The other day at Artists and Craftsman, we noticed the cashier’s ever-ready note pad —his hand — and were reminded of the many ways we’ve used our hands. We mentioned this to Sinnae Choi, Improvised Life’s brilliant aide-de-camp, and she wrote some seriously powerful words about just what hands can do, and be.
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We’ve long been fans of blue painter’s tape, which we’ve used to plan our space, not to mention make unexpected artworks (our favorite being this visionary abstract work created on a window). Now we’re smitten with the labels Maria Robledo made for her jars of staples. Her walk-in pantry houses a lovely collection of vessels, wine glasses,…
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We are KNOCKED OUT by this brilliant video of a thoughtful excerpt of the commencement speech David Foster Wallace gave at Kenyon College in 2005. It’s watching every bit of the 9 or so minutes, even if you have to do it in chunks throughout the day. His message is essential. We’ve included a short bit here.
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Early on in Improvised Life’s posting days, we published quite a few articles about the wonders of chalkboard paint. Then it began to seem a trend of the past. Not so, we realized on seeing this room by interior design firm, Ashe + Leandro. It is a swell material for transforming an adultish space, inviting all…
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This is the first year in some time that Martin Luther King Jr. day was a disturbing day, rather than a purely hopeful one. In light of the recent events in Ferguson and elsewhere, the message in the air, sadly, has been that Dr. King’s dream was not as far along as we thought. It…
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Psychotherapist Chris Eldredge sent us this powerful TED talk of neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hanson‘s simple technique for transforming our hardwired negative patterning (also known as Negativity Bias). We thought 13+ minutes might be too long for our busy selves, but Hanson’s talk flies by, and we found ourselves with a useful practice we can do…
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In need of a rest cure? During this wintry weekend, we recommend indulging in Little Rascals espisodes from the 1930’s (available on YouTube) for inspired moments like Spanky’s celebratory Saturday dance. The motley gang of neighborhood children figure out endlessly inventive ways to live, play and find huge adventures in the everyday. Not to mention, doing a little impromptu chiropractic.…
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Of all the shipping pallet creations we’ve come across, this has to be one of the most stylish. It is curiously reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s famous chrome-and-black-leather Grand Confort chair. In pallet wood! It is one of the many brilliant hacks and revisions we’ve seen of the iconic, now-uibiquitous chair… …since we came across interior designer…
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Chris Eldredge sent us this image of “Écoute”, the massive sandstone sculpture by Henri de Miller in Paris’ jardin des Halles, near the church of Saint-Eustache. In French, Écoute means “listen”. It got us thinking about just how powerful a practice listening is, and how varied its powers are:
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(Video link HERE.) Just as we were writing out post decrying the ubiquitous pendant lamp, Susan Dworski sent us this charmer of a short film. Sparked, a collaboration between Cirque du Soleil, ETH Zurich and Verity Studios creates an unexpected dance between a human and 10 quadcopters (drones). It’s a bit slow until 1:41 when the magical…
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When we were designing the kitchen for the laboratory, we wired the ceiling above the island expecting to hang two or three pendant lamps. But when we got to selecting them, we realized we dislike pendant lamps for the way they seem to intrude in the space, and because of the sameness of the look we…
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A while ago, we met an old friend for dinner who had recently lost his wife of sixty years. When we’d called to tell him we’d heard the news and to offer anything — to bring him food, come by to give him a hug, take him out to dinner — THAT’S what he said he wanted:…
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Since I last posted the Vibrating Bed Mystery Contest Update in October, I’ve tried MANY solutions to toning down the vibration that shakes me awake in my bed each night. Sleep-deprived and desperate, I pursued fixes by trial-and-error while entering into deep research into the nature of vibration, how it travels, what materials amplify it…esoteric stuff for a lay person.
Then an engineer who had worked at the Mayo clinic took an interest in my dilemma, which led to a BIG adventure in pouring concrete, LEAPING into unknown territory and being willing to fail.
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Lately, we’ve been on the hunt for a practical pair of walking boots for our suddently-sensitive with a tender sprained tendon. “Tie shoes are best”, said the physical therapist, “for support”. Ugh. Combat boots seem a stylish possibility but so many seem kind of tough looking. Until we stumbled on a lovely solve: grosgrain ribbon…
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Marella Consolini, who has been reading Improvised Life years, sent us this email: The evidence of the impact that Improvised Life/you have had on my life is such that there is a new name that I have for certain types of experiences — “An Improvised Life Moment.” For example: this morning on the subway,…
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We recently stumbled on two images at Aqqindex simply titled “Alicia Nunez house”. We were knocked out by the feeling of the space and its many interesting ideas: concave ceiling and angled walls, built-in niches, bricks positioned sideways, a long ledge for sleeping and reading with more niches…the living area steps up, from shiny dark tile to a…
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Every once in a while, photographer Maria Robledo emails images she has made in-the-moment, in response to whatever was going on around her. They are invariably startling and illuminating; Maria sees like no one we know. Her way has opened our eyes over the years. This time, she showed us the marvels of root vegetables. While she was cutting the vegetables for soup (recipe to follow), she turned them into little still-lives with an unexpected whimsy.
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I love recipes I can make from whatever I have on hand, like this Rustic Root Vegetable Soup. It is made from refrigerator staples: long-keeping root vegetables – leeks, potatoes, celery root and parsnips – that retain their flavor and texture for weeks. Check out Maria Robledo’s still-life photographs to see just how beautiful and curiously-inspiring they…
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Artist, designer, craftsman, longtime friend Jamison Sellers solves a bit of the ethical wood-sourcing dilemma by delving into the world of shipping pallets. He explores these familiar, reclaimed objects on a much finer scale than most by collecting bits and pieces of coveted woods (and even again recycling his own shop scraps from past projects) to create ornamental patterning inspired…
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