The Fam-Jamulous Shirt from vintage fabric / August 2015 / HSF15
“The only man who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew every time he sees me, while all the rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them”
~ George Bernard Shaw
"I could wile away the hours / Conferrin' with the flowers / Consultin' with the rain" / Scarecrow made from fresh corn husks / Jersey Sweet Corn Full Moon Creating
Franz Kafka, frustrated with his living quarters and day job, wrote in a letter to Felice Bauer in 1912, “time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers.”
~ an excerpt from Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, edited by Mason Currey
Look for the birds...
"Why do birds fly? First, that's how they look for and procure food. Second, when seasons change and the weather grows cooler, they may migrate to warmer areas where there's more to eat. Third, zipping around in mid-air is how birds locate the materials they need to build nests. Fourth, it's quite helpful in avoiding predators. But ornithologists believe there is yet another reason: Birds fly because it's fun. In fact, up to 30 percent of the time, that's their main motivation. ... I invite you to match the birds' standard in the coming weeks. See if you can play and enjoy yourself and have a good time at least 30 percent of the time."
~ Rob Brezsny
Dancing above and around the earth / The Magic Garden
"she had grown wary" ... "Assumptions that the earth would be there to meet her foot when she put it down, or that her body would remain upright without expressly willing it were no longer certain, & she found herself hesitating more than she used to, as though to give the world a chance to announce its true intentions."
~ an excerpt from the story "Leap" in the book "Alone With You" by Marisa Silver (via Mitza)
Clay "feet" walking up a mosaic wall / Philadelphia
Solvitur Ambulando: it is solved by walking
"It is the best of humanity, I think, that goes out to walk. In happy hours all affairs may be wisely postponed for this." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Country Life, 1857
“Your true kingdom is just around you, and your leg is your scepter. A muscular, manly leg, one untarnished by sloth or sensuality, is a wonderful thing.” ~ Alfred Barron, Foot Notes, Or, Walking as a Fine Art, 1875
Paulo's mosaic of Delaware River stones, Atlantic Ocean seashells, colorful tesserae, and found objects including the girl on the rock / June 2014
The mosaic art is one of the earliest known, and belongs quite to the infancy of civilization. The Chinese possess it with their other stationary arts from time immemorial; it was found among the primitive inhabitants of America, and in a more or less rude form among the earliest remains of nearly all nations. Some authors think it was invented by the Persians, ... After them the Assyrians are supposed to have taught this art to the Egyptians and the Greeks, from whom it passed to the Romans, who unquestionably used it with the greatest profusion, and carried it with them into all their provinces, including Gaul and Britain, as is abundantly proved by the innumerable examples which are found on the site of every Roman station or villa.
~ an excerpt from "Mosaic pictures in Rome and Ravenna: briefly described" by John Henry Parker, 1866
Re-creation: water bottles recycled into felt, then cut and stitched into rabbits that are steadied with a recycled wine cork / April 2014
The fact is that we shall not get perfect understanding until we come to realize that beauty and fitness and harmony are not merely things which we like, but which we can do well enough without, but are necessary to health and happiness, since it is being more and more clearly proven that spirit jar and mind irritation and brain disturbance are fruitful sources of nervous diseases, and lead to the shattering of the physical system. Pleasure helps to digest the food, to send the blood properly through time veins, and to keep the brain in equilibrium.
Some hour of the day or evening is usually free to every one. That hour should be given to something which relaxes and stimulates. Entertainment is sometimes spoken of as "childish." That it is childish, that it is something which, for the time being, brushes care aside, and relieves time mind of stress and strain, renders it for the entire mentality that which its name indicates: re-creation.
Avoid monotony, girls, as you would mortal sin. If it does not lead you into mortal sin it leaves you in devastating sadness. "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."
~ an excerpt from "Occupations for women: a book of practical suggestions for the material advancement, the mental and physical development, and the moral and spiritual uplift of women" by Frances Elizabeth Willard (1897)
A banner remembering Mitza's Holy Thursday ceremony / Rembrandt's "The Footwashing"
Our hands imbibe like roots, so I place them on what is beautiful in this world...
~ St. Francis of Assisi
Ideas on knit fabric / Dec 2013
“If you have a good idea, use it so that you will not only accomplish something, but so that you can make room for new ones to flow into you.”
~ Deng Ming-Dao, Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony
A fire-breathing dragon sets down / Feb 2014
When you're being creative, you confront things. You ask questions. You think, "What could that be? Why is that like that? Isn't there another way to do this?" It's an atititude.
~ Paula Scher