Friday, April 30, 2010

Friday Smile


A lovely so hard to find in nature but easy to buy on etsy. Right here.


Maybe not so lovely and never found in nature but worth a Friday smile. Found here.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Ok Couldn't Have a Week of Violet Without Wolf Kahn

 Wolf Kahn was a visiting artist at Swain School of Design when I was there in the 80's.  He got me excited about painting landscapes with pastels. The power in their immediate color, flexibilty, ability to travel. He manages to get violet in landscapes better than anyone. He honestly discusses his history, what he struggles with in his work, and how blindness has freed him in his painting here.


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tinctory

Sigh.This week's artist is Eva of Tinctory.  "Tinctory is a word that may not exist but if it did it would mean a place where things are dyed. Tinctor means 'dyer' in Latin" says Eva. Eva is a Czech living in the UK. She's self-taught and interested in fabric manipulation, dyeing, natural dyes, batik, and shibori. Her inspirations include the intricate needlework seen on historic textiles, geometric patterns in nature, variation and repetition, romance and fairytales. Her smocked jewellery is made entirely by hand, using simple tools and time to produce complex designs. She likes to repurpose vintage silk or dye materials with natural dyes which gives each piece uniqueness. To  find her blog your can go here, her flickr collection here and don't forget to become a fan on Facebook here.













Tuesday, April 27, 2010

4.27.10 Color Swatch

























P  A  N  T  O  N  E    N  o.  1  7  6 
oh violet.
you little screamer.
we like you, ok?
but best when you are tiny.
your itty bitty voice 
says hi with a left hook

just look at you
do you really think
i could have
missed you
between the dove stones 
and acid green blades?

i make an attempt
to hush you 
and say
just please wait your turn.
but it is impossible
for me when

you crook your little
finger and pull me to your
teacup of a face
to land a violent bruise 
of a kiss
-Alyn Carlson

photo from Maine Momma on flickr here

Monday, April 26, 2010

Poem for Monday

I hope you had a real weekend. I did. Made a little art, took a trip to my favorite portuguese markets in New Bedford, made dinner for some great friends and miraculously none of it felt like it was on a list. The to-do piggie has been getting way too much attention from me lately. Sometimes the list just looms and I can't even see myself. Spending time alone is the best way I have to combat the feeling of not owing my life. Rilke gives some great advice, sort of THE advice for a couple in a committed relationship. "The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of his solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust." I'm lucky Paul does that for me. I love how Derek Wolcott's poem reminds me I am a feast. Becoming a stranger to myself usually explains most sadness, stress and frustration I feel. Hunger for myself. 


Love After Love
by David Walcott

The time will come
When, with elation,
You will greet yourself arriving
At your own door, in your own mirror,
And each will smile at the other's welcome,

And say, sit here, Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
To itself, to the stranger who has loved you

All your life, whom you ignored
For another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

The photographs, the desperate notes,
Peel your image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.