Dancing Bears by William Holbrook Beard

.............................Dance as if no one was watching,

.............................Sing as if no one was listening,

.............................And live each day as if it were your last.

.......................................................... -Irish Proverb

Bubble Gnomes by Nicholas Gurewitch

Gurewitch is a comic illustrator and film maker. His weekly comic strip, "The Perry Bible Fellowship," can be found in The Portland Mercury, The Rochester Insider, and The New York Press. You can view more of his artwork and comics here. Or take a peek at his archive here. Although whimsical, be forewarned: most of his art is a bit violent but very funny.

Alice In Wonderland, No.8 by Vladimir Clavijo-Telepnev

I have a soft spot for all things Alice in Wonderland. Everything Disney for that matter, but Alice took awhile for me to actually get into and as a result I am still fascinated wiith the many ways this character has been captured.

This particular image was taken by Vladimir Clavijo-Telepnev , a photographer from Moscow. I have seen Alice in Wonderland 7-10, but I have no idea if, publicly, 1 through 6 are even in existence . Clavijo-Telepnev's work is usually monochromatic and dark, reflecting his home country of Russia in all of his photos.

Dream Caused by The Flight of a Bumble Bee Around a Pomegranate One Second Before Waking Up by Salvador Dalí

Often, Dalí's work seems to be influenced by a dream. Dalí (1904-1989) was a painter, writer, film maker, illustrator, jewellery de-signer, and performance artist amongst other things.

When he was born his parents had just lost their first born son. His parents named him after his dead brother and treated him as though he was his dead brother.

This piece is often called, "Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee," but its true Dalí-given name is "Dream Caused by The Flight of a Bumble Bee Around a Pomegranate One Second Before."

Please click the image for a larger view.

Rest During Escape to Egypt by Michelangelo Caravaggio

Caravaggio (1571 - 1610) has created some of the most poetically stark pieces. I didn't like his work en masse when I was younger be-cause I had only seen pieces that were popular to the modern art-heads and their version of "Art" is a really decadant piece or a very bare canvas. But some of his art really is very beautiful, but also incredibly unsettling. Absolutely none of his art is fluid nor easy to digest. The one posted above is probably the most tame and conformed Caravaggio ever was.

He Qi, a Chinese artist, created this piece, which mimicks "Rest During the Flight into Egypt" in a playful way.

Room 51 by Kim Koester

My fiancé showed me this site late last week. It's an interactive web site, like The Chancery House in my ToyBox section, but it's filled with graffti art and surprises. Although the site is entitled 99 Rooms, there are technically 100. The picture above is from Room 51, not my favorite room, but I chose it because it reminds me of my brother and his late pet raccoon, Shadow. All the artwork on the site is by Kim Koester.

USA Mural by 41 child artists

I love the United States. This country gives people more opportunities to succeed than any other country. But more and more we're being seen as a terrorist country, interested in only entertainment, food, sex and money.

CNN reported that the U.S. Army has decided to keep the current number of troops (100,000) in Iraq for four more years. During this time we can expect our economy to stay in the toilet, the price of living to skyrocket and more innocent lives to be taken as a result of our country's leader's greed to establish ownership of Iraq's valuable oil wells.

Angelique by Linda Joyce Franks

Linda Joyce Franks is considered to be an artist of the horror genre or 'dark art.' Many of her pieces have been used for book covers and her gothic prints almost always sell very well. Linda's art is usually very feminine but also incredibly mysterious and obscure. You may learn more about this enigmatic artist here.

Love and Sadness by Laura Brink

"Sadness flies away on the wings of time." -Jean de La Fontaine

Che by Alberto Korba

This famous image of Che Guevara was taken by photographer, Alberto Korba (1929 - 2001). At the time Korba was Fidel Castro’s personal photographer. He received no profits from this famous photograph, though it has been used many times during tributes to Guevara.

In 2002, however, he sued Smirnoff for using Che’s famous por-trait in an ad campaign, citing its disrespect for the fallen coman-dante’s noble life and tragic death. Korba settled out of court for $50,000; every cent went to fund the Cuban medical system.

Maryland Institute of Art has called this "the most famous photo-graph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century."

A motion picture about the life of Che Guevara will be tentatively released in 2006, with Benicio del Toro, hand chosen by Guevara’s widow, playing the role of El Comandante Che Guevara.

Elephant Art

A few years ago there was an elephant at a zoo who would lure ducks into her habitat and then squash them once they were close enough. A veterinarian suggested to the zookeepers that they give her a hobby to help ease her stress. They turned to art. Now, more than a decade later, Zoos all over the world help promote wellness in their elephants (and even monkeys) by handing them a paintbrush and some paints and letting their imaginations run wild. This art sells upwards to $300.

Faith By Autumn Whitehurst

Right around this time every year I feel like I'm about to enter something big, like a new interstellar place filled with opportunity. So, naturally, around this year I always feel like a baby chick chirping for her mother and, of course, Heavenly Father.

I don't know what it is that makes me feel this way. Maybe I still have leftover nerves from my school days (all school years began in August). But this time every year is always a gift because I get to know myself better through the people who Love me and support me. Last year it was only my mother and Father. This year it's my mother, my Father and my fiancé.

Kaleidoscope Flutterbyes

Scientists estimate that there are up to 15,000 species of butterflies and 250,000 species of moths. There are still thousands of moth and butterfly species that have not been found or described by scientists. In the United States and Canada, more than 750 species of butter-flies and 11,000 species of moths have been recorded.
........................................ - Victoria Butterfly Garden

Appalacian Love Song by Skot Olsen

It's hard to choose just one piece of art to post by Skot Olsen because I'm such a fangirl of all of his work. Most of his art seems to edge towards the darker side of things.

Alice's Magical Journey in Wonderland by Tom duBois

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop. -Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland

Spider by Michael Sowa

I have searched high and low for the past couple of months for any biography on Michael Sowa, but he still remains as mysterious as his paintings. Really, the most I could find on Sowa was on a Kyoto Travel Guide site and all that brought me was that the artist was born in 1945 and is still alive today. You can, however, still view a couple of his prints here.