This slice of cuteness is brought to us by my day job with the creative agency CWC International and gallery hanahou.

Today was our opening party for “Pictures You Will Like,” a solo show of digital artist Kirsten Ulve‘s gorgeous limited-edition prints. The prints (most of which Kirsten prints herself) are so brilliantly color-saturated, they would all just pop right off the wall if we hadn’t secured them so well.

Geisha

Kirsten’s work is dangerous candy. Her images are sugar-sweet, but all contain a hint (sometimes more than a hint) of delightful darkness.

Filli Folli

This little digestive tract-dwelling monster would make a great soft toy.

Alice in Wonderland

I love almost anything Alice in Wonderland, but I think Kirsten’s version captures the mood of the enchanting-but-spooky Wonderland especially well.

“Pictures You Will Like” runs February 23rd through March 16th at gallery hanahou in New York, and her prints will also be available online soon at the gallery’s online shop.

Growing up, I spent many an hour in the local hardware store, waiting for my dad to find his whatnots for his latest project while I desperately tried to find something of interest to my own soft head. To my dad’s disappointment, I never picked up any of that boyish love for tools and parts that he tried to instill in me, but I did eventually come to appreciate the hardware store in a different sort of way.

Doesn’t this toilet float look just like a funny anteater? I love the robust shape of the body and that uncompromising snout. Classic cute shape.

And this curious three-legged creature. Ten points to whoever guesses what it is. Give up? It’s a sewage ejector!

This little guy didn’t need any photoshopping to bring out his inner character. This quirky thing going for a walk is none other than your common electrical fitting. (Thanks to acehardware.com for the images.)

There is inspiration in everything.

Yesterday I took my mochis on our first ever photo shoot. The Sausage Dogs were just crying to be photographed in a real butcher’s, so I packed them up in a spare “Dag Bag” and we taxied over to Esposito Pork Shop (aka Esposito’s Meat Shop) in Manhattan, which boasts a classic exterior as well as plenty of hanging meat.

I was a little hesitant to ask the butchers if I could hang some stuffed animals I made up in their shop and take pictures. It seemed a little difficult to explain, and I haven’t even eaten meat in about ten years, so I was a bit out of my element.

But the head butcher immediately put me at ease – when I said I would like to take a photograph, he exclaimed that he had been in two movies with Cher, and proudly pointed to some pictures on the back wall. He seemed to be saying that he was a minor celebrity in his own right, and deserved to have people ask if they could take his picture. So the dogs had the honor of posing with the butcher, who said, “take as many as you want! You want me to wear the little piggies around my neck?” Yes, I did, so they went around his neck.

I’ll give him a photo for his help. And all you New York-based meat lovers, Esposito’s is the place!

So the photo shoot was a great success, and I hope to do more in the future with my other mochis. I really shouldn’t pass up the great backdrop that is New York.

Since I’ll probably never speak of butchers here again, below is a “classic” meat-themed commercial, courtesy of You Tube, for your enjoyment.

This is a panda cory (Corydoras panda). These bottom dwelling mini-catfish are just about as cuddly as fish can get. The blog that I swiped the above image from describes them as “cute, comical, hardy, and friendly,” none of which were words I thought could describe fish until my husband (then boyfriend) brought some pandas home.

As a still photo, this panda has about 50% of the cuteness of live pandas swimming around. Since they’re bottom dwellers, they spend all day nudging their little whiskers around in the dirt at the bottom of the tank, and their characteristic “buddy system” means that they’re always playing follow the leader.

Also darling are hatchet fish (Gasteropelecus sternicla). To me, they look like little cartoon mayors swimming around the top of the tank. Their favorite activities include calling meetings and issuing resolutions. (They also like to jump, so keep that lid closed!)

Always do your research before buying a fish. They are animals that deserve good care and a proper environment!