Lovely World

friday regroup

I bought some hand-printed fabric from Bookhou. It is a very nice quality. I am making some storage containers with it. I made one this morning based on a pattern in Bookhou's b.a.h. Magazine. I used a medium interface, and lined it with white linen. It stands up and holds its structure well. These are very easy to make. I hadn't sewn in forever, and was very happy as I cut up fabric and sewed it together.

This is the state of my inspiration bulletin board. It has looked like this for a few weeks. I think it represents the break I have been taking from the intensity of creative work. It is a deep breath, a clearing of the head, a blank slate, a regrouping, a look in other directions. It is possibility. (You can see a lovely ceramic heart my son made me hanging on the board.)

I got an ipod touch. I am just beginning to load it up with music and podcasts and all the other amusements that seem possible with this small device. Here is some music I have been listening to lately:

* The new The Decemberists CD (I started to write album - but I guess that isn't really the right word - although it appears that you can purchase this in vinyl)

* The Smiths Best of 1. I do have some old The Smiths albums. I began listening to them back in the 1980s when we didn't have CDs.

 

Happy weekend to you.

of birds and david bowie

I bought this book, "Birds that Hunt and are Hunted," at the library book sale last month. I liked that it was a book about birds, although the title is a little creepy.

The 48 illustrations are photographs of birds on a painted background. I think some of the photographs are hand painted as well. It was published in 1902.

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On a completely different note, here is a video of David Bowie's "Modern Love." I saw his "Serious Moonlight" tour with a friend when I was in high school. We were so excited we could barely contain ourselves. As I watched this video, it reminded me that back in the 1980s we had no cell phones, iphones, ipods, digital cameras, or video cameras. But, we did have big hair and interesting clothes. (If this doesn't play right here- just click the link to youtube)

 

orpheus

I have been obsessing over Anais Mitchell's "Hadestown" for the past couple of weeks. It is a fantastic CD of the twenty songs that make up her folk opera based on the Orpheus myth and set in a post-apocalyptic American depression era. My kids are getting sick of listening to it, but I can't help myself and play it again and again. I was not familiar with Anais Mitchell until I found "Hadestown." She reminds me a bit of Kate Bush (someone I listened to a lot back in the day).

Aside from the songwriting and score - the "cast" of "Hadestown" makes me giddy. Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) is Orpheus. Greg Brown (who I have listened to since college back in the late 1980s) is Hades. Ani DiFranco is Persephone. Ben Knox Miller is Hermes. The Haden triplets are the fates, and Anais Mitchell herself sings the part of Eurydice.

I've included a photo of an illustration of Orpheus taking his forbidden peek at Eurydice, losing her forever. Hermes hovers in the background. It is from the D'Aulaire's "Book of Greek Myths." If you don't have a general reference of the Greek myths, I recommend this one. My kids have read and reread the myths, and the illustrations are good. You can often find used copies at booksales and the like.

And the last photo? I'm starting more sewing projects in my work room - while listening all the while to this CD!

white

More crochet-covered stones this past weekend. My eyes have gone a bit blurry from the close-up work, but it was satisfying none-the-less. My husband cleaned up around the garage and found some boxes of beach treasure from Cape Cod. We bring back random assortments of stones, shells, and driftwood each year. I had forgotten we had some of these, and enjoyed sorting through the small white stones in particular. The print in the bottom photo is a classic Charley Harper bird. I love how he gives depth to the picture with the sun and clouds in the background.

 

Has anyone else heard the new Natalie Merchant CD yet? It is fabulous. Although its theme is children poems put to music, it is very much adult fare. I just love Natalie Merchant. I began listening to the 10,000 Maniacs in college, and followed her from there. She has great integrity and maturity, something sorely missing in so many entertainers these days.

a little of this and that

My Camilla calendar and a book of Paul Klee drawings.

The cover of the Klee book is great enough, but then inside were many drawings that I hadn't previously seen. I love the boats and flags in the first photo, and the umbrella eye and feather of the woman in the photo directly above. I'm reading Norton Juster's "The Phantom Tollbooth" aloud to my kids right now, and these drawings make me think of the crazy characters that populate the book.

(*Footnote: Norton Juster was a professor of mine in college. I took a design class with him. For one of our assignments we had to make an architectural model of an art gallery. Of course, this kept most of us up late at night as the deadline drew near. I felt so badly for one (non-coffee-drinking) student who decided to drink a POT OF COFFEE so she would have the energy to stay up and finish her project. She came in to class the next morning in tears, totally wasted. The caffeine had rendered her jittery, nauseous, sleepless, and completely unable to do her work. Norton patted her on the head and excused her from class for the day.)

If you liked the stop-motion short I posted yesterday, do yourself a favor and check out Oren Lavie's "Her Morning Elegance." My friend Sherri nicely referred me to this. Isn't it fantastic? Or, perhaps you have already seen it. It has over 11 million views on Youtube.

I'm Loving...

I discovered these musical sisters, Klara and Johanna Soderberg, a while back and am really loving them. They call themselves First Aid Kit, and they have come to the rescue of my winter doldrums. Just watch those sweet faces sing. Hope you enjoy them, too!

What I'm Liking Now

Here is a smattering of things I'm enjoying right now:

1. Music by Maeve Gilchrist. Who knew the harp could be so hip?

2. Embroidery for kids. This is a very simple, inexpensive craft that both of my kids enjoy. Aside from needing my assistance with the periodic rethreading of embroidery floss, the kids are quiet and independent as they stitch. What Mama doesn't love activities like that? 

3. Apples. I have been eating at least one apple every day. The market is still offering quite a few varieties of local apples. I buy lots of kinds, stow them in the fridge, and surprise myself as I bite into a randomly chosen one - the flavors being so distinct. I like apples with cheese, apples and almond butter, apples cut into salad, and apple tarts.

4. The efforts of Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. They made the documentary film The Business of Being Born , which explores the current status of birth in the United States. As a midwife, I have been discouraged by the continuing trend towards medicalized birth. Ricki and Abby's film, and the grassroots movement that has grown up around the film, are pressing the medical and lay communities into a frank discussion about birth. The New York Times just ran an article about the increase in homebirths in NYC, likely influenced by the film. I have a lot more to say about this issue, but for now you can check out the above links.

5. Going on walks - with my husband. Before kids, David and I used to walk together almost every day. Now-a-days, my walks are usually solitary or with the kids. I love walking with David. Conversation flows freely as we fall into step with each other. He is also a die-hard bushwhacker (this exciting word simply means to walk through the woods off the trail). We have discovered so many beautiful places together, simply by leaving the well-beaten path.