Every December in a village in northern Argentina, Jorge Gervasi and his son transform their modest family home into an elaborate display of blinking lights. This sweet, slightly Fellini-esque short film captures the hard work, missteps and dreams that go into it their remarkable Christmas monument.
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Artsy’s Alexxa Gotthardt combed through interviews with legendary abstract expressionist artist Lee Krasner for her insights into “how to be an artist”, with three essential lessons.
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We know quite a few people who are making major life changes these days, living with the question of what to do next, waiting for the path to become clear. What’s the mindset to embrace in limbo: all questions, few clues, no answers?
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The impetus for Dr. John Kitchen’s radical life change into the skater Slomo was the answer a very old man gave him when he asked, “What is the secret to living so long?”
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We’d never thought about guarding against the “lesser talents” we all have until we read Gary Snyder, whose practical counsel and poetry on the creative process is seriously clarifying.
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This huge little insight about listening startled us awake! And got us thinking about the powerful practice we all do daily…
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YoYo Ma described The Art of IS as “a philosophical meditation on living, living fully, living in the present.” We find it full of surprising ideas that are also incredibly helpful.
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When we came across this quote from novelist Henry Miller, we thought, yes that IS some of the most powerful medicine we know.
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Former Improvised Life assistant editor-come-star-tattoo-artist Mira Keras wrote this spot-on description of a writer procrastinating. She discovered something essential in the process that unleashed her productivity.
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At his instagram, photographer Alex Soth posted a beautiful little video of a rock rolling down a path, an homage to artist Richard Long’s work, who mightily inspired an interesting view…
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This astonishing tree is one of a group of photographs of ancient trees in the South East of England made by artist Tacita Dean. It is the product of Dean’s unique approach, which is as wonderful as the work itself.
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Henri Matisse likened his state of mind when making art “close to that of prayer. So we’re viewing each one of these 13 ravishing sketches in preparation for painting The Dream as a sort of prayer…
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When I was young, I thought that an artwork reflected the values of the person who made it. Over time, I learned that this was very often not the case…
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When we’ve worked hard taking care of something and feel there is still more we should do, leaving us restless and worried, we employ this 10-word reality check, learned from a psychotherapist friend.
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Of the many tributes we’ve read about poet Mary Oliver’s passing, the most moving was Summer Brennan’s short remembrance about what her teacher taught her…
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The latest DIY craze of hammering tin foil to make metal-hard objects led us to discovery of artist John Chamberlain’s dazzling foil alchemy…
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Looking through the archive of images and quotes I keep for inspiration, I came across a theme I hadn’t realized I was collecting and heartening words from Agnes Martin…
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In this perfect poem for the New Year, Poet Christian Wiman nails the mysterious process of growth that we cannot control, and often aren’t aware of, but is part of every life, guaranteed.
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Artist Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains, fluorescently-painted 32-foot-high totems in the desert outside Vegas, reveal the poetry of free association…
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Wandering through the Warhol retrospective at the Whitney yesterday, I was stopped dead by a remarkable 17-foot long abstract canvas I hadn’t seen before, made with materials I’d never considered…
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