mountain meditation

I got to walk up a mountain this past weekend with a great group of people.  On Sunday morning I got a few hours alone, perched on a rock overlooking this pristine scene. It looked way better in person. I'd have taken a picture, but Tim took my camera on an adventure of his own...

leanne shapton's painted patterns

Last month, the New York Times Interactive Op-Ed site featured this major eye-candy work, A Month Of Wednesday Patterns, by Leanne Shapton. These freehand watercolor renditions of out-in-the-world patterns have so much character and energy. This erratic little collection of swatches makes my thoughts go erratic, too, thinking about all sorts of human-nature things. I see these works as the charming documents of the simple poetry of the process; her being out in the world, noticing these patterns in their context, and recording them free-handed in an imperfect yet absolutely clear visual language. And then I think, why these patterns? What about all the other patterns she must have seen over the many months of working on this project? It makes me wonder about how our memories work, and how beauty really does stand out and impresses upon us in common and individual ways alike. And just what is it about patterns that attract or repel us so? There are boundless patterns to be found in nature, and it's only natural that we would be quite attracted to unmistakeably human-made patterns. What interesting marks we leave on the world in this way. Clothing, walls, walkways, sometimes even in food. What peculiar animals we are.

Here are some of the individual paintings featured in this online-published work;

 

 

Layla cotton shirt worn over a bathing suit to MacaroniBeach
Jan 6, 2010, Mustique

 

"Pillowcase in my brother's spare room
March 3, 2010, Toronto"

 

 

Bathroom tiles in a cottage at locusts-on-Hudson
May 19, 2010, Staatsburg, NY

 

 

Wool carpet in the drawing room at Calke Abbey
Sept 1, 2010, Ticknall England

 

Aaand sidebar--whoa--travel much!?  I'd by lying if I said I wasn't envious. : P

More of Ms. Shapton's pattern paintings can be found on her site, here.

Also, check out the totally rad art book imprint she co-founded at jandlbooks.org.

letter 5.11.11

This is going out to the postal box in t-minus 5 seconds. . . . . 3, 2, 1, buzz off!

Just kidding, Lori. This is coming to you. Please do not buzz off.

postcard 5.10.11

I received this handmade postcard from one of my BFFs from a trip she took to Argentina. This is an artist's rendition of the Perito Moreno glacier in Patagonia.

I think of it as Perrito Moreno (little brown dog) because this depiction reminds me of a dog's molars.

God Grew Tired of Us

Hey, all. It's been a while. Life has been busy. I am stressed, I am tired, and I am thankful.

Anyhow, I wanted to pop on here and share a movie--a brilliant, feature length documentary about the Lost Boys of Sudan.  To say theirs is a moving story is a grand understatement.  It's rare to see such heartbreak alongside such hope.  If you've never seen this doc, or never heard of the Lost Boys, definitely check this film out.

St. Patrick's Day

Chelsea in Dublin Castle Cathedral

An excerpt of St. Patrick's breastplate prayer in the original Irish;

Críst limm, Críst reum, Críst im degaid
Críst indium, Críst íssum, Críst úassum
Críst dessum, Críst túathum
Críst i llius, Críst i ssius, Críst i n-érus
Críst i cridiu cach duini rodomscrútadar
Críst i ngiun cach oín rodomlabrathar
Críst i cach rusc nomdercadar
Críst i cach clúais rodomchloathar.

[Read the whole thing in English here.]

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

Happy New Year! This is, of course, the time of lunar new year, celebrated in many cultures. Tết, the Viet name for the holiday, is one of the biggest of the year. My dear friend Lynelle is part of a Vietnamese Kung Fu studio. She and her students rally the community in celebration of Tết with their acrobatic Lion Dance routines, and work for hire to bring prosperity to Viet businesses. I was honored to catch a commissioned performance this morning and took a few snaps;

Seeing With Photography

this image was uploaded to flickr by seeingwithphotography.

This is a brand new image created by members of the Seeing With Photography Collective in New York City. All SWPC members are visually impaired, making their photographic method quite poignant. Each image is generally led by one person's idea or narrative, while others assist in building the scene with found props and materials. The set is then framed in the camera, and lights are turned out. The image is exposed in otherwise pitch-darkness by a few people using hand-held flashlights, causing the image to be exposed bit-by-bit as the lighters feel their way around the scene, shining their small light from only a few inches away from each surface they expose. It's a unique way to make digital photography both a sensory experience and a hand-crafted form.

I had the privilege of assisting SWPC on studio days one lovely summer a few years back. It's an incredible process to experience.

Learn more by visiting seeingwithphotography.com.