ZOËLAB: THE LIFE AS ART BLOG
Projects, Parenting & Spray Bottles, Part Four
Anytime my activity at hand is seen by Emilio, not as something getting in the the way of my attention towards him, but rather something he can be part of, is a step in the right direction. It means that I can have a life other than being his mom that he can witness. It makes our relationship more mutual.
Projects, Parenting & Spray Bottles, Part Two
It’s only been a few days of this new approach, but so far I am encouraged by how much I’m accomplishing while still giving Emilio the attention he needs.
After the Rain: a photo essay
Every summer, a bunch of our stuff gets ruined because we leave it outside before the rains come. This may seem shocking to some people. But we are developing a new philosophy that accepts the fact that we own far too much stuff, and that nature sometimes has to do her thing. I could be more careful, but somehow it hasn't happened yet. And it makes such an interesting art project to capture what nature does to culture. (And vice versa).
Latest ZOELAB Album Cover
One of my favorite things to do as a designer is make album covers. Garafön, my band with my husband, will be releasing 15 -20 songs over the next months, or years (we'll see how long it takes me to learn how to a producer/recording engineer on top of a songwriter, singer, guitar player), so I will have a chance to make an album cover at least 15-20 times. But in the meantime, I am making album covers for zoëlab.
Another way that a storm is like a dinner party
Treating the storm in this way, with acceptance, and respect, almost an invitation, felt right. And it reminded me of one of my favorite Rumi poems that I return to over and over.
Hurricane Odile
This morning we learn a hurricane is coming—Odile. A category 4, with 125 mile an hour winds, which would be the most ferocious hurricane of recorded history to hit this peninsula.
Backwards Night Dreaming About Camp
How beautifully simple life was when we camped here. Not that it was easy, but it was a special and peaceful time. I realize how lucky I was to have lived in nature while I was pregnant--ocean, mountains, desert, and also: dessert.
To Do Collage
Indirectly inspired by assignment #56 from Learning to Love You More, mentioned in art world post, I made a collage. It started out free style--I leafed through some old magazines, cutting out images that had significance to me, but instead of being a portrait of my friend’s desires (assignment #56), it ended up being a visual to do list.
Three Days: A Poem in Three Parts, Part Two
The next day, the rain came, again.
Every few minutes, a new sound,
A new amount:
A sheet, a bucket, a drop, a blanket.
The Slow Making of a Dream Part Two: First Phase of Building
After Campo Elias Calles, and after Emilio was born, we needed a new place to live. It was winter 2010, Emilio was 5 months old. Our friends, who live in La Huerta (a mostly gringo area next to a surfer’s beach, surrounded by farmlands) took us in.
The Terrific Freedom and Terrible Loneliness of Expatriating
I find it freeing to let go of the protective grip of the ego that wants to uphold an idealized and restricted view of ourselves, and accept that we all fail as humans. We all make messes. We all feel rejected sometimes.
The Slow Making of a Dream: El Campo Elias Calles, The End of Camp
It was hard to see our beloved camp so destroyed, but I found relief in knowing I had documented it in its glory days. We also knew part of its beauty was its transience.
The Slow Making of a Dream: El Campo Elias Calles, Part Two
Having been a city girl my whole life, it was a real shift for me to live in nature.
The Slow Making of a Dream: El Campo Elias Calles, Part One
I’ve been putting off telling this story even though it’s the story that I most want to tell. It’s a difficult story to tell because it’s complicated, and we’re still in the middle of it.
Do it Yourself
Yesterday, we spent most of the day at home. It rained intermittently all day, a perfect excuse to go nowhere. What did we do? We drew pictures. We ate a snack plate for lunch. We made play dough. Not this is not revolutionary, but it certainly is fun.