new inspiration from pia jane bijkerk: amsterdam made by hand. pia’s work is gorgeous, and amsterdam is one of my favorite cities, so i had to pre-order this little guide. it arrived a couple of days ago, and it’s hard to crack open, because i then wish i was there, instead of here.

(the canal house is a little piece that i bought in amsterdam - it’s painted styrofoam, with tinfoil peeking thru the windows/door. i keep thinking that one day i’ll actually put glass in the windows… and maybe some day i’ll get around to it!)

i ordered nox by anne carson and it arrived monday. it is the book i wish i had created:

it is one long accordion fold of text/image/collage, housed in a clamshell box.

written after her brother died, the author’s visual exploration of grief is familiar to me.

the ephemera/photos/collages/clippings convey what written words cannot say.

i want to devour it up all in one sitting… but i also want to savor every page.

my to-read pile is getting bigger and bigger…

• dear james: letters to a young illustrator. an xmas gift from jenn.
• picasso. gertrude stein’s memoir of the man and artist.
• a gate at the stairs. lorrie moore’s newest. i loved birds of america, and really wish i hadn’t loaned it out. it was never returned to me.
• everybody’s autobiography. more gertrude stein. i just can’t get enough.
• the importance of being iceland. there was a lot of buzz about this book when it came out last year…
• bauhaus 1919-1933. the catalog from the moma show that came and went so quickly (november thru the end of january) and i wanted to go but with the holidays making me crazy and a trip planned for seattle already i just couldn’t get myself to spend more money but now i really regret not just going for 2 days to see the show since i love the bauhaus soooo much. wah. so i have to settle for the book version of the show. and i will read it from cover to cover. soon.

i’m starting on my list this weekend with a trip to the upper peninsula. no dog walking, no computer, no tv, no job, no crafting = reading and maybe knitting.

happy weekend!

another great local show featuring a woman artist: frida kahlo opens saturday at the walker art center.

photo credit: walker art center

(more…)

detail from the principles of uncertainty

i just added this book to my xmas list (which is silly, as we’re not celebrating xmas anymore, so i guess it goes on my after-you-get-paid-from-freelance-work list). the book’s description:

the principles of uncertainty is an irresistible invitation to experience life through the psyche of maira kalman, one of this country’s most beloved artists. the result is a book that is part personal narrative, part documentary, part travelogue, part chapbook, and all kalman. her brilliant, whimsical paintings, ideas, and images-which initially appear random-ultimately form an intricately interconnected worldview, an idiosyncratic inner monologue. kalman contends with some existential questions-what is identity? what is happiness? why do we fight wars? and then, of course, death, love, and candy (not necessarily in that order).

lovely illustrations, witty prose: fabulous. i can’t wait to see it in person.

(via new york magazine)