MASS MOCA



MASS MOCA is one of my favorite contemporary art museums in the US. I made the drive out to the lovely little town of North Adams a few times my senior year and always left in awe of the work I had seen and the scale of the building itself. Speaking of museums sited in old industrial buildings, I'm hoping some day I can check out the even larger exhibition space, Turbine Hall, at the Tate Modern in London.

Critic



I feel slightly lame admitting that A.O. Scott's movie reviews are the first thing I read when I browse nytimes.com. I'm generally not that interested in the movies he reviews, since I rarely go see movies these days, but I absolutely love his writing style and his critiques are always thoughtful, and often funny without being elitist. He's a fan of John Hughes for goodness sake, what's not to love? Here is his review of one of my favorite films Groundhog Day.

The Chicken and The Egg





I am a huge fan of cooking with eggs (It's not unheard of for me to eat quiche for every meal of the day) so I can't wait to have my own backyard mobile chicken coop in the near future (I'm giving it a year). I also love that people create well designed backyard coops and then post them online with building tips included. Here is my personal fav.

Ah Martha





Dare I admit publicly that I'm inspired by Martha? Ok so the woman may have been involved in some insider trading but boy can she make a great homemade halloween decoration. I am a huge fan of fall and I probably spent a good half hour looking through these slideshows of holiday craft projects which will most likely never be realized by me but continue to inspire none the less.

casa





Ever since I became a mother two years ago, hearing about instances of child abuse or neglect have been so much more difficult for me to process and I've felt slightly helpless as a result. Then along came Craigslist with a post about volunteers needed to serve children within my local community and I felt like my prayers had been heard. CASA has programs in 49 states (what's your deal North Dakota?) and so my Mom has decided to volunteer with the Utah chapter as well. I'm really looking forward to doing whatever I can, no matter how small, to try and make a positive impact in these children's lives.

Color





The colors at the Prada Spring 2010 show were startling. I especially liked the orange dress that opened the show. However as I spent the day wearing jean cutoffs and a hand-me-down t-shirt from my mother, I'm feeling like this should really be my last post about how fashion inspires me.

Woody Interview





In honor of Woody Allen's new movie opening this weekend and of course my abiding love for Annie Hall. Here's a link to a short and funny interview with Woody in the NYTimes. I enjoyed his reaction to questions of aging and the real reason he reads Russian novels.

Little Dorrit





No trip to Utah would be complete without watching a great BBC period drama with my mom. This time it's 'Little Dorrit' by Charles Dickens and I've been impressed with the production so far (we're 2 hours into the 7 hour film). The casting is great as most of the characters look just as you would imagine Dickens eccentric often grotesque caricatures to be.

Montana Sky





Yesterday I drove through Montana on my way down to Utah and the sky was just as beautiful as I remembered.

Civil War





Cameron and I started watching the first few episodes of Ken Burns documentary with Netflix-online and are loving it so far. My only regret is that I don't have more energy at the end of the day to watch, and why must the documentary have the soothing narrators voice of Sam Waterson to lull me off to sleep.

The STA at Night





I road the bus home this evening from downtown after I finished gallery sitting and it made for some interesting people watching at the STA Plaza.

Fashion Week





My favorite look from the New York Fashion Week. I love the large necklaces at Proenza Schouler paired with the simple shape of the t-shirt dress.

Food as Art





Check out this slideshow of incredible looking food, though I'm not sure how I feel about actually eating the bagel and lox icecream.

Jane Eyre



I love this passage of the book where Jane determines that she will choose her self-respect over the man she loves. 'Still indomitable was the reply: "I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad — as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth — so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am quite insane — quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot." [270-71]

Storm King Wavefield





How I wish I was on the east coast to visit the Storm King Art Center and see Maya Lin's site specific sculpture. I love her projects related to topography and landscape and she also happens to have written one of my favorite art books.

Irving Penn






I love Penn's photographs that accompanied the food articles in Vogue.

Invictus






Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Alexander Hamilton






None of the Founding Fathers came from such unpromising origins: three years before the American Revolution, Hamilton was an illegitimate orphan working in the Virgin Islands as a merchant's clerk. Few achieved as much as he did in such a compact career. Hamilton held his first important public office (colonel on George Washington's staff) when he was 20 years old, and retired from his last one (Inspector General of the army) when he was 43. None suffered such a spectacular death -- shot in a duel by the Vice President of the United States. Hamilton overcame huge odds, left behind ideas and institutions that have lasted for centuries, and never quite escaped the shadows of his past.(excerpt from the New York Historical Society)

Reality TV






Reality TV usually inspires me to turn off my TV, however I must admit to a severe Top Chef addiction. I love seeing the food prepared and learning about new dishes and techniques. I'm not sure if this translates into better tasting meals at my table but I do feel a bit of guilt serving Mac and Cheese for dinner after watching the show.

Quote






I found this quote in a New York Times home design article and it stuck with me. To paraphrase Anita Brookner, ‘At some point you’re going to have to come to terms with who you are, however unpleasant, if you’re going to be anything at all.'

The Physiology of Taste






Brillat-Savarin's book has provided the genesis of several art projects that I've been working on for my upcoming show. It's full of great quotes about our relationship to food, spoken as only an eighteenth century Frenchman could. Highlights include the benefits of gourmandism on marital happiness to which he says 'the ways in which meals are enjoyed is very important to the happiness of life.' And the priceless discourse on 'the calamity of thinness, particularly in women, with prescriptions for fattening them up.'

Wendy and Lucy






I watched this movie last week when I had a stomach ache and in spite of my physical discomfort I really enjoyed the film. It certainly isn't an upper (Cameron made a joke about volunteering to get me some water since he knew that nothing would happen in the movie during his absence), but I loved the realism, tragedy and beauty in the banal day to day life of the characters. It felt like a brief glimpse into these individuals lives and yet seeing them over the course of a few days they felt so much more three dimensional than any other movie I've seen in a while. Plus how could I not love a movie that finds beauty in the strip-malls of the pacific northwest that constitute my own landscape at the moment.

Integrity






And finally I am inspired by individuals who are examples of integrity. Honesty with myself and others has always been a bit of a tough one for me. Growing up I was quite the fib teller and didn't really see anything wrong with that since I thought it was a sign of my creativity and basically helped me to be a more interesting person. It was quite late in my teens before I really started to discover the shallowness of this way of thinking and began to admire individuals who were true to themselves and kept their promises to others. Often these individuals were less flashy on the surface but had a depth of character that brought peace to themselves and those around them. (The lovely goat pic is courtesy of a google image search of the word 'integrity').

Interview






Next up we have a great interview with the painter Francesco Clemente. I love his sentiments on the importance of time and boredom to making art. It's a great reminder to me to pause and look around more closely at things I take for granted. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9227

Frida





Alas it's been a few days since my last entry but luckily today is a Sunday which can usually be counted on to be three times as inspirational as other days of the week so I'll get all caught up. I'll start with the slightly frivolous and say that I love love love Frida Kahlo's style. I really appreciate the eccentricity and beauty of the way she puts herself together and always come away determined to find a more distinct style for myself.

pop-scape






Here is one of the images from the photoshoot I did with Emily. A landscape of poptarts which for some reason reminds me of the scenery in 'My Antonia' albeit slightly pinker.