This song sounds like a little of both to me. Don't forget to check out those beautiful prairie shots. . . and enjoy.
May 20, 2012
May 16, 2012
A Bit of Beauty
. . for a dull Wednesday night. I was just browsing through some lovely old photographs. I miss the 1920's aesthetic. What I wouldn't give for a bob, some pallor and a cupid's bow lip. And the photography! It was a transitional time when people went from the stiff poses of a formal photograph to the informality of a snap from a brownie camera--yet everybody looked so good. I have a wonderful book about flappers that talks about the sheer expense of their preferred costume. What regular gal of that era could afford the required closet full of silk stockings, tailored suits and fur stoles? But these ladies tried their best to look like firecrackers, full of bathtub gin and drenched in Chanel No. 5 (created in 1921). You can't argue with the results of these efforts when they clearly look so beautiful and timeless. I'm am certain fashions today shift so quickly that I have little hope that they will endure the way these fashions have.
For a bit more about flappers and 1920's style, consult the following oracles here and here. As readers of this blog know, my 1920's moods ebb and flow, but I always seem to drift back to these shores. Is there anyone else who feels connected to a certain time period? I have a few I definitely feel tied to, and these flappers will always have a special place in my heart.
May 09, 2012
Best Method of Transit
I do not think you can beat travel by bird (unless it is travel by bear, for which I have a personal fondness.)
A preliminary sketch (and clue) regarding the forthcoming picture book I mentioned in my last post. I love this project so much, and it's a good thing 'cause there is so much (exciting!) work ahead. Making a book is like going somewhere else completely, and you live there and you think about the other people that live there and your mind and heart do little else other than fret every moment trying to improve the place and make it as close to perfect as your brain and fingers can possibly muster.
It's like a vacation, except you work your fingers to the bone and stay up way too late and drink too much coffee and tea and watch questionable television and try with everything you have to make it the best it can possibly be, and do absolutely nothing vacation-like at all.
I love this sketch. My two year old son and I were just talking this evening about being birds. He told me we could pretend to be birds while we were in airplanes or by flapping our wings (arms), and I said certainly.
Then we started making things with blocks. "What else does this building need?" I asked him.
"It needs wings," he replied thoughtfully. Awesome. And, when The Black Apple's picture book arrives containing this aviary (and other) glories, we all must buy it.
A piece of a dream
I found this fragment in my diary. Sometimes I write down my dreams, and I don’t even remember when I wrote this down! I love how fragmented and formal it sounds, as if I am writing at arm’s length about the thoughts of a stranger.
I dreamed that I was on a grand trip, but had found a room to rent with a view of the ocean so vast I could see the curvature of the earth.
I knew in my secret heart that I loved this view best, because I felt constantly on the edge and horizon of all things, and I felt a deep joy to feel that things went on forever.
In my travels I ran into an old friend. “I’m a conceptualist now,” he said. “I am a visionary and I like to make solid the wishes that help people best get through their day.”
Whatever, I thought, and left before he could finish his story
The funny part is, the person I met in my dream was not anyone I have ever known or met--at least that I could remember. I imagine it doesn't say much about me that I can be bored with a stranger's conversation after a sentence or two. And he certainly seemed to have skills I could have taken advantage of, more's the pity.
April 18, 2012
April 16, 2012
April 11, 2012
Rabbit Hearted
I adore this new piece by The Black Apple:
A new painting -She also has a companion piece that I'll be sharing later this week. Rabbit Hearted (11"x14"x2) Acrylic on wood. These paintings will be available for sale soon, I'll post when they're properly photographed, etc!
Is there anything The Black Apple creates that I don't enjoy? Her art is quirky, beautiful and skillfully done, so the short answer is no. The Margot Tenenbaum side of me would love to have a wall full of portraits like this. Then I could listen to vinyl records and stare moodily out the window while reading Rimbaud. Divine.
