The Creative Impulse Behind A Gardener’s 100′ Dragon Hedge

John Brooker, a 75-year-old retired fan-maker in Norfolk, England, has spent 10 years patiently sculpting a hedge into a 100-foot-long dragon. We especially love Brooker’s reason for doing it, found in this succinct 50-second clip. It totally sums up the creative process and reminds us of Anni Albers’ great words about “listening”.

Read More

guest post on vivianna torun and ‘seeing what happens’

After reading Anni Albers ‘Common Object’ Jewelry, Lydia Wills wrote an inspiring email that is a perfect, if inadvertent, post for ‘the improvised life’. It’s like a bedtime story for grown-ups (with an amazing ending in bold.) “The lesson of Anni Albers’ jewelry is her ability to look at everyday objects and see just how they can…

Read More

tapio wirkkala: materials as opportunities

This quote by Tapio Wirkkala is high on a wall in the Design Museum in Helsinki. (Wirkkala was one of Finland’s most esteemed and prolific designers; perhaps his most recognized design is the Finlandia Vodka bottle that looks like ice.) In two sentences, he captures the central operating principles of creating just about anything: the “chance” and diversion from…

Read More