improvise

Enrique Oliviera’s Astonishing ‘Devir’

We were blown away by Enrique Oliveira’s massive tree sculpture that seems to grow in all directions out of and through the walls, floor and ceiling of the gallery: ordinary materials turned into something palpably alive.

Create Your Own Crazy Vision (Marc Johns, Emily Dickinson, et al)

The great Marc Johns’ sign NAILS Improvised Life’s essential message and practice. We learn by example…(and poetry).

Why Not Now? (Vivian Stancil’s Leap)

This 2-minute video tells the story of one of the most inspiring leaps we’ve seen of late. Complete with the perfect mantra for change.

Improvised Life’s Very Quiet Birthday Celebration

July 4th was Improvised Life’s birthday, the day, eight years ago I pressed PUBLISH and took the site live in what seemed like a giant leap. How the 4,000 articles in its archive has come remains something of a mystery…

Artful Fireworks and a Poem for the 4th of July

On July 4, 2010, poet Mary Oliver found a whale bone on the beach and wrote a poem about it. She forged just the right poem for this summer day, as always giving it a bigger view…(as do these fireworks envisioned by artists.)

This Cool Art Shelf Headboard Is Really a Plywood Box in Disguise

We’ve been collecting examples of shelf headboards that double as picture/object displays to inspire the one we are designing in our head. Looking closely we realize they are really only a plywood box…

A Foam-Wrapped Sofa’s Lesson in Problem Solving

We can only imagine the process of making this strangely-compelling foam-wrapped sofa…It made us think of British architect Richard MacCormac’s useful insight…

Wake to MOVING Calder Mobiles

At museum exhibitions, it’s been rare that Calder mobiles are put into motion as they were meant to be see, languidly, wondrously, seeming to float on currents of air. Until now. You CAN experience them in motion, this very minute.

Stop, Just for a Moment, and Breath in the Scent of June (Rimbaud)

For several weeks starting in mid June, linden trees blossom here as well as in France. Their tiny yellow flowers emit the scent of honey, vines and the most delicate florals that waft around on air currents. It is worth stopping and just…breathing in a scent that defies everything that is going on in the world. Read a poem about it, or drink it as tea…

Maud Lewis’ Expansive Gaze

Maud Lewis, who by most measures had everything against her — being crippled by severe rheumatoid arthritis, no means of support and losing her parents at an early age — had what was essential: extraordinary resourcefulness and the soul of an artist. Her house tells — and a new film – tell the story.

Tape in the Hands of Artists Like You Make for Sublime and Unpredictable Outcomes

Eric Timothy Carlson’s abstract tape painting reminds us a) how great ordinary tape is for making stuff, including a la minute artworks b) you don’t need to get crazy about it. It can be a fun, chill few moments of exploration that you rip off the wall when you’re tired of it. Perfect for the weekend.

Cheap + Stylish: Painted Natural Fiber Rug (Ikea)

The best idea we found among the design blogs came from designer Fay Toogood’s installation using Ikea products during Milan Design Week. Dig what she did to an inexpensive agave rug.

The Heartening Museum of Failures

(Video link here.) Dr. Samuel West, Director of the Museum of Failures in Helsingborg, Sweden collects innovation fails made by big companies. Through them, he hopes to share an essential lesson.

Alison Harris’ Skyscapes: “Being Attentive to What is At Hand”

Photographer Alison Harris spent six years photographing the sky from her window in Italy. The result is a series of photographs that gradually evolved into an exhibition in Milan. It also became a simple, contemplative practice that we can all easily do…

Surprise, Astonishment, Wonder: The Intimate Oliver Sacks via Insomniac City

Insights into the very original Sacks, or perhaps we should say Sacks’ very original insights and thinking, culled from Bill Hayes’ perfect memoir Insomniav City, make delightful weekend reading. Here’s a sampling…

Personal Kanban to Focus Your Unruly Creative Brain

Personal Kanban, is a tool to visualize, organize and complete work in a way that maximizes, rather than depletes, energy and focus. It is simple and incredibly effective; its core principles address just how my unruly monkey brain functions.

Alisa Barry’s Encouragement Cards + Care Packages

A couple of weeks ago, a big cardboard box arrived in the mail with an unusual sticker on it: BE BRAVE. What we found inside blew us away.

A Quick Metaphysical Inventory When Lost (Insomniac City)

We are halfway through Insomniac City, Bill Hayes revelatory memoir of his love affairs with the late, astonishing Oliver Sacks AND New York City, which comes across as a deeply complex and generous being. We are struck by Hayes’ lovely practice for when he needs to take stock and center himself.

Let Miss Eaves, Walt Whitman and the Venus of Willendorf Help Liberate Your Summer Bod

Who doesn’t find a part of their self-image or their mindset locked in a prison of some sort? Let Brooklyn Rapper Miss Eaves, Walt Whitman and the Venus of Willendorf break you out in time for summer.

Home is Your Canvas, Finger Paint It

Watch this slideshow by photographer Margaret Courtney-Clarke and imagine yourself painting your walls, floors, houses, textiles with your fingers…

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