Wednesday Work: John Thomas Paradiso

After it took me weeks to finish the requested 'flaming tiger' sweatshirt embroidery project last year, I decided to take a hiatus for the sake of my needle-pricked fingers, (I know, get a thimble!,) I've recently been looking to pick up a new embroidery project, and yesterday I happened onto some fine manly inspiration: (Greg in D.C., this one's for you:)

So, what do you get when you cross pornographic inspiration with needlecraft? A lil' bit of explicit male sexual exploration with a grandma's touch, that's what. How interesting! John, you have touched our hearts and minds with this part of your artist's statement:
"The work is a statement about my experience navigating a sex-positive lifestyle among a prevalence of sex-negative messages."


John Thomas Paradiso has a studio in Washington D.C. His work explores male sexuality and intimacy.
Read more about John's work here.


To Get your own embroidery project on, check out this book by the beloved Jenny Hart:

Embroidered Effects: Projects and Patterns to Inspire Your Stitching (Sublime Stitching)

DEFY MONDAY:...A day at the National Zoo, Washington, DC

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I don't know about all of you out there, but Mondays are not shooting stars as much as they are like meteorites for me (weekend stars falling out of the sky at break neck speed and crashing to the cold hard ground.)

...Thus prompts our new section of the blog: DEFY MONDAY.

DEFY MONDAY encourages you to take the weekend with you - into the work week, to dredge up all of those childhood dreams and college-age schemes, along with your current day fantasies, and go to it!

The work day is almost over and we still have all night...

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We spent this past weekend in Washington, D.C.

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After finishing up with a class in photography that I am teaching this semester at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, we met up with some lovely friends and were quickly whisked away to fajita heaven and cold Pacificos.

The food, along with our walk up EU embassy row, made me remember again that I want to travel abroad some more, but what really got me thinking (about all of those things I wish I did and all of those things that I want to know), was our trip to the National Zoo.

The National Zoo in Washington, D.C. is a part of the Smithsonian Institute. Not only is the Smithsonian (think Night at the Museum 2), the largest museum and research complex in the country, it is the largest in the world!

What's great about this zoo besides its huge range of animal exhibits and its convenient neighborhood location, is the zoo's FREE ADMISSION!

It seems the favorite draw at this zoo is their panda exhibit, but my favorite exhibit by far was Amazonia. Amazonia (if don't know already) is an exhibit which celebrates the vast Amazon river and its diverse ecosystems.

They have an extensive science gallery on the middle floor of this exhibit where you can look at many books and computer images, as well as use their microscopes to discover the intricate details of many different kinds of insects and cool bettles.

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While looking at the skeletons of many different animals, I came across one that looked like this one of a barred owl.

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Look at those eye sockets!

And this one - a toucan!

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All this science and discovery reminded me of how excited I get about these things, and if I didn't have such a passion for art, I think biology would be my calling.

Today, I will DEFY MONDAY - after work I am on my way to the library to pick up a book on the birds of South America.

What will you do to DEFY MONDAY?