One of the best things to come out of the months of Covid-19 lockdown has been extraordinary films from art galleries and museums. One of the best of is about the English sculptor Phyllia Barlow. It provides an illuminating counterpoint to the many life questions that the virus has thrown into relief.
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We recently re-discovered “Eating Grapes Downwards” a poem we’d loved and somehow lost track of. Christian Wiman describes the mysterious creative process we cannot control, and often aren’t even aware of, but that is part of every life. With instructions for how to navigate…
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Eight years ago, afriend and I discovered that reading – or listening to – a poem has a hugely beneficial effect. Here’s the backstory, the poets we rely on, and some poetry.
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Perspective we need: The Onion’s sublimely funny, spot-on commentary on the pressure to be creative during the “free time” of quarantining + Riz Ahmed’s wise view.
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This sublime short film is about “saxophone colossus” Sonny Rollins’ two-year musical sabbatical playing on New York’s Williamsburg Bridge and what he found there.
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In posts and emails, I shared the questions fueling Improvised Life’s new architecture and many changes. Among the deeply affirming messages I received from readers, the most interesting was from long-time contributor Susan Dworski. She wrote of the contagious aspect of this sea change.
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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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