Exactly What I Love

Moonrise Kingdom

2012-01-20T20:08:00.001-08:00

Ed Ruscha

2012-01-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

ed ruscha

(on the road show at the

denver art museum)

Follow me where I go.

2012-01-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Spring weather in winter.

2012-01-20T19:49:00.001-08:00

I would wear this everyday.

Space

2012-01-20T19:44:00.001-08:00

This makes me so happy.

a well traveled woman

Sally Singer.

2012-01-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

Sally Singer on her first year at T Magazine.

a favorite.

2012-01-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

I fall in love with the strangest songs.

Beachy

2012-01-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Raquel Zimmerman in T Magazine

irreverent.

2012-01-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

I've wanted this book since it came out. My mom used to tell me I was irreverent. The first time she told me I didn't know what it meant so I looked it up and thought, hey, I'm okay with that- though I don't think she meant it as a compliment. That's not the reason I want the book. I find Carine Roitfeld endlessly alluring. Confident, creative, and authentic. Hard-working. Usually pictured smiling or laughing. Love her.

"I am not a good professional of fashion. I am not an expert about how clothes are constructed or the history of fashion. I never start with fashion. I always think of the girl and her personality- because all that matters to me when you look at a page is, 'Do you want to be that girl?' ... It's just my imagination that goes into my pictures. I was never a punk. Never dyed my hair blue. Never a nymphomaniac. I'm a married woman with children... But I don't like the girl next door."

- Carine Roitfeld in Stylist The Interpreters of Fashion, one of my all-time favorite fashion quotes

2012-01-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

Cheesy dance music, love it every day.

I like music that makes me feel like I'm

about to board a plane.

Thoreau for the new year.

2012-01-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

It is surprising how much room there is in nature, if a man will follow his proper path.

-Henry David Thoreau

Crystalfilm

2012-01-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

XoXo 2012

2012-01-02T10:47:00.001-08:00

* * *

Two women I greatly admire,

Garance Dore and Erica Tanov.

* *

MARNI Spring 2012

2012-01-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

When love is simple.

And so soon, a new year.

2011-12-31T11:10:00.001-08:00

A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.

-Albert Camus

Writing is a struggle against silence.

-Carlos Fuentes

Erica Tanov Fall 2011

2011-12-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

Erica Tanov: Fall 2011 by Jona Frank from sarah caplan on Vimeo.

When it comes to shopping, I would much rather buy one lovely amazing item I adore a few times per year, than to buy a number of (perhaps cheaper) things that I won't want to wear five years on. I call it investment shopping. When I was younger and lived in the bay area, I made a point of repeatedly visiting Erica Tanov's store on Fourth street to finely gauge what precious garment I would invest in. Those pieces, ten years later, I still wear, I still love. I was just as much in love with her then as I am now, and this video might help you understand why.

p.s. THIS!

joy

2011-11-16T18:57:00.000-08:00

life changing

2011-11-10T20:27:00.001-08:00

It's fake and I want it so much.

November weekend.

2011-11-05T22:59:00.001-07:00

November music.

2011-11-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Introduced to me by my friend Rocky.

backless.

2011-11-05T11:53:00.001-07:00

I love backless attire.

What would my life be like

without The Sartorialist and Garance Dore?

white shoes.

2011-10-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Perfect fall November trip.

2011-10-11T21:00:00.001-07:00

San Franciso, or Colorado.

Washed Out II

2011-09-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

this suit.

2011-09-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

Suit by Steven Alan.

style.com

totally want this

Life Philosophy

2011-09-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

photo by The Sartorialist

3 Things about me:

1. I am in love with surf-related things

2. Riding a bike with a surf board attached, in a tie-dye bikini, is a basic metaphor for how I like to live my life

3. This mid-season of August to September is my favorite time of year (until spring when I change my mind and love spring again).

Love

2011-09-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

Skinny Jeans

2011-08-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

I heard this one on the pictureplane pandora station. It's kind of what I hope to hear as a first song when i'm out on the town in europe.

REAL MAGIC

2011-08-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

<a href="http://heartmusicgroup.bandcamp.com/album/r-e-a-l-m-a-g-i-c">R E A L M A G I C by HEART MUSIC GROUP</a>

Wild Poppy

2011-08-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Grand Lake 2010

Birthday Weekend

east / west

2011-08-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

I love visiting my family. My parents' home is like a resort: amazing food (and lots of it- Vegan Middle Eastern food!), dark mint chocolate on the pillows, San Pellegrino set out like champagne. The architecture, going to the Philips Collection (where viewing at least one great work makes it worth the trip- this time a de Kooning-with just a little bit of pink), the Textile Museum. But, the heat. The humidity. Summer is a time to walk around the house in as little clothing as possible. As a guest it's not really an option. I can't ever imagine myself living the humid life again, returning east. Humidity tax, traffic tax. It is difficult, at times, to be distant from family. Especially when we are the most humorously competitive board-gamers I've known.

Summer reading.

2011-07-23T12:40:00.001-07:00

style.com

Coffee & Champagne

2011-07-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

photos by Garance Dore

I love these photos, the big wooden table, just a little purple in there. Coffee and champagne.

Remember when..

2011-07-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up and I was buying records, all I knew was the picture on the album and the music contained on the inside. Maybe something from the liner notes. But that’s it. That was the access I had. It was enough.

-Dave Navarro in Vanity Fair

Patience is Wisdom

2011-07-15T12:21:00.001-07:00

Documentário Helen Rödel - Estudos MMXI (english subtitles) from Helen Rödel on Vimeo.

Popcorn stitch. How did I manage not to learn crochet or to knit? I aim to fix this. I adore this video and her designs! Get me that backless blue and green stripe, cap-sleeve number.

N E O N

2011-07-10T17:21:00.001-07:00

corset by Steven Alan

.

2011-07-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

2004.

Fuck Yes

2011-07-06T20:18:00.001-07:00

Jamie Hince reminds me of my friend Dan.

WASHED OUT

2011-07-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

summer days/nights

Simplicity

2011-06-27T14:13:00.001-07:00

re- nest

the Dream.

2011-06-23T11:46:00.001-07:00

Mexico Mission from youngwisetails on Vimeo.

milk [magazine]

2011-06-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

This exists.

Milk Magazine

CELINE

2011-06-20T19:34:00.000-07:00

resort 2011

Style.com

Gorgeous/Genius

America

2011-06-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

summer

1980's Summer Movies

2011-06-07T23:40:00.001-07:00

Troll, Heathers, The Lost Boys, Willow, The Golden Child, The Emerald Forest, Flight of the Navigator, Goonies,

V I R G I N I A

2011-06-05T01:15:00.001-07:00

Waffles...

Summer Songs

2011-06-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

I love this song. I love this video. I love The Knife. Happy memory songs like this one do nothing to help the fruitless effort to tame my spring/summer-induced wildness. One of the best parts of this season is losing a sense of time. Late late nights, bright and early mornings. There's not a moment to be wasted...

Summer.Park.Collage

2011-06-03T15:22:00.001-07:00

mail*

2011-05-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

penelope cruz has freckles.

p.s. three of my favorite things: green onions, VOGUE, & mail.

the end of the world.

2011-05-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

A Favorite.

2011-05-20T12:39:00.001-07:00

Perfect/Favorite

jacquard

2011-05-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

kate

2011-05-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Henry Darger

2011-05-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

Henry Darger was a recluse. His creative life's work was not discovered until after he died. The Chicago apartment where he lived was packed full, piled up endless with his epic story of the Vivian Girls and their quest to conquer evil in a make-believe land. Darger collected and horded many different objects, among them balls of string, shoes, and comic books. Many of his character illustrations were traced from the comic books. Perfection is his use of color. So much of meaning in art lies in the story of its creator.

Cloudy May Sunday

2011-05-01T14:56:00.001-07:00

some favorites from UNDECORATED

& Emmanuelle Alt's first edition of French VOGUE

p.s. that's a sunflower sprout, above.

Ocean hair

2011-04-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

a favorite.

2011-04-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

pink

2011-04-21T01:34:00.000-07:00

loved that pie.

April. . .

2011-04-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

bell-bottoms

2011-04-15T18:07:00.001-07:00

I'm a bell-bottoms kind of girl.

I wear denim constantly. I used to be solely a dress

and skirt gal, mostly vintage, but things changed...

When I taught high school it was at a ranch.

The boss's wife wore jeans so the rest of us could.

I wear jeans almost every day. Bell-bottoms are my favorite.

They evoke a mood in me, so many loves of mine:

spontaneity, adventure, abandon.

Sprinting through a field at midnight,

morning ping pong and orange juice,

rollerskating with my dogs on the boardwalk...

I think I may have found a new favorite denim source.

I knew I liked Jay-Z

2011-04-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Q:

You are the coolest man on Earth, how the f did you get like that?

I'm around great women, starting with my mom. Women keep men cool. The hotter the chick the cooler the guy ... that sounds like a really bad rap line!

Goop Interview

Tape.

2011-04-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

(from my 2004 Spain journal)

(from Erica Tanov)

I love photo collages

because I love tape.

kindred spirits

2011-04-11T20:52:00.001-07:00

yes, yes, yes
I love it! This artist's name is Gidon Bing.
A) Great Name
B) Beautiful, clean, precise art work.
C) Incredible studio space.
Photo and interview by The Selby.

p.s. Can you see the similarities between this photo & this one?

U N D E C O R A T E

2011-04-11T09:06:00.001-07:00

It all goes back to when I was a little girl. I loved drawing elaborate, decorated floor plans. If only I could get my hands on some of those! I knew exactly how I wanted rooms to look. I arranged and dusted my McDonald's toys weekly. I created an entire barbie village from cardboard boxes, wallpaper scraps, shoe boxes, fabric - garbage essentially. Life was all aesthetics. I was methodical, but I was also extremely creative. Some things never change.

The Art of Life

2011-04-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

Why am I so obsessed? With surfing? I know why. It has to do with adventure & freedom & artful nonchalance. I am even more obsessed with very specific elements of fine art, many of which appear in this gorgeous photograph by The Sartorialist. Lots of white, a little bit of gold, shots of bright yellow, forest green & hot pink. Texture. Narrative. Mood. Memory. It's a somewhat irrational obsession, mine with surf culture, but as Joseph Campbell says, "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."

Sally Singer

2011-04-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

Sally Singer. She is one of my favorite editors.
I always feel in sync with her life and style philosophies. . .

I discovered Into The Gloss through the Jak & Jil blog,

which is where I found this photo and interview with Singer.

I am not a huge makeup person, though I've worn eyeliner

since 7th grade. I also love bright nail polish... Or, fun nails

in general. I do love learning about skincare, however,

and I love home interiors. The Top Shelf series combines

the two, and is fun for the simple fact that it's an honest,

idiosyncratic glimpse into creative women's lives.

Can't go wrong there.

xoxo

2011-04-01T11:13:00.001-07:00

I'd rock a pink suit any time, any where.

From Jak & Jil

color . simplicity

2011-03-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

Big wooden tables. Love 'em.

This is a photograph from Jenna Lyons' house.

She is the president and the executive creative director of J.Crew.

Happy day.

2011-03-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

SUR*F

2011-03-23T17:58:00.001-07:00

I would buy this Garance Dore photo if I could. The colors, the mood.

Versions of Perfection

2011-03-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

from Vanity Fair

- Carine Roitefeld

from STYLISTS The Interpreters of Fashion

Isabel Marant (Take 45)

2011-03-20T19:10:00.001-07:00

Isabel Marant from Samuel de Ceccatty on Vimeo.

Here is something I wrote about Isabel Marant, way back in 2007. Another era! I love her perspective, I love her aesthetic, and I find her philosophy so refreshing:

Isabel Marant

April 29, 2007 - One Response

*****I owe a great deal to Creatures of Comfort in Los Angeles for introducing me to Isabel Marant, my new favorite designer. Marant creates an artful balance between comfort and beauty, conservative and sexy. The materials she uses, such as washed silk, are relaxed enough to be worn on a day-to-day basis, but unique enough to be worn to a wedding. In fact, Marant’s clothes are far too precious not to be worn on a daily basis. Imagine a white silk tank dress with a drop waist. Imagine that the gathered, pleated skirt falls just above the knee. The entire bodice is covered with white embroidery, all displayed in a large circular shape. Now, imagine that the dress is completely backless, scooping down within inches of the backside. Classy, but provocative.

*****Every item from the spring 2007 collection reminds me of something I’d throw on some carefree morning en route to the beach, let’s say Venice Beach, my favorite. The kind of day you wake up with little attention to any past or future. As the afternoon progresses, it comes time for a nap on a grassy hill near the sand, in full view of the colorful everything going on around me. With zero hesitation to the gorgeous frock I’m wearing, I sprawl out on the grass, getting wrinkled and a bit messy all the while. What I’m trying to say is that while Marant’s clothes are delicate and lovely (perfect) they are also meant to be lived in. They are clothes that deserve a good life. An adventurous life. A history.

*****It was during a recent semi-argument, with a psychologist no less, that I debated the validity of fashion as an art form. As I defended my interest (obsession), I tried to paraphrase a vogue article on Paul Poiret, an eccentric designer from the early 1900′s. Poiret said, “I want women to be as different in their dress as they are in their personalities.” Yes! Exactly! Ideally, fashion designers generate the tools with which to apply Poiret’s philosophy. Fashion is superficial in that clothes rest on the exterior, but to say it is not a daily art is to ignore the fact that humans are processing cultural references continually through dressing. As our interests develop, as our minds evolve, our self expression changes. We are individuals, some more than others, and if one out of 100 women has figured it out, that inspiring balance, than perhaps Poiret can R.I.P. More importantly, maybe Marant and her followers can help spread the gospel of how exciting it can be to live a little more, every single day, through something as accessible as fashion. click here

*****

Now, here is an excerpt from the September 2010 issue of InStyle magazine in which Marant discusses her philosophy:

"I have a strong personality. . . So as a woman I want you to be interested in me first - not my wardrobe. I also don't feel the same every day. Or every hour. But whatever my mood is, I am still the same person. For a wardrobe to be realistic it has to offer contrast, unity, and endless possibilities. That's why it makes perfect sense for me as a designer to combine crochet and denim, or shiny leather pants with a plain T-shirt. . . It's easy to make magic on a red carpet - except just how many of us live that life? But how do we make it happen every day on the sidewalk? That's why I love to design."

I feel that what I wrote in 2007 captured, in some way, the essence of Marant's recent statement. I saw a good thing coming. . .

Creative Couples V

2011-03-20T11:05:00.001-07:00

I have to tell you a story about beauty. We were at the work

yard for the Surrounded Islands in Pelican Harbor, Florida.

Surround Islands had just been completed. An old woman

came and said, "This is terrible. What you have done is

horrible. I've never seen anything so horrible in my whole life.

It looks like a giant Pepto-Bismol spill." I said, "Well, madam,

have you seen it?" She said, "Well, I haven't seen it yet.

I only saw it on television. But I know it's terrible."

Not even twenty minutes later, an elderly gentlemen came to

me and said, "Are you the wife of the artist?" "Yes," I said,

"I am." He took my hand and said, "Bless you. I've never

seen anything as beautiful in all my life. It looks like a giant

Pepto-Bismol spill."

- Jeanne-Claude

from Christo and Jeanne-Caude OVER THE RIVER

* * * *

2011-03-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Few people have the imagination for reality.

- Goethe

Ideas

2011-03-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

We first encountered each other at a fashion show in New York in 1986. He was 38 at the time and the fashion editor of Women’s Wear Daily. He was confident and handsome in a way that made him almost unapproachable. His stare was so intense that it completely unnerved me, and when the show was over I literally bolted out the door and down the street to avoid him. Ten days later, my employer, Cathy Hardwick, sent me to the office of Women’s Wear Daily to retrieve some clothes. I was directed to the roof where they were being photographed, and as the elevator opened, there was the man with the eyes the color of water. He rushed over and introduced himself as Richard Buckley and told me that the clothes were actually downstairs and offered to take me down to what was then called “the fashion closet.” He was adorable, and he was a complete fool. He was sort of dancing around, flashing his eyes at me, and trying so hard to be charming. He seemed so together. He was so handsome, he was so connected, he was so grown-up, so he was very intimidating. And he really chased me — not that he had to chase that hard. It excited me but it also scared me, because I knew he was different and that whatever it was I felt with him was very different from what I’d felt before.

- Tom Ford & Richard Buckley, Out, February 2011

Sunday & Easy to please

2011-03-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

I love Sundays. I always manage to do a million things & the day goes so easy. Today I found the ELLE UK article on Garance Dore, who just so happened to be in my dream last night. Again. She pops up quite often... It was another fashion design dream where I found myself sorting through piles of vintage clothes, which are really products of my imagination and versions of ideals. Garance was on her way to a party held in her honor. She was wearing a trench coat over a dress with knee high socks and converse sneakers. I have never seen her in converse in any photograph online, so that was quite the fun quirk. Then today, I opened the magazine and on one of the pages there is a photo of a pair of her converse! With a love sticker on the toe. I adore her.

The other day I found this birthday card given to me by my husband. It must have been the year he gave me an ipod. It is such a sweet card and a very spot on rendering of our little clan.

Nosdam toasts. When we lived in Spain, our friend Dave came to visit us and to visit his grandmother (who lived in one of my favorite neighborhoods in Barcelona). (Note: Anyone who knows Dave will not be surprised that he has Catalan blood). We were so happy to see him. He taught us how to make one of his grandmother's recipes. The recipe calls for a baguette, tomatoes, avocado, olive oil, salt & pepper. You smash the tomato into the bread, douse it in olive oil, add avocado, salt and pepper and bake for as long as you like. It is delicious. We call this snack Nosdam toasts in honor of our friend. Making them reminds me of Dave and reminds me of Spain.

whoa.

2011-03-01T20:45:00.001-08:00

MARNI

The fashion world talks about this particular Marni collection as a departure from the norm (nutty & colorful and all the things that make fashion memorable) to a more sophisticated, grown-up look (in-line with the strong shapes and vivid minimalism "of the moment" -and, fu*k the moment as far as I'm concerned). What I really want to hear someone say, is how completely original and refreshing and spirited the collections are.

Every. Single. Time.

the prairie.

2011-02-21T16:15:00.001-08:00

c a l i f o r n i a d r e a m i n g

2011-02-12T22:39:00.000-08:00

My kind of suit.

2011-02-12T18:48:00.001-08:00

febRuary

2011-02-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

happiness

2011-02-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

If you want others to be happy

practice compassion.

If you want to be happy,

practice compassion.

Dalai Lama

*passed along to me by my dear friend Hilary.

I LOVE mansbestfriend.

2011-02-07T17:11:00.000-08:00

snow/sunday

2011-02-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

spirit

2011-02-06T10:33:00.001-08:00

Beklina:

2011-02-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Beklina: NOWNESS

painting phase

2011-02-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

Both Ends of the Rainbow by Dane Lovett

I learned not too long ago, from a wise older woman, that no matter where you hold a day job or what you create or how often, if you are an artist you must say "I am an artist." I self-identify as an artist, but feel somewhat the fraud as I've never sold any work and I am still working toward my childhood dream, but still, I am an artist! I blame persistent adventure (need for change ie: restlessness), an "art for art's sake" mentality, and insecurity (inherited from my be-a-doctor-or-be-a-loser family) as causes for why I have yet to step fruitfully into my true life's calling. But that's not the point. The point is, while I am an artist I have never painted. Actually, that's not true...

I had to paint a series of pictures for a studio art class taught by an uptight fascist illustrator professor. The paintings were intended to show a gradual morphing of one object into another. I decided to "morph" a pear into a guitar, or was that someone else in the class? I can't remember. I blocked it out. I am no illustrator. I am no painter. Mine was a pathetic morph and you can't imagine the horror I felt as the critique approached. My paintings were glorified colored shapes. That's it. I got a D in the class.

Most of my favorite artists are painters. Ed Ruscha, Agnes Martin, Richard Diebenkorn.

Maybe one day I'll go through a painting phase when I really do have arthritis and want to say things that you can only say... in a painting.

My brother-in-law says my sister and I look like Modigliani paintings. I like that.

It is for all these reasons that I love to discover a new painter to admire and be inspired by. Dane Lovett, for example. I learned about him from the Design Files. I like his style. I like thinking about what his art could mean. Tapes, by the way.

p.s. I love my family. Just because they don't come from the "follow your dreams" school of parenting doesn't mean that they didn't teach me how to live a rewarding, adventurous life.

p.p.s. I retook that studio art class with a different professor, gained a valuable mentor, got an A and donated my portfolio so that future students would have a visual guideline to follow.

*

2011-01-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

(artist influenced by Agnes Martin, like me!)

from the design files

this question for himself

2011-01-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?

Hunter S. Thompson

* Best of Spring 2011 *

2011-01-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

Rodarte. I love stories of self-taught designers. Always. There is more to the magic. Every season I am drawn to what the Rodarte sisters create, but my seasonal favorites hinge on what I imagine women actually wearing. Wood-inspired prints, innovative mixing of fabric, wearable yet quirky silhouettes.

Thakoon. Anything 70's inspired...

Alexander McQueen. This collection was gorgeous. When I read about how emotional everybody was at the show I could just imagine what that must have been like... and then to see how beautifully Sarah Burton translated McQueen's vision could only have heightened the sense of loss, and also, appreciation.

The Row. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's collection. That's right. There's simply no denying that they make incredible, wearable clothes. And their vision is consistent and I am attracted to consistency in art.

ADAM.

Marni. Every time I fall in love. I like to imagine that I see the world in a similar way as Consuelo Castiglioni.

Proenza Schouler. I accidentally watched the video for this show, thinking all the while that it was Philip Lim. I must have watched it at least 10 times before I could peel myself away. The details are astounding. Transparent fabrics, the textures and colors, hook-and-eye closures: all favorite things. Watch the video!

No. 21.

Isabel Marant. I adore her.

Prada. Genius.

january

2011-01-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

parka ( A.P.C.)
sweatshirt (A.P.C.)
pants (Golden Goose)
shoes (Sigerson Morrison)

JUNIP

2011-01-18T16:22:00.000-08:00

What We Do Not See If We Do Not See

2011-01-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

by Agnes Martin

We all believe in life.
We feel a certain devotion.
We feel called upon to live as good a life as we can.
We feel that we are in the dark and that even in darkness we
must struggle to know what is best to do.
Not altogether but each one every moment.
We feel that we should not live in just the same way as our
ancestors lived. We feel that we should take a step forward.
We know that this step will be in the dark and will require
courage.
Our tremendous urge forward has a grip of steel.
Because we are in the dark there is suffering and difficulty.

Life is an adventure and adventures are difficult
They are hard work and one does not know how they will go on
or how they will end.
Nevertheless we have a tremendous appetite for the adventure
of life.
We are continually restless if we are not moving forward
according to our potential.
Although we are in the dark we are not without guidance.
Our guidance is called inspiration.
In crisis we say to ourselves: "What can I do", and miraculously
our mind answers and tells us what to do.
The miraculous answer is called an idea very often but it is not
an idea.

There are different parts of the mind.
When we are angry one part of the mind stands as though
outside and we see ourselves raving.
This part that stands as the outside of ourselves is the conscious
mind.
The conscious mind that is aware of perfection, happiness and
the sublime.
When we see ourselves with the conscious mind angry and
perhaps raving we fell guilty.
We recognize that we are off the path - We are off the path of
true life.
The conscious mind says Yes and No.
When it says: "Yes, go ahead, this is the way", we feel happy.
When it says: "You should not be here and you should not be doing this". At those times we feel unhappy.
Our problem is not that we do not see or hear the conscious
mind but that we do not obey.
When we see ourselves angry and the conscious mind is saying
"No" we still go on.
And when it says" "You should not go" we rationalize and say:
"Everyone else is going".
We knowingly disobey the conscious mind.

In this life we are struggling from death into life.
This has been remarked by all sages of all times.
The adventure of life is the relinquishing of death and the
acceptance of life.
In the lives that we lead there is both life and death.
The conscious mind is life and happiness and all things sublime.
Death is all things anti-life and truth.
The most dangerous anti-life and destructive tendency is self
deception known as fantasy. Imagining that we are other than we are.
The opposite of fantasy, true knowledge of self, is the greatest
wisdom.

The conscious mind is awareness of the sublime and it tells us
what to do by showing us when we are off the track.
Obedience to the conscious mind carries us forward to greater
awareness.
Disobedience of the consiciou mind carries us backward to less
awareness.
With more accurate obedience we become rapidly more aware
of the sublime: of beauty and happiness in life.
We become more devoted to life.
With disobdience we become less and less aware with less
respect for life.

This is the side of death in the adventure of life versus death. We
will be disrespectful of life and everything in it, even of our-
selves. We will be complaining and destructive and we will have
resistance to living our own life.
Other peoples lives will look better to us than our own life, more
interesting and more rewarding.
This is a very unnatural state of mind. If you have this state of
mind you must recognize at once that you are very far off the
track of life and happiness.
To correct this state of mind you must say to yourself: "I want
to live a true life."
That is all you have to do to turn from death to life.
Asking for life and truth you will be on the side of life and
against death.
I will not speak any more of death because it does not count.
Reality is positive.
Art work is a celebration of reality of the positive.
A positive response to life (which we call happiness) is not a
single response. It is infinitely various and goes far beyond what
we are able to bear.
We cannot reproduce reality or represent it correctly. It is
ineffable.
In art work we represent our own happiness because of our
awareness of the infinite sublimity of reality.
Without awareness of beauty, innocence and happiness and
without happiness oneself one cannot make works of art.
Criticism and discontent expressed concretely are complaint and
destructiveness. All negative expression is anti-life and anti-art.

Besides recognition of the sublime there are two other elements
in life that must be recognized and lived.
They are self knowledge and potential.
If you have enough respect for yourself you will ask yourself:
"What am I."
If the answer is "I am a man" then the question becomes: "What
is a man."
When you come to the end of all ideas you will still have no
definitive knowledge on the subject. Then you will have to wait
for inspiration.

Until you can clear up your true identity you will be tied to a
repetition of this life.
I have come to tell you the easiest way to find an answer to this
question.
First you must say to yourself "I want to live a true life." Then
you must watch your mind to see the response that it is making
to life.
You will discover the true response that you yourself make to
life undistorted by the ideas of others.
You will make discoveries every day and they will all be very
helpful.
Just as consciousness of the sublime is the path of life so is self
knowledge the path of life.
Neither consciousness nor self knowledge can be pursued so-
cially.
In groups we can compare our observations of life but life itself
is lived by individuals.
Changes in social living are the result of changes that take place
in individuals.
First some truth must be recognized by and idividual (that is
what we call inspiration) and then it must be expressed con-
cretely and responded to by others.
The cause of these changes is not with us but is a result of the
battle of life and death.
It is not just big inspirations that move life forward.
Every time an individual asks his mind what to do and receives
direction and acts upon it life moves forward.
Since we almost all live in this way life moves forward very
rapidly even though we have some tremendous setbacks.
It is up to us only in that our pursuit of awareness is on the side
of life.
As life is recognized death is over come.
The only triumph in life is the triumph of life itself.
Our awareness of it we feel as happiness.
Art work represents this happiness.
It does not represent life because life is infinite, dimensionless. It
is consciousness of itself. And that cannot be represented.
But our positive response to life can be, has been, and is
represented in art work.

And now we come to the last element to be considered, our
individual potential.
We, each of us feels that our life is not like anyone else's life and
that is absolutely true, infinitely true.
To live an absolutely original life one has only to be oneself.
In nature there is no sameness anywhere. There are no two rocks
alike, no days alike, no moments alike even forever.
And no two people alike or any moment of their lives.
It follows from this that we cannot help one another since our responses are not alike.
Since we are not alike in the experience of others is of no use to us.
This is particularly obvious when we wish to know what to do.
We are all born with a certain potential. It is different from that
of anyone else and it is necessary to life.
We must unfold our potential as a contrubution to life.
We are born to do certain things and we are born to fill a certain
need.
If there is a bare spot on the ground the best possible weed for
that environment will grow.
In the same way our lives are created out of necessity and we are
created with the potential to meet the necessity.
The resistance to function, that is our resistance to the unfolding
of our potential is due to the strength of the negative in life.
We are born as verbs rather than nouns.
We are born to function in life, to work and do all positive
actions that will carry out our potential.
When our potential is fully expended we will not be back. Our
concrete existence will come to an end.
Our ideas - deductions made from observed facts of life, are of
no use in the unfolding of potential.
Only obedience to the conscious mind counts. That is lke saying
only inspiration counts.
Inspiration is a command. While you have a choice that is not
inspiration.
If a decision is required that is not inspiration and you should
not do anything by decision. It is simply a waste of time.
Things done by decision even if it is a summit decision are in-
effective and they will be undone.
Only actions carried out in obedience to inspiration are effective.

When we first begin art work we usually have a lot of ideas that
we have to try. But nothing that we do really satisfies us.
Finally we are absolutely defeated. We do not know what to do.
I want to try to explain to you that defeat is the beginning, not
the end of all positive action.
A baby learning to walk knows that if he stands on his feet he
will fall. He knows that he cannot walk. He is defeated and
helpless.
This knowledge is an absolute prerequisite to inspiration.
Defeated and helpless he receives the inspiration to get to his
feet.
He is not defeated and helpless with regard to taking a step but
again he is commanded forward.
At every moment we are helpless and defeated and at every
moment we are commanded forward by inspiration.
There is no choice while we are on the true path.

Our inspirations come as a surprise to us.
Following them our lives are fresh and unpredictable.
But if in disobedience we imitate the lives of others or follow
concepts or perecepts our lives will be dull and unsatisfying and
predictable.
The unfolding of potential in obedience to inspiration is happi-
ness in this life. An ardous happiness in which we move
forward.
Disobedience is unhappiness and moving toward unconsciousness.
Happiness is self sought. It is life
You can only bring happiness to others by being happy yourself.
You can only be happy by being on the path of your unfolding
potential.
The path will be revealed to you by a request to your own
mind.

If your mind is concerned with the political, with policies and
methods, with causes and reforms your work will not be in the
art field.
The Greeks made a great discovery. They discovered that in
Nature there are no perfect circles or straight lines or equal
spaces.
Yet they discovered that their interest and inclination was in the
perfection of circles and lines, and that in their minds they could
see them and that they were then able to make them.
They realized that the mind knows what the eye has not seen but
that what the mind knows is perfection.
They determined that with the help of the conscious mind to
attain to perfection.
Because the Greeks sought the guidance of their conscious mind
their work is very inspiring to us. Because they were inspired we
are inspired by their work.
Work that is guided by the conscious mind is immediately
responded to by others.
It is very easy to see how Greek art has been a very for-life-
against-death action.
Today we realize that perfection is out of reach for us because
we ourselves are a part of nature but it is still our greatest interest.
What we see now is that the path pointed out to us by the
Greeks, the path guided by the conscious mind, is the path of life
and happiness and accomplishment in this world.
To discover the conscious mind in a world where intellect is held
to be valuable requires solitude - quite a lot of solitude.
We have been very strenuously conditioned against solitude. To
be alone is considered to be a grievous and dangerous condition.
So I beg you to recall in detail any times when you were alone
and discover your exact response at those times.
I suggest to artists that you take every opportunity of being
alone, that you give up having pets and unnecessary compan-
ions.
You will find the fear that we have been taught is not just one
fear but many different fears.
When you discover what they are they will be overcome.
Most people have never been alone enough to feel these fears.
But even without the experience of them they dread them.
I suggest that people who like to be alone, who walk alone will
perhaps be serious workers in the art field.

All effective work in any field is dominated by the inspiration of
individuals. All other work is evanescent.
Inspiration is never destructive.
This has been pointed out most effectively by Gandhi and after
him by Martin Luther King.
It never points to what someone else should do. It tells the
individual what he must do.
All of your inspirations will be related to your particular poten-
tial.
Thus Martin Luther King suggested to the colored people that
they must not try to change the white people but must change
themselves. Not by policy or method but each one must change
himself.
And I suggest to you that this way is not just for emergencies but
is the way of life.
The individual by himself must move forward by inspiration in
order to live. Not by help from others or with knowledge from
the past. Real life is lived by Self Discovery.
In the night inspiration falls on the world like rain and pene-
trates our minds when we are asleep.
It is because of this that we are so eager, so desperate for sleep.
It penetrates all clear minds.
People with such minds wake up eager to carry out the com-
mands of inspiration.
They feel energetic, enthusiastic and are happy at the prospect of
life.
They also feel contentment and spontaneous gratitude and are
filled with the spirit of adventure.
If you think all night or if you are drugged inspiration cannot
penetrate. Then with reluctance you will be forced to live a life
of habit.
If during the day you can keep from intellectualizing your life
and keep from dreams you will double your possibility of being
inspired. You will then move forward very quickly.
It is commonly believed that accomplishment follows dreams.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Those who dream
dream and those who can act are active.
The pretense of children is not a dream. They are playing and
they know it.

Children make a perfect response to life. They see everything as
beautiful and perfect, often telling their parents how beautiful
and wonderful they are.
Children always love their parents with perfect love regardless
of what the parents are like. They have to learn to bear
frustration which makes them seem unhappy at times.
Living without sufficient inspiration which is the incentive to life
we tend to forget the perfect response we made as children and
we become more and more blind.
It is necessary to make an absolute about face and search out
our true response.
You will be thinking: "It is easy enough for children because
they have no responsibilities", but I assure you that you also can
make a perfect response to life without worry or strain.
You have to see what you have to do in your mind's eye.
You have to give it time.
It is hard for your mind to get through to you because of the
jumble it is in.
With seeing the direction the energy necessary to carry out the
action is given. When it is carried out the energy is taken away
so that you can rest.
If you feel tired it is because you cannot see.
If you cannot see the next step you will take and the happiness
you will know taking it. Then you cannot see.
If you cannot see you must withdraw yourself till you see what
your next action will be.
In confusion and blindness there is no help for you anywhere
except from your own mind.
From you own mind there is all the help you need.

gift wrap 2010

2011-01-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

AMOR

2010-12-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

Reminiscing.

2010-12-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

We were a generation of furtives. You know, with an inner knowledge there's no use flaunting on that level, the level of the 'public,' a kind of beatness- I mean being right down to it, to ourselves, because we all really know where we are- and a weariness with all the forms, all the conventions of the world.

.Jack Kerouac

denim

2010-12-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

breathless jeans
by Made in Heaven

d e c e m b e r

2010-12-06T21:55:00.001-08:00

This Book.

2010-11-25T20:20:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite stories ever ever ever. If you are a romantic like me, you will love it too. It is so sweet and simple and perfect and on the right kind of day it makes me want to live a little more wildly. Off To Sea is a lovely book to give as a gift. Please read it.

November

2010-11-24T00:34:00.000-08:00

Exactly What I Love

Moonrise Kingdom

Ed Ruscha

Follow me where I go.

Spring weather in winter.

Space

Sally Singer.

a favorite.

Beachy

irreverent.

Thoreau for the new year.

Crystalfilm

XoXo 2012

MARNI Spring 2012

And so soon, a new year.

Erica Tanov Fall 2011

joy

life changing

November weekend.

November music.

backless.

white shoes.

Perfect fall November trip.

Washed Out II

this suit.

Life Philosophy

Love

Skinny Jeans

REAL MAGIC

Wild Poppy

east / west

Summer reading.

Coffee & Champagne

Remember when..

Patience is Wisdom

N E O N

.

Fuck Yes

WASHED OUT

Simplicity

the Dream.

milk [magazine]

CELINE

America

1980's Summer Movies

V I R G I N I A

Summer Songs

Summer.Park.Collage

mail*

the end of the world.

A Favorite.

jacquard

kate

Henry Darger

Cloudy May Sunday

Ocean hair

a favorite.

pink

April. . .

bell-bottoms

I knew I liked Jay-Z

Q:

You are the coolest man on Earth, how the f did you get like that?

Tape.

kindred spirits

U N D E C O R A T E

The Art of Life

Sally Singer

xoxo

color . simplicity

Happy day.

S*U*R*F

Versions of Perfection

Isabel Marant (Take 45)

Isabel Marant

Creative Couples V

* * * *

Ideas

Sunday & Easy to please

whoa.

SUR*F