really cool trees

by Jago (illustrator of The Jesus Storybook Bible).

Dramatic Lemur

I'm sorry, but is it even possible not to laugh when you watch this? even for the tenth time?

isn't he good?

Moleskine

The sketchbook of
Vincent van Gogh (circa 1888–1890)
Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam

I love this notebook.

It's a ... Moleskin, which is, as the website says, "that legendary notebook used by european artists and thinkers for the past 200 years."

(People feel strongly about their notebooks, so not everyone will agree but I believe The Moleskin to be the absolutely supreme notebooks among notebooks.)

They come in all sorts and everyone has a favorite. Mine's the squared one (you don't have to try and stay inside the lines); the hard cover; and small as above. It has a pocket inside (for stray cuttings and things), and most important of all: a place to write your name and address where you can be contacted for the huge reward you offer if it's lost. Plus what about the excellent elastic to keep it shut? (You can sneak a pencil inside.)

I carry my moleskin everywhere I go because you never know. Plus I think it's like saying you're ready--so you won't miss it when it comes--whatever it is--inspiration, an idea, overhearing something on the street, seeing something you have to sketch... having a notebook at the ready at all times is like having a camera on you; it lets you capture things you'd otherwise forget. Or maybe even miss altogether.

So which came first, the notebook or the idea?

sing louder

"If somebody's trying to shut you up, sing louder and, if possible, better." — Salman Rushdie

the goal of life

"The goal of human life is not death, but resurrection."
- Karl Barth, Theologian, (1886-1968)

Denyse Schmidt at The Glass House

My friend, Denyse, was honored with an invitation to participate in the Philip Johnson Glass House Commissions program. Artists and designers create limited-edition works, inspired by a visit to the Glass House (above), a National Trust Historic site.

A former graphic designer (that's where we met - we both were working for a small packager/publisher) and graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, Denyse, has been sewing since she was a young girl. She has a fabulous company Denyse Schmidt Quilts of Bridgeport CT and makes incredible cool quilts.

Here's her quilt for the Glass House:

“I am inspired by the spareness, refinement and restraint. The subtle layering of details, color, and the transparency and reflection between the architecture and the landscape are beautiful.” - Denyse Schmidt

quilt shown: Simple Stripe
for Philip Johnson Glass House Commission program

Do a virtual tour of her studio: here.

Sneezing Panda

thanks to flowers

"I am following Nature without being able to grasp her. I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." Claude Monet (1840-1926)


Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), famous for her paintings of flowers, when asked why she chose flowers as her subject, said, "Because they're cheaper than models and they don't move."