Books, travel, artists, art materials, or anything that is inspiring our creative practices.
Hello Friends! We put together a short video of what we saw at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville North Carolina a few weeks back. The artist, Dale Chihuly, researched the grounds and developed multiple glass installations throughout the gardens, inside, and outside the Biltmore mansion. If you can go see the work, it is well… Read More
Hello Friends! We have recently come back from a refreshing trip to Asheville, North Carolina. We made a short video for you to see how we spent our days. This time away in the woods gave us an opportunity to look at the last two years of work of our mail art collaborative project “The… Read More
Dear Friends, We often talk about other artists who are inspiring. Aurora Robson is one of those artists that we have talked about and know that our readers would appreciate. In this video, she explains how her work went from painting, to sculpture, to activism about plastics in our environment. PLASTIC! Yikes, we have to… Read More
Dear Friends, I was reading Laura’s blog post about joy and wanted to direct you to her thoughts (CLICK HERE). She always inspires me with her positivity and ability to work through the tough times with a steadfast belief in the human spirit. This attitude not only directs her daily decision-making but also her creative… Read More
Dear Friends, This letter is part two of a series on Gloria Steinem’s new book My Life on the Road. To catch up on part one click HERE. We both were impressed by Gloria’s ability to create change from simply having conversations. The trick to making this work is that the people in the conversation… Read More
Dear Friends, As we mentioned in our previous letter, we have been reviewing what is working and not working on our blog. We are changing our “Mindfulness” category that we typically post mid-month to a much wider category called “Inspiration”. This way we can still write about our mindfulness practices but also include books we are… Read More
Dear Friends, We visited Baltimore, Maryland recently to attend the Light City Festival. Above is a short video of what we saw. We were so impressed by all the friendly people we encountered in this city, everyone from our Uber drivers to the people on the street. We would definitely go back. You may like to… Read More
Dear Tina, I now see why the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is your favorite Museum! I finally went for a visit and was enthralled with Isabella’s intimate and thoughtfully curated collection of art from her travels around the world. There was so much to appreciate! I swooned over her garden of course and was inspired by her book… Read More
Dear Friends, We have had some great discussions about the first three chapters of Gloria Steinem’s book My Life on the Road. See our previous post with some insights on why we picked this book. We have three main topics for the first 100 pages of the book we would like to share: thoughts on… Read More
Dear Tina, How are you? I have been bundled up indoors, dreaming of spring and filling my well of inspiration. I’ve been binge listening to podcasts in my studio and have really been enjoying Squam Art Workshops, “Morning on the Dock” series hosted by Elizabeth Duvivier. I met Elizabeth many years ago while volunteering at Squam (such a magical… Read More
Dear Friends, We are excited to announce the book we have selected for our next book club! My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem We will be reading this over the next few months and sharing our thoughts on this wonderful woman’s life. Why this book? It is certainly a time in our country where we are… Read More
Dear Laura, I wanted to remind you of one of the artists you researched during graduate school. You showed me how Friedensreich Hundertwasser created paintings and architecture inspired and made for nature. Did you know he also designed flags, stamps, posters, and coins? As one of our earliest environmentalists, he challenged the industrial nature of… Read More
Dear Laura & Friends, It was great to read Laura’s One Little Word. She is always so good about keeping up with her word throughout the year and reminding me of my word. Last year my word was DRAW. I gave myself the challenge of creating one drawing a week and for the most part… Read More
Dear Friends, In 2011 we started a tradition of picking a word that would guide us through the year. This idea was inspired by Ali Edwards “One Little Word” project. For this month’s “Mindfulness” series we will share two quick posts. One featuring Laura’s One Little Word (today) and the other Tina’s One Little Word (tomorrow). Check out our… Read More
Dear Tina, As we start off the new year I thought I would share this beautiful video and inspiring interview with two delightful souls: Dr. Terry Kennedy, a meditation teacher and Tao Porchon-Lynch a yoga instructor. They travel the world together, collaborating and touching the lives of woman across the globe. They consider themselves “spiritual soulmates” which is… Read More
Dear Friends, We have discussed Part One & Part Two of the book Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Today we will be discussing Part Three: In the Spirit of Mindfulness. Similar to our last book club post, this will be one of our longer letters. If you are reading the book too, please feel free to… Read More
“Painting embodies the warmth of one’s emotions,” says artist Sun Xun, demonstrating his unique painting technique in settings that have personal resonance for him. From his Beijing studio, the artist explains his use of both historical and fantastical imagery in “Mythological Time” (2016) Dear Laura, In the midst of following Art Basel in Miami, I… Read More
Dear Friends, We have discussed Part One of the book Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat- Zinn. Today we will be discussing Part Two: The Heart of Practice, in an informal Q&A. Similar to our last book club post, this will be one of our longer letters. If you are reading the book too, please… Read More
Dear Tina, How are you my friend? I have been craving some “soulful” listening while I am painting and came across this interview Krista Tippett shared from On Being with Joanna Macy, a philosopher of Ecology. I have never known or heard of this as a profession and I loved the idea of it. I was reminded… Read More
Dear Friends, As we mentioned in our previous letter, we have been reading Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat Zinn. We have developed four questions for Part One: The Bloom of the Present Moment (pages 1-100) which we have both answered in an informal Q&A. This will be one of our longer letters… Read More
Dear Laura, We survived our first hurricane evacuation and thankfully had minimal damage to our home. I am grateful that our neighbors are doing fine as well. One thing about Charleston, SC is that we all ban together in hard times. It is a great feeling to be a part of such a wonderful… Read More
Dear Friends, We have started a two person book club. Jon Kabat-Zinn is an author we have discussed before, but never formally read together. Recognizing our common interest in mindfulness we decided to read this together over the past several months, try these teachings, and incorporate them into our lives. After discussing this on the phone at… Read More
Hello Sweet T, How are you? Thank you for sharing Mary Oliver’s poem with me. The graphic you made is so sweet! The poetry reminded me of the first collaborative piece of art we ever exhibited. It was inspired by Rumi’s poem, The Waterwheel, remember? I love how we were discovering our sense of place and connection to the landscape in that… Read More
Dear Tina, Thank you for reminding me of Mary Oliver’s poetry in your last letter! I perused my bookshelves for her book, “House of Light” and found a quiet spot to immerse myself into her beautiful world. This poem, The Gift jumped out at me. The Gift I wanted to thank the mockingbird for the vigor of… Read More
Dear Laura, I have been thinking about the poets who take my breath away with words. I will often have to reread those juicy ones over and over again. The poets I tend to respond to are writing about the natural world. Mary Oliver is who I will quote in this letter, but another fantastic poet… Read More
Yes! Dear Laura, I was inspired by your recent post and the THIRST project. It is ironic that this project developed because of the extreme drought and now it is extreme flooding…..climate change? At any rate, paying closer attention to nature and our human impact is undeniable. I did a little digging about trees and… Read More
Dear Tina & friends, It was very serendipitous that I should discover this installation project, Thirst when I did. I had just finished writing, “For the Love of Trees, Painting and the Earth” and was feeling nostalgic about a favorite tree from my childhood when this project came on my radar. Arts In Context – 404 THIRST (Trailer) from… Read More
Hello! We wanted to share this fantastic resource from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. They have a brilliant idea of asking contemporary artists to speak about their favorite piece of art at the MET. It’s called the Artist Project. It is such a simple idea, but has inspired us… Read More
“I began to see that there is very little handmade stuff around anymore and I do think hand printing and making things is important.” ~ Marthe Armitage Dear Tina, I love looking at your instagram feed every week and seeing what you drew for your drawing challenge. I also love how you are sharing it on… Read More
“The most spiritual and powerful aspect of human nature is our faculty of attention, Consciousness. Attention is what allows us to see ourselves, and so within others, in order to learn how we can elegantly approach anything, everything.” ~Elena Brower & Erica Jango Dear Tina, Yes, to Ali Edwards for our “One Little Word” tradition!… Read More
