Michelle Hartney

Today

2012-01-30T17:14:00.002-06:00

I didn't love today. I guess I was due for a rough day since I've had a string of months that were quite fabulous, so I can take one cruddy day. Let's just say it started with my dog puking and I may or may not have sobbed in a federal building this afternoon. (Getting a passport for Shine.) I cannot remember the last time I cried in public. Normally I am a bit self conscious if I cry in public and try to hide it, but I did not care one bit. I cried in the passport office, I cried all the way down the elevator with another guy on it, and through the federal building lobby, and I cried while David was talking to security, and while walking two blocks through busy downtown streets, and then it finally ended in a Walgreens. It felt good, and it's better than yelling I suppose. Thank goodness for my sweet, calm husband. Oh Davey. I love you. We have been together almost seven years, and not once have you ever told me to stop crying. You let me have my moment and let it out. It never helps when you start crying and someone says, "Don't cry." Well it never helps me at least.

Today really was not all the bad. I think I am just very, very tired. My 10 month old child does not sleep through the night anymore. She used to. She has slept through the night once in the last two months due to a combination of traveling and being sick. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. But I need to keep it all in perspective. She is healthy and lovely, and we are all ok, and it will pass, she will eventually get the sleep thing. So until then, I will have mini evening dates with my camera (just took that shot above) and cupcakes and tea sunsets to keep me happy. It will all be ok.

Jesus Don't Want me for a Sunbeam

2012-01-30T16:51:00.000-06:00

Light

2012-01-29T16:49:00.000-06:00

Thank you sun.

Stacks

2012-01-28T17:17:00.000-06:00

This Doris Salcedo installation is incredible!

Valentines Charms

2012-01-28T16:45:00.000-06:00

Friday Music Muse

2012-01-27T08:39:00.000-06:00

I'm a little bit obsessed with Neutral Milk Hotel lately...

King of Carrot Flowers pts 2 & 3

...And on the lazy days
The dogs dissolve and drain away
The world it goes
And all awaits
The day we are awaiting

Up and over
We go through the wave and undertow
I will float until I learn how to swim
Inside my mother in a garbage bin
Until I find myself again again '

Up and over we go
Mouths open wide and spitting still
And I will spit until I learn how to speak
Up through the doorway as the sideboards creek
With them ever proclaiming me me oh

Up and over
We go the weight it sits on down and I don't know
I will shout until they know what I mean
I mean the marriage of a dead dog sing
And a synthetic flying machine machine

**photo by Corey Arnold via Cup of Jo

Battered Heart

2012-01-26T16:43:00.000-06:00

Available in my shop!

City Girl

2012-01-25T16:39:00.000-06:00

Snow Tracks

2012-01-21T19:26:00.003-06:00

I love it when snow looks like a cool line drawing.
The top photo is from last year's monster blizzard, and the bottom two are from yesterday.

Support the Arts

2012-01-20T08:39:00.000-06:00

Please help my cousin James make this incredibly interesting documentary about music and brainwaves. Their goal on Kickstarter is $16,000 and they have $10,500 pledged. They only have 5 days left to reach their goal, and the deal with Kickstarter is they only get money if they reach their goal, so the $10,500 pledged is gone if they don't reach $16,000. Every dollar counts!

Stop American Censorship

2012-01-18T21:41:00.002-06:00

I'm a little late in the game, but thought I'd go ahead and join the bandwagon to help to attempt to stop the wackiness that Congress is trying to put forth. Below is a letter the CEO of Etsy wrote which explains it best. When I realized this ridiculousness could potentially result in shutting down Etsy and Paypal and [fill in the blank] I was completely shocked. For more information click here.

Original letter posted on November 23, 2011

Lawmakers are debating legislation in the U.S. Congress that we at Etsy believe is unnecessary, over-reaching, and ultimately harmful to the fabric of the Internet.
The legislation — the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House of Representatives — grants copyright owners unprecedented power to block or shut down websites entirely for copyright infringements that are already being successfully addressed via existing laws.
We know that this is a concern for some of you in the Etsy community, too. We wanted to let you know that we have contacted our representatives to oppose this legislation. In doing so, we stand with AOL, eBay, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo! and Zynga (see their letter). We also stand with friends in our local New York City community who are against the legislation, Tumblr and Kickstarter.
Our protest of this specific legislation does not mean that we support piracy or platforms that promote piracy. Etsy is a community of creators and we take intellectual property very seriously. Like other major Internet companies, we have a clear policy and set of procedures in place for dealing with infringing content under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We have been successfully working with rightsholders to enforce those policies since Etsy was founded in 2005. But under SOPA, anyone who is a "holder of an intellectual property right harmed by the activities" of even one shop on Etsy, could hypothetically serve our technology partners (e.g. payment processors, hosting services) with a notice that would require them to suspend Etsy's service within 5 days. That means that a trademark violation in one shop could affect everyone’s business.
We are asking our lawmakers to defeat these bills and to work with the Internet community to come up with tailored, appropriate solutions that enhance innovation and creativity, rather than risk harming the foundations of the Internet for everyone based on the actions of a few.
We encourage you to educate yourselves about this legislation, starting with the Protect Innovation site built by some of the Internet companies listed above, many of which you probably use every day. The Protect Innovation site provides a simple tool for you to find your representatives and also provides sample letters that you can edit and send to them.
We hope you'll join us in opposing these bills.

Chad Dickerson
CEO, Etsy

Valentine

2012-01-18T13:24:00.001-06:00

I had a Valentine's Day photoshoot last week and shot some of my new Anti-Valentine necklaces which are available in the shop!

Julia

2012-01-17T14:24:00.001-06:00

We had a lovely snowy weekend in Michigan that included David cooking Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon (delicious) and chasing our super fast crawling baby. (I just finished reading Letters to Avis from Julia Child which was incredible, and the inspiration for the meal)
Even though it felt super cozy with all the snow on the ground and a crackling fire, I was dreaming of last summer and all the wonderful meals we had on this now frozen screened in porch.

The Magic Flute

2012-01-14T09:27:00.003-06:00

We went to the Lyric Opera House the other night and saw The Magic Flute. It was an incredibly moving and beautiful experience. I thought a lot about my trip to Vienna and my visit to Mozart's home, and wondered what it was like to see this opera performed for the very first time back in 1791 with Mozart himself conducting the orchestra.

By Hand

2012-01-11T13:37:00.000-06:00

Aren't these hand painted hardwood floors incredible??
via Bluebird

Light

2012-01-09T13:31:00.000-06:00

Mother Nature put on another lovely light show for us the other night.

Christmas in February

2012-01-05T21:54:00.001-06:00

I have had an overwhelming number of people ask to purchase my Wooden Geode Ornaments which are now sold out, so I decided to start a wait list and make a few more which will be available in February. If you are interested in being on the wait list send me an email info{at}michellehartney.com and let me know which color you would like! (black, gold, silver or white)

Morning Star

2012-01-05T10:38:00.001-06:00

Baby Wearin' Papa

2012-01-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

Woody Guthries's Resolutions

2012-01-01T15:42:00.000-06:00

via here and here

New Year,

2012-01-01T09:58:00.000-06:00

New light.

2011

2011-12-31T17:10:00.000-06:00

Hands down the best year of my entire life.

We enjoyed a dreamy babymoon in the Bahamas at the beginning of January.

Rebranded/nesting in February.

Saw some of my favorite bands

Read a few fine books

Had a very creative year

Took a couple trips to NYC and had a beautiful week in Michigan.

Saw some incredible sunsets. (and sunrises)

And the most wonderful event of all, giving birth to my Shine.

Becoming a mother has changed me profoundly. Every cliche about becoming a parent is true. Those first life altering six months were so hard, and so wonderful at the same time. The love that grows each day is mind boggling and keeps me so full. What I did not realize was how much strength and confidence I would gain from giving birth and enduring such a long labor, and functioning after so many sleepless nights caring for an infant. I carry it with me every day in the most positive way, down to really small things, like the cold of winter and lack of light which used to pummel me every year. I barely notice it now. I have Shine. I need Shine.

I am a mother. I am strong. I am happy. I struggled with depression for many years, and never thought I could be light. I have light. I am at peace. I know darkness will creep its way back into my life. It's inevitable. I'm prepared. I'm different now.
We did it David. I love you so much.

T'is

2011-12-28T15:07:00.001-06:00

Christmas this year was incredible. Shine brought the magic of Christmas back to my whole family.

Christmas Eve in Chicago

2011-12-24T21:19:00.000-06:00

Sold out

2011-12-22T14:55:00.002-06:00

They all sold! I can hardly believe it. So exciting!!

Life

2011-12-21T22:27:00.000-06:00

Yes, she has reindeer footie pj's. This girl melts my heart every single day.

Winner!

2011-12-19T21:48:00.001-06:00

Congrats to Lovely Domestic Diva, the winner of last week's Color Code Necklace giveaway!

*image from here

The tree

2011-12-19T14:09:00.001-06:00

We finally got our Christmas tree over the weekend and also drove past a pack of cycling santas on the way home.

RIP François Lesage

2011-12-18T10:26:00.000-06:00

"...embroidery was the love of writing your dreams with a needle, with a pearl with anything that could enchant and bring tenderly to life a decor, an ambience, a souvenir."

François Lesage was a lenendary embroiderer who recently passed away. I love how he describes embroidery. I feel it.
My mom taught me how to embroider. It's one of my loves now. I am about to embark on the biggest art project of my life in 2012 which will involve thousands and thousands of stitches. This is so exciting to me. Thank you mom for teaching me how to write my dreams with a needle.

*image and quote from the NY Times

It's beginning...

2011-12-16T17:06:00.001-06:00

...to look a lot like Christmas in these parts. Yesterday was my shipping deadline for all orders, which meant today I was able to breathe. I had a rare moment this evening when Shine took an unusually late nap. Normally I run through the list of things I need to get done sans baby, and even though the list is still full, I treated myself to a date with my camera, because I have been grossly neglecting her. We've had plans, the two of us, with the tripod, and these gorgeous Christmas lights, and my new camera knowledge thanks to my friend Peter, I can actually work this baby on the manual setting and it's changed things between us. A whole new relationship was born between me and my camera. A whole new world is out there to look at.

Friday Music Muse-Tom Waits Take it With Me

2011-12-16T06:30:00.000-06:00

You know those songs you listen to, and the words just undo you, in a good way, and then you somehow forget about the song, and it sneaks its way back into your life one day and it's like audible gold? That's this song to me. When it came back into my life a couple of weeks ago, it was when I was cooking dinner, and David was having a little dance/listening party with Shine. Our baby girl was in his arms, and he was playing songs that move him, us, and this song came on, and I was stirring a pot of Shakshuka, and we looked at each other and smiled and I knew that he was thinking the same exact thing I was thinking, and no words were spoken.

If anything, just read the last verse. Read it slow. It's lovely.

Tom Waits
Take it With Me

Phone's off the hook
No one knows where we are
It's a long time since I
Drank champagne
The ocean is blue
As blue as your eyes
I'm gonna take it with me
When I go

Old long since gone
Now way back when
We lived in Coney Island
Ain't no good thing
Ever dies
I'm gonna take it with me
When I go

Far far away a train
Whistle blows
Wherever you're goin
Wherever you've been
Waving good bye at the end
Of the day
You're up and you're over
And you're far away

Always for you, and
Forever yours
It felt just like the old days
We fell asleep on Beaula's porch
I'm gonna take it with me
When I go

All broken down by
The side of the road
I was never more alive or
Alone
I've worn the faces off
All the cards
I'm gonna take it with me
When I go

Children are playing
At the end of the day
Strangers are singing
On our lawn
It's got to be more
Than flesh and bone
All that you're loved
Is all you own

In a land there's a town
And in that town there's a house
And in that house
There's a woman
And in that woman
There's a heart I love
I'm gonna take it
With me when I go
I'm gonna take it
With me when I go

*photo of Petaluma cows by msfatale

Renegade Handmade

2011-12-15T22:03:00.000-06:00

Check out my geode ornaments on the Rengade Handmade Boutique's Christmas tree!

Giveaway!

2011-12-14T22:17:00.001-06:00

On Monday I will be giving away the above necklace from my Color Code series! Comment below to enter.

The Sky is his Sketchbook

2011-12-12T09:12:00.000-06:00

When I saw these lovely lines outside my window, I pretended Mathew Barney was strapped to the Trump Tower and broke off the white antenna and started drawing on the sky in preparation for a new version of Drawing Restraint.

*bottom image of Barney from here

Stacks

2011-12-11T08:44:00.001-06:00

Whoa. The past few weeks have been amazing. Days have never been so busy, in a good way, and full and stacked high. I have pretty much been working non-stop, making away in between raising my Shine, eating and sleeping. Pack a ton of orders, feed the babe, prepare for holiday fairs, feed the babe, etc. I've had so much help from the people I love, from the Boompas and Cha-Chas to the Amae's (spelling?) and all the uncles. And then there is Davies. I am the luckiest of the luckies. Life is so good, it's just so good.

* I took this photo of my dad's woodpile over the summer. The wood is quite lovely don't you think?

2011-12-08T09:37:00.001-06:00

Hey Chicagoans! Please, please come to this event my friend Lauren and I have put together in conjunction with the Chicago Artist's Coalition. It's a pop-up shopping event called Winter Local and it's taking place THIS SATURDAY at the Chicago Artist's Coalition's gorgeous gallery space from 12-6pm! Details below.

West

2011-12-06T20:40:00.001-06:00

Seems like ages ago, but it was only last week we were on the West Coast, soaking up the sun and loads of love from our family. Shine met all of her cousins, and the few uncles and aunts she had not yet met, and witnessing those introductions for the first time was a beautiful thing indeed.

Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale!!

2011-12-02T07:22:00.000-06:00

Come visit my booth this weekend at the Renegade Craft Fair!!! I'll have my handmade ornaments and the charm bar will be ready to go!

Design for Mankind!!!

2011-12-01T21:50:00.001-06:00

My ornaments were featured on Design for Mankind!!! Eeeeek! Thank you Erin.

Rare Device

2011-12-01T17:51:00.001-06:00

If you live in the San Francisco area check out my ornaments at Rare Device!

Design Sponge

2011-11-30T10:34:00.001-06:00

My Geode Ornaments were included in Design Sponge's 2011 Gift Guide!!!

Tuesday Poetry Post

2011-11-29T19:58:00.001-06:00

When You Are Old

by William Butler Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

*I took this photo about a year or so ago during Meatfest at my parent's house.

It was cold outside, but so warm by this fire, and my face was burning hot,

and my Shine was in my belly.

Inspiration

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-06:00

I put together a little collage of the objects that inspired my new handmade ornaments.

Process

2011-11-27T20:43:00.000-06:00

Here are a few photos I took while making my limited edition Wooden Geode Ornaments.

Limited Edition Ornaments

2011-11-25T04:30:00.000-06:00

I have been working very hard on a new line of Christmas ornaments and I'm super excited to share them with you today!
Here are my handmade limited edition wooden geode ornaments. They come in two different sizes and I have only made a handful of each style. (They are like mini sculptures!) On Sunday I'm going to give you a behind the scenes look at the process, including a few studio shots, and on Monday I'll share with you the inspiration behind the ornaments.
To see the full line head on over to my website!

Sale!

2011-11-25T02:45:00.000-06:00

I'm having a special sale for my blog readers! Use the coupon code blogspecial during checkout on my Etsy site and get a 20% discount off your entire purchase!!! Valid Black Friday-Cyber Monday (November 25-28)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:30:00.000-06:00

This year Thanksgiving is so special. I feel so lucky to have so much to be thankful for and I'm so excited for the holidays! Ever since the thrill of Christmas started fading (when I became an adult) every year I thought to myself that the joy will come back when I have a child. I'm feeling it. Christmas with a little baby. Does it get any better??? HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

*Norman Rockwell painting from here

Mmmm

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-06:00

I can't wait for pumpkin pie!

Tuesday Poetry Post

2011-11-22T20:25:00.001-06:00

Dusting by Marilyn Nelson Thank you for these tiny particles of ocean salt, pearl-necklace viruses, winged protozoans: for the infinite, intricate shapes of submicroscopic living things. For algae spores and fungus spores, bonded by vital mutual genetic cooperation, spreading their inseparable lives from equator to pole. My hand, my arm, make sweeping circles. Dust climbs the ladder of light. For this infernal, endless chore, for these eternal seeds of rain: Thank you. For dust.

*image from here

Moon and Ash

2011-11-21T09:16:00.001-06:00

Lately I've been loving on these collages by Beth Hoeckel. (Via Maquette)

Weak knees

2011-11-15T09:04:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was a horrible day. Our first ER visit with Shine. She's absolutely fine and everything is ok. But it was scary, and I'm not so sure I'm ok. Funny how the body works. I had the same physical reaction in my body that I experienced after I was mugged and also when I was attacked at gunpoint. I think it's that darn PTSD that kicks in whenever I am put into a startling/scary situation. I was trembling so bad yesterday I had to sit because I thought I might collapse. Isn't the brain a strange thing? I keep telling it that all is well, my baby is ok, everything is just fine, I feel it in my bones and believe it, but my brain is telling my body something else. I still have that feeling in my stomach and my limbs. It's this buzzing/jittery/nervous panic feeling that has my whole body on high alert. Fight or flight I suppose. I know it will fade, it will pass, and my brain will catch up and get the memo and tell the rest of my body to calm. In the meantime, I need to ride the wave, so I'm taking a lot of deep breaths, and holding my baby close to me and kissing and hugging and snuggling and feeling thankful.

Weekly Shine

2011-11-14T05:32:00.000-06:00

Sunday evening outside our bedroom window.

Purple and pink

2011-11-13T17:24:00.001-06:00

Finger picking Meadowlarks,
big sitters,
tons of sun,
ruffle butt,
handmade quilt.

Oh my!

2011-11-13T08:45:00.000-06:00

Free People! via here

Fish

2011-11-12T08:08:00.000-06:00

by Corey Arnold

Friday Music Muse

2011-11-11T08:28:00.001-06:00

King of Spain
by The Tallest Man on Earth

I never knew I was a lover,
Just cause I steal the things you hide,
Just cause I focus while we're dancing,
Just cause I offered you a ride.

Still I am not from Barcelona,
I am not even from Madrid.
I am a native of the North Pole
And that can mess up any kid.

Well if you could reinvent my name,
well if you could redirect my day,
I wanna be the King of Spain.

And I will settle in Pamplona
And I'll provoke the bulls with words
And then I'll send a man to meet them all
But he's fake, so I have heard.

And all the senoritas sighing,
Will be the fountain of my lies.
But while we're floating in siestas
You search for bottles and for knives.

Well if you could reinvent my name,
Well if you could redirect my day,
I wanna be the King of Spain.

And I wear my boots of Spanish leather
Oh while I'm tightening my crown.
I'll disappear in some flamenco
Perhaps I'll reach the other side.

Why are you stamping my illusion?
Just cause I stole some eagle's wings
Because you named me as your lover
Well, I thought I could be anything.

Well if you could reinvent my name,
well if you could redirect my day,
I wanna be the King of Spain.

*image by Bernat Armangue

Baby Wearin'

2011-11-10T10:40:00.001-06:00

Cupcakes and Wilco

2011-11-09T06:51:00.000-06:00

Every morning for the past week and a half, while I work on solids with my little one, I put on One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend) by Wilco, which is a relatively long song, and Shine eats real human food (or just spits it out all over the place). On weekends daddy feeds her. So on Saturday while I was in the other room putting on makeup after a hot shower, I heard David feeding Shine, and he put some music on, and he chose the same song I've been feeding her to every day, and I smiled, and told him about this ritual, and he said it just seemed like the right song to play. Then he said that's why we're in love. And it made me think about when I was in grad school, and we had a little art exhibition with the pieces we had been working on that semester. One of my classmate's projects involved all of us decorating cupcakes earlier that day. When David saw all the cupcakes, I asked him if he could pick out the one I decorated, and he pointed to it immediately. He picked mine out amongst all the other cakes. And I smiled, and thought, that's why we're in love.

Rising Shine

2011-11-07T07:01:00.000-06:00

They say having a baby changes everything. Of course it does. It especially changes relationships. (For the better in my experience) Moms, dads, siblings, husbands. It's quite beautiful. Nothing is the same. Even my relationship to the sun has changed. I had not seen too many rising suns prior to my Shine's arrival, but I stalked the big star when she was setting most nights. The thing I love most about living high up in the sky is my view of the sun setting every night out the window. It's like having a different piece of art on your wall each evening. I like saying adios to the day. Wrapping things up. Slowing down. Good night.

I recently discovered that greeting the sun is even more special. It's like greeting hope each morning. With the new sound of my baby's voice in the background. I see how new light changes my surroundings. Both lights. The sun and Shine.

two fuels

2011-11-06T07:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the Hot Chocolate 15K. As I watched the runners outside my window I kept thinking maybe I sort of do miss racing after all. I also thought of Seurat. From a distance the racer's colorful clothes made me think of all the dots that make up his paintings.
Running and art. My two fuels.

Paintings from here and here

Dollar a day's worth

2011-11-05T09:16:00.000-05:00

I've been working away in the studio, carving, drilling, photographing, sewing and working on some top secret projects, all while humming Bob Dylan songs to myself. (And nursing babies. Well, just one baby)

"Well, I got a harmonica job, begun to play
Blowin’ my lungs out for a dollar a day
I blowed inside out and upside down
The man there said he loved m’ sound
He was ravin’ about how he loved m’ sound
Dollar a day’s worth"

Friday Music Muse

2011-11-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

Still Looking for You
by Townes Van Zandt

Ain't much I ain't tried
fast livin' slow suicide
then a-runnin' in a place to hide
just looking for you

My friends they all agree
ain't many a fool like me
I just tell them wait and see
go looking for you

Looking low and looking high
looking far and looking wide
try to tell myself that I'm fine
but it just ain't true
it just ain't true
I'm still looking for you
still looking for you

From the shadow of the darkest pine
to the edge of the sweet sunshine
I keep looking till they make you mine
looking for you

When the curtain tumbles down
I'll be somewhere hanging round
with my heart laid on the ground
just looking for you

Looking low and looking high
looking far and looking wide
try to tell myself that I tried
but it just ain't true
it just won't do
I'm still looking for you
still looking for you

*image from Quest: Run for your Life

Buttermilk City

2011-11-03T07:24:00.003-05:00

Up

2011-11-02T07:50:00.000-05:00

Sunrise is the new sunset

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T17:36:00.001-05:00

From baby Yoda

Friday Music Muse

2011-10-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

The new Wilco album is oh so good.

One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
by Wilco

This is how I tell it
O’ but it’s long
One Sunday morning
O’ One son is gone

Against the weather dawning
Over the sea
My father said what I had become
No one should be

Outside I look lived in
Like the bones in a shrine
How am I forgiven
O’ I’ll give it time

This I learned without warning
Holding my brow
In time we thought I would kill him
O’ but I didn’t know how

I said it’s your God I don’t believe in
No your bible can’t be true
Knocked down by the long lie
He cried I fear what waits for you

I can hear those bells
Spoken and gone
I feel relief I feel well
Now he knows he was wrong

Ring ‘em cold for my father
Frozen underground
Jesus I wouldn’t bother
He belongs to me now

Something sad keeps moving
So I wandered around
I fell in love with the burden
Holding me down

Bless my mind I miss
Being told how to live
What I learned without knowing
How much more I owe than I can give

This is how I tell it
O’ but it’s long
One Sunday morning
One son is gone

*photo by Jeff Lindsay: here

Pretty Dress

2011-10-27T14:02:00.002-05:00

For a little girl

By Bonpoint

Wilted Life

2011-10-26T10:08:00.003-05:00

I took this photo about a month ago at my parent's house. It is not at all staged. I looked out the window and saw my brother's holy sweater sprawled out over his handmade mini greenhouse next to some greens and just the right light, so I sprinted for my camera. These objects together make me understand how children befriend inanimate objects. The fibers in this sweater, and the green veins in the vegetable have stories to tell. They are speaking to each other. They are wilted, yet full of life.

Tuesday Poetry Post

2011-10-25T08:22:00.002-05:00

To Autumn
by John Keats

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
2.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
3.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

*photo by Krisfong

Waldorf

2011-10-24T08:24:00.003-05:00

The front page of the Sunday New York Times had a great article about Waldorf schools. Even though our wee one is still but a wee one, we've been talking about schools and our vision for her education and Waldorf Schools have always been on the top of my list. This particular article focused on Waldorf schools in Silicon Valley which was especially interesting seeing as the schools typically do not allow computers in their classrooms until 8th grade and instead focus on teaching through creavitiy and physical activity. Many of the parents who send their kids to the Waldorf School featured are serious techies (many work for Google) yet they support the limited use of gadgets in the classroom. This is my favorite line from the article:

The students say they can become frustrated when their parents and relatives get so wrapped up in phones and other devices. Aurad Kamkar, 11, said he recently went to visit cousins and found himself sitting around with five of them playing with their gadgets, not paying attention to him or each other. He started waving his arms at them: “I said: ‘Hello guys, I’m here.’

*image by Shuichiro

Creative Itch

2011-10-22T09:19:00.002-05:00

Have you read Spencer Tweedy's blog? He's only 15 years old and if you ask me he is way ahead of the game. I am convinced that the world could be saved by his generation if more teens possessed the intelligence, sensitivity and thoughtfulness this kid appears to have. If he were my son I would be so proud. He has written about his creative itch a few times and it's quite lovely. It's exciting to think about what he will create in the years to come. His parents did a good job. (His papa is Jeff Tweedy)

ps-This was a good interview about him. The author mentions how you can't help but compare him to your 15 year old self, which I did, and thought, my lord if I had a fraction of this kid's take on the world at 15 I'd have conquered it by now. The mother in me hopes he doesn't feel too much pressure and that his creativity flows and flows forever.

*image from here

Mischa Lampert

2011-10-21T08:39:00.000-05:00

"It's a winter's day and I know for certain
When I go outside my head starts hurtin
So I wrap it up in materials
Keep my hair from getting cold"
-Devendra Banhart

Mischa Lampert hats via Marvelous Kiddo

Greg Murr

2011-10-20T07:08:00.000-05:00

I saw Greg Murr's fabulous show at Perimeter Gallery over the summer and his work has been in my head ever since.

Life

2011-10-19T07:56:00.000-05:00

Last week my best friend from college drove in from Colorado. Her sweet baby is 8 weeks old. She is a SUPERSTAR. I've always admired Amy because she has the kindest most patient and wonderful heart. Now she is a mother, and it was a beautiful thing to witness, my friend as a mother. I held her son in my arms. He felt so good. A sweet dream.
She is still in the thick of it, with feedings every couple of hours, and no sleep at all, yet she was here, in my home, with her 8 week old baby, all the way from Colorado, calm and happy and the same sweet Amy I've always known. She is incredible.

We used to be three. Amy, Julie and I were always together in college. Now Amy and I are mothers. We gave birth to two new humans, and our friend Julie is gone. I kept thinking about her, and how unfair it is that she was killed, and she never got to have a baby, and will never hold our babies, and we will never get to talk to her again, and her twin Jackie is minus a half. It's still hard for me to wrap my head around it. Life goes on, our lives continued, and hers stopped. In an instant it stopped.

I need to remind myself every day, especially when things get hard, or when I have to do something I don't feel like doing, that I have life, and I cannot take a second of it for granted.

Tuesday Poetry Post

2011-10-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

by Paul Mena

through the fingerprints
on my window-
cloudless blue sky.

Reality

2011-10-17T09:38:00.001-05:00

We are officially back to reality. David is back at work after his two weeks off. I feel like I just came out of a dream world. When we are old and gray we will talk about this vacation as one of our happiest. I know we have many happy days ahead of us, but this time was extra special. A tiny baby, our growing family, our sweet Schnoodle, an Indian summer, Lake Michigan, a special engagement, family and friends, and endless love.

Living in the Material World

2011-10-16T08:24:00.000-05:00

Did any of you see the documentary about George Harrison on HBO? We caught part of it and I'm dying to see the rest. I remember when I was a kid I could never decide on who my favorite Beatle was. I think I liked George because I was so shy and I identified with his shyness.

*image from here

American Gothic

2011-10-15T07:55:00.000-05:00

I saw this on Cup of Jo this morning and it made me smile.

Friday Music Muse

2011-10-14T11:11:00.000-05:00

The National
Fake Empire

Stay out super late tonight
picking apples, making pies
put a little something in our lemonade and take it with us
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire

Tiptoe through our shiny city
with our diamond slippers on
do our gay ballet on ice
bluebirds on our shoulders
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire

Turn the light out say goodnight
no thinking for a little while
lets not try to figure out everything at once
It’s hard to keep track of you falling through the sky
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire

*image from here

Smoke

2011-10-13T07:17:00.000-05:00

I love how a shift in light can make this city look like a stranger to me.

Local

2011-10-12T08:29:00.001-05:00

During one of our daily trips to Davids to get our afternoon coffees and cookies we struck up a conversation with Joe and Emma, the lovely owners of the shop, and they told us about Local, a beautiful butcher shop in New Buffalo that sells sustainable foods and cured meats from local farms. I love this place. It's beautifully curated and the food was delicious and the owners were so friendly. It made me think about community, and how it's hard to get that wonderful sense of community here in the city when there are so many people around and everyone and everything is moving so fast. I've fallen head over heals in love with New Buffalo and Union Pier. There I said it.

Tuesday Poetry Post

2011-10-11T11:05:00.003-05:00

Our vacation in Michigan comes to an end today. It was really incredible. We enjoyed unseasonably warm weather, beach days, reading, drawing, sewing, we watched a couple fabulous documentaries, and my whole family came up to be a part of a beautiful proposal. (My brother Tony is getting married!!! ) We really explored this lovely area of the world. This third coast. We are digging deep. We are planting roots here. No matter what happens, or where we end up, this land will be sacred forever.

Since Carl Sandburg lived in these parts for many years, and wrote some of his best work while looking at the same big lake we've been walking along, I thought this poem was perfect for today.

Poppies
by
Carl Sandburg

SHE loves blood-red poppies for a garden to walk in.
In a loose white gown she walks
and a new child tugs at cords in her body.
Her head to the west at evening when the dew is creeping,
A shudder of gladness runs in her bones and torsal fiber:
She loves blood-red poppies for a garden to walk in.

Big Lake

2011-10-10T09:35:00.001-05:00

Swimming in Lake Michigan in the middle of October is dreamy. (Cold, but still dreamy)

Yummy

2011-10-10T09:28:00.004-05:00

Yes please.
Carven Resort 2012

Flowers

2011-10-08T07:14:00.000-05:00

Last night

2011-10-07T14:12:00.000-05:00

Friday Music Muse

2011-10-07T09:01:00.001-05:00

Fleet Foxes
Helplessness Blues

I was raised up believing
I was somehow unique
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes
Unique in each way you can see

And now after some thinking
I'd say I'd rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery
Serving something beyond me

But I don't, I don't know what that will be
I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

What's my name, what's my station
Oh just tell me what I should do
I don't need to be kind to the armies of night
That would do such injustice to you

Or bow down and be grateful
And say "Sure take all that you see"
To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls
And determine my future for me

And I don't, I don't know who to believe
I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

If I know only one thing
It's that every thing that I see
Of the world outside is so inconceivable
Often I barely can speak

Yeah I'm tongue tied and dizzy
And I can't keep it to myself
What good is it to sing helplessness blues?
Why should I wait for anyone else?

And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf
I'll come back to you someday soon myself

If I had an orchard
I'd work till I'm raw
If i had an orchard
I'd work till I'm sore

And you would wait tables
And soon run the store

Gold hair in the sunlight
My light in the dawn
If I had an orchard
I'd work till I'm sore

If I had an orchard
I'd work till I'm sore

Someday I'll be
Like the man on the screen

*image from here

Jenny Saville

2011-10-06T18:23:00.000-05:00

Oh my how I want to see this show at Gagosian. I love me some Jenny Saville.

Here and here

This is it

2011-10-06T09:13:00.001-05:00

The past five days are going down in history. The best days of my life so far. We've been sitting on an empty beach in Michigan, enjoying nonstop sunshine, going to the cafe every afternoon for lattes and cookies, drawing and painting, and enjoying our girl and each other.

Tuesday Poetry Post

2011-10-04T20:54:00.000-05:00

Young and Old
by Charles Kingsely

When all the world is young, lad,
And all the trees are green
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen; 
Then hey for boot and horse, lad, 
And 'round the world away
Young blood must have its course, lad, 
And every dog his day. 

When all the world is old, lad, 
And all the trees are brown
And all the sport is stale, lad, 
And all the wheels run down
Creep home and take your place there
The spent and maimed among
God grant you find one face there
You loved when all was young.

ps- Happy Anniversary Love

Ingo Maurer

2011-10-03T18:05:00.000-05:00

David told me there was something in the NY Times Magazine that was going to blow my mind. I didn't want him to tell me what it was so I could see if I could spot it myself. When I landed on the page with Ingo Maurer's sculpture/light I thought I was going to die.

big sky

2011-10-02T07:38:00.000-05:00

For my birthday David got me a telephoto lens which has been quite dreamy. These photos have not been altered in photoshop! Isn't the light amazing?

Back Home

2011-10-01T18:08:00.001-05:00

I have heard people describe what it feels like to go back to church after a long absence. It can feel like going home again. Music is my higher power, and last night The Chicago Theater was my church, and The Fleet Foxes, my goodness they brought me home again.

Friday Music Muse

2011-09-30T06:38:00.000-05:00

Even when I was a kid this song made my heart ache.
Landslide
by Fleetwood Mac

I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
Till the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older and I'm getting older too

Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older and I'm getting older too
Oh, I'm getting older too

Awh, take my love, take it down
Awh, climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide bring it down

And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide bring it down
Oh, the landslide bring it down

Stinky

2011-09-29T18:06:00.002-05:00

This little animal may or may not have rolled around in skunk spray last week. Which may or may not have lead to a tomato juice bath.

You Had Me At Hello

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Shine and I walked over to the Art Institute and I stumbled upon a painting by Harald Sohlberg that stopped me in my tracks. I have been to this museum hundreds of times (I went to school there) and have developed this beautiful relationship with some of the paintings. They are like old friends I go to visit. As I walk through the galleries, I nod my head at the famililar paintings and look forward to seeing my favorites. Sometimes they are moved to a new location, and I wonder if they like their new home. I was wondering if I had perhaps skipped over this painting over the years because it did not resonate with me at the time for whatever reason. It made me think about how pieces of art can hit us differently at varying points in our lives. Art can bring us to so many different places in our hearts and in our heads. I stood in front of that Harald Sohlberg painting and heard the leaves on the trees rustling, and I felt the cold damp air blowing off the lake, and I smelled the wet green grass, and I fell in love with art all over again. (Not that I ever fell out of love.)

Tuesday Poetry Post

2011-09-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

Night Shift

by Sylvia Plath

It was not a heart, beating. 
That muted boom, that clangor 
Far off, not blood in the ears 
Drumming up and fever 

To impose on the evening. 
The noise came from outside: 
A metal detonating 
Native, evidently, to 

These stilled suburbs nobody 
Startled at it, though the sound 
Shook the ground with its pounding. 
It took a root at my coming 

Till the thudding shource, exposed, 
Counfounded in wept guesswork: 
Framed in windows of Main Street's 
Silver factory, immense 

Hammers hoisted, wheels turning, 
Stalled, let fall their vertical 
Tonnage of metal and wood; 
Stunned in marrow. Men in white 

Undershirts circled, tending 
Without stop those greased machines, 
Tending, without stop, the blunt 
Indefatigable fact.

*photo by Ellen Kooi

The Last Picture

2011-09-26T09:13:00.001-05:00

This will be the last time my sweet Shine's face will be on this blog. I keep thinking about when I was little and "they" said not to have kids wear clothing or backpacks or anything with his or her name on it. A potential kidnapper could see the kid's name, and call out to them, and children are so sweet and trusting that they would think the person is a friend of her parent and...
I have bad dreams. Oh I have bad dreams. And I get nervous that once Shine gets older if I keep posting her photo online that some bad person will recognize her and call out her name and...

I know I have an over active mind, but I want to know I have done everything to protect my child. So if anyone is wondering why I no longer post photos of her face, this is the reason. It might help me sleep a little bit better at night. I'm sure there will be lots of photos of little hands and feet and the back of her head, so she'll be around. Woody is happy about this news because he thinks it means he will be getting his staring role on this little blog back, and that's probably true.

Baby wearin' Winter Coat

2011-09-24T16:14:00.002-05:00

I've been on the hunt for a big baby wearing winter coat that is also cute. Shine fits perfectly (for now) under this Anthro beauty! I love how I can wear it two different ways too.

Favorite Couples

2011-09-23T10:45:00.000-05:00

I was off the charts uncool last night but I could not help myself.
There are two couples I idolize:
Shauna and Stephen of Somethings Hiding in Here and
Carson Ellis (illustrator) and Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists)

...and last night I met Carson and Colin!!! They did a book signing in Naperville so I headed out there with my mom and my baby and presents. Yes, that's where I got really uncool. I couldn't help myself though and I made a necklace for Carson that was inspired by their new book Wildwood. They signed my book, and I explained the necklace, and they were so sweet and nice and I'm sure when I walked away there were like..."creepy" but that's ok. I'm just so excited to have met these wonderful creative people.

Here I am nursing Shine.

I was too shy to take a photo so I did a creepy lurking photo which is totally blurry, and I hate posting bad photography on here but I can't help myself.
Here is the talented and blurry Colin Meloy.