonpoint \ahn-bohn-PWAN\ noun

1.  Plumpness of person; stoutness.

Origin: Embonpoint is from French, literally means "in good condition" (en 'in' + bon 'good' + point 'situation, condition')

Weekly Beast: Honey-Pot Ants

As their names suggest, honey-pot ants are like living pots of honey.  They come from the edges of deserts.  After the rains, there is so much nectar from plants, that there is actually more than enough food.  Good food is never wasted in the desert.  So the ants gather nectar and then feed other ants in the colony with it until their abdomen swells up with honey!  The honey-pot ants save food this way.  The abdomens can become the size of grapes!  Then when the drought comes back, the honey-pot ants will feed on the honey that the other ants have stored it in their abdomens.  Their abdomens eventually shrink to normal size.

Artist Watch: Aurora Andrews

Aurora Andrews went to Harvard's Visual Arts program.  She is originally from Tucson, Arizona.  She says "...I always draw from life, and never photographs, because for me the most interesting pictures come out of relating to three-dimensional objects." And you can really feel the space around the objects and also the weight of the objects-- like you could pick them up off the page.  I really admire Andrews' line work and the addition of color to her sketches.  There's just something so real and moving about her pieces, like you've been there before.  Please check out her extensive collection of work here.

Word of the Day: Lexicography

Lexicography \lek-suh-KAH-gruh-fee\ noun

1. The writing or compiling of dictionaries; the editing or making of dictionaries.
2. The principles and practices applied to writing dictionaries.

Origin: Lexicography is derived from the Greek lexicon (biblion), a word- or phrase-book (from lexis, a phrase, a word)+ graphein, to write.

Whats Popped Up: Carter Cards

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David A. Carter is no stranger to this blog. I have tremendous respect for the man and he is a delight to be around. The studio recently came across an assortment of his pop-up cards and they were quickly snatched up. These 5" x 6" cards were designed in 2008 and published by Clarkson Potter (better known for their cookbooks and lifestyle titles) and produced by Millenium in China. I believe there are eight different designs with names like: Dots & Spots, Curlycue, Blossoms, Wave, Kaboom, Clicker, Paisley and Twister. Many of the compositions will be familiar to fans that followed the One Red Dot series. Each set contains a single design in four different colors printed on eight cards with colored envelopes. The cards have a universal appeal and are wordless, which allow the pop-ups to be used in a variety of occasions. The packaging mentions that the designs are influenced by the works of Matisse, Calder and Gehry among others and remember to pester him more about some of the hidden meanings and inspiration in his work. It also notes that David has authored over 70 pop-up books, so it looks like I have to start looking into more of his back catalog and find some of his earlier works, which may show up on this blog in short order.

~Kyle

Giveaway Update

Last Friday Blogger had a major hiccup and was down for most of the morning.  It looks like this hiccup has erased a few of the comments (and entrants) to the Limited Edition Monsters & Dragons book giveaway.

Please check the comment board to see if your entry is still there.  If not, you may enter again and we'll make sure that we have a record of the entry.  Good luck to you all!

Word of the Day: Lapidary

Lapidary \LAP-uh-dair-ee\ adjective

1. Of or pertaining to the art of cutting stones or engraving on them.
2. Or or pertaining to the refined or terse style associated with inscriptions on monumental stone.

noun
1. One who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones.
2. A dealer in precious stones.

Origin:
Lapidary is from Latin lapidarius, "pertaining to stone," from lapis, lapid-, "stone".