I sat looking at an installation by Detroit artist Maya Stovall, I realized that the mirrors she had installed might be an interesting idea to transplant into a home or work space.
Read MoreSage Advice from Moondog
Listening to Spotify while I was working, suddenly…Moondog came on, singing Do Your Thing, a sublimely 70′ song, curiously packed with wisdom. He was an original, who lived his advice
Read MoreAntidotes for the Latest Terror Attack (Samuel Beckett and Salmon Rushdie)
Sometimes it seems impossible to live with the horror in our daily news, with its echoes of so many recent attacks, of 9/11, and violence that seems to come at random. Heartsick, felled, two things came to mind…
Read MoreHalloween: Inspiration, Scary Stuff, Song
Suddenly, it is Halloween, one of the strangest and most magic days of the year. If it snuck up on you, here is just the thing:
Read MorePoetry of Falling and Flying in a Magical Choreography with Trampoline
Yoann Bourgeois’ startling choreography with trampoline explores the space “between flying and falling”, a subject close to our hearts.
Read MoreRustic Bean Ragout with Many Embellishments
Recently, I was challenged with cooking for a mix of Paleos, vegetarians, and a person who could not eat beans or wheat. Sigh. I fell back on a wildly successful strategy I devised years ago to feed a crowd…
Read More2 Minute Lessons from Therapy from Really Creative People
Shrink is a compelling series of videos in which really smart, creative people tell what they learned in therapy in under two minutes. Natasha Lyonne’s is our favorite, perfect with this Galway Kinnell poem.
Read MoreDisappear Visual Clutter with Uniform Cardboard Boxes a la Laura Handler + Andy Warhol)
If you have a lot of small items, projects or papers to store, and an eye that is pained by visual busyness, I recommend a strategy used by designer Laura Handler and Andy Warhol:
Read MoreMove Beyond Intellect to Poetic Encounter
In this surprising, very moving short film, ecologist Dr. Stephen Harding describes the transformative experience of ‘encounter’, that requires poetic, rather than scientific language.
Read MoreTo Bend To Not Break (Cecile Belmont)
Cecile Belmont’s art work message is a particularly potent reminder of a way to be daily, hourly, minute by minute, as many forces may seem to try to break us. Trisha Brown’s foot prints sum it up.
Read MoreWeekend Playlist: All of Leonard Cohen’s Music in Chronological Order
If there ever was a writer whose songs spoke gently to the hidden dark and broken parts of ourselves, it is Leonard Cohen. Spend the weekend streaming his music/poetry via a complete chronological playlist.
Read More2 Essential Heartening Messages from Yoko Ono
The news is so very terrible, it is weighing on everyone we know. What to do? These two messages from Yoko Ono really help.
Read MoreBlind Master Card Magician Richard Turner: Play the Cards You’re Dealt
Richard Turner is considered the world’s greatest card sharp. His prowess at card magic is astonishing, all the more so because he is blind. Here are his principles for overcoming obstacles.
Read MoreVisit Mondrian’s Paris Studio with Alexander Calder
When he was thirty-two, Alexander Calder visited the legendary Mondrian’s studio in Paris. The experience changed his life. Here’s what Calder saw.
Read MoreCyrille Aimee Building a Song in Bed Will Make You Dance
Cyrille Aimee building every element of a song, from percussion to backup singers, from bed is a perfect, and amazingly synchronous, way to start the day.
Read MoreRuth’s Asawa: Art is doing. Art deals directly with life.
Sculptor Ruth Asawa’s work became more moving for knowing some of her life story. Then an astute psychotherapist friend shared his insight into her use of wire in her remarkable sculptures.
Read MoreRe-envisioning Lettuces and Other Tender Greens
Reading Mads Refslund’s inspired cookbook, Scraps, Wilt & Weeds: Turning Wasted Food into Plenty, I realize that I’ve been employing a simple strategy for using unexpected greens and stems for years: simply envision salad leaves as a green like spinach, perfect for quick cooking.
Read MoreMetallic Makeup Becomes Ephemeral Jewelry
What a curious pleasure it would be to spot a slick of gold on someone’s ear…or face or…
Read MoreAnnals of Bad Design: The Mixed Message Kitchen Island
In yet another high-design, uninhabited space recently sold at auction in Australia, we discovered a surprising design flaw at odds its superlative description. It made us look closely into kitchen islands, and the mixed messages they can inadvertently be made to send.
Read MoreAnnals of Everyday Invention: Magnet Pin Cushion Sculpture
Sometimes tiny inventions happen by seeing the possible solution out of the corner of your eye.
Read More