Monday, November 28, 2011

CLOTH-EARS









Here is the content du jour of a folder on my desktop labeled "BLACKCURRENT." This folder contains my favorite eight or ten images of the moment, and is altered slightly on about a weekly basis. I am such a visual person that I derive a lot of joy just from sifting through images, and looking at the images in this particular file always makes me feel a strong sense of both inspiration and contentment.
Right now I can surmise that I am feeling very much washed-out pale blues and greens, along with washed-out reds next to brighter reds, wood and sand hues, and clean shapes (the natural black with cream fascination is a constant for me and goes without saying). Also, it would seem, images of female weavers. The hat is by Cosmic Wonder Light Source; the messenger bag is by Welcome Strangers; the belt is by Maison Boinet. The antique agate cuff is a recent purchase. Ever since I discovered a very similar piece with lapis at the Mauerpark in Berlin a few months back, I have been collecting bracelets in this style (which I wish I could find more information about). Something about the bone, the metalwork, the pin hinge, the weight: I love it. The look of the stone on this particular piece stuns me. It looks like a galaxy.
I am getting all the materialism out of my system now before I go off to India and am simultaneously:
-cowed at my disregard of the meaning of money
-have my tastes radically change due to circumstance. 
I am sure that coming back after five or six months and seeing the way my house and my closet look with new eyes is going to be a total trip.


Finally, I want to share the above with you, my favorite song of the moment. I have spent a lot of time the past couple of weeks roaming around in the woods with one earbud in, trying to perfect my own recreation of the vocal nuances in this song. "Haunting" is an overused adjective when it comes to female folk artists' music, but in this case, the shoe fits.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

PRISMS AND PILGRIMS

... is a phrase which I came across recently reading an O. Henry anthology. It is apparently something one might have said in the early 1900s to summon good luck.


Images: Don't remember; amazing record from ponytone.com; a former classmate of mine from SAIC, Aylor Brown, killing it in a cape (I think I saved that from her livejournal back in the day-- hahaha); oh HELL yes; sweet paint job, dude; wish I remembered the name of this artist; stills from Fantastic Planet (thanks Thomas).

Today is Thanksgiving and I am giving thanks that my life is, while not fully as awesome as possible (working on it though), pretty amazing. I am thinking of getting a tattoo on the palm of my hand of a drawing from Thomas's journals of a star-eyed alien girl. I wonder if he would have thought that was a good idea. Time to consult the Ouija! Also: I had a dream last night that I was defending my haircut to someone. My mother just sent me a text reporting that I had been talking in my sleep this morning and had said very loudly: "Well, I think it's chic, so fuck off." You tell 'em, dream girl.

Also, I just found this image from when Thomas and I were living together a couple years back. He was drawing on my leg, and I caught on at the last minute that he was going to write "Give a dog a bone," which I found unappealing. I took over the project at the critical moment and changed the message to "Give a do-good day!" Well played.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

ATTACK OF NERVES

 Got my partially-shaved-head haircut...
 got my bird-claw-holding-a-stone talisman von Berlin...
 got my vambraces...
got my poorly-photographed raccoon tail from Chinatown... but...

I've been reading The Portable Chekhov before bed recently, and last night I came across this passage in his short story "An Attack of Nerves": 

"'How unskillfully they sell themselves!' he thought. 'How can they fail to understand that vice is only alluring when it is beautiful and hidden, when it wears the mask of virtue? Modest black dresses, pale faces, mournful smiles, and darkness would be far more effective than this clumsy tinsel. Stupid things!'"

Fashion advice from Chekov (though admittedly he was referring to prostitutes here...)? Why not? Maybe I'd be well-advised to apply it.

P.S.: You ought to watch this. This man is living the life: http://stylelikeu.com/closets/carter-emmart/