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We were instantly smitten by this mesmerizing gif by Pataak that pushes gif-dom to new heights of loose abstraction. For us it combines the chic of polka-dots with the ephemeral way ideas come and go. Strange magic.
Lately, we’ve been checking out apps and software for mapping our gazillions of ideas that often, once out of sight, go out-of-mind. There are quite a few. Our current favorite is Workflowy, a way to capture ideas quickly. (Please use this link; if you decide to sign up, we get extra space. If you’re new to mind-mapping, check out Popplet, a super simple idea-mapping software check out popplet.
via Swiss Miss
Related posts: moment of ocean and pink sky gif
banksy’s “no stopping” reimagined (twice)
an open door: gif for an improvised life
an evening gif: gratitude…
what have you been making today?
peep show gif: funny, risqué, slightly x-rated
03.18.13 |
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in resources, resources blogs + sites |
Looking through to the “bones” of this hutch by Amy Somerville London Ltd, we realize that is not that extraordinary. Its greatness lies in the clever surface pattern: blocks of color and what appears to be gold or silver leaf. Somerville’s website told the story ”satin-finished ebonised walnut…detailed in high-gloss red and green lacquer, white gold leaf and patinated brass…bespoke handles and solid brass hinges with a patinated finish.”
Ikea’s pine Hemnes wardrobe, already stained a dark black brown, might make a good base in which to color block high gloss paint (use oil-base for serious gloss; water-base can’t achieve it). But what about metal leaf? read more…
02.20.13 |
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in cheap + great, d-i-y, furniture, how-to, inside, materials, resources, resources blogs + sites |
In addition to helping out at ‘the improvised life’ every week, Dese’Rae L. Stage works two other jobs to support the website she started a couple of years ago. Live Through This is a collection of portraits and stories of suicide attempt survivors, as told by those survivors. The site is meant to give voice to the very taboo subject of suicide and in doing so, save lives. Says suicide prevention advocate and interviewee Kevin Hines:
…No person in a fight for their life is alone. There are millions of people out there fighting just as you are. Find that network. Talk about the issues.
Dese’Rae has created a Kickstarter to fund her travels across the country interviewing and photographing suicide survivors, to expand the presence and reach of Live Through This. read more…
02.20.13 |
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in community, family + friends, paths + processes, people, resources, resources blogs + sites |
john wellington
Our friend John Wellington is an artist whose controversial work has been called “classical, claustrophobic, fetishistic, beautiful, vulgar, architectural, humorous, morbid, decorative, and sexual.” He renders deeply personal imagery using Old Master techniques in unique ways and teaches his methods at the New York Academy of Art where he is an Adjunct Professor, and at his Manhattan studio.
For more than thirty years John created, copied, ruminated, lamented, critiqued, elucidated, explored and most importantly, drawn in sketchbooks. Recently, he created IDOLS DEMONS SAINTS, an iBook for iPads based on his sketchbooks. It is a kind of visual journal and art manual that offers insight into John’s creative process and the complex Old Master techniques he uses, from sketch to finished work.
IDOLS DEMONS SAINTS interests us for many reasons. First, we’ve learned a great deal from being able to see John’s process of painting; even though we are not painters, understanding his thinking helps us in our own work. The first page of the sketchbook, for example, lists principles useful in any creative endeavor.
Second, read more…
02.18.13 |
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in art, d-i-y, how-to, paths + processes, people, quotes, resources, resources blogs + sites, tools |
photo: sally schneider
A couple of days ago I found a raptor perched on my terrace rail, right in the middle of Harlem in New York City. I took it to be an owl and posted it on ‘the improvised life’s Facebook page. Since then, a small controversy has been raging, as to whether it is a Hawk Owl or a Kestrel, which is a kind of falcon; I had no idea there are so many bird-o-philes out there, and suddenly find myself poking around The Cornell Lab or Ornithology and Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America.
The little bird looked pretty weary and I’m wondering if it got blown off course or uprooted from the hurricane. Though there are plenty of hawks in the area, it looked like an owl to me, which is possible, though rarer. One reader wrote:
“… he looks like he’s had it with all this shaking and blowing in the actual trees and is considering a roost of a more durable build. Put an “Avian Roommate Wanted” or “Free Terrace Parking” sign in the window and see what happens….
Whatever he is, even in his weariness he’s very beautiful…”
Want to take a guess (and take your mind off Sandy and the election)? Kestrel or Hawk Owl? read more…
11.02.12 |
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in nature, outside, resources blogs + sites, resources books + zines, sightings |
photos: sally schneider
Over the past few month’s public radio’s The Splendid Table hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper has featured an illuminating series called Key 3: a series of discussions with great cooks (not just professional chefs) about the three recipes or techniques they think everyone should know. In a break from traditional radio, Kasper and her team made videos in the cook’s kitchens so you can get an in-depth lesson – and the thinking behind – their Key 3′s. So far the stellar line-up includes Daniel Boulud, Lydia Bastianich, Andrea Reusing, Isaac Mizrahi, Andy Ricker and…
…Sally Schneider. Just before Sally moved out of her old apartment, Lynne and her team stopped by to film her talking about her Key 3 which will air launches Friday evening. They include Perfect Roast Chicken, Essential Chocolate Cake, and Fragrant Herb Salt. We’ll post the video once it airs, along with the recipes.
But meanwhile, we recommend starting with Daniel Boulud making his fabulous Aioli, a rich Provencal garlic sauce. (Lynne filmed him right before coming to Sally’s and brought some of it with her, so we know for sure it’s swell.) His easy-to-make aioli is a perfect summer sauce for many reasons:
read more…
07.27.12 |
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in entertaining, food, how-to, people, recipes, resources blogs + sites, video |
isabel rower via maria robledo
We’ve gotten quite a few email submissions from our readers lately, along with a stead uptick in traffic. Yaye. Or should we say YUM, the beautiful fragment of type Maria Robledo’s daughter Isabel created. At bottom, a shipping pallet that’s been transformed into an artwork by Mexican artist and reader Mary Carmen. You can see the process at her Flickr.
But what really knocks us out are letters from readers – some who have had to deal with serious life transitions’ – saying how much ‘the improvised life’ resonates with them…and how they are using its message to expand their own life and work. Instead of crumpling, they’re rising to the challenges, thinking in new ways. Like this one from Tina Juvonen in Seattle: read more…
07.24.12 |
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in community, health, inspiration, paths + processes, resources blogs + sites, share, sightings |
Good Maker is running a contest for bloggers trying to make a social impact. Selected by popular vote, the winner will get $1,000 for the cause they support plus a $500 prize. The ‘Blogs for Good’ run the gamut, from blogs that advocate for the positive aspects of pit-bull-like dogs or the virtues of home-grown foods to fashion bloggers who advocate for various social justice issues. We found out about the contest from Dese’Rae L. Stage who is ‘the improvised life’s remarkable new part-time assistant.
She has entered her blog ‘Live Through This,’ which is a photography-based project about read more…
07.24.12 |
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in identity, music, paths + processes, people, quotes, resources, resources blogs + sites, why not? |
?*
Our friend Jody Lotito Levine sent us an email filled with images, some of them really wondrous. With them came this message:
…from my former boss and dear friend recovering from pancreatic cancer: he says his ipad has been so healing and connective -
We mention it on the heels of our post about disconnecting from electronic devices – and taking downtime from them – to give our selves a rest. As much as we feel the need for that, we also are heartened daily by what we tap into on the internet, through the extraordinary explorations, exchanges and connections that occur through ‘the improvised life’. For us the gist is, read more…
07.23.12 |
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in community, health, paths + processes, resources, resources blogs + sites, strategies, technology |
mark ulriksen for the new yorker
This recent New Yorker cover by Mark Ulriksen called “Capturing the Memories” is, curiously, the perfect illustration the New York Times article Call Waiting: It’s Me, Your Vacation: Eight Rules for Getting the Most Out of Your Time Off that appeared a week before. Matt Richtel outlines ”Vacation Mental Prep” for people who have a hard time letting go of the devices – phones, ipads, computers – that keep them constantly connected and unable to being PRESENT during their vacation. It’s a subject that seems to be on eveyone’s mind these days. read more…
07.20.12 |
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in health, paths + processes, people, principles, resources blogs + sites, strategies, video |
