love forever

Obsessed / Edition 1.0

I spend a good part of my work day scouring books, blogs and the deep corners of my brain for inspiration. In the concept designing part of my job, I find seemingly disparate images all over and start to trace a connection to make something tangible. What with the internets and all that collective unconscious flowing around, I find that what I'm into is not all that original. I don't mean this in a self-deprecating way, I actually like it. People are always complaining about how computers are destroying meanful connections but I don't really see it that way. Out in the ether, there are people that make you feel like less of an island, people who see things the way you see things.
I always see my daily inspiration searches as a trip through the vortex. One thing leads me to another and then another and then sometimes back around. Anyone who works with me knows that I get obsessed with things and ideas pretty easily (paleo, yoga ball chairs, ombre hair) and it's all I can think about.
So this very long back-story is a way to introduce a new semi-weekly feature- Obsessed! What's stirring in my brain this week? Let's see...


California



photos by Ren Rox

In the East coast versus West coast binary, I've always been firmly East coast. But lately, California has been calling me. I think it's a size thing. My northeast is cramped and a bit claustrophobic. I just want to run down the beach and climb some mountains. California seems like a good place to do that.

Lucky Peach magazine

Lucky Peach is the brainchild of chef David Chang of Momofuko fame, a food magazine that focuses on the culture of food in a very thoughtful offbeat way. Before I read Lucky Peach, I erroneously figured it was some some of celebu-chef vanity project (and don't get me wrong, I love me some David Chang) but it is so not that. I learn about 400 new things about food and culture and travel every time I read an issue.

Hiking

photo of the view from Pulpit Rock in PA by me

OK, this is a big one. I've been going through a hugely intense shift from a die-hard city lover to a girl who craves nature lately and I've started hiking. Nothing too crazy yet, just a few day hikes up some small mountains with my Mr., who, in all of his Northwestern outdoorsiness, is thrilled. Looking for hiking gear that doesn't make me want to ralph has been an oddly enjoyable challenge.

Cathy McMurray's Blog - Habit of Art

I bought a piece of Cathy's art last year from Buy Some Damn Art but only recently started reading her blog. It's a beautiful read, filled with her beautiful photos of nature, her artistic process and musings on daily life.

Maisie Shearing Illustrations




There's something really alluring about illustrations of personal collections and little snippets of daily life. I'm really drawn to Maisie Shearing's work for that reason.

What's got your mind going this week?

The Scraps

I've been making things. Experimenting with freeform quilting and embroidery. Here are a few bits of what I have been working on.

Colorful Scenes From My Sunday

My sweet Sunday so far: lounging in bed, working on lots and lots of crafty projects (quilts! keychains! papercutting! pajaki!) and organizing my jewelry. Later, there will be kebab eating, a nice long walk and then Game of Thrones!

The Scribble Project / Illustration

Artist/author Lisa Currie has a blog called The Scribble Project where she invites artists to doodle and draw a visual interview using her "scribble pages". The pages prompt each artist to share what's in their mind and get it out onto a page. I love these kinds of projects as 1., I am nosy and love to see what people are thinking about and 2., each finished scribble page is completely unique and 3., it introduced me to so many amazing artists!
If you want to participate, you can make your own scribble pages here or buy her book!
Oh, and bonus: get a little behind-the-scenes into the making of Currie's book.
Here are a few recent favorites, before and after:

British artist Naomi Elliot thinks everything will be ok, likes books and patchwork quilts.



British artist Sarah Abbott puts cacti in the spotlight, hopes to enjoy her day and takes her perfect match literally.



Portuguese artist Barbara Fonseca shares fortunes, loves Berlin (and the jungle) eats some watermelon.



Bulgarian artist Marina Munn takes a trip to Fantasia, goes to the movies and feels a bit wound up.

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Resolutions, Schmesolutions.

I’m terrible at keeping resolutions. The second I make one, some secret part of me can’t wait to betray it. Sometimes I wonder if I should make opposite resolutions, like, “drink less water”, or “get a horrible night’s sleep, every night” to see if I can trick my subconscious. Oh, how I like to make things difficult!

This year, I threw up my hands and decided not to make any resolutions. But then the second week of January rolled around and I was already thinking of 2013 as a great big 2012 run-on sentence. I know that our calendar is just a construct, something to give us a measure of time, but I think people need these measures to make goals. Maybe keeping the resolutions is not the point. Is the intention more important than the result? I think so.

So, here are my resolutions for this year. Four of them are more general guidelines for how I hope to live my life in 2013. And only one of them is an honest-to-goodness-I'm-holding-myself-accountable resolution: 50 books and 50 movies in one year. I've tried to read 50 books in a year and "failed" but even failing means reading 35 books and that's not all that bad. This year, I'm making the effort more official by joining the fifty.fifty.me challenge ((oh, hey, if you sign up, let me know!!) and keeping track of my progress on this blog.

Happy 2013!