When I started writing about my family a few months ago, I thought I'd start with my great-grandparents, who were both artists and who inspired the project. But I quickly made some disturbing discoveries that led me several generations further back.
This month I've finally written about my great-grandparents, but the information I have feels slight, compared to whole lifetimes. A handful of photos, a few anecdotes, some paragraphs in a biography. All I can do is catalog the crumbs. Read more...
I'm taking this year to research and write about my family, sharing what I find here and on my blog. If you'd like to catch up, here are all the installments in the series so far.
________________________________________________________________________________Time for designing
This time of year I make time to design new jewelry. I start by looking through the bits and pieces of design experiments that surround me in my studio and let myself play until an idea grabs me.
I look through my sketchbooks, old and new, to see what sparks my interest or seems to be a recurring theme.
The goal is to translate the scrap of an idea into something beautiful and wearable, like these pearl Pod earrings.
I can't wait to see what new jewelry is born.
_______________________________________________________________________________These 3 things:
An artist who wears outfits that match public transportation upholstery;
military gear transformed by embroidery;
and these vivid candid street photographs taken in the 1890s.
Naming the natural world
This cold, spare time of year is perfect for reading slightly magical books.
The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris is based on words describing the natural world which have been removed from the Oxford Junior Dictionary. The illustrations are exquisite and often take up whole page spreads, and the poems require that we slow down and pay attention.
I've just started reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, and already I want to go exploring the woods surrounding my home. He explains the ways that trees live in community, communicate and rely on each other. It's fascinating.
What have you been reading? Let me know by replying to this email. I always need suggestions.
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