improvisation

Mile’s Davis Perfect View of Mistakes

There has been a lot written about embracing your mistakes, but for us, Miles Davis nailed how to make it work, as recounted by a young Herbie Hancock in this tiny video; he experienced Miles’ approach in action.

Hot Weather Joy: Communal Water Music (Hermeto Pasoal, Vanuatu Women, Stephen Nachmanovitch, )

Listening to the water music of women from the northern Vanuatu and Brazilian musician Hermeto Pascoal takes us into the realm of joy, and gives us ideas for our own hot weather revelry. Steven Nachmanovitch, tells us how to access our own inner music…

Improvising on a Rainy Day in Paris in 1924

This image with the caption, “Parisians navigate flood waters by walking across rows of chairs, 1924”, reminded us of the essential nature of improvisation.

Annals of Everyday Invention: Magnet Pin Cushion Sculpture

Sometimes tiny inventions happen by seeing the possible solution out of the corner of your eye.

10 Ways to Stretch Your Condoms

The AP reports that Cubans who make their own wine employ condoms as inflatable gauges that indicate when the wine is ready. That got us wondering about other uses for the common, incredibly useful material.

HomeMade Modern: Smart Stylish DIY with a Mission

We’re smitten with HomeMade Modern’s stylish, DIY-able home goods — from beds to planters — and really smart, detailed designs that empower you to improvise.

Sit for a Moment in Pierre Chareau’s Garden in Paris

Last night, we found ourselves sitting in early 20th century French architect and designer Pierre Chareau’s garden in Paris, looking at a leafy wall, and at the lovely pattern of flag stones, after we’d wandered through his extraordinary Maison de Verre. We advise going there right now. Here’s how.

DIY Anti-Anxiety Medications (Paul Klee, Austin Kleon)

After we wrote about John Franzen’s “one line, one breath” art works, we heard from quite a few artists that use breath as a sort of meditation when they make their art. And others who use it to quiet their anxieties, as Austin Kleon does when everything is NOT fine…

It is In (Y)OUR Self-Interest to Be Very Tender (Jenny Holzer +Emily Dickinson)

We never really considered the word tender until we saw artist Jenny Holzer’s extraordinary message years ago. What if we tried it for an hour/day/week?

Writing Reading Dreaming Room in a Closet (Ocean Vuong)

Reclusive poet Ocean Vuong discovered that a closet can make the perfect writing space. So we hunted down examples for a tiny room that can serve many unexpected purposes.

Suddenly Paralyzed, Her Astonishing Graphic Novel Helped Her Heal

Emil Ferris’ started working on My Favorite Thing is Monsters, her astonishingly accomplished and imaginative debut graphic novel after she became paralyzed. “It helped me heal.”

Great Ideas from a Ridiculously Minimalist Apartment

The Times T Magazine featured ANOTHER perfectly minimalist apartment with no sign of a human being in it. Still, we culled some good ideas from Danish designer Oliver Gustav’s very gray Copenhagen apartment.

Giant Chewy, Crispy, Eggy Popover-Pancake (Savory or Sweet)

As we were gobbling a giant sweet, lemony dessert popover with pancake overtones, we thought: Wouldn’t this also be great SAVORY instead of sweet? So we added Parmigiano Regginao to the basic egg and flour structure with to make delectable lunch, supper, hors d’oeuvre.

Hospital Survival Strategies from Yoko Ono and Improvised Life

Over the past couple of years we spent a good amount of time helping friends navigate hospital stays. We started to write a piece about the many strategies we devised. THEN we stumbled on some photos of Yoko Ono’s hospital stay in the late sixties. The room was full of visuals that antidoted the ugly…

Art as Self-Alteration, Rather than Self Expression (John Cage)

John Cage used chance as the key determinant in his art. Rather than impose his will and self-expression, he preferred “self-alteration”, which is a unique approach to life as well.

Enduring Perfection of Black and White Tile Floors (Casa Helsinki)

We love seeing Casa Helsinki, an old house in the historic district of Alberdi, in Córdoba, Spain, renovated to become a guest house. Its vintage black and white floors off a simple, inexpensive lesson in design.

This Enters Through the Brain’s Back Door To Make You More Creative

Our reason for mixing poetry into articles about very practical matters is done with fierce intention: Poetry enters through our brain’s back door and shakes things up. We find that it helps greatly in envisioning possibilities…

Earl Gray Tea (and Other) Butter Cookies

When I want a dessert for a dinner party, I often turn to this recipe for delectable, melt-in-your-mouth cookies fragrant with butter and the caramel flavors of light brown sugar and Earl Gray tea, with its citrusy-floral scent.

Poetry in Motion: James Brown Dancing WITHOUT Music

Out of the blue, we had the idea to TURN THE SOUND OFF on a video of James Brown demonstrating dance moves. It is a revelation.

The BEST Ways to Register Your Opinion with Congress

Like many people, we are wondering what the best way is to let Congress know what we think. We found New Yorker ‘What Calling Congress Achieves’ hugely helpful in understanding how different kinds of correspondence is received. Here’s what you need to know about the most effective way to petition the government.

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