the overalls

These overalls are the best. They have a stain which you can’t see because I folded the cuff over it, but it looks like dried blood. However, it isn’t dried blood. It’s raspberry gelato. My friend and I had just gotten cones with “une boule de glace” on them and decided to have a race up the huge steps to Sacre Coeur. It was night and warm and windy and smelled like a mixture of the dust that filters through the air in Paris during the summer months and burning sugar. We flew up the stairs with the gelato dripping the whole way up. When we got to the top we just stood there laughing at the red stains on the front of my overalls. My entire cone had practically emptied onto them. We sat down on a bench overlooking the entire city as one does at Montmartre and shared her cone. Though I have mixed feelings about Paris, I sometimes long so much for the moments that I had while I was there. 

rookie time

To be honest I actually really like the amateur feeling photo booth pictures give off. I could dream about acquiring the photographic prowess of 4th and Bleeker for ages, but isn't it important to have not just the subject, but also quality of pictures represent the platform truly? If a blog is just an online projection of one's self, then yeah, it should be kind of amateur looking, I'm still an amateur at most things I do...I'm only seventeen! Regardless of the fact that I have haven't gotten my act together to invest in a tripod and a remote yet, the gritty look is still cool. Very mid-00's Myspace of me. Even though I never had a Myspace. You know, I was like, twelve, when that was a "thing"...

Because New Year's resolutions are decidedly bullshit (I'm telling you right now not to make any), and the void in your brain that is desperate for some sort of change is still hungry, I am about to present to you a certain number of solutions (I haven't thought of them yet and plan to make them up as I go along so I don't know how many there will be) to keep you from being bored. And boring.

1. Doing something stupid is, in fact, an official name for an activity. Though it varies from person to person (and their baseline stupidity level), it is important to take into consideration that this is about pushing yourself. For me, "stupid" never gets me too far because I've got too much common sense and tend to be overly cautious. Just remember drugs are bad, kids. Things that are fun and stupid and won't get you killed include buying ice cream cakes and delivering them to the homes of unsuspecting randoms or friends, running around in the dark with no flashlight, going to a diner past midnight for no reason, and going stair-sledding. The more childish the better.

2. Haircuts! Okay, this is a cliche one, I know, but looking different does make you feel different. Sometimes doing things with a different feeling makes a different. Maybe vibe is more the word I'm looking for. Yes, changing the vibe of your daily life through a small and unbinding physical change. Victory. (ps- more on this later)

3. If you can't bring yourself to do something stupid or put a little change in your life then read about people who do. I promise you a good book will solve 99% of your problems. Right now I'm reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami and I would also recommend Volume 1 of interviews collected from The Paris Review. It has interviews with T.S. Eliot, Didion, Hemingway, and tons of other intelligent and inspiring writers about their work. I've also heard that Alexa Chung's book, It, is stunning.

4. This isn't necessarily exciting or inspiring, but I have been realizing how important it is to document things. Whether you are the photo type or the word type or feel most comfortable with some other medium looking back on things is always strange in a way I can't describe and gives me a tingly feeling. I reread things I've written a long time ago every now and then and think that I am reading the thoughts of another person. Essentially if you keep updating, you are providing fun for your future self, which is pretty neat.

I can't think of anything else for now, but I think those four should leave you with somewhere to start. There is a possibility of weird photo booth photos gone wrong to come later in the day or maybe tomorrow. It is ten degrees Fahrenheit outside and the chill is seeping in a bit so I'm going to put on another sweater. Happy New Year.

break

group shot from Charlotte's holiday party
(taken with my new polaroid camera! I'm on the bottom second from left)

nice light

more nice light

me
(taken by Isabel)

So far, this break has been filled with lots of friends and cold weather and warm sweaters. I have to finish a poem I've been working on for a young artists and writers competition, but aside from that, having no major responsibilities feels pretty great. I hope everyone has been having a fantastic winter holiday and has spectacular New Years plans awaiting them.

love
H

cy twombly

Like most other artists I know, I discovered the work of Cy Twombly through the great congregation of virtual stuff that is tumblr. His drawings and paintings are beautifully texturized and interesting to look at on their own, but what really makes it all interesting to me is that he drew from one inspiration for essentially his entire career. Twombly was ever inspired by the Mediterranean classical culture (the Greeks and Romans etc.) as well as the great epic poems that arose from it.
Aside from the art itself though, you have to give Twombly extra cred because it's nearly impossible to associate him with any of the specific major art movements that happened during the twentieth century, which is pretty cool if you ask me.

images via tumblr

winter vibes

 Some photos I took on the day of the first snow. I must say, now that I have my driver's license, I honestly feel a bit nostalgic for quiet early morning school bus rides. Freedom is completely worth a half hour of silence though. Anyways, I thought these captured the things I like most about winter.

The quiet, the calm, the cold.

ana

People who are talented at many things are often the subject of my hatred. This may seem like a strong statement but to be honest, I'm human, and probably just like you, when faced with intimidation jealousy often rears its ugly head. However, with this "hatred" is also a type of idolization or worhip, and lately the fantastic Ana Kras has been the victim. A Serbian-born designer and photographer, she consistently produces amazing work, and seems (from what I've seen of her studio/living space) to have a beautiful aesthetic pertaining to every aspect of her life. It also doesn't hurt that she is gorgeous and has an impeccable sense of effortless style but I digress...

Pictured below are her lovely hand-strung bon bon lamps:

These have actually inspired me enough that I've now begun drafting a new project that I will tell more about when the time is right... anyways ... equally inspiring are her photographs (I hope you can tell at this point that I am utterly captivated by her entire aesthetic), her are a select few from her ikebana albums, essentially her online photo albums containing a plethora of personal and commercial images, all shot by Ana.

Again, here are a select few:

And the artist herself...

you get the point...

(all photos except the last one courtesy of Ana Kras)