Visual treats of the season

First, here are some photos that I came across in the past several weeks that I want to share simply for the visual treat they hopefully provide for you as they do for me. That one above is a shot of the window of Svenskt Tenn, a shop in Stockholm, Sweden. It's one of the many wondrous photos that I've been marveling at recently on Karin's Style Blog, which I do check out from time to time. The blogger, Karin Eriksson, is a an artist from Sweden, and right away after perusing her work (and the inspirations that influence her) do I appreciate the differences in artistic styles and sensibilities compared to the more "conventional" ones I've grown accustomed to. Below is one of her ceramic creations, more of which (vases, cups, bowls, tealight holders etc.) you can see on her website and on her page at Etsy.





I mentioned a couple of posts ago that packaging was among my main concerns this Christmas season on account of my very unexpected venture into the baking business. Hence, I've become quite fascinated by the imaginative ways by which gifts are wrapped and generally presented to the receiver.





This is one of the designs made by Delicious Days -- so not only does her expertise lie in the culinary arts; she's a graphic artist as well!

After making the rounds of several food blogs, I stumbled on these peppermint squares, the origin of which I can't remember. I do recall coming across the site via a link at Eggbeater.



Nice pictures, eh? Definitely eye candy for me, but somehow they make me a little sad. Why? Because they're shots of mere objects. Though they're products of human ingenuity and hard work, they're still just "things." These photos show no people, and even though the first picture shows a beautiful room, exquisitely decorated for Christmas, to me it could be a representation of loneliness. It is beautiful, but kind of empty for the lack of people.

At least I found one picture that conveys the majestic celebration that the season is all about and contains people in it!





This is also from Karin's blog. She writes: "It’s becoming a tradition for my family to go to Storkyrkan for Lucia night. It’s the oldest church in Stockholm and sitting in a building from the 13th century, packed full with people, listening to the violins and the singing is beautifully meditative."