A Window on Creativity: Twyla Tharp, Amy Tan, and Han Feng

Amy Tan speaks on creativity, for TED.

Twyla Tharp writes on creativity, and Merlin Mann thinks 

it's one of the best books on the subject he's ever read. 

I, for one, bought the book right away, 

on the strength of Mr. Mann's conviction. 

I like his style, and he knows from creative.

Han Feng has done the costumes for the upcoming premiere, 

at the San Francisco Opera, 

of Amy Tan's

The Bonesetter's Daughter.

And more, from New York Times, on The Bonesetter's Daughter.

May your weekend be creative and full of life. 

As Goethe implored, 

"...turn around, and dare to be happy."

This post is dedicated to my amazing sister: 

good luck, next week, and many blessings. 

This is a remarkable voyage that you embark on: 

fair winds, and following seas.

Matt Nauman on Nanosolar

Happiness.

Because Kim Boatman Nauman is one of my all-time-favorite people on earth, I was thrilled to see that her wonderful husband wrote this article.

"'Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) rather than silicon' will be used in Nanosolar's thin-film solar panels."

Yeah, it sounds sorta like Greek to me, too. But, because both the Naumans are superb writers, if you click on the above sentence, you can read more and learn. Matt Nauman makes a lot more sense of this than I do.

Go Nauman Fam!

Photo: Solar power in it's purest form. Go Waikiki!

Late to the Party: Nice Guys Still Finish First

Admittedly late to the party on this one, but always worth noting: 

Nice Guys Finish First. 

Proven, pretty much, at Harvard. 

Tested in Kindergartens all over the country. Double-tested in homes all over the world. 

Click Here for the NPR interview with David Rand.

Be nice. It's the best way to make your way through the world. Good to remember, today and every day.

Above, Cindy Sherman photo from the MOMA this summer. Surely, she is looking for a book about nice things. 

Why late to the party? The NPR interview was in March. Even so, the research is eternally relevant.

"put down your credit card and go take a walk"

wonderful quote in the October issue of dwell: 

"'We need less stuff,' states Phil Tucker, project director for the California Healthy Communities Network. 'We're a nation of consumers, but we can only consume so much before we've consumed it all.' In other words, if you truly want to act sustainably, put down your credit card and go take a walk."

light

Ralph Lauren at the Olympics: It Doesn't Get More Gatsby Than This

Watching the Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Goodness.

Ralph: Nice Job.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, for better or for worse, captured the spirit of a new America...Ralph has perfectly defined the sportswear.

Jay Gatsby is somewhere, smiling broadly, wishing he could've stayed around long enough to suit up in these whites.

Looking at the athletes as they walk past the camera, you can smell the Sands Point lawn, and feel an Indian Summer breeze, almost, floating sweetly off the Atlantic...

Southampton shells courtesy of Kirk. Many Thanks.

One More Shot

One more shot of the new fixie.

(couldn't help it)

Fixie: A Boy and His Bike

We are proud to announce the addition of a new bike to the family. Finally. 

(we started this at Christmas, and it is good to see it finished)

Banksy and Sargent and Outlaw Art: Beyond the Pale

Madame X was pretty much outlaw art when she appeared.  

In the end, the painter thought it his best work ever. I can simply say that she literally took my breath away when I finally got to see her, and I stayed so long, in a sort of beauty induced shock (remembering to breathe, when I got dizzy), that the guards started eyeing me thoughtfully or curiously or warily or whatever. Who knows. All I know is her skin is pale, palest, lilac and you really can see where the strap was painted at first. If there be goddesses, she is one.

So, outlaw art. Last night, I read a bit of Banksy's "Wall and Piece." In it, he says:

The people who truly deface our neighbourhoods are the companies that scrawl giant slogans across buildings and buses trying to make us feel inadequate unless we buy their stuff. They expect to be able to shout their message in your face from every available surface but you're never allowed to answer back. Well, they started the fight and the wall is the weapon of choice to hit them back.

It doesn't matter whether you completely agree with Banksy on this, or disagree completely. 

What is critical in his statement is that one can hear the voice of everyman when he says "you're never allowed to answer back."  

Outlaw art. Brilliant artists seem to live at the edge--or beyond--the norms of society. Beyond the pale. Not big news there. 

But think about this, for maybe just a moment. 

When was the last time you thought something was beyond reason, pushing the limits, beautiful, and perhaps sane, but it simply wouldn't fit into your frame of "this is okay in my life?"

 Was that thing so dizzying or shock-inducing or truthful that it was, really, showing us the beauty of the future? 

The beauty that could exist now, if we let it? 

Just wondering. 

The Incomparable Topher Delaney: Land As Art

Taking design classes, a few years back, was fortunate enough to hear Topher Delaney speak. The occasion was, like the woman -- and her work -- memorable, remarkable, transforming. I was, before meeting her, aware of her landscapes and had seen them featured in a number of periodicals. But hearing her speak turned me into a true convert. It's wonderful to find that she has a blog.

Looks like, currently, she's working (with her wonderful team) on a fascinating project in Sweden; see blue & white cups, Gunnebo Garden To Go containers. (I'll take 6 dozen, thank you.)

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

This month, Wired magazine takes a look at Thomas Friedman's new book 

Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Looks like it's full of good thoughts on methods which might help us ease ourselves out of our "climate-destroying fossil-fuel age"...

"We need 100,000 people in 100,000 garages trying 100,000 things--in the hope that five of them break through." 

The battle over "green," he believes, will define the early 21st century just as the battle over "red" (Communism) defined the last half of the 20th.

Nice followup to The World is Flat. 

Perhaps, in a few years, he can write The World is Green.

word

"The American suburb is ideally suited to driving alone and being a little sad about things you haven't bought yet."

From Merlin Man. 

This one rates the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

Emily Dickinson: Brilliant Flowers for a Brilliant Friend

I send two Sunsets--

Day and I in competition ran,

I finished two, and several stars,

While He was making one.

His own is ampler--

But, as I was saying to a friend,

Mine is the more convenient

To carry in the hand.

(Sent with brilliant flowers.)

Looking, this evening, for a way to send all good thoughts to the dearest of friends. There is a white pitcher painted with butterflies that has been waiting to go to her house, for days...with sunflowers in it, a note on it, thoughts of thankfulness for her friendship surrounding it. Until the pitcher gets to it's appointed home, this little poem by Emily might suffice.

Winston Churchill understood, too:

"Friendship," he said, "is the only cement that will hold the world together."

Who Knew It Would Be These Four? Harry Potter, Ralph Lauren, Margot Tenenbaum and Vogue

The thing about Rugby is that it has this post-punk sensibility with a strong, clear dash of Harry (don't we all wish we woke up one day, were rescued by someone big enough to be anybody's bodyguard, and told we were really, really special?) Potter, and a little bit of Emily ("she looks like she always looks...strange"), plus a mesmerizing "what-Shiloh-will-look-like-as-a-prepubescent-teen" vibe.

And all of it,

filmed by Ralph and Co.,

in some

magical-misted-

hogwartsoxfordprincetonian-

shakespeherian-rag

venue?

Too cool for school. Which brings me to those precocious Tenenbaum children, who slipped the surly bonds of Etheline's school for genii. (JK: I adore Etheline. Really. She is an imperturbable rock o' motherhood if ever there was one.) Has anyone else noticed that Margot Tenenbaum has taken over Vogue this month? Those eyes. That droll mouth. That hair, those clips: everything but the wooden fingertip. (Actually, 'tho there's more Amy Winehouse in the Vogue September Haircare Seminar: please note -- esp. from Chanel -- a good bob or two -- not quite as lanky as Margot's -- and, later in the tome that is September, quite a bit of blond wispiness.)

I hope Ralph Lauren and Wes Anderson and Gwyneth Paltrow and Owen Wilson and Anna Wintour and J. K. Rowling and Harry are proud of themselves. They did good.

Zeitgeist Question of the Day:

Is it life imitating art, or art imitating life?

Or is it just that, in the hair, makeup, and costume department,

Harry and Margot are making beautiful 08-08 music together?

(BTW: Harry Potter is, I'm sure you've already heard this,

starkers in September Vogue.

You should probably go pick yours up, if you haven't already.)

The Lamp of Life|The Seven Lamps of Architecture

I believe

the right question to ask,

respecting all ornament,

is simply this:

Was it done with enjoyment--

was the carver

happy

while he was

about it?"

John Ruskin

1819-1900

restoration

Driftwood Salvage

[now Whole House]

in

Palo Alto is

chock-full of goodies.

Click on the links above,

and you'll see what

I'm talking about.

Clear as a bell.

photo: weimar, summer.07

And Joan Vigliotta and Dr. Beverly Vaughn Hock...

...I would also like to nominate to the Insight Hall of Fame...for without them, and their incredible abilities, there would be no Peter Sis interview (see artbookschildren.blogspot: there are more good moments to come, also, but our erstwhile film editor is back at work in UC Davis)...anyhow:

Joan Vigliotta has, I believe, pitch-perfect taste in illustration. She called me years ago, when running a children's book department in San Francisco, and told me that there was an illustrator coming to town whose work I would love, and she could get the books for me, and yes, it was Mr. Sis, and yes, she then kept up with his books, his writing and illustration, and hosted him, many more times, at the bookstore...always remarking, afterward, that he was simply wonderful, the most amazing gentleman (as you can see in the videos!). And Dr. Beverly Hock, who is the Director of the magnificent Reading the World program at the University of San Francisco, was instrumental in bringing the amazing Mr. Sis back to the Bay Area earlier this year to talk to all of us about "The Wall," amongst other things.

Bev and Joan are both forces of nature; their enthusiasm and knowledge are unparalleled, and they are both as wonderful and refreshing as...well, as the sweet waterfalls that Olafur Eliasson provided New York City with, this year, on those hot summer days.

For your own meritorious honorable-mention for insight, I couldn't suggest a better place to start than Reading the World 2009...a must for anyone who loves books or kids or illustration or San Francisco. Sure, you missed Peter Sis last year...but don't despair...rumor has it, for 2009, there's someone also wonderful and worth waiting for...see you at USF in in early '09!

Good Stuff from San Francisco: Cheap Girl Draws

This is a link to a wonderful blog: Cheap Girl Draws. 

Very Good Stuff. 

From San Francisco.

(Love San Francisco. Even the funny little corners of the Presidio, above.) 

Oh, YUMMY: The Sartorialist, and Marzipan in Southampton

The Sartorialist is just the yummiest bit of eye candy. Somehow, the best thing is not the charming attire and unique air of all of these folks, but their soigne and bemused expressions--which scarcely hide their delight in the portrait being produced. 

And thanks to the most polished and delightful young woman that I know for giving me heads up on this, a while back.

Above: charmingly sweet marzipan, happened upon in Southampton this July. That delightful young woman, happily, was with me when said marzipan was sited.

Wise Words

There were all kinds of wise words at the Start conference in San Francisco today.

AMAZING event, brilliant people, gorgeous setting. 

Here, you will find a good thought for the day. It dovetails, somehow, with Matt's "Code is Poetry," Merlin's extraordinary and dead-on views about...everything? And all the other incredible Start goodness...

Power Slaying on the Green Front

Two great articles last week, both in the nyt, about control4.

Here, at last, the promise of a smart home system that also slays, whilst they sleep, the gluttonous energy-sucking dragons that we all have lying about the house.  (And, brave and gifted knights that we are, we can bring our dragons back to life upon demand.) 

Read more, from the fabulous Michelle Slatalla, here.

Above, right, dear old Times Square...one of the greatest energy-sucking dragons of all time. But you gotta love it, scales and all. 

"Waste is Basically Stupid": William McDonough, On Redesigning Nearly Everything and Honoring Intention

Still missing the beach at Waikiki, but getting on with projects at hand, and starting with a new focus on green design.

After a bout with building last year that left me scratching my head in wonder at the waste that seemed--to everyone on the project but me, I think--normal and "okay..."

{I'd like to digress here a bit, and ask: have you looked at a construction site (say, in suburban south silicon valley) lately and seen the contents of the dumpster? All manner of stuff that is clearly usable and recyclable...including things that would certainly better the lives of nearby, less-fortunate neighbors...are routinely tossed into humongous containers and then trundled off to "fill" some lovely, hidden land near Half-Moon Bay or thereabouts...}

...anyway, all the waste, so much of it hugely unnecessary, really is beyond distressing. Having grown up in a military family, we moved from post to post and learned to make do with what we had, to work with the materials at hand. (My mother has a genius for this, so I was tutored by the best.) One didn't tear down walls and install grandiose granite sepulchers to impress the neighbors. It wasn't impressive, and it would have been considered (among other unseemly adjectives) wasteful. (Additionally, the Post Engineers would've been mighty steamed had we done this in assigned Quarters.) We made the best of what we had, and it gave me, for one, a sense of pride and purpose.

Waste-not, want-not is really not so old and musty, is it?

Anyhow, the clear ideals of green design have seemed right to me for a long time, but the reality of most green design, until lately, is that is has simply not been awfully cost-effective to implement, especially not here in suburban south silicon valley. People on a budget (read, many of us) have a hard time, in the midst of building/renovation, springing for the extra green-contractor costs (even though going green saves so much in the future, one still has to pay the bills in the present).

Thankfully, that seems to be changing...albeit, slowly. Which brings us to William McDonough and the C2C certification that the firm of MBDC has been awarding products, of late. It is the wave (aha! I have tied in the beach shot, non?) of the future and worth looking into now. As the demand grows, the products (and those who sell them) will surely become more main-stream, one hopes, and costs will become more market-place friendly (one hopes). While one is hoping, let's keep our fingers crossed that the contractors and subs who deliver this brave new world of green will do so with integrity and pride. Yes, one can continue to hope.

See, in this section of the New York Times, the notes on "Beyond Waste," from Jon Gertner (you'll have to go to the second page). Wonderful things have begin given the C2C certification...Herman Miller Chairs, USPS envelopes...and this is just the beginning. Gertner writes: "To McDonough, his certification is a point of entry into the world that he's imagining. 'It honors intention,' he says. 'And I think that's really important, given that we have to redesign nearly everything...' "

"As McDonough recently put it, 'waste is basically stupid.' "

The waste-not, want-not Army Brat in me couldn't agree more: making the best of what we have.

Let's plan on redesign for the future, let's use what we've already got from the past, let's set about acquiring less right this very moment.

Another thought on Turtles Winning Races: Presence, Honey Girl and Kuhina

We had the great good fortune of being able to spend quite a bit of time with Honey Girl (pictured above), the gorgeous denizen of Lanikea Beach, just hours before poachers decided to end her life.

This touched us all greatly: my parents have taken our whole family (my sister's & mine, 13 of us, total) to Hawaii quite often in the past ten years, and Lanikea is one of our favorite destinations and fondest memories.

Our wonderful trips to Oahu have been a magnificent exercise in continuing to build family (something my parents have, for 50 years, been very good at), and there are not enough words in the OED for me to tell you how much this means to all of us, how much effort and planning and love (and extreme funding) have gone into this on my parents part, how much the cousins have maintained good contact and great friendships because of it...

It's impossible, basically, to explain the gift my parents have given their children and grandchildren. But I can say this: as the Hawaiians collectively mourned Honey Girl...just days after our family saw her, and her pack, and marveled at their beauty and presence...I understood Kuhina, and what happened next, completely. As the media reported in Hawaii, Kuhina--a turtle from Honey Girl's pack--"emerged from the North Shore surf and settled in front of Honey Girl's memorial," as if to say "goodbye."

Kuhina knew from family, as they say. Kuhina knew Honey Girl was gone, and he knew that his presence honored her.

How better can we honor family than to be present, whether with or without them?

Mom and Dad, thanks for the presence. Love, loyalty and faith are not speedy accoutrements: they find their provenance in hearts with wisdom and fortitude, like yours. The turtle wins the race every time. Just like you always told us. Aloha nui loa.

More great ideas from the New York Times

Loving the reality of more foliage than flowers these days...more bang for your buck, I think. A good thing, in this economic climate.

Also, am all about walkways that have plants creeping through the stones. That old desire to walk into a long-forgotten (but exquisitely overgrown) garden, surely? We are very slowly trying to implement this (the plants & stones part, not the long-forgotten & overgrown part) just beyond our front porch. Hoping that the turtle wins the race on this one.