Good idea: use water-based, all-surface Uni-Posca markers to label glass canning jars (they come in different point thicknesses and colors). When you change the contents, just wash the jar. We’d use these markers for other glass and mirror markings…
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Far in advance of the “tiny space movement”, Wayne Berg designed this innovative room inside of a high-ceilinged prewar apartment.
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The record snowfalls across the country have brought with them hardship and heartening creativity. Here’s a small collection of spontaneous snow creations made in joyous defiance.
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We find ourselves looking closely at “Tatek’s Cabin” in Velebit, Croatia to see all the materials Tatek used, as we wonder about its evolution.
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Although regular confetti often has a slightly cheesy feel, Etsy seller Knot and Bow’s colorful fat tissue paper confetti dots seems like they’d be a festive way to updo a tabletop or party space, for a planned “bombing” beforehand, or a surprise one last minute. Anywhere.
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In the process of experimenting with mechanisms for his clever “Evolution Door”, artist Klemens Torggler came up with an innovative take on the room screen, turning the idea into a kinetic sculpture.
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Not long after we found this rather astounding leap photo, we came across this quote from Yo-Yo Ma.
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Over years, we’ve learned that we don’t necessarily have to read a book from front to back. We take the liberty of culling what we want, like these two gems from Halprin. In this process, we stumbled on another treasure we didn’t know about.
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There’s been a good amount of interest in “Dirty” pink walls since we posted about our own some time ago. (“Dirty” pink, as opposed to the more expected bright pinks.) Here’s a new addition to our digital file of this curious theme.
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A recent house tour in Remodelista showed a cool, minimalist renovation of a 1940’s summer cottage in Denmark. The hard angles and rectangles so common (and problematic) with a modern aesthetic were softened by huge, translucent paper spheres hung from the ceiling, pioneered by Isamu Noguchi in the 1950’s. They’ve long been a favorite of ours because the…
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Artist Qozop juxtaposed the dress of youths with that of their elders in an project designed to show that societal beliefs and traditions are often reflected through the clothing we wear, especially in Asian cultures. By swapping the clothing of youths and their elderly relatives, Qozop literally places them in the others shoes. We’ve been using Qozop’s strategy as an interesting exercise in imagination.
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Perhaps it was seeing how artist Jean Cocteau painted right on walls that got us thinking of directly embellishing our skin with designs, whether permanent or not. We admire the way these three stately men had made glorious attire out of nothing but lines and dots (fur hats and shoes notwithstanding). The body was, perhaps,…
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An image of bookshelves set into a wall painted by Jean Cocteau sent us looking for its origin, which is we discovered, is Villa Santo Sospir, the artist’s home in the South of France. And such a home it is. Cocteau used the walls and other surfaces — even lampshades — as the canvas for his drawings, transforming the house into magical dwelling.
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An essential practice of improvising is developing x-ray vision: you gradually train your eye, or mind to identify the essential structure of a thing, to understand how it works and how it is made. We learned about plywood construction by scrutinizing some cool simple furniture.
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(Video link HERE.) We’ve been riveted by the Olympics on Sochi which we’ve been watching on TV. What interests us most is the fierce spirit we see: contenders making unexpected mistakes, falling, going off-track and off-plan, and most often CONTINUEING their run anyway, valiently with no possibility of winning. There are many victories we didn’t…
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Ellen Silverman sent us a digital Valentine of hearts she found on the streets of Paris. Hearts seem to be hidden everywhere, if you LOOK.
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Graphic Designer Pamela Hovland sent us this image for Valentine’s, with this message: I always look at this big heart-shaped rock in the park where I run my dog. I finally decided to photograph it (pre-storm) in order to use it for an upcoming Valentine’s Day greeting. Thought you’d like it also…There’s a “broken heart” rock later on…
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We’re not much for the Valentine’s frenzy of chocolate-buying and crowded dinners out, but DO like to give a Valentine or two. It can be as simple as an origami heart made by following the simple video above but done with a BIG square of swell paper…OR any of our compendium of last minute Improvised Life Valentine cards and gift ideas…
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This would make an awfully sweet Valentine gift, do-able despite the massive snow (there ARE flowers in the stores; even the ordinary winter ones could work…just tuck a few sprigs in your love’s ring). Or how about fresh thyme sprigs? Fragrant! via Quitokeeto
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With the difficult weather, you may find your self on-the-hook for a Valentine’s gift for tomorrow. If you’ve got the basic makings in your pantry for brownies, we recommend our tried-and-true Essential Chocolate Cake for Improvising recipe. It’s as easy to make as a brownie, with a good deal more bang for the buck, AND there are endless ways to improvise on its essential formula, adding in all sorts of unexpected flavorings to delight your beloved.
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