Motifs

[i_am_the_scruff]

Oh, gorgeous photo, Miss 1929!

I'm another mermaid person, Scruff. They seem to be everywhere these days, but I've loved them all my life, thanks to the illustrations for The Kingdom Under the Sea by Jan Pienkowski. Diving into the sea and becoming a mermaid was a recurring dream for me, although I've had it less since I learned to scuba dive twelve years ago.

Sharks and rays, particularly mantas, swim around me in all forms.

They are more popular now. Alot of fantasy stuff is (faeries etc). It's probably because of all the films coming out that are fantasy related.

Oh, and I LOVE sharks. Great whites are my favourite. Loved them since I was little. As with mermaids and faeires.

 

[thebadmamajama]

Roses, dragonflies, polkadots and the Fleur-de-Lys. That's me. Oh, I forgot--the smiley face. ALWAYS.

 

[BellyTank]

Edelweiss.


B
T

 

[Minerva]

Mermaids, mainly.

I'm also really partial to anything gingham, navy blue, or with dragonflies. If I could find a vintage apron in navy blue gingham with a dragonfly pattern stitched on it, I'd die happy. lol

 

[Miss Sis]

Everyone who knows me knows I love green (of alsorts of shades), so I get lots of green presents.

My lovely friend Rachel is always buying me green things. She gave me a green 30s pyjama case for Christmas and a beautiful green celluloid (?) and silver bookmarker for my birthday. She is the best gift buyer ever!

I also love stripes. I like looking like a deckchair.

P.S: Miss 1929, I love the outfit too.

 

[Snookie]

Last weekend I mentioned to my husband that I wish I had a "motif" (I didn't use that term, but that's what I meant). We had just gone to a birthday party where nearly all the gifts were bird-related, because the birthday woman likes birds.

He thought I was crazy. I think he's worried I'll start getting more and more junk that I don't need. He hates clutter!

I finally decided that vintage travel ads/luggage stickers are my motif. I don't have any orginals, but I'm a sucker for ANYTHING with a seaside resort printed on it.

 

[goldwyn girl]

Poodles and black and white gingham.

 

[roots66]

I have a fondness for black & white gingham as well. Heck, at least 85% of my wardrobe comes in some form of black (and that's a conservative estimate), so I suppose that's my general motif. You'd think zebra would thus be my animal print of choice, but my weakness is leopard--cliche but irresistible. I bought a set of leopard luggage earlier this year and during a recent trip was amazed to be able to "spot" my case across a crowded baggage claim room from 100 feet or so.

 

[Spaugs]

Well, I don't know if this is a motif, but I love skull accents. I also wear darker colors normally (mostly because I'm a mortician in training). I LOVE polka dots, I wear anything I can find with polka dots! They're so cute!

 

[Blondie]

My fave motifs are :
Anchors
Deers
Black cats
Bluebirds
Spiders
Lipsticks
Crowns

I am sure there are more, but that's all i could come up with prior to my morning coffee !

 

[JupitersDarling]

I'm a sucker for the color orange and old maps/cartography.

 

[TessTrueheart]

Leaves. I love leaves. And acorns. And forest animals, like owls, squirrels and deer.

 

[Kim_B]

Butterflies and fairies - ever since I found Amy Brown, and artist who does mainly fantasy art - her fairies are exquisite! her website is www.amybrownart.com if any one else wants a look. I love daisies too...

 

[Mojito]

They are more popular now. Alot of fantasy stuff is (faeries etc). It's probably because of all the films coming out that are fantasy related.

Oh, and I LOVE sharks. Great whites are my favourite. Loved them since I was little. As with mermaids and faeires.

Another GWS girl! That was me as a kiddie too - I recall coming across a vendor selling plastic toys on sticks in Central Park. I didn't want the dolls - I wanted the big rubber great white! It was a favourite for years, and had many swimming pool adventures. I now give my nephews and niece plenty of shark toys for the bathtub - my sister says that whenever she drains the tub and sees the bottom littered with boats and sharks of various species, she knows I'm their aunt.

I nearly organised a dive trip to visit the GWSes in South Australia, but my dive travel agent talked me out of it as a sighting couldn't be guaranteed. I went to the Solomon Islands instead, which was wonderful (and I had a chance to hold and release a baby grey whaler shark that the crew had caught), but I've always regretted not having gone in search of the Whites.

It's hard finding them in clothing design, though, other than as garish surfer type t-shirts (and I had a few of those in my younger years). There's some nice shark jewelery and sculpture around, though.

Minerva, another Mermaid person! With the dragonfly thing, are you a fan of Art Nouveau?

 

[HadleyH]

Apart from 20s and 30s motifs, I really like 1950s ones. I like leaves and all sort of objects shaped in that geometrical 50s style.

 

[Minerva]

Minerva, another Mermaid person! With the dragonfly thing, are you a fan of Art Nouveau?

I love Art Nouveau! The local history museum downtown had the most amazing Art Nouveau exhibition a few years back. I fell in love with this dragonfly and pearl brooch on display, it was just gorgeous. I'm trying to keep the jewelry intake to a minimum lately, but if I happened across something like that at an estate sale, well ...

 

[Lillemor]

Paisley patterns since I was a toddler.
Gingham.
Tigers since I was little.
Ravens. I want bags, hair ornaments, and fans with raven feathers.
Daisies.
Lilies, especially orange lilies.
I guess I generally like floral themes.
Southwestern color themes.
Art Deco for interior design.
Art Nouveau for designs in jewelry.

I'm obsessed with finding a way to get robin egg blue into my home. I hope it'll work with all the soft greens. I'm trying to convince hub that it'll look good with Hawaiian curtains. I've no idea where in Denmark I'll find Hawaiian curtains though[huh]

Any shade of green. There are no vile shades of green!

Different motifs and themes have appealed at different times but these seem to be the constants.

 

[i_am_the_scruff]

Butterflies and fairies - ever since I found Amy Brown, and artist who does mainly fantasy art - her fairies are exquisite! her website is www.amybrownart.com if any one else wants a look. I love daisies too...

If you like Amy Brown you should look into Brian Froud who influenced her, his faeries are better.. a different kind I suppose though. Hers are very girly.
I am very lucky to have gotten to meet Brian

Another GWS girl! That was me as a kiddie too - I recall coming across a vendor selling plastic toys on sticks in Central Park. I didn't want the dolls - I wanted the big rubber great white! It was a favourite for years, and had many swimming pool adventures. I now give my nephews and niece plenty of shark toys for the bathtub - my sister says that whenever she drains the tub and sees the bottom littered with boats and sharks of various species, she knows I'm their aunt.

I nearly organised a dive trip to visit the GWSes in South Australia, but my dive travel agent talked me out of it as a sighting couldn't be guaranteed. I went to the Solomon Islands instead, which was wonderful (and I had a chance to hold and release a baby grey whaler shark that the crew had caught), but I've always regretted not having gone in search of the Whites.

It's hard finding them in clothing design, though, other than as garish surfer type t-shirts (and I had a few of those in my younger years). There's some nice shark jewelery and sculpture around, though.

Minerva, another Mermaid person! With the dragonfly thing, are you a fan of Art Nouveau?

I LOVE mermaids

It's a shame you didn't get to see the Whites. I'm planning on travelling to South Africa for a month (I just need to money.. lol) to work on a project with Great Whites. I'll be working on the boats, cleaning wetsuits and helping tourists and all that but I will get to go in the cage as many time as I want I'm also planning on doing some projects in other countries with animals like Orang Utans and Sea Turtles and stuff

 

[Ada Veen]

peacocks for me too, see my myspace signature below!

I have always wanted an Aubrey Beardsley style peacock feather tattoo...

what a cool idea for a tattoo!

 

[Ada Veen]

I have a (non vintage) friend who, for the entire time I have known her (10 years) has never gone a day without wearing a pink outfit. She always wears pink, to the point people call her "pink" and she even has the work tattooed on her back.