ideas from artists

Look Up and Stars Will Shake the Everyday (Upstate Diary, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Neil deGrasse Tyson)

At the ever-illuminating @upstate_diary, we suddenly found ourselves looking up through wintry trees into a vast moving star-scape. It transported us to a chilly night in the country. It led to reminders of cosmic views of the everyday.

Found Art with Echoes of Duchamp UPDATE

We recently stumbled upon an image of two staircases side-by-side, the steps staggered, with no banister or partition between. There was no commentary. It reminded us of artist Beatrice Wood’s perfect description of Marcel Duchamp’s revolutionary Fountain that upended the art world and changed the way viewed art, and artists.

An Artist Who Spent 30 Years on a Single Painting: “I Obey Time” (Myonghi Kang + Patti Smith)

“I obey time, but do not try to manipulate it” said South Korean artist Myonghi Kang, referring to her painting “Le temps des camélias” (“The Time of Camellias”), which took her 30 years to complete. We are heartened by her assuredness and courage, even, striking in a world where the pressure to be productive seems to inform every moment.

The Liberations of Long-Handled Paint Brushes, and Art Paired with Poetry

A favorite instagram is gallerist Brett Gorvy’s, which pairs an artist and his/her work with a poem. It makes for a powerful dose of illumination. Take this sublime photograph by the great photojournalist Harry Benson*, of a young Brice Marden painting with a long-handled brush, illuminated, as if by fireworks, by a poem by Margaret Atwood. Perfection. Which got us thinking about that amazing brush…

Kurt Vonnegut: ‘We are Dancing Animals…’

A compelling Kurt Vonnegot quote came over our transom recently, the prolific and best-selling author’s answer when asked his thoughts on replacing human contact with electronic contact. It cuts to the heart of who we are as human beings.

Tent as Artist’s Canvas Sparks Mary Oliver

Spotted at artist Izhar Patkin’s instagram: the tent he has on his New York roof deck with an interior painted by Scooter LaForge. We can imagine hiding out in its dreamy magic… A fragment of a Mary Oliver poem comes to mind:

Michaela Coel: “See What Comes To You in the Silence”

Michaela Coel won an Emmy for her fiercely powerful drama I May Destroy You which she created, directed and starred in. Her stunning 30-second acceptance speech offers remarkable counsel to writers and artists longing to make truly meaningful work.

We Played with John Cage’s 12 Words and Blasted Open Our Heads

Artist, composer John Cage was also a remarkably powerful writer. Over years of reading him we’ve found ourself transformed by even a sentence or two. This one landed in a similar way……We found that shifting the flow of words ever-so-slightly had a surprising effect.

Derek Jarman’s Gardens: ” a Testament, Blazing, Blatant, to Possibility”.

After being diagnosed with AIDS in 1986, filmmaker Derek Jarman bought an austere tar-painted fisherman’s cottage in sight of a nuclear power station in the bleak shingle landscape on the southeast coast of England. It would prove to be an act of creative vision as unique as those Jarman realized in his films.

Artful Lessons in Styrofoam from Lino Schenal and Max Lamb

In the 1970’s mysterious Italian designer Lino Schenal clad his house in sculpted styrofoam, from walls to simple, stylish furniture. Fifty years later we looked to Max Lamb to reveal the secrets of the ubiquitous material for making artful, practical creations.

Will Real Self-Help Please Stand UP?

After reading a New Yorker article on America’s biggest selling books, many of which are “self-help” I realized I’d read many of them and none helped me help myself (although plenty of other things in my life have). Soon after, I stumbled on the penultimate self-help advice.

Pictures Hung in Unexpected Places Expand the View

Ever since we spotted this house with framed art on the outside, we’ve been thinking about wonderful places to hang pictures that most people don’t use.

Tattooed Tablecloths after Sarah Espeute Spark Maps, Guestbooks, Artifacts

When we first saw French artist Sarah Espeute’s embroidered table linens, we thought they were drawn-on with indelible markers, something we might be able to do. Then ideas and memories began to connect and flow.

Mandy Patinkin’s Prayer While Feeding the Dog + Blessings from John O’Donahue and Bob Dylan

From his retreat at his upstate cabin, legendary actor Mandy Patinkin sings in Hebrew as gets his dog Becky’s food for her. We were surprised to discover that what he is singing is a prayer. And that got us thinking about blessings to accompany simple tasks of daily life.

The Cosmic Meaning of Polka Dots and How to DIY Them (Yayoi Kusama)

We love the green polka dots in this down-at-heels kitchen, a perfect way to jazz up a wall. It got us thinking about their cosmic meaning and how to make them without laboriously holding up stencils.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti on Social Climbing Downward

This quote from the great Lawrence Ferlinghetti, recently-departed poet and founder of San Francisco’s legendary City Light’s Bookstore, expresses an incredibly refreshing worldview…

Matisse’s Homemade Wallpaper

When we looked closely at this stumbled-upon image of Henri Matisse, we realized that the wallpaper behind him was really tacked up prints and drawings. Brilliant. Looking for more, we found a trove of ideas to employ.

Amanda Gorman’s Mantra, Why Using Your Voice is a Political Choice + Her Poem for the Pandemic

Twenty-two year-old National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s reading of her poem The Hill We Climb at President Biden’s Inauguration was like big bright sun rising on the day. Her remarkable TedEx talk is full of fierce wisdom, and poetry unto itself…

Anni Albers’ on Material as Metaphor + Martin Margiela’s Tape Belt

We were stunned by the simple brilliance of clothing designer Martin Margiela’s packing tape belt. He recognized the most ordinary of materials as the perfect width, and texture to fulfill an instant need with astonishing personal style. It called to mind Anni Albers’ brilliant words.

Cosmo Sheldrake’s Remarkable Musical Collaboration with Endangered Birds

Over 9 years at dawn, Cosmo Sheldrake carried recording gear, laptop, and sometimes a keybord into fields and woods to make music in collaboration endangered birds. The result is his new album Wake Up Calls; it is both charming and illuminating…

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