Octopi are floating by…
Friday, November 6, 2009
Maybe the octopus will replace the owl / mushroom / peace sign of 2008 or the birdy-anything-and-everything of 2007 or the coral-that-wouldn’t-die of any year previous? If this is a trend, I welcome it. The octopus is more elegant and weird and magnificent than cute little fungi or silly hoot owls. It’s nature’s freak show with flourishy tentacles and erotic contours. And, yes, I could easily live with a huge framed octopus on my walls. So, will you embrace octopi?
Anthropologie has octopi popping up in each of its categories. Their Amelie sofa features navy upholstery fabric overwhich a huge octopus is embroidered in crewel. French artist Nathalie Lété designed the crewelwork and her octo-art appears on the De Vincennes dinner plates. The store also is selling a magnificent Tentacles ring and tangled octopi float in repeat on their Octopus Garden Wallpaper.
Albertus Seba’s Cabinet of Natural Curiosities is an illustrative page-turner. Each sumptuous rendering is stranger and more beautiful than the one before and there are plenty of satisfying tentacle-clad creatures .
Natural Curiosities, inspired by but not connected to the Seba book, is an art wholesaler selling octopus prints and little tabletop sculptures to Mecox Gardens, Atlanta’s Armour & Company, and other retailers.
FROM TOP: Ocatavio Print in Armour & Company store and owner’s Jayme Leffler home; Octavio Print in saudi blue; copperplate 1826 engraving of Octopus by Lord Bodner
The New York Public Library wants us to make art from their extraordinary collection. Two fabulous zoological engravings of octopi are available from NYPL and range from $30 for a 10” output to $275 for a 40” print.
Anthropologie, Armour & Co., Mecox Gardens, octopi, octopus in Art, Shopping 
Reader Comments (7)
you can eat octopus i guess, but owls rule ebay.
Personally, I'm really digging the octopus trend...check me in 6 months...but for now... I'm loving those images!
The images don't move me, susieq, but it is interesting!
I'm still stuck on birds.
I'm totally lovin the octopus. Way cool. Where in the world did you find all this awesome stuff.
I want it all!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent call on this trend, Susie! I want that sofa for my bedroom.
Who knew how much I loved octopi! Not I. These are all amazing and trend or not, I'm on board. The sofa is to die for and I want some of that art. I have the Natural Curiosities book and I'm going down to my basement asap to look for octopus images! :0)