ZOËLAB: THE LIFE AS ART BLOG

Zoë Dearborn 6/26/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/26/15

The spirit of Anaïs Nin lives through me

"I too started with all the handicaps, incapabilities, and helplessness. I was not trying to earn my living, I was afraid of the world, I didn’t talk when I was twenty. I taught myself (I know you won’t believe that): I taught myself to talk by the actual act of writing. I learned to communicate with others, and it was the fact of the diaries coming out which made me able to communicate with you."

Zoë Dearborn 6/25/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/25/15

Lego Photo Essay

I am obsessive about photographing life. Sometimes it's a way of making contact with the world. Sometimes it's about accepting what is. And sometimes it's a way of keeping what is so meant to be transitory.

Zoë Dearborn 6/24/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/24/15

Egg Confetti Bombs

So here is the project that I referred to in yesterday's blog post.

Zoë Dearborn 6/23/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/23/15

Parenting Breakthrough

I recognize that, with parenting, just like everything else, the areas we struggle with the most are opportunities for healing, growth and transformation. In other words, parenting kicks my ass and Emilio is my greatest teacher.

Zoë Dearborn 6/22/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/22/15

Spring Family Drawing

I suddenly felt that anything I drew that had Mio's mark on it was better, more interesting. It was also an experience in letting go of ego.

Zoë Dearborn 6/21/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/21/15

Learning to make art is about tuning ourselves to the divine

We just need to hone and sharpen the instrument through lots and lots of practice, and then get the fuck out of the way. Let the creative spirit pass through. Work in service of the spirit. Have faith that you will be rewarded with its gifts in time, but not according to a pre-designed plan.

Zoë Dearborn 6/20/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/20/15

Naughty Geckos

The next time I hear them laughing, I am going to think of them differently.

Zoë Dearborn 6/19/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/19/15

Recording "Rock-n-Roll Thing," First Try

I am ready to take the plunge, and share the process of making music.

Zoë Dearborn 6/18/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/18/15

(inspired by the gift)

The poets of past knew something worth knowing.

To value that which is invisible to the eye and to listen
with the open throats of baby birds.

Zoë Dearborn 6/15/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/15/15

DANCE LAB

Dance Lab is a chance for you to feel safe to move freely, developing your own body intuition and guidance. You will have the opportunity to rest, play, meditate, move, dance, create all in one class. You will leave feeling energized, and fresh—ready to celebrate the evening with friends, family or in sweet reflective repose.

Zoë Dearborn 6/14/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/14/15

Zumbathon

Zumba is all about learning steps and moves. I want to love Zumba because I love to dance, and I love to dance with others. But instead, I feel like I am spending all my energy trying to follow the moves instead of dancing and expressing myself.

Zoë Dearborn 6/13/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/13/15

Cowboy Photoshoot

Mio promptly got dressed into his cowboy outfit, and posed very cooperatively for Lucas for twenty minutes.

Zoë Dearborn 6/12/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/12/15

3 Dead Dragonflies

I have not only made my piece with most insects, but I have come to see them as objects of endless beauty and inspiration for poems, art & songs.

Zoë Dearborn 6/11/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/11/15

Las Cosas Favoritas De Mio

One day earlier this year Mio had a home work assignment for kindergarten--to write down a list of his favorite things.

Zoë Dearborn 6/10/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/10/15

THE CASE OF THE KALEIDOSCOPE AND THE PLASTIC JEWEL THIEF

Emilio loves to collect what he calls jewels. His jewels are made of different materials, some are plastic, some are glass or stone, but what they all have in common is that they are translucent and brightly colored.

Zoë Dearborn 6/9/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/9/15

Art is there for us to make beauty out of the human experience.

There is anger in me about something. It is the split between art and life. It is the split between artists and non-artists. That art is somehow reserved for the special people in life, and the rest of us, well we just drone through life, asleep. I refuse to accept this piece of culture that we have inherited. I am ready to change culture by magnifying, elevating the beauty of the everyday experience into art.

Zoë Dearborn 6/8/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/8/15

Learning about instinct from Björk and Andy Warhol

She said that her goal in her art is to return us to our instincts. She uses her own instincts, which are highly developed because since she has been an artist since she was a young child. She has never stopped being an artist. I think this is why her art is so magical, so unreal—she trusts that her instincts will take her where she needs to go.

Zoë Dearborn 6/7/15 Zoë Dearborn 6/7/15

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.