beautiful things

absolutely loving this beautiful collaboration on the marginalian. an animated version of emily dickenson's bloom with music by joan as police woman. it's breathtaking and it was exactly what i needed on this dark, cold, rainy february day.

* * *

heather moore (of skinny la minx fame) is doing a great noticing project #theattentionproject on instagram. in january, it was weeds, now it's "just before you let go." i definitely noticed a lot of picturesque weeds on my january walks. now i need to take a closer look at the things i'm about to toss (or should be tossing).

* * *

loving the @dear_white_staffers account on instagram. they're giving me hope for the world. or at least for the country of my birth. still hoping not to be stateless. 

* * *

have you binge-listened to the trojan horse affair yet? it's so, so good. like first season of serial good. we need more podcasts like this in our lives.

beautiful things are sometimes enough

i got this gorgeously rustic, bumply, fabulous, unique heart bead from kim at numinosity (she's on a little vacation in mexico, so you'll have to wait to see her shop). kim feels like an old friend, since i met her towards the beginning of my blogging journey. we've never met in person, but at some point we will and i know we will laugh and drink cocktails.

an idea is forming in the back of my mind as to what to do with this bead, but in the meantime, having it and just photographing it on my usual windowsill scale is enough. i enjoy that almost as much as i would wearing it as a necklace. sometimes beautiful, unique things are enough, just in and of themselves. tho' maybe if i incorporated it into something crocheted, it might be even better...

if the glasses could talk

waiting. i imagine these glasses are proud to stand here, waiting for the gathering to begin. they know they're clean and lovely and lined up so prettily. they anticipate the wine and the conversations and the laughter ahead. funny memories relived and new funny memories made. and a weekend gone all too quickly.

whispering voices

my absolutely exquisite brooch by cathy cullis arrived yesterday. the multiple faces just spoke to me. she calls it part of her tumbling dreamers series, but to me, it whispers of the multiple voices we all have in our heads, vying (dying?) for our attention and trying to lead us in all directions. i think i saw it first on flickr and couldn't believe my luck when it was still in her shop. it feels so much like it represents where i am right now, at this moment, it's like it was meant to be mine. i am at once disturbed and comforted by the whispers of the voices.

and i am still thinking about her post on art supplies. that and wanting some black gouache now. 

cathy cullis' blog. and etsy (where i scored my brooch).

~~~

crazy awesome, thought-provoking embroidery here. 

it made me a little bit unable to breathe.

simplicity

in an increasingly complex world, i feel an increasing longing for simplicity. there's so much information, so much strife, so much shouting (see the american elections or any american sitcom). so much people being hard on themselves and others. so much scheming, so much unnecessary bad energy. so much anger, so much arrogance. so much filling the calendar and planning and so many deadlines. it makes a person despair a little bit sometimes.

can't we just simplify things? laugh instead of shout? smile instead of frown? relax instead of being tense? go back to basics? nurture a tree in a windowsill. can some pears. pick raspberries in the rain. make some raspberry jam. stop by the bakery for some pastry on the way to the meeting. visit a friend out of the blue, unannounced. snuggle up with a cat.

do something small today. something simple. just imagine if we all did it? it just might help.

i take it all back

freehand cut feathers made of maps of south africa by peter slingsby

my mail woman with the unnaturally red hair came knocking on the door today. bearing not one but TWO packages. one a total surprise from the fabulous molly (of arbness fame) of heaven cape town and of bloggy fame in the form of oh for the love of blog and the more recent (and less sweary-y) c is for cape town.  she made feathers from one of her father's maps. for me! feathers, maps, cape town - it couldn't get any better than that. which reminds me that i have some stuff to make for some people via some facebook promise to make stuff for people.

the second package contained the beautiful stitched and felted stones i was lucky enough to snatch up last week from the fabulous lisa of lil fish studios. her work is gorgeous and unique and always beautifully packaged. me, i suck at packaging, but i do enjoy when things are nicely packaged.  i almost hated to open it up, but i couldn't wait to see my beautiful stones. they're just exquisite and this photo doesn't even come CLOSE to doing them justice.

so a big thank you to both of you for completely turning around my grumpy, ranty day.  suffice it to say, it was precisely what i needed on this day which had otherwise started on the wrong side of the bed. thank you!!

beautiful things

today was a banner day for the postwoman at our house. we were very happy to see her. she came bearing not only my new wellington boots (when you live on a farm, you need good wellies), but a lovely surprise package from the wonderful mari (THANK YOU!!).

you probably already know mari from her lovely blogs marinik's blog, let's mangia, and her third eye.  but what you may not know is that she's going to armenia this summer to scatter her husband's ashes and that she plans to do some charitable acts in his memory while she's there. in order to do these, she's selling these absolutely gorgeous cards. everyone can use beautiful, blank cards, so if you are in the market for some cards, please visit mari's shop and support her loving cause. at the very least, they'll definitely make you want some cupcakes!

this beautiful little nest blew down out of a tree in our yard and i couldn't resist bringing it inside today. along with a wild bouquet of flowers i found around the garden. the nest is lined with horsehair clearly "donated" by the horse next door. it's a perfectly beautiful engineering marvel.

tomorrow is a holiday and the sun is shining, so i'm off to enjoy it!

an interview with kamana of journalling through photos

and as we continue the interview series that's a result of this post...this time i'm pleased to introduce kamana, who blogs at the lovely journalling through photos sharing the beauty and bounty of the gorgeous island where she makes her home.

1. you're part of our BC365 photo group - what has been the best thing about taking a picture every day?

The best thing probably is learning more about how to take good photographs. I knew nothing about photography when I started blogging, and it has been a trial and error process. It has been - and still is, everyday - a learning experience, and I find that the more I play around with my camera, the more I try different things in terms of lighting, angles, composition, and so on, I learn.

2. and what's been the worst?

Trying to get a shot taken everyday. Most days, this is not a problem, especially now that I carry my camera around with me all the time. But on those days when life gets in the way of what you really want to be doing... those days when inspiration just hits rock bottom... those days are hard. I don't want to just point my camera at the first thing I see and upload it. I have to be reasonably happy with a shot, to upload it. So, the pressure to take a reasonably okay shot everyday can be difficult.

3. and what have you learned from doing the project?

I have learned so much about photography during these seven months. Much from my own attempts, but also so much from others - seeing their work and getting comments from others on mine.

4. i always feel envious that you have endless supplies of light and gorgeous fruit for the project...what's the best thing about living in an island paradise (aside from light and fruit)?

LOL. I should have expected this question! The best thing for a beach loving girl like me, is the proximity to the ocean. I just love to be near the sea and feel the sand under my feet. Instant relaxation, I think.

5. what impact of climate change do you see where you live?

• The weather being more volatile and less predictable.
• Shoreline erosion.
• Increased temperatures leading to coral bleaching and creating havoc for marine ecosystems.

And of course, rising sea levels, reported to be around 0.9cm a year... a significant amount, considering the majority of these islands are just 1m above sea level. When I meet people from other countries for the first time, many often laugh and say, "oh so have you decided where you will go when your country goes underwater in 50 years?"
This is so unfunny... just so you know. :)

6. what did you think you would be when you grew up?

You mean I am already grown up?! Because I am still figuring out what I want to be...

But seriously, I have always been passionate about language and about learning. Even as a little girl, I talked about wanting to be a teacher. I remember often teaching my toys and marking their work. I did teach in school for some years, and have continued to work in education.

But what I also dreamed about wanting to be even then as a little girl, and more so now, is to be a writer. I want to write. I want to play with words. I want to weave stories.

7. and what did your parents expect you to be?

Oh, very clearly, a teacher.

8. tell us a funny travel-related story...

I was 18. Travelling alone for the first time, and also my first time in Europe. I fly into London Heathrow, where I receive verbal instructions from a British Council representative at the airport, on how to make my way from the airport to the hotel I was to stay in for the night, and my travel plans to go up to Scotland the next day. I have no idea of how the underground trains work, and the mess of coloured lines on a sheet of paper makes little sense when you have been travelling the whole day, and have too much information to take in all at once. It is rush hour, at the end of the working day, and the trains are packed. I get on the tube, with another fellow traveller who is also headed to the same hotel. It stops at where we are expected to change lines, and I make my way out, dragging with me my suitcase and my hand luggage through the packed train. The guy who is with me, takes his own cool time, and is just able to throw out his stuff on to the platform when the train doors close and it takes off...taking him away, and leaving me stranded on this platform with four very heavy bags and no address of the hotel I am supposed to be going to. I remember the name of the hotel, and that I have to eventually get off at Earl's Court. Apart from that, I have nothing. And no cash in sterling pounds. But I must have looked helpless enough, because before long, I had someone ask me where I was going to, and help me find my way (read: accompanied me all the way) to the hotel.

The next day, I fly to Edinburgh and I am supposed to take the train from there to Stirling. I am told which platform to get the train from, and when I get there, there is a train already there, about to leave. Of course, I get on, and find a seat. The ticket collector comes along, looks at my ticket and tells me that I am on the wrong train, going in an entirely different direction. And that I should have waited another ten minutes for the right train at that platform.

Yes, it was an eventful introduction to trains in the UK. And no, it didn't put me off them. In fact, trains are my preferred mode of transportation whenever I go back there now.

9. your life philosophy in one sentence:

Dream big, work hard and have faith, because all things are possible for those who believe.

10. what has blogging given you?

Many friends around the world. Lots of laughs. A sense of belonging to an incredibly supportive community of (mostly) women bloggers sharing their experiences through words and images.

* * *

thank you, kamana, for sitting down to speak with me (because that's how this one feels) and thank you for being part of the BC365 project on flickr as well! be sure to visit kamana and her photostream! it will open a whole new world!

an interview with kristina of no penny for them

kristina of no penny for them is a film girl and although i knew that, i still had to ask her about it. she lives in berlin and she also shares pictures on mostly berlin. both blogs will give you such a longing to see berlin that you'll probably even schedule a blog camp there (september 17-19, 2010). go and have a look, but first, see what kristina had to say. all of the photos in this post are from kristina's flickr photostream.

1. film or digital?

film. it’s a big love affair. the mystery of the roll hidden inside the camera, the wait for the processed film, the way it captures light. the tones, the grain. the way it makes an overexposure a beauty and and underexposure enigmatic.

that being said, i owe an awful lot to my tiny point-and-shoot digital camera. the seemingly unlimited number of tries you have to capture something, the immediate feed-back. it taught me almost everything i know about choosing a good angle, an interesting composition. i don’t know how many things i have photographed again and again and again with that little camera, until i had a result that i liked.

when it comes to digital, i really would like to learn more about processing one day, about using photoshop or lightroom. for now though, if i had to say film or digital for the rest of my life, it would be easy: film.

2. what is your dream camera?

cameras do make me very happy, i have a few vintage, manual cameras already. every one of them gives me different results. add in the factor of film, and you have an incredible range of options. i’m only starting to discover the possibilities.

anyway, we are talking anything goes, no financial restrictions here, right? in that case, my dream camera would be a 6x6 medium format camera – a hasselblad 500 c/m would make me very happy indeed. on a more realistic note, a nikon fm would be lovely too.

3. what do you do to unwind?

i read. which is a little nerdy, given that i make my living by reading – i translate and copy-edit books. still, since that is done on a computer screen most of the time, i find it wonderfully relaxing to curl up in bed with a good book.

apart from that, cooking with friends. nothing’s more relaxing than pottering in a kitchen with friends – and a glass of wine – catching up and feeling how the mouthwatering smell of dinner is slowly filling the room.

4. your favourite author?

you know what? at the moment i don’t have one, and i’m not happy about that. years ago i would have said virginia woolf and katherine mansfield. not that long ago i would have said siri hustved. at the moment i most enjoy reading cookbooks, or crime fiction by ian rankin. i do miss having a favourite novelist though. any ideas?

5. if you were going to go on an adventure, what would it be and who would you take along?

tough choice. i think i would love to take a road-trip across the U.S. with the boyfriend, ideally in a vintage mustang convertible. oh, with tons of time of course, an unlimited supply of film and enough dosh to stay in the nicest old b&bs and motels

6. coffee or tea?

both. really depends on my mood. coffee in the morning, unless i’m in london, having a full english breakfast – than it’s a nice brew for me, please (no milk though).

7. the best thing to visit in berlin?

you know, that really depends on who’s asking. i always like to get a feeling for what someone might like before recommending something. personally, i love berlin’s green side. like going for a walk on pfaueninsel (peaock island), taking the ferry to kladow, or - if you prefer to stay within the city proper - have a drink at the prater, berlin’s oldest beer garden.

8.  your best photo advice?

trust your instincts. and don’t be surprised when the photo you thought was a sure bet doesn’t quite work, while something you snapped in passing knocks you off your feet. some things work best when you don’t try too hard.

* * *

thank you, kristina!! i love how this felt like we just sat down and had a chat over a cup of coffee.

pure creative potential: film swap

on the flickr blog the other day (thank you flickr front page), i learned of a flickr group called "film swap." people shoot a roll of film in their analog camera, leave the tail sticking out then swap with someone else and double expose the roll - two different photographers, two different sets of eyes, many different subjects, preferably two distant locations. once i read about that, i knew i had to try it. so i loaded up my old canon AE-1 program and asked if anyone in the blog camp 365 group would like to do a little film swap with me.

the film swappers in the big film swap group are pretty advanced and into lomography, and naturally so am i (stop snickering there in the back), so i loaded it up with expired (in 2007) fujichrome sensia 400 so we could cross-process it in the C-41 chemicals in the end.

so basically it's got like this mind-blowing exponential creative potential going on. slide film, negative chemicals, analog cameras, two different photographers in two vastly different locations, expired film, and double exposures. one photographer's eye imposed on another. i'm so excited about this i can hardly contain myself.

and i'm hopping up and down happy that the lovely shokoofeh of a new simple something fame is who i'll be swapping with on this first attempt! she has the most amazing, artistic eye and that alone is mind-boggling. but for me, the whole notion of views of iran layered on views of denmark and vice versa adds so many layers of meaning to the creative potential that it very nearly takes my breath away. i feel like an entirely new topography will open up and you know how much i love topographies!

i've finished my first film and just loaded a second one. i made some mistakes with the first...i didn't set it on double the ISO as i should have, which may mean that shokoofeh's pictures don't shine through as much as they should. i was also so worried about losing the tail of the film when i rewound that i opened the camera a little bit early and spoiled the first 5 or 6 exposures. but hey, i learned two things and i won't make those mistakes again. and so i'm sure this second roll will be even better. i think i'll send both to shokoofeh. i really can't wait to see how this turns out.

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psst. for those of you who sew and quilt and aren't so into photography, there's a very cool new project here. i'm going to be doing it as well. after all, sometimes one should use the stash and not just stash the stash.

ode to (un)common things

fish by resurrection fern, bowl by artemisartemis, ring from here.

felted stone by me (with fibers from artemis artemis)

i've been struggling to write a post on my all-time favorite, couldn't-do-without-it ingredient over on domestic sensualist. i've been struggling because it's hard to narrow to just one ingredient - is it cream or onion or garlic or olive oil or bacon or...you get the idea. and i'm still not there yet (bee's going to go first), but in my quest to break through, i turned to poetry. yes. me. poetry. weird, huh? since i always protest that i'm not a poetry person. except for a bit of cavafy, the odd alexander blok and teeny bit of  akhmatova and mandelstam, poetry just doesn't speak to me. but then i remembered neruda. and the beautiful edition i have of his odes to common things with beautiful pen and ink illustrations by ferris cook. so, in light of yesterday's post on the simple things and reading all of the other beautiful posts about simple things around the blogosphere, i just had to share neruda's ode to things with all of you. in case you hadn't seen it. and since i don't speak spanish, i'm sharing it in english translation, tho' my edition has both.

ode to things


I have a crazy,
crazy love of things.
I like pliers,
and scissors.
I love
cups,
rings,
and bowls -
not to speak, or course,
of hats.
I love
all things,
not just
the grandest,
also
the
infinite-
ly
small -
thimbles,
spurs,
plates,
and flower vases.

Oh yes,
the planet
is sublime!
It's full of pipes
weaving
hand-held
through tobacco smoke,
and keys
and salt shakers -
everything,
I mean,
that is made
by the hand of man, every little thing:
shapely shoes,
and fabric,
and each new
bloodless birth
of gold,
eyeglasses
carpenter's nails,
brushes,
clocks, compasses,
coins, and the so-soft
softness of chairs.

Mankind has
built
oh so many
perfect
things!
Built them of wool
and of wood,
of glass and
of rope:
remarkable
tables,
ships, and stairways.
I love
all
things,
not because they are
passionate
or sweet-smelling
but because,
I don't know,
because
this ocean is yours,
and mine;
these buttons
and wheels
and little
forgotten
treasures,
fans upon
whose feathers
love has scattered
its blossoms
glasses, knives and
scissors -
all bear
the trace
of someone's fingers
on their handle or surface,
the trace of a distant hand
lost
in the depths of forgetfulness.

I pause in houses,
streets and
elevators
touching things,
identifying objects
that I secretly covet;
this one because it rings,
that one because
it's as soft
as the softness of a woman's hip,
that one there for its deep-sea color,
and that one for its velvet feel.

O irrevocable
river
of things:
no one can say
that I loved
only
fish,
or the plants of the jungle and the field,
that I loved
only
those things that leap and climb, desire, and survive.
It's not true:
many things conspired
to tell me the whole story.
Not only did they touch me,
or my hand touched them:
they were
so close
that they were a part
of my being,
they were so alive with me
that they lived half my life
and will die half my death.

antique locks from the middle east

it seems that no matter how much i try to convince myself otherwise, i really do love things. things of all kinds, but especially old things. or things that are nice to touch. or unusual things. things that have a story to tell. i just can't help myself.

scenes from a wedding

i think the pictures will suffice for now...

a weekend in denmark

i'm tumbling so many upcoming posts in my mind. when my inspiration/action correlation began to clear on friday, it provoked so many thoughts and ideas. so in the coming weeks you can expect posts on:

1. alice in wonderland
2. architecture
3. whether hyperlinks represent a topography of thought
4. nordic mythology
5. really tiny mushrooms
6. bullying in the workplace
7. whether it's possible to fast-track the process from inspiration to art
8. a perfume review (i've been thinking for awhile of doing these on a weekly basis)
9. hugin & munin
10. eyeballs

* NOTE: checking them off as i do them. 

but all of these things are still swirling in my head at the moment so for now, i'll just share some scenes from a winter-almost-spring weekend in denmark, some of which are hints to the above:

sabin's first riding lesson

it went smashingly and she's in love

mmm. latte.

and felt heat protectors in scrumptious colors (#22).

ATCs for sabin's swap

oops, we were supposed to mail these yesterday.

oh well, they're so good, tomorrow will be fine.

"where do i report my quest?"

lots and lots of world of warcraft

eyeballs (#23)

really tiny mushrooms

hope your weekend was full of laughter, candlelight , fresh bread, inspiration and a bit of fresh air.