A claymation movie by Madison Blinn
Based on the book Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
Song is Goodnight Moon by Said the Whale

About the book
Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends, but one day they can’t find each other. When they finally do, they give each other such a big hug that they turn green! How they find their true colors again concludes a wonderfully satisfying story told with colorful pieces of torn paper and very few words. Leo Lionni launched his children’s book career in 1959 with Little Blue and Little Yellow, and this 50th-anniversary edition, complete with Lionni’s own explanation of how the book came to be, is sure to resonate with children today.

“Abstract art with heart.” —School Library Journal’s Top 100 Picture Books Poll (voted #66)

More info…

Known for art that celebrates the virtues of community, hard work, and living gently on the planet, Nikki McClure here explores a topic close to her heart: the farmers market. Alternating between story and fact, this lovingly crafted picture book follows a mother and son to the weekly market. As they check off items on their shopping list, the reader learns how each particular food was grown or produced, from its earliest stages to how it ended up at the market. To Market, to Market is a timely book that shines awareness on the skill that goes into making good food.

-Editorial review from Amazon

Writing on the Run by Araina Bond, a nice read in Runner’s World about author and distance runner, Michael Collins. I totally understand the connection between creativity and running…it feels so good!

My favorite lines:

“Collins never hit the trails without a pencil and paper in his pocket… I began training hard, 80 miles a week, stopping here and there, writing down expressions that became the touchstones for what I would write about later that night after work, he says.”

“To Collins, writing and running are natural companions. Beginning a book on a run has always been the most natural process, he says. I could not imagine sitting before a blank computer screen. Having that pause in the day with the release of endorphins frees up ideas.”

Last week, I was fortunate to present a new project at Towson University in Maryland. The exhibition curated by Prof. Susan Isaacs and entitled Fluid celebrates the 75th anniversary of the American Abstract Artists.  I was in great company with friends and artists, Lynne Harlow and Marthe Keller. The whole experience was simply wonderful — from the train from NYC to Maryland, the university and all the beautiful community who joined us for the opening. Universities have the most amazing energy and are so full of creativity.

I’ll be adding more images and information soon, but for now here is an image of the evening’s performance/collaboration with TU’s Dance department students and Prof. Vincent Thomas (VTDance) …which was absolutely inspiring.

Thank you Susan, Vince and all at TU!

Image:
Rossana Martinez
Wrap Yourself Around Me, 2011
Installation/performance with reused fabrics, artist book and ribbon

Cultivate

1) to prepare and use for the raising of crops; also: to loosen or break up the soil about (growing plants)

2)
a) to foster the growth of — cultivate vegetables
b) culture — the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education
c) to improve by labor, care, or study: refine — cultivate the mind

3) further, encourage

4) to seek the society of: make friends with

Maybe is the cooler weather, but lately this fascinating word has kept me thinking about how we use our time. How do we cultivate creativity, health, love, community and all the other good qualities we want to see and experience?

I use a simple practice that works for me. Everyday, I try to dedicate a couple of minutes to do things that move me. Of course, I’m not always successful at it, but I happily write that most days I find a good balance between work and play. There are also special days when those dedicated minutes become hours…very special hours.

As with any process of growth, finding a practice that is uniquely yours takes time. But to me, the most important moment is when the idea is planted. Once the idea is definite and clear, nurturing happens naturally and gracefully.

For those lovers of books, language and life, here is a wonderful children’s book. The story and illustrations are beautiful. Happy nurturing!

De como nacio el amor (How love was born)
By Mrinali Alvarez Astacio
Published by La Editorial, Universidad de Puerto Rico

Desde los primeros tiempos, existe el día…
…y la noche.

Cuando el día se aleja a descansar,
la noche, vestida de estrellas, sale a pasear.

Y cada vez que se encuentra a la luna,
la invita a bailar.

Danza la luna en el cielo,
sobre las montañas y entre las estrellas.

Y el cielo se llena de danzas,
cada una diferente.

Baila nueva, baila llena,
a veces creciente, a veces menguante.

Tanto baila que siente el latir
de su corazón.

Y queda enamorada…
…de la vida.

Summary from publisher: The author uses a metaphorical story of love between the Sun and the Moon to explain the continuous cycle of night and day. The constant cycle is then presented as a passionate dance between two beings that love each other, and this in turn becomes the means to explain courtship to children. The author explains the origin of romantic love as something natural.

Image:
Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel
fresco
ca. 1511

The taste of summer is…

fresh
I’ve been giving life to those whispery notes/sketches I often add to my Eco Ciak. I love that little recycled paper sketchbook. It’s always a fun process to go back to the notes/sketches and try to understand the where/what/how/why.

warm
To me there is nothing like a simple and open conversation about interests, ideas and life as artists. I had the opportunity to moderate the virtual panel Resource: Where Abstract Art is (From) with a great group of artists: Glen Cunningham, Mark Dagley, Laura Fayer, Molly Herman, Lori Kirkbride, Ben LaRocco and Rachael Wren. All artists were part of Source, an exhibition curated by Susan Ross and Melissa Staiger. Both, exhibition and virtual panel, were presented and sponsored by PowerHouse Projects. Source was on view at The Halls at Bowling Green from April 22nd through May 28th. Check out the virtual panel and take a look at their websites. It’s all good!

sweet
I finally signed up my family to a CSA. The fruit begins to arrive next week. I’m excited and so looking forward to it…

The upcoming weeks and months look exciting and enriching as well. This fall, I’ll be taking a course on advocacy for children at Citizens Committee for Children of New York. This is such a great organization and resource in the city.

More soon and I wish you all a great rest of the summer.

“The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.”

-Oscar Wilde

“Yoga is about the union and integration of breath, movement and body, both on and off the mat. Our practice on the mat should hopefully guide us towards actions in the outside world: if we observe our actions on the mat, perhaps we can all try to apply them to the outside world, and together, in a united way, we can make a difference.”

Green Goa: Green Yoga, Karma Yoga and the Art of Transforming Practice to Life by Inna Costantini. UK Yoga Magazine, July 2010.

Happy summer!

Photo:
Julius Shulman (1910-2009)
Case Study House #2, 1960 by architect Pierre Koenig.

Shulman’s photograph is so amazingly simple and beautiful. The film Visual Acoustics looks like a must see for those that love everything Modern. I do!

About the film:
Visual Acoustics celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world’s greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream. Shulman, who passed away last year, captured the work of nearly every major modern and progressive architect since the 1930s including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, and Frank Gehry. His images epitomized the singular beauty of Southern California’s modernist movement and brought its iconic structures to the attention of the general public. This unique film is both a testament to the evolution of modern architecture and a joyful portrait of the magnetic, whip-smart gentleman who chronicled it with his unforgettable images.

Still curious? Interesting post, What Are Architectural Landscape Photos? by Gina Cortez.

Enjoy!

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

***************

For Barbara Rose, who loved this beautiful poem. Thanks Janet for sharing it with me!

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
-Marcel Proust

I found Issey Miyake Autumn/Winter 2009 show in Paris so unique. Color, fabric and bodies moving fluidly through a white geometric floor (square). A lot to like!

I’m looking forward to seeing the exhibition Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction. On view from September 17, 2009-January 17, 2010 at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

And would love to make a family trip to Washington, DC to see the exhibition Anne Truitt: Perception and Reflection. On view from October 8, 2009 to January 3, 2010 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The first major exhibition of her outstanding work since 1974.

While strolling around the neighborhood, I saw this nice quote by George Eliot (her real name was Mary Anne Evans, 1819-1880).

“It is never too late to become what you might have been”

Enjoy!

What If
By Ganga White

What if religion was each other,
If our practice was our life,
If prayer was our words.

What if the Temple was the Earth,
If forests were our church,
If holy water—the rivers, lakes and oceans.

What if meditation was our relationships,
If the Teacher was life,
If wisdom was self-knowledge,
If love was the center of our being.

-For the Rainforest Benefit, NYC, 1998

A bunch of ideas for the new web/blog have been floating inside my head. I like the idea of a blog because it’s less static and could function as a sketchbook. I hope to find some time to make the changes soon.

My little Tarahumara will be 7 months next week and is already crawling fast! And while I attempt to flow in yoga class, I’m amazed to see him be so naturally flexible. He can flow from downward facing dog to plank to pigeon pose with no trouble at all. Signs that he may become a runner or yogi just like mama.

A good read for new parents is From Birth, Engage Your Child With Talk by Jane E. Brody. And Animal Playground by Putumayo Kids is a beautiful collection of animal-themed songs from around the world. The video above is from one of the album’s song The Littlest Birds by The Be Good Tanyas (Canada).

I can’t believe October is already here. Happy fall!

I’m currently reading the book, Born to Run, a book about the life and running skills of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyon, which are considered the greatest distance runners in the world. I began enjoying the book when I read:

“…That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they’d never forgotten what it felt like to love running. They remembered that running was mankind’s first fine art, our original act of inspired creation. Way before we were scratching pictures on caves or beating rhythms on hollow trees, we were perfecting the art of combining our breath and mind and muscles into fluid self-propulsion over wild terrain…”

I can’t explain how it happens, but one tends to complicate life and get tangled in the “rat race”. Suddenly, what we love to do becomes a chore. The Tarahumara’s secret is exactly what I want to remember daily. To always love everything I do…including just doing absolutely NADA.

Image:

Tarahumara men costumed for rituals. Photo from National Geographic’s article, A People Apart by Cynthia Gorney. Photograph by Robb Kendrick.

The list of things I would like to enjoy during these warm months is way too long. Sure I can do some of these things during the cold months, but the energy that the sun brings in the summer is unique.

I don’t know how it happened, maybe it was having beautiful Central Park as a background. I’m so excited that I’m running three miles again. Three miles isn’t a lot, but for me it feels like a marathon.

I also found a new yoga class that took me back to my very first experience with yoga. Everything felt so new and every muscle hurt the day after! I love when moments like this happen — when suddenly the things that we thought we knew how to do feel fresh and everything shines again.

Eating to Fuel Exercise, Runners Tell Their Stories both by Tara Parker-Pope, and The Reservoir in Central Park, an audio guide by the Central Park Conservancy are perfect to keep us moving and inspired.

I hope you’re all enjoying the summer and doing some of the things that you love to do!

The collection has four tiny books perfect for little hands: Alligators All Around (an alphabet book), Chicken Soup with Rice (book of months), One Was Johnny (a counting book), and Pierre (a cautionary tale). The simplicity of the stories and illustrations make them enjoyable for both kids and adults alike.

A couple of weekends ago, we went to an art opening in Staten Island. It was rainy and cold — June has been very wet in New York. As we were traveling back home in the S.I. ferry, I couldn’t stop thinking about Chicken Soup with Rice. When we got home, I went straight to the kitchen and cooked a warm and delicious chicken soup with rice…still laughing!

I love books and these days I’m enjoying reading with Mateo. I take him to our local bookstore where I found another great book called Open House for Butterflies by Ruth Krauss. The book, also illustrated by Maurice Sendak has simple thoughts and illustrations like the books in the Nutshell Library. Some of my favorite thoughts are:

Look! I’m running away with my imagination.

There should be a parade when a baby is born.

Suppose old people grew down as young people grew up.

Easter eggs are all different outside but they’re alike inside.

A baby makes the mother and father — otherwise they’re just plain people.

Yesterday shows another day is here.

Everybody should be quiet near a little stream and listen.

A baby dances with its feet in the air.

I think a race looks prettier when everybody comes in even.

So always take some time to look, enjoy and imagine!

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand”. — Albert Einstein

To honor Earth Day (April 22), I thought of sharing and recommending the children’s book, On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier. The story is marvelous and the illustrations are just beautiful.

On the Day You Were Born

by Debra Frasier

On the eve of your birth

word of your coming

passed from animal to animal.

The reindeer told the Artic terns,

who told the humpback whales,

who told the Pacific salmon,

who told the monarch butterflies,

who told the green turtles,

who told the European eel,

who told the busy garden warblers,

and the marvelous news migrated worldwide.

While you waited in darkness,

tiny knees curled to chin,

the Earth and her creatures

with the Sun and the Moon

all moved in their places,

each ready to greet you

the very first moment

of the very first day you arrived.

On the day you were born

the round planet Earth

turned toward your morning sky,

whirling paste darkness,

spinning the night into light.

On the day you were born

gravity’s strong pull

held you to the Earth

with a promise that you

would never float again…

…while deep in space

the burning Sun

sent up towering flames,

lighting your sky

from dawn until dusk.

On the day you were born

the quiet Moon glowed

and offered to bring

a full, bright face,

each month, to your windowsill…

…while high above the North Pole,

Polaris, the glittering North Star,

stood still, shining silver light

into your night sky.

On the day you were born

the Moon pulled on the ocean below,

and, wave by wave,

a rising tide washed the beaches

clean for your footprints…

…while far out at sea

clouds swelled with water drops,

sailed to shore on a wind,

and rained you a welcome

across the Earth’s green lands.

On the day you were born

a forest of tall trees

collected the Sun’s light

in their leaves,

where, in silent mystery,

they made oxygen

for you to breathe…

…while close to your skin

and as high as the sky,

air rushed in and blew about,

invisibly protecting you

and all living things on Earth.

On the day you were born

the Earth turned, the Moon pulled,

the Sun flared, and, then, with a push,

you slipped out of the dark quiet

where suddenly you could hear…

…a circle of people singing

with voices familiar and clear.

“Welcome to the spinning world,” the people sang,

as they washed your new, tiny hands.

“Welcome to the green Earth,” the people sang,

as they wrapped your wet, slippery body.

And as they held you close

they whispered into your open, curving ear,

“We are so glad you’ve come!”

Enjoy…and best wishes to all the Boston Marathon runners!

Also, my friend Lynne, who knows how much I like birds, introduced me to the album, You Are My Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell. Although the album is for children, I think adults can enjoy it as well. It has really wonderful interpretations of songs by Bob Marley, Velvet Underground and many others. My favorite song so far is: If You Listen. The album explains that the song was “originally recorded by French singer Francoise Hardy, and is all about how listening can be a magical experience”.

I agree…and hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Chinese Art and Greek Art

by Rumi translated by Coleman Barks

The Prophet said, “There are some who see me

by the same light in which I am seeing them.

Our natures are one.

Without reference to any strands

of lineage, without reference to texts or traditions,

we drink the life-water together.”

Here’s a story

about that hidden mystery:

The Chinese and the Greeks

were arguing as to who were the better artists.

The king said,

“We’ll settle this matter with a debate.”

The Chinese began talking,

but the Greeks wouldn’t say anything.

They left.

The Chinese suggested then

that they each be given a room to work on

with their artistry, two rooms facing each other

and divided by a curtain.

The Chinese asked the king

for a hundred colors, all the variations,

and each morning they came to where

the dyes were kept and took them all.

The Greeks took no colors.

“They’re not part of our work.”

They went to their room

and began cleaning and polishing the walls. All day

every day they made those walls as pure and clear

as an open sky.

There is a way that leads from all-colors

to colorlessness. Know that the magnificent variety

of the clouds and the weather comes from

the total simplicity of the sun and the moon.

The Chinese finished, and they were so happy.

They beat the drums in the joy of completion.

The king entered their room,

astonished by the gorgeous color and detail.

The Greeks then pulled the curtain dividing the rooms.

The Chinese figures and images shimmeringly reflected

on the clear Greek walls. They lived there,

even more beautifully, and always

changing in the light.

The Greek art is the Sufi way.

They don’t study books of philosophical thought.

They make their loving clearer and clearer.

No wantings, no anger. In that purity

they receive and reflect the images of every moment,

from here, from the stars, from the void.

They take them in

as though they were seeing

with the lighted clarity

that sees them.

______________________

If You Listen

By Francoise Hardy

If you listen you can hear

birds sing and flowers grow

If you listen you can hear

my love for you just grow

In the silence that’s around

deep peace and love are found

In the days that will be here

my love will call you loud and clear

And in the silent place

where loneliness is found

I’ll wander through the open door

to look for you

There in that magic land

that lies beyond the clouds

floating on the sea of dreams

I’ll sing to you

Image: One of my favorite birds, the bowerbird, working on his blue monochrome nest.

A while ago, my friend Margie, an awesome athlete, cook, and nutrition expert, recommended me to read the book Real Food by Nina Planck. One of my favorite things to do is to cook simple and fresh food, and I find so many similarities between cooking and working out an idea in the studio.

I’m currently hooked on the book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I think these books are great tools to open our eyes and remind us that we have the power to change things — even if it’s a small change. Since I’m not into junk food (had enough in art school!) or diets, eating healthier feels natural to me.

As Michael Pollan says in his introduction to The Omnivore’s Dilemma:

“Eating is an agricultural act, as Wendell Berry famously said. It is also an ecological act, and a political act, too. Though much has been done to obscure this simple fact, how and what we eat determines to a great extent the use we make of the world—and what is to become of it. To eat with a fuller consciousness of all that is at stake might sound like a burden, but in practice few things in life afford quite as much satisfaction. By comparison, the pleasures of eating industrially, which is to say eating in ignorance, are fleeting. Many people today seem perfectly content eating at the end of an industrial food chain, without a thought in the world: this book is probably not for them; there are things in it that will ruin their appetite. But in the end this is a book about the pleasures of eating, the kind of pleasures that are only deepened by knowing”.

So thanks Margie! And here is my list of recommended books for those interested in food, nutrition, wellness, and social responsibility:

The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution by Alice Waters.

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman.

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan.

Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck.

I still remember what a good impression the movie Before Night Falls made on me a couple of years ago. The movie, realized by the painter and now director Julian Schnabel, proves that creativity can be and should be used in diverse ways. The movie – with the brilliant Spanish actor Javier Bardem – is about the life of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. His journey from Cuba to New York City in search of artistic, political, and sexual freedom is moving and inspiring.

In Schnabel’s latest movie, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, he comes back stronger, more poetic, and more meaningful. The movie is about the life of French journalist and editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby. At age 43, Bauby suffered a massive stroke that left him paralized. His only way to communicate was by blinking his left eye. As we see Bauby’s world through his one eye, the colors are beautiful, dream-like, and the story seen through him is almost impossible to believe. Although Bauby couldn’t move, I loved (and I’m still thinking about) the part when he realized “he still had his imagination and memories“. Amazingly, with assistance, he was still able to write the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death.

The story reaffirms that no matter what our lives turn out to be – who we are, what we do or what we have – there are plenty of butterflies right in front of us. It is up to us to allow them to lift us up and light the way!

Thank you all so much for your nice emails and updates. I’m happy to learn some of you began to run (awesome!), that bambinos will fill your homes this year (double awesome!), and news about your projects and exhibitions. Congratulations! What a great way to start the new year.

One of my new year’s resolutions is to immerse myself in all things healthy and creative. Here are my first two creative curiosities. Enjoy!

New Perspectives in Latin American Art, 1930–2006: Selections from a Decade of Acquisitions.
On view at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) thru February 25, 2008.

This exhibition is a must-see. The artists on view are some of my favorites, like Felix González-Torres, Ana Mendieta, Gabriel Orozco, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape, Gego, and Mira Schendel. The works that spoke to me most were Mira Schendel’s works on paper. The works – monotypes on rice paper – felt free and powerful. Schendel used modest traces of lines and words to investigate the visualization of language. My favorite work was a delicate circle with the words Si al mundo (yes to the world) inside.

I’m also currently reading the book Like the Flowing River by the Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo. I found The Story of the Pencil beautiful, poetic, and just brilliant. Perfect for artists.

The Story of the Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point, he asked: are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me? His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson: I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.

But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!

That depends on how you look at things. The pencil has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

First quality: You are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps.

Second quality: Now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, it’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

Third quality: The pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

Fourth quality: What really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

Fifth quality: The pencil always leaves a mark. In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.