ULLABENULLA

Vertical Space

I really like how Russian artist Arsen Khairullavich Kurbanov uses strong vertical lines to divide his painting space. He also really captures a fairytale like quality in his paintings...

Rise and Shine

(by STEPHEN ALDRICH)

Russian Folk Tale Princess Meets New York Flapper!

Believe it or not, I would happily wear any of these... (John Galliano, Fall Ready-to-Wear Collection 2007)

Russian Woman in a Landscape

By Vasily Kandinsky.

ONION DOMES

The Ultimate in Fantasy FairyTale House Design... (found on Google Images)

Russian FolkTales Illustrated

Ivan Bilibin (1876-1942) was an illustrator, set and costume designer and artist in Russia. His style is reminicent of arts and crafts as well as art nouveau.

"The forests and mountains of Old Russia were predominant players in images that often provided as many distractions as focal points. He seemed anxious to incorporate traditional designs and motifs, often as framing devices for illustrations that didn't require them. Yet his solid depiction of the terrain and costumes made his work recognizable and appealing, despite his youthful miscues. And, most importantly, his ability to bring a sense of reality to a world of ghosts and glowing skulls reinforced the notion that these stories might really have happened and certainly heightened their appeal."

Baba Yaga's Eggcup

Can you imagine this serving your breakfast? (found here)

Wooden Bears From Russia

As a child I had a small wooden bear that rode on a tricycle. He came from a family of toymakers who lived in the village of Bogorodskoe. This name is now given to the toys themselves, in rememberance of centuries of toymaking. It is facinating to learn that each family tended to specialize in making a certain type of toy. "For instance, K.Boblovkin carved bird figurines while Y. Boblovkin carved figurines of various animals. P.Chushkin carved human dolls and M.Pronin carved carriages driven by teams of three horses... In the Soviet period the most popular Bogorodskoe toys were the so-called "motion" toys (operated by balances and counterbalances, springs strings, etc.) and decorative figurines. New toy motifs and images taken from classical Russian literature, fairly tales and everyday life were added to the traditional ones. Starting from 1960s the majority of toys involved an image of the bear who is the principal character in many Russian legends fairy tales, and folk songs. In ancient Russian mythology bear was regarded as a special beast which was the closest in character to humans." Today the bear is a national emblem of Russia.