Grass Doe (aka John Levitt)

The first 4 years of my life were spent around Anchorage, AK. My parents had packed my 3 brothers and me, when I was just an infant, into an old green school bus and left the south for what they hoped was a new and pure frontier, the image of homesteading probably in their minds. We had 3 goats, what I remember to be a constant rotation of different dogs (which seem to pack up and run off with the wolves), faceless cats and a guinea pig named Peaches and Cream. Alaska was in my past before my mind knew how to store memories in a way I could draw from later. But as Faulkner says "Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders". My memories are vague, fragmented, and dreamlike, so much so that I can't be sure of what's fact and what's fiction. What I'm left with is a wash of bits and pieces of scenes and sounds:
...hours old, wet baby goats skating on wobbly legs through the house...
.............mom chasing a perplexed wolf away from the goats with a broom...
..sitting in the steeing wheel of the bus spinning to and fro while it sat abandoned in the driveway...
.............................disappearing into the back of the piano...
.........my fingers in the curly hair of the face of a giant buffalo...
...running behind horses on a dirt road..(it was snowing?)
When I stumbled upon the blog Grass Doe I was immediately sucked into the images and then the mystery of where these images were coming from. There is no explanation of the images nor presence of the author of the blog. Over the the last few weeks I have been perusing the pages imagining the possibilities of their origin. I admit I was maybe a little disappointed to find that they were, in fact, someone else's life and not some(magical)how a stash of photos from my own memory.
On the other hand, photographer, Jonathan Levitt's website is a rich collection of gorgeous images from all over the nation (though, in fact, not AK, I think) including some lush food photography as he is a contributor to my favorite food mag, Saveur, among others. In the end, I am glad to have found out about him, but there was something lovely in the imagining.

.
Antler
.
A new online magazine

and
.
Humus
.

which has been around awhile

Thao Nguyen

Two happy finds here:
Thao Nguyen .....a sweet,strong, slightly restrained voice, off kilter melodies, and an almost ukulele-type guitar style that's got me hooked
and
Tiny Desk Concert Series on NPR.....a singer, a guitar, a small office room

There's something about twine......
what is it?
I'm thinking about it.....like the noun/verb thing going on

found on ccccraigslist

Creativity

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

I've always been a big fan of the powers of denial and rationale.
Some people have pointed out that this talk may be a convincing argument for escapism.
Well.... doesn't mean it's dysfunctional.

Nigel Peake

This is what I love about blogs....
over at Book by it's Cover
I spied this book by Nigel Peake....
and his beautiful website...
and his blog...
and now I'm inspired...
if I weren't so sick I'd be in my studio.

visual blogging

Blogs that tell it all in pictures:

Grass Doe

Liivian Talossa

City and Country

Lunch Break Photos

Slinkachu

Slinkachu's Little People Series

Yuken Teruya

Revisting Yuken Teruya
because it's hard to get enough of this beautiful simplicity.
Via Boom

Tank for Peace

I love the idea of this: in 2005 twenty blacksmiths from all over the world converged in Germany to spend 18 days disassembling a tank and using the scrap metal for creating sculptural objects which were then sold to raise money for UNICEF. There are a few more photos here.

Spring begins shyly
With one hairpin of green grass
In a flower pot.

-Richard Wright

2-7-09

I've been a little distracted lately with setting up a separate blog for drawing. I'm thinking there will be a photo or two now and then, but mostly pertaining to drawing, mark-making, that sort of thing.
It's here.
Send links my way, if you think of someone/thing that comes to mind.

2-2-09

Happy Lunar New Year!

Ah, if I had known we could dress up it might have been a bit more fun.......
Happy Lunar New Year!!
Via NY Times

Bat for Lashes

Don't give up on this too quickly, it gets really good.
Via Design Dust

Insta-vintage

Here's something fun to do: add a little "history" to your photos here.
Via Just Cool and Quipsologies.

The Art of Routine

I cherish routine. Inadvertently, I've become a true creature of habit. Because of circumstance, my routines change daily, but I carve out a bit of ritual or habitual compulsiveness in each and every day.....which always starts with a strong cup of coffee (frothed whole milk, no sugar), usually ends with a glass of wine (red, spicy, full-bodied) and always a family dinner. Studio time is carved out in between a lot of driving. Some quick peeks into the thrift stores are sneaked in along the way, as well as a second cup of coffee. There's some list-making going on in there followed by a lot rationalized procrastination.
This blog is a great read for all of us who recognize the structure (obvious or not-so-obvious) that our habits provide.
Thanks to 52 Projects, who always has such great links. (I'm resisting an obvious pun, here)

Thorne Rooms

Thorne Rooms at Phoenix Museum of Art

created by Narcissa Niblack Thorne.
Marveled at these period specific intricate miniatures on our winter excursion to the SW.

A Prosperous New Year (from craigslist)

Laura Letinsky

Lovely little messes from Laura Letinsky.

The Moment on photosynth

Be watching for Obama's Inaugural moment on Cnn using Photosynth.
They'll be taking all the images submitted of Obama taking the oath from all different angles and then compiling them to make "one breathtaking image" of The Moment.
via quipsologies.

Happy New Year!

Wonderwall

Thanks Kristopher, for this great response to my craigslist photo find on 13-12-08. There is something so incredibly satisfying about a well stacked pile of fire wood.
Via Wonderwall

Mikel Uribetxeberria

Mikel Uribetxeberria
via
NOTCOT

Days of Heaven

In case you've missed my movie recommendations over to the right, I want to draw special attention to this movie which I first saw in the mid 80's. It set the bar high for how what I hoped for in a film. Viewing it again the other night confirmed my absolute love for every bit of this film. I wish there were more like this.

Lauren Nassef

Lauren Nassef
from
A Drawing a Day

Elsa Mora

Elsa Mora of the blog Elsita and the etsy shop of the same name does some incredibly intricate illustrative paper cut works, but digging deeper into her blog (a post from last spring) I found these beautiful porcelain pieces that are from a project titled "Mute". The installation pics on her blog show a vitrine full of them and you can read her thoughts on the project. Really beautiful objects.

Christmas on cccccraigslist

I leave you for the next week or so with these festive images of Christmas from craigslist. Hope everyone has a warm and peaceful holiday season.
Cheers!

Michel Alexis

More here

Found on cccccraigslist (winter)

No 2 alike

Marian Bantjes designed 25 unique snowflakes for Saks Fith Ave.
I also love the project she did with them before this
and
her Maya Tattoo is one I wouldn't mind having inked on my skin.

found on ccccraigslist

Some eerie landscapes on Craigslist.
(we were surrounded by the fog all week)

on flickr

le taxidermist

coquinete

and

also
this:
from nerijuskio