Yesterday I posted an image of a masonry brush. A few weeks ago it was these animal feeding nipples. Today it’s a fermentation airlock and some bondo spreaders. I might wager that the nice people behind the register at the local Farm and Garden store are, if they have even noticed, a little baffled by my purchases. I find the form of the airlock to be particularly arresting and wonderfully abstract. Can I also admit that I am quite pleased with the photograph? And those flesh-colored bondo spreaders have just the right radius corners.

I can’t help it, I am an absolute and total sap when it comes to a nice brush. This beauty is a masonry brush. It measures in at almost a foot from tip to tail. And 6 1/2 inches from side to side. If you can’t help yourself…go here.

At long last, with the expertise of the very very patient and talented Susan F., you now have the option to subscribe to Mrs. Easton. Just click on the subscribe link in the right hand navigation menu…et voila!

Update: Some people have reported a lag in the confirmation email, so please let me know if you are having any difficulty signing up. I will be glad to help.

The good folks over at Flavorwire put up a post today about Fulton Ryder’s tumblr collection of unusual and intriguing photographs consisting mostly of book covers, with additional images of cultural ephemera. This Robert Frank volume, whose genesis was an ad campaign in 1959 for the New York Times, brought back memories of art school photography class. Back then, The Americans, Frank’s most famous body of work, made a big impression on me. For more on Robert Frank, go here to his Artsy page.

Ideas come from strange places. These odd little totems are called training dummies or retriever dummies. They are used in the training of hunting dogs. Typically they are made out of either canvas or rubber. One throws the dummy – maybe some animal or bird scent is impregnated or rubbed onto the thing – and then the good puppy goes and fetches the duffle-shaped decoy and gets a reward upon its safe return. Hopefully a biscuit and not just a pat on the head. Or at least that’s how I think it works. Now, I have said this before, I am not a hunter. And I definitely do not condone sport hunting. But I do believe I can still find an odd form of inspiration from these quirky objects. And they have indeed sparked a glimmer of a concept. Photos (except for the first two) are from here, here, here, here and here.