In Tim McCreight’s The Complete Metalsmith, I was surprised to find poetic wisdom in his section about hand tools that apply to many kinds of tools we use in creative endeavors, sometimes even smart phones.
Read MoreMister Rogers: What is Essential is Invisible to the Eye
We are continually amazed by the late Fred Rogers ability to illuminate aspects of life using just a few words, in his calm, spacious way. Here are two transformative riffs to take into the week.
Read MoreFloating Blossoms in a Tiny Indoor Pond (Su Tung Po)
Photographer Maria Robledo inspired us to copy the lovely pond she improvised for fallen blossoms culled from her garden. A perfect accompaniment to this Spring poem by Su Tung Po.
Read MoreBenediction for Living a Creative Life, from John O’ Donohue
A reader wrote that she has poet John O’ Donohue’s benediction tacked on her fridge to remind her to “let my work feed and refresh me”. Which is what it does for us, mightily.
Read MoreCool Private Spaces Where On Kawara’s Date Paintings Reside
We roamed the internet to collected images from photographer Candida Hofer’s ‘On Kawara, Date Paintings in Private Collections’. Often they are displayed in the place where the collector spends much of his or her time, or where they give the most inspiration and meaning. Unstyled and rather plain, they let On Kawara’s work resonate.
Read MoreBring a Little Piece of Nature Into the Home, Heart, Day (Yoko Ono, Max Lamb)
It usually takes just a shift of orientation, or your usual route to work or the store, to work some living trees into your day and heart. Here’s some inspiration from Yoko Ono and Max Lamb…
Read MoreThis Serene Water Opera Echoes Music Made by Whales
The serene made-underwater music in Breathe, an experimental “water opera”, echoes ancient songs made by whales.
Read MoreSolt’s Concrete Poem About Spring Celebrates Its Joyful Essence
In celebration of spring and all its possibilities and openings (and Easter and Passover), this remarkable poem-within-poem in the shape of forsythia by concrete poet Marry Ellen Solt…
Read MoreMatisse’s 13 Sketches, 13 Prayers, Before Painting ‘The Dream’
Henri Matisse likened his state of mind when making art “close to that of prayer. So we’re viewing each one of these 13 ravishing sketches in preparation for painting The Dream as a sort of prayer…
Read MoreWhite Sneakers are Your Blank Canvas for Graffiti and Dalmation Spots (DIY)
Like many white things, plain white sneakers are a blank canvas just waiting to be embellished with permanent fabric markers or paint. Here are two favorite iterations for summer.
Read MoreSeinfeld on Why Things Make You Happy or Not (and Why He Loves Advertising)
We are knocked out by Jerry Seinfeld’s radically truth-telling, wise, funny —Is he kidding or what?— send up of advertising and his clarifying principle of things and happiness.
Read MoreChandelier from 1980’s Berlin and Alexander Calder “On the Cutting Edge of Architectural Experimentation”
We found this divine, completely original and inspired chandelier buried in MondoBlogo’s riff on 1980’s interiors. It’s right up there with this ceiling light Alexander Calder fashioned for his friend Miro.
Read MoreGive it up. Go bare. Go free. Accept Your Shelf Life As Given (Guest Post)
Nobel Prize winner Dr. Jim Allison’s headshot filling the back cover of a recent New Yorker got me thinking. Would that photo fly as a full-page ad if Dr. Jim were a woman?
Read MoreA Lesson in ‘Right Now’ From A Tree, Stonehouse and The New Yorker
The convergence of a tree in blossom, a poem by a 13th century Buddhist poet and a New Yorker cartoon provided a stunning lesson in ‘right now’.
Read MoreAlice B. Toklas’ Asparagus in Salt & Pepper Whipped Cream “A Thing of Beauty”
In her famous cookbook, Alice B.Toklas called Madame Loubet’s Asparagus Tips “a gastronomic feast. And a thing of beauty.” They are. Here’s how to make them.
Read MoreShoelaces with Messages (Not Logos) and Where to Get ‘Em
The messages on the shoelaces of the guy sitting across from me ready “Do I love you?
Do I lust you?” Yeah! Where could I find shoelaces that really said something?
Don’t Know What You’re Doing and Think Everyone Else Has It All Together?
We’ve lost count of the times we’ve thought “We don’t know what we are doing!” We got some perspective from 4th-century Chinese Taoist philosopher/poet Chuang Tzu…
Read MoreOpened at Random: The Book of Joy “Setting an Intention for the Day”
Today we opened at random the Book of Joy, Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. We found this…
Read MoreA Magic Pill to Cure Stress
When my closest friend was in the hospital with a serious illness, he, the patient, was a mess; I, the caregiver, was possibly even worse for worry and fear. It was then I discovered the magic pill.
Read MoreAt 85, Madhur Jaffrey Goes Gansta Sexy and Fierce
Zohran Mamdani’s astonishing rap video, “Nani”, featuring 85-year-old food writer Madhur Jaffrey is both hilarious and riveting, NOT your usual old-person-doing-rap thing. Jaffrey is sexy and fierce.
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