My Summer of Love

Give-away # 1: Fair Isle Sweater in the spirit of Max the wild thing

"I didn't want to wake you up, but I really want to show you something."

- James Gandolfini as Carol to Max Records as Max

(That sentence speaks to where I was yesterday, when I began to post this blog...while we were all dozy on a post-turkey-feast day.  We were stepping out of our tryptophan hangover gently and quietly, enjoying a day off of work...we were just loving life.)

Where The Wild Things Are is in theaters now.  I went to see it because in the past, I'd liked some works by author/artist Maurice Sendak, director/skateboarder Spike Jonze, and the film's screenplay writer Dave Eggers, whose book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, I'd read.

The visuals, cinematography, and songs are my favorite elements of this movie.  

And a few lines that are like bites of poetry,

such as this one, uttered by Lauren Ambrose of the hugely missed show Six Feet Under... 

"I'll eat you up I love you so." 

Some of these creatures looked like cousins of the puppets in The Dark Crystal, a movie that came out when I was too small for school.

At the beginning of the film, Max is wearing an awesome tribal style knitted sweater (the rest of the film he's in a wolf-suit). 

He wears it in school, rough housing with the other guys, while he's daydreaming, and on his drive home.  I coveted this!  It looked perfectly old world.

I have a couple of lovely fair isle sweaters already, but I happened to see one in a shop recently, in this heathered-gray, plum-charcoal color that I love.

It's the exact color of the Atlantic Ocean.

I purchased it because the days were getting colder, it would be great for any activity in the snow, and it reminded me of that dazzling jumper in the film.

I want to give the sweater to one of you, for free! 

Since it's vintage, it's one of a kind. 

It was commercially made, but it looks almost like folk art, because the pattern is intricate.

This sweater is in excellent condition.  It's one of the best-looking fair-isle sweaters I've seen in a long time.  It can be hard to find ones with colors this tasteful, and patterns this flattering.

Vintage sweaters of this type go for say $40 - $80.  Brand new, a high quality fair isle sweater can be worth hundreds.  This one for men by Burberry is $650,  clickable link.

Mine isn't Burberry, but it's still special.  I loved the hues and design. 

Mine could fit a child with plenty of room for layering, a small woman, or even a man, if he's wire-y and bold enough I guess. The measurements are:

shoulder 14.5"
chest 34"
sleeve 23"
length 26"

 It is collegiate, and ski-slope worthy.

 

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE trailer in HD

Trailer Park| MySpace Video

The tag line for the movie-

Inside all of us is...HOPE

Inside all of us is...FEAR

Inside all of us is...ADVENTURE

Inside all of us is...A WILD THING.

Hoooowwwwl

Leave a comment or email me if you'd like the sweater. 

Entries are welcome until 11 p.m. December 5th.  I'll announce the winner on Sunday morning 12-6-2009.  It's my first give-away and I have no idea if I'll get any bites at all.

I'll be sure to mail it to you in time if you want to give it as a Christmas gift.

Currently listening to: 

"Wake up" by The Arcade Fire  2004

Update:  There's no need to include your address in the body of your comment (I notice a few people are doing that).  I wouldn't want you dears to have to publish your info in order to get the prize.  Rest assured, Typepad sends me your email when you comment.   p.s.  If you'd like to send your entry via private message instead, that's fine too.   You'll find my addie on my "About" page, above a hundred of my favorite things.  Good luck- So far your chances of winning are great!

 

All images in this post (except shirt) belong to Warner Bros, found via

clickable link.

Covered stones

 Hey guys.

I expected to be on the road tonight.  But, I ended up traveling during the day... and I can steal a minute to post a blog now.  I was in the car, train, subway, and walkin' with my legs for hours.  I'm going to have a drink... soon as I post this.  The seasonal choice would be a hot toddy, let's cross our fingers that the ingredients are in the pantry. 

(If you're reading this and you enjoy hot toddies too after wonderful cold weather travels, tell me if you prefer it with a favorite type of whiskey, rum, or brandy.)

I'm thankful for many, many things.  I can hardly do justice to such a thought in the few moments I have right now.

 

In the meantime, I'll show you pretty, textural things... to bring a little drop of art and nature into your day.  I bought these necklaces from this very cool girl Mimi in late summer.  

I use them more often as home decor (hanging from the ceiling or piled in a bowl), less often as jewelry.

 

I think crochet is pretty awesome, let's just get that out if I've not yet mentioned. 

(It probably started when I had an off-white crochet bikini top that I fell in love with, someone gave me as a gift.  If it's hard to picture, it looked sort of like this, except I'm not hot like these models, and mine had little seashells on the ends of the ties.  It was from a French boutique on St. Maarten.)

 

My mother crochets, so you'd think I'd be an ace...but she also practices medicine, takes language courses, volunteers for the Red Cross, is an adjunct prof, cooks gourmet meals, and will re-tile a whole damn floor if it needs it.  She's kind of extraordinary and I can't compare myself to her.  I do get a little frustrated that I can't crochet like a master.  I have to give it a good shot.

When I sew or knit (and I hardly feel I know how) it's usually for the relaxation.  To me, the activity feels both primitive and polished at the same time.  Makes me feel like a woman.  (Does that last part sound sexist?  Hope not).

The hand motions, the colors, and the physics involved are quite amazing and soothing to my sensibilities when I sew.  I feel centered.

Her store is closed now, but she was one of the coolest artisans I've worked with.

I raise my (hot toddy filled) glass to all of you- may you be safe and sound traveling to your various destinations! 

Am sending you love, and for those of you in the U.S.A., a wish for a Happy Thanksgiving.
 

Music:  Heart of Stone by The Rolling Stones, 1964

We'll come back for Indian Summer

It's November in New England.  So warm lately.  Makes me want to do yoga outside.

 

Music:  Indian Summer by Luna, 1993

Breakfast in cemetery
Boy tastin wild cherry
Touch girl, apple blossom
Just a boy playin possum
We'll come back for Indian Summer
We'll come back for Indian Summer
We'll come back for Indian Summer
And go our separate ways
What is that cheerful sound?
Rain fallin on the ground
We'll wear a jolly crown
Buckle up, we're wayward bound
We'll come back for Indian Summer
We'll come back for Indian Summer
We'll come back for Indian Summer
And go our separate ways
Motorbike to cemetery
Picnic on wild berries
French toast with molasses
Croquet and Baked Alaskas
We'll come back for Indian Summer
We'll come back for Indian Summer
We'll come back for Indian Summer
And go our separate ways
Cover me with rain
Walk me down the lane
I'll drink from your drain
We will never change
No matter what they say

photo via dailybitsofbeauty

Jeanne-Claude

 

I wish I could find photos that convey how wonderful Christo and Jeanne-Claude were in person.  I heard that she passed away on November 18th.  It's not easy to imagine the two of them apart.  When I saw them, she did most of the talking.

 

As a student, I saw photos of their art.  I wasn't fully feeling something about it.  I wasn't embracing it and digging it as much as I wanted to.  Sometimes, of course, I love a work of art right away.  Keep in mind I'm not talking about respect here, I'm talking about love.  I can respect something immediately because I see the talent and the heart that went into it.  On the other hand, of course, sometimes I dislike a piece of art right away.  I'm referring to art as a song, a play, a film, a book, a runway show, a painting, and so on and so forth. I disagree with an artist friend of mine, a guy who once said to me "all works of art are beautiful."  I get what he means, I wish I agreed, but for me, there have to be things I don't find beautiful, in order to have a frame of reference for what I think beauty is.

 

 

There is plenty of art that I reserve judgment on.  Sometimes I must revisit it, even if it means reading a book a second time.  Or I need to see it in person, or simply look at it more often, let it be in my life longer, before I know if I like or dislike it.  If that makes sense to any of you, I'm happy, because I'm not sure how well I can explain the feeling.  People usually expect me to like or dislike an artist instantly. 

 

An old best friend of mine, named Melella, understood.  I burned him a CD, and there was one song he fell in love with much later.  I remember he used to say that the superior song on the album was the one that he realized was amazing after he'd listened to the song many times.  Felt as good as discovering something hidden.  "The song that grows on you is probably better than the song you loved at first listen."  I don't think Melella's is a hard and fast rule...but I knew what he meant.  Anyway, this is a roundabout analogy for the fact that Christo and Jeanne-Claude are now some of my favorite artists of all time, but when I first saw photos of their work I was definitely lukewarm about them.

 

As the years went by, I developed an increasing enthusiasm for public art, and I felt more intrigued by Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work every year.  Eventually "The Gates" came to New York City.  At the time I was spending a ton of my time on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, so the Gates became part of my life's landscape.  People traveled from all over the world to visit them...New Yorkers were so lucky that they were at our doorstep.  The city was buzzing about it.  There were parties.  My former boss went to a Gates-viewin' party at a penthouse apartment on Central Park West... that kind of thing.

 

I wondered if it were all pretentiousness, but when I saw the Gates in person, I was converted into a wholehearted fan.  Later that year, I saw footage of the duo's decades preparing artworks around the world.  They kept going up notches in my book, because I was gaining a sense of what phenomenal artists they were.  First off, they were devoted to each other as if it were second nature.  Such a cosmic, beautiful love story was there between them. 

 

When I learned that they worked tirelessly, debating with municipalities and mayors, and passing other obstacles in order to get their artworks finished, I realized this team was passionate far beyond what I see in many people.  I started to feel defensive of them when people would act like the Gates were ridiculous.  I felt protective and endeared towards them.  They were visionaries who had to win people over who couldn't see the worth in the art.  They seemed so young even though they were about 70 years old.

 

They don't accept outside funding for their work, they don't make a profit, and it is to be viewed free of charge. 

 

Some words paraphrased from their website:

"Christo and Jeanne-Claude pay the entire cost of the artworks themselves. They earn all of the money through the sale of the preparatory studies, early works from the 1950s and 1960s and original lithographs.  They do not accept grants or volunteer help. They do not accept money for things like posters, postcards, books, films, T-shirt and mugs or any other products at all.  Christo and Jeanne-Claude firmly believe that to accept deals of this kind would alter and compromise their art.  Refusing this money assures they are working in total freedom." 

 

I eventually met them at this little chilled out place after an event, never knowing that would happen.  They reminded me of one of my best painter friends from Europe and her boyfriend (now husband).  I didn't say too much, or take photos, or ask for autographs or anything when it happened, because that isn't something I would do.  But it was exciting and if I had known she wouldn't be on the planet in a few years, I would have spoken my thanks to her a little more than I did.  She taught me things at a pivotal time in my life.  She gave me a few gems about being an artist and a woman in love.  I think I'll carry that with me.

 

What do you guys think of these artists?  I remember the Gates made me walk to parts of Central Park I never would have gone to.  They made the white snow and brownish gray of Manhattan look like a canvas.  The wind was the paintbrush manipulating the color, the fabric hanging from each saffron colored arch was the paint. 

 

They made thousands of people feel connected.  You walked like an explorer.  The color changed your mood.  You saw people up ahead of you. Likewise, the people behind you saw you ahead of them.   For a few weeks our perceptions of the park and of the other park goers were altered.  It was as if we were all swimming in the same current.

 

 

I never expected to meet these two, and I never expected that the experience would leave such a deep and lasting impression on me.  Thank you Jeanne-Claude... I'll never forget you.  Rest in peace.

Speaking of pale beige dresses

A nude-colored dress from my closet.  It's short and sweet.

 

 

via i'myourpresent

High tea

 

Over The Hill - Alessi's Ark Official Video

Alessi's Ark| MySpace Video

I think the singer sounds a bit like she has hiccups.  Which grew on me.  And as if she were honeyed on her tongue and throat.  This is the vid for the song "Over the Hill" and is about 3 mins.  Some of my favorite things can be found in it.

- Silky black bows

- Nude-colored dresses

- See-through white dress (akin to my favorites from Charles Anastase runways)

- Gilded tea cups with painted flowers

- A miniature tea cup  (I have one, oddly enough. I don't place it in my mouth the way she does)

- Stacks of jam sandwiches 

I don't often eat jam sandies.  But I take pleasure in the way they look.  The sticky stacks.  They remind me of books from childhood.  I recommend thumbing through "The Winter That Would Not End" (1982, art by Mercedes Llimona) and "Zlateh The Goat"  (1966, art by Maurice Sendak)

- Tugging off cotton socks

- Sugar cubes (I love how they upwardly drink in the tea's color)

- Things overflowing and spilling

- Antique wooden floors and the palest colors (Makes me think of Scandinavian interior design at its most rustic)

- Swimming swans, hopping rabbits, galloping horses, and an owl turning its head.

- Stop motion animation

- Chipped paint on walls (if you were to see the places I've worked, you'd know how much this look has inspired me in the past)

- A more sophisticated version of the tea party that Lewis Carroll's Alice attended... or tea on one's own, or with ghostly guests 

- A feather fascinator in her hair

- A gray cat like my sister's

- An upbeat love song, layered with a little darkness

Behind the Scenes footage (2 and a half mins)

Over The Hill (Behind The Scenes)

Alessi’s Ark| MySpace Video

A strange little coincidence is that two people in my life exposed me to Alessi's Ark.  They didn't try to.  First one friend hosted a show Alessi played in the U.S.  A second friend traveled to Europe to perform with her a few months later.  If two people I really respected liked Alessi so much, it means she must be made of good stuff.

 

At some point, I scooped up the EP called Bedroom Bound.  It flew over from the musician's home in England... it was tightly tucked in its blanket, a rectangular cd case she sewed.  This was a couple of years ago, when Alessi was still a 16 or 17 yr old kid recording in her bedroom.  When I hear an Alessi's Ark song now, there's a moment when I think of those two pals who are dear to me.

 

 

I'm so happy because she has made some cool videos this year.  I hear that she was signed to EMI and is being appreciated by a much wider audience now.  I'm thrilled that she's able to distribute her creations in copious amounts.  That's gotta be good for mankind.  I'm touched when good things happen to good people.

 

 

Photo by Rebecca Miller

Hallow's Eve lollies

On Halloween, my favorite toddler got to taste a lollipop. Usually, lollipops are off limits, since they have too much sugar and can be hazardous.  Bummer.  The good news is that they taste 100 times better when they are a rare treat.

The photos I took were in low light, but I love them.  I think the flash would have changed the look.  It was after all a Halloween party and what better time for a house to be shadowy?

My siblings and I don't think about this much because it was long ago, but my father was skipped ahead a few years in school (aw, he's such a smarty-pants) and now this little one is following the family tradition. But he did it in grade school.  Her pre-school recently said she should be put with the kids a couple of years above her.  Nursery school seems early to make this leap.  I think skipping kids ahead is not as simple a decision as it may seem.  Social, emotional, and physical maturity are factors, not only your intellect.  Her intellect definitely needs to be challenged and that won't happen if she's with kids who are way behind her.  She's doing some math and basic reading, counting in English and Spanish, and even rocks a bit of French.  The best is hearing her identify colors in more than one language.  Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, pink, brown, gray, black and white.  Oh my goodness, her little voice is music to my ears.  She learns a song the first time she hears it.  I can't help but be proud of these two nerds.  I'll call them secret nerds.  They seem almost too cool and silly to be nerdy.  I have seen all these black and white photos of my dad when he was younger, he was a bit like Marlon Brando and Gene Kelly combined.  Not only how he looked but how he conducted himself.  He's always very humble, so occasionally I can stand to be a bragasaurus rex about him.  Here are Zorro and a sweet baby clown.  An unlikely pair. 

Glow-sticks got us through the rainy night!

I love you when you're scruffy

Love him, love the picture.

A secret sign language, perhaps? If my bf did this to me across the room at a party, I'd need to kiss him very soon.  What is it about him?  Is it the clothes, the hair, the scruff?  Yes.  But mainly I like the combo of nerdy and cool.

And you give yourself away

xo

I want to give things to you.  I'll be back soon.