“In that case,” said the Dodo solemnly, rising to its feet, “I move that the meeting adjourn, for the immediate adoption of more energetic remedies–” Lewis Carroll

• Hanna Hedman’s series While They Away Extinction are endangered animals, tangled in leaves, vines, and wings, all made out of oxidized silver. The natural green hues are a mixture of copper and paint. The sculptural jewelry pieces look like relics found in an overgrown jungle, walking the line between beauty and death in the tradition of vanitas.

• Harri Kallio’s project The Dodo and Mauritius Island, Imaginary Encounter recreates the first encounter between man and now-extinct bird. The model Dodos are in their natural environment in the jungles of Mauritius, their form and features based on Lewis Carroll’s illustrations for Alice in Wonderland.

• Jane Gehrke’s Anegada Ground Iguana is part of her series of endangered lizards rendered in watercolor and ink. 70% of proceeds will go to the Center for Biological Diversity.

• Heather Enders’ Save the Last Buffalo Zine is a short and sweet guide to the importance of preserving American Buffalo, with proceeds going to the Buffalo Field Campaign.

• Natalie Knott’s Brooch is a leaping frog made of recycled fine silver with a pale green textured patina and gold eye.

• Amy Sullivan’s Brown Pelican poses coyly under a summer raincloud.

• Shelby Lou’s Ring is sculpted and cast in Shibuichi metal in honor of Azazel, the original outcast.

• Crowbiz’s Dodo Print and Kiwi Print place the flightless birds on pages from a 1930s French book.

• Rogue and Wolf’s Pendant suspends a black wolf head from a gunmetal chain.

Smoking cigars and the boxes they came in used to be an art form. Fortunately, many of these diverse containers are being reinvented for more practical purposes.

• William Holbrook Beard started out as a portrait painter, but his realistic depictions of animals were so successful that no one remembers him for anything else. His painting A Good Smoke is a good example of how he would place his subjects in a human, often humorous context.

• This Tobacco Tin dates back to the turn of the century and would have been used as a lunch box when the cigars were all smoked.

• This Cigar Box Guitar is made out of an ouija board and is perfect for creating that classic delta blues sound.

• Meredith’s Docking Station juxtaposes modern technology with a bit of the old world – a vintage cigar box from the Dominican Republic.

• Anne Reeves’ Purse is made out of a vintage Cuban cigar box with a gold and red label.

• Gabe Williams’ Stereo fits speakers into a cigar box that you can connect to your iPod, phone, or computer.

• Barbara Temple’s photograph of a Box of Cigars stands next to a cocktail and cigar for a composition straight out of the Wild West.

• This Purse attaches a bamboo handle to a vintage cigar box.

• Theresa Marr’s Sketchbook has covers made out of a deconstructed King Edward cigar box.

• Kristy’s Cigar Box Guitar is customized to your choice of cigar box and other details.

Beauty will be convulsive or will not be at all. André Breton

• According to Breton, beauty is convulsive in three ways. One, mimicry, like the markings on moths imitate eyes. Two, the delay or termination of movement regarding something that should have been in motion. To use Breton’s example, the idea of an abandoned train in a forest. It’s intriguing, at least. Three, the found object as a sign of desire. All three define beauty as internally fragmented, turning an otherwise seamless experience of reality into a representation of it. Photography can visualize those internal disjunctions. Man Ray’s Kiss and film still of Kiki depict the face as fragmented and so focus on the lips as the sign of desire. In other words, the hint is more evocative than the faithful narrative.

• Adam Martinakis’ Future Love applies Breton’s principles in liquid silver streams.

• Edu Barba’s Big Number Three and Thoughts Are Free are digital prints that cleverly manipulate numbers, letters, and grids.

• Lynn Harrisberger’s Bracelets have XO attached to sterling silver bands.

• Eduardo Martínez Nieto’s Seratonin is a polaroid reminiscent of Man Ray’s habit of painting eyes over Kiki’s eyelids.

• Sue Szabo’s Ring spells out XO in sterling silver.

• Jump Flip Circus’ Dormir depicts a man dreaming of vintage paper ephemera, like we all do.

• Manya Nazarian’s Lip Ring is a realistic set of lush lips, creases and all, in oxidized silver.

• James Dillon’s Pins remind us that art may be dead, but Dada lives forever.

Cats have been a viral sensation since Ancient Egypt. To add fuel to fire, we’ve put together a diverse group of feline incarnations.

• When Andy Warhol was working as an advertising illustrator in the early ‘50s, he lived with a lot of cats. At one point, there were twenty one inhabiting his brownstone apartment. And yes, they were all named Sam, except for one called Hester. 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy was a book Warhol published himself and gave out to clients and friends. He printed each cat with the blotted line technique that was the trademark of his advertising work and earned him commissions from all the top magazines at the time. The “d” missing in the title was a mistake that Warhol kept because he liked it.

• This Fan by Zhang Yugong depicts an inky cat stalking its prey.

• This Cat dates back to the Ptolemaic Period of Ancient Egypt, when depictions of the goddess Bastet changed from lioness to domesticated cat. She became a viral sensation, earning her own cult and thousands of figurines.

• Chris Wrinn’s Pendant is made of pure silver with a gold foil heart.

• Pamela Staker’s Sitting Cat has loose, dynamic outlines in paint, pastel, and colored paper.

• Yaci’s Rings wrap your finger in a sleeping cat’s head in black or silver.

• Dheeradj van der Geest’s Ring is made of sterling silver sanded in the shape of a stylized cat.

• Bri’s Whiskers has newsprint fur covered with colorful stripes of paint.

• Mai’s Neko Ring is made of silver curving into subtle cat ears.

• Carl Harris’ Clowns Boots depicts Catboy, the boy who has the shadow of a cat.

• Denise Payne’s Cats are all sitting in a row, no doubt watching birds, with their fur in an intricate pen-and-ink pattern.

We hate using umbrellas for practical purposes, like rain or sun protection. Why not explore these other, more useless, options?

• Alfred Lombard’s Marthe et Pauline à la Terrasse looks like a rainbow of colorful popsicles melting under the summer heat. The brushstrokes give the impression of looking through a haze and seeing the patterns of their clothing loosen up under the golden sunlight. These women are made of color, not flesh. Why isn’t Lombard more well-known? Marthe and Pauline are the worthy sisters of Matisse’s Woman with a Hat. Lombard exhibited this work in 1910, five years after the Fauves had caused their scandal. He must have seen that exhibition; look at how Pauline’s hat approaches abstraction just as Madame Matisse’s? Cubism was the new rage in 1910, and Lombard may have just missed the boat.

• In the Portuguese town of Agueda, Umbrella Sky was a Marry Poppins dream come true. The colorful umbrellas caught the sun in mid-air, floating above a street like a canopy of stained glass.

• Luke Jerram’s Just Sometimes floated one thousand umbrellas upside down in the waterways of Rotterdam. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone started spontaneously whistling the tune of Singin’ in the Rain.

• Takekasa has a wide array of exquisite parasols. Her Red Parasol has silk strings wrapped around the bamboo spokes. Her Yellow Parasol has a golden center and stripes of brown, peach, and pale blue along the outer edge.

• This iPhone Case by Sew Posh Designs is padded with a pattern of colorful parasols.

• Jordani Sarreal’s Travel Pouch keeps all of your essentials together for, perhaps, a trip to Japan.

• Allison Patrick’s Pendant Light is made from interlocking cocktail umbrellas that create a watercolor glow.

• Nichole’s Paris Graffiti prints capture corners of the city hiding bits of wit and whimsy.

• Claudia’s Parasol is hand painted with pink, green, and orange swirls, allowing the brushwork to show through. It would fit perfectly in Lombard’s painting.

• Marabara’s Bag is made of deep red canvas with a graphic pattern of white parasols.