444

edit: click through to flickr to see the full picture. blogger has cropped it.

happy halloween!

yesterday, i had cookies with robert pinsky.

okay, it wasn't quite like that, but i did attend a talk with the former poet laureate, and i found myself feeling inspired, taking notes and even writing the ending to a new poem. i wished a few of my poetry loving friends would have been with me to discuss the talk afterwards.

the talk was held at the center for documentary studies where i took a few classes last year. we watched a few segments from pinsky's favorite poem project and then the floor was open for questions and discussion.

someone asked pinsky to tell us his favorite poem, and he hesitated and pulled an old folder out from under his chair and shared that he types up his favorites and keeps them in his folder. after thinking for a minute, he named "sailing to byzantium" as one of his all time favorites. at the end of the talk, he recited this to us.

there were many interesting thoughts shared about poetry and documentary, but i want to think about them a bit more. all in all, a great way to spend a lunch break. :)

and here we are at the last day of october. it's pretty chilly here this morning, and i think i might wear my electric blue tights today.

so yes. happy halloween to you. hope your day is nice.

443: noticing lines

hi.

i'm back from charleston and have many photos to share with you. however, if i upload any more photos, i think my computer will crash! i'm hoping my cd burner will cooperate a bit later today so i can clear out the old and upload the new.

until then, i've been looking through the archives and thinking about lines. power lines. i feel compelled to photograph them. there is something about the intersection of lines, the connections. i think i would like to draw them in all of their parallel and perpendicular glory.

i sit and wonder how our world would be different without them. they add and subtract much from our landscapes.

they are such a big part of the cityscape.

did you see frank breuer's photos of power lines in dwell?

or five and a half's north bergen journal? (which is my journal for the fall, by the way. love it.)

one moment i'm attracted to them and then i'm repelled, especially when power companies butcher the poor trees that grow around them. isn't funny how one thing can make so many different feeling arise?

but this photograph is beautiful. i'm loving it today. an old favorite.

hope you have a good day.
shari
ps: lisa is hosting the doc project. our new word is cultivation.

pps: also, if you are a photographer and a mother, you may be interested in this.

442: friday

hi there.

i'm so glad you all liked the maira kalman book. it's truly fantastic. i wanted to share a few more books today but we're all clouds and puddle-land here so there's no light for photos.

friday is usually my day off but not today. so i woke up, put on one of my vintage western shirts and i'm going to try to squeeze in a bit of tea and knitting over at e's before i go to work. anything to make friday more fun, right?

then i'm off to spend some time with my family in sc. i'm looking forward to:

going to the farmer's market and eating crepes for lunch

visiting one of my favorite cafes

drooling over the gary graham fall 07 collection at worthwhile

trying the new raw restaurant, sprout

walking on the beach

taking photos of the beautiful, old architecture

and going to see this photography exhibit.

should be fun.

oh! and here's one a link to one of my favorite charleston artists:
adrienne antonson of spinster.


see you back here tuesday.

hope you have a good weekend planned too.

441: beautiful book

i know that lori has already posted about maira kalman but i wanted to share a few pages from her new book, the principles of uncertainty. it is an amazing book. you will love it.

here are a few other maira kalman links for you:

watch the elements of style movie here.

and a mini kalman documentary here.

and take a peek at one of kalman's sketchbooks here.

--for abby's beautiful book week. see more here.

listening to internet radio and enjoying the cloudy skies. it seems it rained all day yesterday, but the newscasters insist that we only received an inch of rain. it is cooler today too and i'm thinking of making the lentil soup recipe in super natural cooking.

how are you all doing? what are you up to? do you have a favorite beautiful book?

have a great day!
shari

440: rain

last night we drove to chapel hill to go to the circus. we parked in the planetarium parking lot with its glowing lamp posts and walked a diagonal path to the large concert hall, beautifully bedecked with columns. there were sounds of thunder and raindrops emanating from the speakers mounted in various places on the outside of the building. excitement. we haven't heard that sound in months.

we walked quickly to our seats, though we had arrived early. a gentle surprise...our seats were much better than i had remembered. we sat, we chatted, we looked ahead to the stage and waited for rain.

it is hard to describe the beauty, the whimsy, the playfulness that i felt in my heart watching the performers of cirque eloize as they galavanted across the stage in front of backdrops full of blue sky and also gray clouds. i giggled, i gasped, i sat deep in my seat and thought that what the world needs is more magic. the permission to just have fun, to relax, to laugh out loud. why are these things so often removed from our daily lives?

the evening of juggling, acrobatics, piano playing, song and dance, contortionists, aerial dancers and silliness was pure delight. and then there was the rain that fell inside of a concert hall filled with people who had not seen a good rainfall in months. we all sat on the edge of our seats and watched water fall from the sky and then watched as the performers played and danced and splashed in the puddles. (needless to say, the circus troupe, aware of our severe drought, used much much less water than usual...how could they know way back when they booked the show that we would be suffering from a lack of rain). the show received a standing ovation. the crowd continued to cheer even when the lights were on; the performers stepped forward and smiled and waved. did they understand that they had brought us the one gift we so desperately wanted?

we walked outside. while we had been watching the rain fall inside, a bit of rain had fallen outside. how could i help but smile? on our drive home we noticed that durham was still bone dry. still, my fingers were crossed.

and then, this morning we awoke to deep gray clouds, thunder....and then rain. what do you know? the rain dance worked. how perfectly...perfect. :)

fall: last year

a little short story from last fall. enjoy.



see you tomorrow!
xo

438: maine art

good morning friends.

it's been about a month since my travels to maine but i'm still thinking about that beautiful state.

one of the highlights for me was getting a chance to see karen gelardi's work in person. her exhibit "thicket" was showing at the maine center for contemporary art, which just happened to be in between portland and acadia national park. so of course, we had to stop.





this exhibit blew me away. i already liked karen's work from seeing photos on mav's blog but in person, her work is amazing! it is so fresh and unique and in a style that is truly her own.



i just popped over to her website and saw that she has uploaded a slideshow for both her "thicket" and "saco bog" shows so you can see them too. be sure to take some time out of your day to visit them. beautiful, beautiful work.





jen of swallowfield is another artist that i admire. when i planned the trip to maine i was excited to meet jen and take home one of her prints. it was so hard to choose but i remembered a print called "july in acadia" which seemed the perfect thing to bring home to remind me of the natural beauty in maine and our camping trip. i love it.

jen will be interviewed on my blog next month along with many other indie artists for my holiday feature so stay tuned!

and what's happening in nc you say? well, it's warm and we made pesto this weekend. the basil is still growing tall in our garden. :) this morning, i'm thinking of making my mom's apple cake; i can't believe october is almost over.

hope your weekend was nice.

437: last of the evening posts for awhile

scenes from my morning. a walk under cloudy skies, breakfast out, knitting, a tiny bit of rain.

does this really qualify as a evening post? probably not but tonight t and i are going to watch a duke soccer game. perhaps this surprises you but i am a huge duke soccer fan. huge. which is a good thing since t loves soccer.

lj posted some beautiful drawings she did for our upcoming zine. i think you will love them.

and don't forget! ash is up at ship today. then we will take a 2 week break before we begin our new book.


hope you have a lovely weekend. i'll see you bright and early on monday morning!

436

currently: darkness and crickets. it's hard to take photos in the evening. they all end up saturated with the golden glow of the overhead lights. tomorrow, i'm switching from my linen bag to my corduroy one in honor of fall. my grandmother gave me this lotta bag last year for christmas and i love it. it is so very perfect for fall.

now, it's time to rewind the day. time to sit awhile and think of all that has come to pass in these 12 hours.

a morning filled with gray clouds, a breakfast of yogurt with raspberry preserves swirled in, driving to work in the fog (the ugly kind, not the romantic kind).

an afternoon of college radio followed by classical music, an anniversary party at work with carrot cake, lots of customers.

an early evening of "tag team cooking", a frittata and carrot/cabbage salad, the beginnings of a foreign film.

and now, here i am. sitting, thinking, typing.

one quick thing i wanted to tell you. alicia opened her etsy shop today. i love the beautiful finch painting. go and see.

okay then. thanks for putting up with my "different" posts this week. i'm feeling very sleepy so i wish you all a good night.
xo
s

435

okay. remind me again why i wanted to post in the evening? it's getting harder and harder for me as the week goes on.

last night after a delicious, quick meal of grilled cheese and raspberry preserves sandwiches (so good!), we drove to chapel hill to attend a book reading. jonathan messinger of featherproof books was reading from his new book, hiding out. we really enjoyed it; i never tire of being read to. before the reading, i met the author and had him sign a book for me. it is the perfect sized book, smaller than most paperback books, and will easily fit in my bag for those moments when i need some emergency literature.

in other news, we finished up the pumpkin pie and for those who asked, it is tom who is the pie baker in our household. i love to bake but i usually make bread or cookies or biscuits. tom is the pie man and he's good. you won't find cans of pumpkin in our house. no sir. he uses a real pumpkin and makes the crust from scratch. delicious.

as for me, well, i'm making stephanie's granola tonight and then perhaps i'll continue knitting my hat. i've got a long way to go friends, but i'm still thinking i'll beat the cold weather. it was around 80 today.

hope your wednesday was nice.
xo

434

i want to take my time with this post, to sit down in the red dining room chair and just focus, but the lure of pumpkin pie is too great and we have places to go this evening.

so this is just a little hello and a little reminder that's it's october. enjoy it while it's here.

xo

433

after a weekend filled with pizza and pinball, pumpkin pies and housewarming parties, library and farmer's market visits, i am trying to settle back into the weekday rhythm. previously, this rhythm began with a blog post over breakfast before work. last week, i decided that i wanted to experiment with my posting times and start posting in the evenings instead...at least for a week or so.

this morning, instead of posting:


i read a few chapters from plenty with my morning coffee and then sorted through the records, first choosing bongwater and then finally settling on the cure. i was looking for something familiar as i filled the sink with soapy, warm water.

i washed yesterday's dishes: a glass pie plate holding the crusty remnants of a homemade pie, a peanut butter jar, a cutting board, more.

i read two poems from my new book of poetry, stopped, and read them again. i thought of a dear friend and sent the poem to her via email.

i played the guitar, revisiting a song i wrote last year around this time and was amazed at how quickly my fingers have learned to act without much thought.

i gathered darks from the laundry basket and put in a load of clothes to wash.

i wandered in the backyard testing the air for warmth or coolness.

i made a peanut butter and jam sandwich, using the new jar of raspberry preserves we picked up at the market. the color was so vibrant and rich. i took a photo of my lunch.
***********************************************

this morning i had so much more i wanted to share, to say. now, i can feel the tiredness seeping in and my thoughts are already on to dinner. i'm eager to catch up with tom and see how his day was and while he's tending the garden, i am here at the keyboard.

in the mornings, my words just seem to flow. i find the process much more stop and start in the evenings coupled with feelings of just not even wanting to post (dinner is already over and it's completely dark outside). something jogs my memory and i remember that i wanted to share some new music that i love.

seabear---i love their version of teenage kicks. also, give a listen to i sing, i swim.

the finches


enjoy these lovely tunes this evening. i'm off to make a cup of tea.


see you tomorrow friends.

432

hi friends.

remember the tree that fell in our backyard right into t's workshop? well, it has finally been removed. i bet it was such a gorgeous tree back in the day. the arborists were arguing about what kind it was but i trust the guy who smelled the trunk and said, "oak. definitely oak."



the tree has such beautiful markings. i took so many photos and will probably add a few more to flickr. even the ax marks are beautiful. t saved a big section of the trunk to make a small table for us. i'll keep you posted on his progress.



and look what landed at my house yesterday!



a beautiful pigeon handmade by stephanie congdon barnes. he's truly a work of art. after making sure he was comfortable in his new nc surroundings, he has taken the center spot on our mantle alongside a little display of pinecones and acorns. :) i love him.

did you know that meg's etsy shop opens today?? i am a huge fan of her photographs. i adore her portraits and landscapes. she has a knack for capturing mood and atmosphere; i often want to step right inside the photograph!

and finally, i'm up on ship of fools today and will cook and tell. i made one of the recipes from a pig in provence so do stop by...later. i need some time to formulate my thoughts.

happy friday!

431

i'm continuing with still life images this week. this ribbon makes me think of a pretzel. maybe it's time i bake a little or go to yoga or both. :)

i forgot to mention yesterday that jen has a beautiful new web shop. her photography and styling are so inspiring to me. her new photo print set called autumn harvest is simply beautiful. do take a peek.

oh and have you seen sian's stuffed scallions? i could not love them more. and mary's plush pears? i'm really into food themed softies these days. :)

next week, i want to try a little experiment. usually, i write first thing each morning but i've been wanting to have more quiet reflection time in the mornings. you know, enjoy my morning coffee ritual outside with a book of poetry instead of inside at the keyboard. so next week, i think i will write at the end of the day and see how that feels. to be honest, it could result in fewer posts because i definitely have more energy in the mornings but i'm curious to see what will happen.

do you find that your posts are quite different depending on the time of the day you write?

thanks for reading and have a beautiful day!
s

430

i think autumn needs a pep talk. on second thought, maybe it's me who needs the pep talk. i have given up on wearing tights before december and making hearty suppers and drinking a cup of tea in the evening. it's been in the nineties and so hot that a bag of lemons literally stopped me in my tracks in the grocery store recently. because, let's face it. when life gives you lemons...

inspired by my fabulous glass of flatbread lemonade in portland, maine (made with maple syrup), i have been making individual servings for dinner each night. if it's going to be hot, well then lemonade it is. lemonade, bare feet, tank tops...the whole she-bang. the college djs have even resorted to playing copious amounts of reggae. yesterday did feel like reggae weather, all truth be told. sticky, hot, tropical.

so summer and the mosquitoes linger, and i feel all irritable and mopey and resort to things like wearing my red campers or baking a fresh batch of cornmeal sugar cookies, which are small and flavorful and packed with lemon zest. yum.

other things cheering me:


lovely cds arriving with regional music (idaho, midwest, alaska). thanks holly, meg, and amy!

finding the toast catalogs all snug in my mailbox after work yesterday

paula's amazing tree bark bowl

igloo by brooklyn's the clear tigers


mother's sick by horse feathers (scroll down; it's the second video)

the inheritance of loss by kiran desai

taking still life photos (more this week)

gracia and louise's new web shop. beautiful.

t's beard--will post a photo soon.

have a good wednesday. make sure you drop by on a wednesday for some photo love.

429: interview with the girl in green

Today, I'm delighted to bring you an interview with a multi-talented artist. Wendy paints beautiful, magical paintings, takes amazing photographs and makes softies, too! She has been an inspiration to me for so long and I'm honored to own some of her work. I was thrilled that she agreed to an interview because I know you will enjoy reading more about Wendy and what inspires her on a day to day basis.



Name:
Wendy Crabb

Day job:
Retail…ugh.


What is your favorite medium?

Acrylics – they are so versatile, I can use them either watered down or thick.




Define inspiration:

That moment when you see something out of the corner of your eye – a color, a photograph, a look, a cut of a dress, a scene from a movie. You see it out of your peripheral vision and as it comes forward, it becomes what inspires you. Nothing is quite in focus. Everything is a bit hazy and as it becomes clearer, it changes from inspiration to idea.



Robots often surface in your work (paintings, sketches, softies). How did you become interested in them?

For me they represent freedom. The freedom to play. I don’t allow myself to play enough. But when I paint or create a robot, something about that act gives me more freedom than in any other creative act.

Compare creating a softie to creating a painting. How are they alike and how are they different?

They both begin with a sketch and they both involve me working with my hands. The difference is after the initial stages of a softie, I figure out the process and it becomes less about being creative and more about sewing and building. But ultimately, after the sewing ends, the personality in the softie always comes out. With painting it’s always a creative process from start to finish.




Recently, you started a new photography project called the bed project. Tell us more about how this project came to be.


This started when I had taken a couple of pictures of my bed with the Holga. After that, Lisa Solomon convinced me to turn it into a project. And so, for 6 months I took pictures of my bed every day. I had to stop midway thru the project because I got pregnant. I have one or two more rolls of film to develop, but I will be sad to see it end.



Who is your favorite comic artist?


Scott Morse. He has an amazing style all his own. I went to hear him talk with some of his co-workers from pixar, after an art show several months ago and it was beyond inspiring.





Do you have a studio ritual?

When I am sketching I want to listen to music. The words often conjure up images for me and when I am painting I like to listen to comfortable music. Music I know, so I can listen instead to that little voice inside that guides me while I paint.


Describe your perfect day.

65-68 degrees. Sweatshirt weather. Morning Fog. The boy and I wander down to the beach. Then we check out the tide pools, walk the beach, sit and watch the sun set. Then at sundown, we’ll make a bonfire and cook up some s’mores.



I love so many of your circus themed paintings. How does the circus inspire you?

It all started because a friend of mine recommended, Wonder When You’ll Miss Me. Amanda Davis’s imagery was amazing and it just conjured up these scenes of the circus, which for me just begged to be painted. I think the circus is dangerous and bright. People on the fringe putting on a show for the masses. It has all these dichotomies and I love that.

What was the last great book you read?

In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente. It is this amazing fairy tale that weaves and folds in on itself.


What is currently inspiring your work?

Circus. I am really grateful right now to have creativity at all. It has been missing from my life for the past three months.





Do you have any new projects in the works? What would you like to try in the future?

I am still trying to explore the circus more thoroughly. Further on down the road - some water stories. I need to finish up the words project. There might be a graphic novel in the works. I also have been thinking about fairy tales. I love the imagery there too. They have that darkness that I love.

Thank you Wendy for taking the time to answer my questions. I so enjoyed this interview.

You can visit Wendy's blog here.

************************

Back to the everyday tomorrow. Hope you'll join me.
xo

428: imperfect

hi friends.

in case you are visiting for the first time, today i'm featuring the documentary project that lisa and i take turns hosting. we also take turns choosing words each week. the word this week is imperfect.



LISA'S RESPONSE:

I chose the word imperfect because it seems to be something big in my life right now. I'm someone who hovers between wanting things to be perfect but also loving imperfection. At times I can be too much of a perfectionist. This has always been my MO. My mom could tell you the story of how my Christopher Columbus report had to be perfect and so we stayed up way into the morning to complete it. But at the same time I search for, am drawn to, and hope to create things that have slight imperfections. It seems like hypocrisy, but actually I'm figuring out that I'm most comfortable in these oddly in between spaces.



Currently in my work I am recreating patterns - I find "perfect" manufactured wallpaper or patterns and them reproduce them by hand. In this case I really want them to be perfectly imperfect. I want you to recognize the pattern, but I also want you to see the hand. I'm really interested in what divides handmade and machine made.



I am naturally drawn to older things. Objects that have a history and a story [even if I don't know it]. I love peeling paint, wood that is worn in an area that consistently gets handled. Some people see these as imperfection - I see them as character.



This McCoy pitcher was on sale because it wasn't perfect. Who cares about the small chips - this is my favorite pitcher to use as a vase for simple flowers like daisies.



I guess this week what I really thought about was how imperfect didn't mean bad or less than. The shot above is out of focus and too dark and not at all "perfect" - but it's better than the proper shot to me because of the mood it conveys.

In a way I guess what I really discovered was that perfection is really in the eye of the beholder and what matters to you. I had been feeling like I couldn't be perfect for everyone and in the end that's OK.

Do you often strive for perfection? Has your idea of perfection shifted over your lifetime??

Hope you all have a "perfect" Monday!

MY RESPONSE:

first, i want to thank lisa for such an excellent word. immediately, i felt all of the pressure go away. this week could be imperfect. heck, it's supposed to be imperfect. how freeing!



while reviewing photos i had taken this week, i looked for images that i would usually not post due to bad lighting or blurriness. this first photo was taken in the evening with an overhead light on. i was attempting to capture the pretty orange color of my knitting needles but the photo ended up a mess. however, i love the colors and feeling of this photo. it's so thrilling to me that what is imperfect can also be beautiful or interesting in its own right.

lisa and i have also been talking about art and how difficult it is to execute an idea that you have in your mind. i find that i particularly struggle with this, and while i often create a tiny piece of artwork for the doc project, i usually choose not to share it. yes, i do have a bit of perfectionism inside me. ;) this week, i challenged myself to create a piece and then share it no matter what. i mean, c'mon! how could i not with the word choice this week.

to ease my fears just a bit more, i started with materials that were imperfect. i highly recommend this tactic as well. i quickly ripped a piece of paper from my charcoal sketchbook and then ripped it in half. i selected an old ink pen that was nearly out of ink and also used my tray of old watercolor cakes. below, is my creation. i like certain elements of it.



finally, i set out to intentionally capture something "imperfect" in my immediate surroundings. the door to t's studio has cracked window panes and i thought this would make a great subject. think of how these photos would be different if the panes were not cracked and did not have paint on them. in my opinion, it is the imperfection that draws you in and invites you to take a second look.



there is a comfort in imperfection i think. when we have items that are imperfect, we are not fearful of using them or making them imperfect. and what is perfection really? does it really exist, or is it different for different people?

enjoy the imperfect little parts of your monday!
xo

427: around town

hi there.
just had to share this photo taken in downtown bar harbor. such a cute window display. to see more of my around town photos, please visit flickr. thanks so much for visiting this week and for your kind words about my photographs!! it means so much.

next week, i host the doc project on monday and will feature an interview with a lovely artist on tuesday. then, it's back to regular posts for me. i'm ready to settle back in to the day to day here.

this morning i had coffee and biscuits with m followed by a bit of knitting. it's overcast and i'm hoping, hoping for some rain. it looks like it will be a quiet day.

wishing you all a great weekend.
shari

ps: lisa is up at ship!

426: holding treasures in our hands

hi friends.

today, i wanted to share with you a series of photos that t and i took of our hands holding bits of nature that we wanted to take home with us. of course, you're not allowed to take even one stone from a national park so we just collected images instead. now, i want to do a similar series of photos with treasures from the eno river.

























and finally, my favorite image of hands from my new book, the wild braid. gardener's hands. :)



have a great day!
xo

425: the fog, the mist

this first series was taken at jordan pond. we had the most delicious popovers there with butter and strawberry and blueberry jam. after tea, we walked down to the pond. the temperature had dropped significantly, and the fog came in fast.












this last group was taken at a nature preserve near blue hill. we hiked around the pond, known for its beaver population, though we saw none. it was a misty day and it was truly beautiful.

other inspirations today:

this beautiful piano piece and interview, both highlighting meg's amazing talents.

this gorgeous photo

this inspiring article

edit: oh! and stephanie has a shop update today. i really love her work and have yet to be quick enough to have something of my very own. and today i'll be at work when the shop opens. drat.

hope your wednesday is nice.
xo
s

424: the woods

ever since i was a little girl, i loved the woods. across the street from the house where i grew up, were thick stands of pine, lots that are now developed but served as a wild playground for me. we were little explorers and everything in the woods was so exciting. i loved the coolness i could find there on an otherwise hot and sticky southern summer day. i loved the quiet, the smells. i haven't forgotten. i set foot underneath a canopy of trees and it rushes right back. i am five or six. i seem so small and the world seems so magical.





































another great thing about the woods in maine...you're never that far away from the sea.

have a good one!

423: the sea, the coastline

hi friends.

one thing that amazed me about the sea in maine was that it was constantly changing colors, from the deepest of blues to a bright turquoise to a silvery gray.





we adored exploring at low tide. so much sea life and diversity! once again i was struck by the beautiful colors of the rocks and the seaweed. very autumnal.














some things i am looking forward to today:
the opening of wiksten shop
mav and camilla's fall print set

oh and don't forget to check out the wonderful poppytalk handmade street market. so much beauty.

in quick news, i made popovers for the first time yesterday morning. they looked great but as soon as i took them from the oven, they fell flat. any tips? it could be our super hot vintage oven. regardless, they were delicious with the homemade plum jam we picked up at the farmer's market.

have you visited ship of fools lately? we're reading a pig in provence and abigail just posted on friday.

also, the documentary project will return next monday.

happy october!