I was reading Daydream Lilly this morning and found a beautiful link buried in one of her old posts that I clicked and boom! into the rabbit’s hole I fell! I found Jordan Clarke in Australia who has a delightful blog that I’d seen before but somehow forgotten but a new discovery awaited me — Jordan’s online shop!

About Jordan’s work, “Fascinated by all things dark, whimsical and vintage her work is characterized by a collision of Victorian vignettes, rockabilly pin-ups, religious iconography, tattooing, 20th century circus and fairground lore, to name but a few.“

I’ll admit, none of these themes are ones that I am naturally drawn towards but somehow when combined they really interest me! Funny how that works. Jordan has a very curious eye and a delightful way of mixing things that is really fun to watch.

It’s interesting to note how she mentions her work being inspired by 20th century circus and fairground lore. Did you see the new Anthropologie catalog for Spring which had some circus inspiration sprinkled throughout? And what about the recent film, Sherlock Holmes, also with a scene of a vintage circus. Same with animated film Coraline. Even the most recent Pink album and of course, Britney Spears. I find it so interesting how you’ll begin to spot certain themes pop up – maybe in film, then fashion, then video, and suddenly you notice it in art or in home accessories. When I was watching Sherlock Holmes last night at the theater, I thought about how I’d love to see a vintage style circus come to town, wouldn’t that be grand? Of course, only if the animals were treated fairly and if the clowns were not scary as I truly have a fear of wild-eyed clowns. But other than that, I can imagine a vintage circus being a very exciting event to attend – candy wrapped in decadent papers, gorgeous costumes, painted elephants, pointy tents… and then I start to wonder how this theme could be interpreted for the home through color and pattern — all in very subtle ways of course.

Have you spotted a bit of a vintage circus love thing going on too? What do you think?

(images: jordan clarke)

26 Responses to “Jordan Clarke (+ Vintage Circus Trend)”

1 Kifus commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 5:17 am

I’m such a scary cat that I don’t enjoy going to the circus. Of course I have taken my kids – once- and they had a great time while I sat there thinking the acrobats were going to fall off their swings or the tent was going to catch fire. Silly me not to relax and enjoy the show, but I can’t help it!
.-= Kifus´s last blog ..Dallas Estate =-.
2 renee anne commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 5:55 am

I am so so so so so so so super proud to see Jordan here on your wonderful blog. She is so amazing, is such a super artist, and writes AN AMAZING blog, it really makes me happy to see such lovely things said about a lovely lady.

YAY JORDAN!!! XX
.-= renee anne´s last blog ..life // a thrifty trip =-.
3 Luisa @ Dance in my garden commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 5:58 am

I adore the old fashioned horse carousels that you hardly ever see anymore…but I guess that is more playground than circus!
.-= Luisa @ Dance in my garden´s last blog ..Meet our new little furry friend =-.
4 Queeniebee commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 6:10 am

I love the first print, it’s almost anti-Valentines. Everyone else is doing pink hearts and fluffiness while Jordan’s print is wittily honest and beautifully conceptualised. Love it!

I like the Vintage circus theme too, although not huge fan of Britney!
.-= Queeniebee´s last blog ..What on earth is my niche? Do I really need one? =-.
5 laura trevey commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 6:28 am

love the “Boys Break Hearts” print!!
.-= laura trevey´s last blog ..Giveaway – Aqua Pillow =-.
6 ishtar commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 6:53 am

haha! how funny, my kids are having a party at school and guess what the theme is ?the circus !thats right!
Lovely artwork btw!
oh and THANK YOU HOlly for your nice comment on my blog! it always means so much to me : )* hearts*
.-= ishtar´s last blog ..Giveaway! Sorteo! =-.
7 Tina commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 8:24 am

I recently bought a large print book that contains original illustrations, photographs, and wagon covers from the circus (circa) 1800-1900s. It’s fabulous! And…a little strange. We have such a fascination with that time period ::ehem:: ever watch Carnivale?
Something about the traveling, entertaining, almost vegabond lifestyle is so appealing. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a lion tamer?
8 Michelle Sanders commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 9:39 am

I love vintage circus! My son’s nursery was decorated in vintage circus with vintage posters and such. Since there was no themed decor to speak of for vintage circus I had to wing it but it turned out cute!
.-= Michelle Sanders´s last blog ..Apparenly there is royalty amoung us… =-.
9 Autumn commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 10:40 am

We’ve been seeing vintage circus and county fair themes in wedding design lately – pretty banners, props and placards. It’s fun to see it here with a darker tone and mixed with other elements. Really interesting work!
.-= Autumn´s last blog ..Custom Map Card – Tier 1 =-.
10 Sara commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 10:45 am

I am totally in love with the whole vintage circus theme! If a vintage circus came to town I would run away with it! :)

If you want to see more vintage circus stuff check out the 2 posts below…one is a darling tea set, the other is a circus christmas theme. So cute!

PS Tina, share the name of your circus book please :) ?
11 Lisa commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 11:34 am

I love this post (I have circus on the brain, too), and I’m headed over to Jordan’s blog as soon as I finish here! The circus is everywhere now – definitely a trend – remember sunflowers? All things celestial? Hopefully the circus trend won’t become that pervasive. I absolutely LOVE the idea of a vintage style circus – a show I would want to see!
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Inspiration Board =-.
12 Tina commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 12:34 pm

Of course!
The book is “The Circus” and here it is on B&N http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Circus/Noel-Daniel/e/9783822851531/?itm=7&USRI=Circus

Interestingly enough, the cover is different from the one I have. Which makes me antsy to buy them all the different cover variations lol. not good.
13 Amy - No.15 commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 1:56 pm

I really like Jordan’s work. You’re right, it is not a theme I am drawn to but there is something appealing about them. They inspire me to want to make a collage with my own theme.

I love the idea of a vintage circus coming to town but yes, no scary clowns or mistreated animals. It was nice last year I was driving to work and saw the Ringling Bros Circus train was parked along side of the highway. I’m not a fan of Ringling Bros. but the circus train was so neat to see, it’s sort of reminiscent of the whole vintage circus atmosphere.
.-= Amy – No.15´s last blog ..A Perfect Loft =-.
14 Brigitte commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 2:10 pm

I am in love with the Anthro images. I was never a big circus person, but they’re so captivating. For my BYW inspiration board, I put one of the images in the center, because I feel a bit that way about my blog. Not the ringleader exactly, but a performer in the midst of the craziness.
.-= Brigitte´s last blog ..And It Begins! =-.
15 Renee commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 3:26 pm

Holly, I love the circus post! It did bring to mind a dear friend of my who is an amazing assemblage artist. He did an entire series of circus pieces using found objects, games, antique boxes, antique circus ephemera and more. If you want to take a peek at something really amazing go to: http://www.johngutoskeystudio.com/gallery and click on Circus.

toodles~
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Pick Me, Pick Me! =-.
16 decor8 commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 3:40 pm

Renee thanks for that link – those were so energetic and colorful, wow — it’s really nice that you shared his work. Thank you!
17 decor8 commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 3:41 pm

Brigitte that is really cute – a blogger is a bit of ringleader I guess, huh?!
18 Meredith commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 4:36 pm

I would buy tickets to a vintage circus like that in a heartbeat! I’ve actually noticed this trend, too, and I’m quite a fan of it in some of the paper products I’ve been seeing. Nothing over-the-top, but subtle hints of circus patterns and such.
.-= Meredith´s last blog ..Resolution No. 6: Homemade Sandwich Bread =-.
19 sue commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 5:54 pm

I just did a post on circus love, as part of my “Way Ahead of Ya” series! I’ve amassed a small collection of vintage circus of late, inexplicably:

http://vintagerescue.typepad.com/vintage_rescue_squad/2010/02/way-ahead-of-ya-2-circus-fun.html
.-= sue´s last blog ..I’m Snoverthis! =-.
20 shawn angela commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 9:41 pm

I am enamored with anything vintge circus.In fact I did a post on vintage circus posters a while back on my blog and am always on the lookout for anything of that genre….so kitschy and fun!
21 Mel commented:
February 10th, 2010 at 10:27 pm

I haven’t seen it (yet) but the movie “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” appears to have this kind of look.
.-= Mel´s last blog ..new ideas … =-.
22 Viv commented:
February 11th, 2010 at 5:06 am

So beautiful! Thank you for sharing Holly.

I’ve been in love, fascinated, obsessed even with the old style circuses for as long as I can remember.
23 Faye commented:
February 11th, 2010 at 10:15 am

This is really interesting, I also did a vintage circus themed post a week or so ago as I has noticed that it these type of images seem to be cropping up a lot at the moment. It always amazes me how something like this starts as a kind of a vibe, a feeling in the air that feels right for the moment and enough people embrace it at the same time, put their own take on it and soon it develops into a full blown trend.

Here’s my circus themed post if you’d like to take a look:

http://talkingtounicorns.blogspot.com/2010/01/lets-run-away.html
.-= Faye´s last blog ..julia pott =-.
24 Piper commented:
February 11th, 2010 at 10:34 am

I gotta say, there’s something about this circus trend that’s pulling me in. Loved the anthropologie catalog…felt very fun. maybe that’s what it is for me…the circus is such an over the top fun experience and I can’t help but be inspired (and smile) when I come across these great images. Thanks for sharing Jordan’s work – just love her vintage take on it. I’m heading over to her blog right now :)
.-= Piper´s last blog ..{shake it up 2010 – week 6 scoop} =-.
25 S* commented:
February 21st, 2010 at 6:28 am

Not sure if you have heard of the Spiegeltent? It is an old vintage circus-type tent (although the walls are more of a semi-permanent structure made of mirrors, stained glass and wood – just gorgeous!) that comes to Melbourne (Australia) each year in the warmer months. It is a bar and place to see live music mostly, but they also have a Burlesque show which is very “Vintage Circus” – Belly-dancing little people, strong men, bearded lady, contortionist, acrobats, etc etc. No animals though…
It is a fab show – worth seeing!!
26 Ericka commented:
May 17th, 2010 at 4:30 am

this is soooooo much amazing to see this type of circus.in fact such a wonder
act

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