Nearly Spring

Nearly Spring is a treasury of notes and photos from my adventures living, working and playing around the world ............................................................................................................................................... I own a spirited graphic design studio that cultivates work that is thoughtful, seductive and bold.
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SOMETHING LIKE HOPE

Mindful rapping by Chee Malabar of Himalayan Project from India (migrated to SF, NYC, and now LA).

His words are purposeful and descriptions of Indian life tactile. Take a listen- I’m hooked.

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“ Tell your story ”

— Lee Daniels, director of Precious. Simple words but a strong statement. It seems story tellers are most successful when they follow this truthful rule. Telling your own story is powerful, not only for your own self but it can reveal a larger narrative that others connect to.

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DANCE: PASSION AND PURPOSE WITH MEXICAN MODERN DANCE

Barro Rojo, a Mexican modern dance company I recently discovered, is known internationally for their dance mastery, passion, and most of all their active participation with political and social causes.

Following a form follows function principal, the company’s exquisite costuming, music, stage dressing, and lighting are integrated with their choreography and are never wholly decorative. The choreography of Barro Rojo is informed by a passion for political and social issues and defining their own truths.

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LOVE: pulling from the past and present

I woke up thinking about love today and it’s provoking memories of all the incredible, daring, beautiful women in my life; the women that are present now (my mother, aunts, tias, primas, and dear friends), my grandmothers I recently lost, and the ancestors who came before, created us and whom we are tied to.

I love you all so very much and have learned a great deal of perseverance, grace, wit, and joy from you. Most of all I have learned who I am through long talks at the kitchen table, even longer phone calls, and in prayers. Their hands holding my own (my mothers warm soft ones and my grandmothers’ old and wise ones) remind me of my own strength and significant place in this life. That connection is also strong with my ancestors, the women I never met but, whom I am unmistakably connected to (I can see each of you— we have the same eyes, spunk, a love of art and beauty, those strong opinions and need to communicate, and no matter how tinny we are there’s a fierce woman in there… and of course those great legs that got passed down!)

The comfort women have given me and the guidance to continue on this path (even when I can’t see where I’m going!) is love.

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“ I think I learned this from my sisters who practice the Yoruba tradition—that your work here is not just to heal the people who come after you, but to heal your ancestors. Imagine how we have to reconstruct our thinking to allow for this viewpoint: the physics or the metaphysics of us being here on this planet now, while the past is simultaneously occurring. ”

Cherrìe Moraga, Chicana author and playwright in an interview with Adelina Anthony, BOMBMagazine, Americas Issue, 2007

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Take on a lover and holiday on a Spanish island… or just throw on some red lipstick and see Pedro Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces. The stunning visuals, a very sexy Penelope Cruz, sex, love, tears, and the actors’ tragic fate make this film a must! What I find magical is that Almodóvar conceived the film after being fascinated by a photograph he took ten years prior on the island of Lanzarote in Spain (the landscape above). There were two very tiny figures in the photograph he took and when he had the image blown up, he found that it was a couple embraced, surrounded by the sprawling landscape. This film is inspired by that embracing couple. How romantic!

Take on a lover and holiday on a Spanish island…

or just throw on some red lipstick and see Pedro Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces. The stunning visuals, a very sexy Penelope Cruz, sex, love, tears, and the actors’ tragic fate make this film a must!

What I find magical is that Almodóvar conceived the film after being fascinated by a photograph he took ten years prior on the island of Lanzarote in Spain (the landscape above). There were two very tiny figures in the photograph he took and when he had the image blown up, he found that it was a couple embraced, surrounded by the sprawling landscape. This film is inspired by that embracing couple. How romantic!

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Brooklyn, Bangs, and the By-The-Book Uniform of Hipsters Flavorwire does a hilarious decoding of hipster dress in their article Hipster Style Council and there’s an eery resemblance to the first disenchanted hipster in front of her brownstone and my photo above… I dearly miss these characters that were part of Brooklyn life! It’s been written about before but it’s worth checking out the ridiculous ensembles here: Hipster Style Council

Brooklyn, Bangs, and the By-The-Book Uniform of Hipsters

Flavorwire does a hilarious decoding of hipster dress in their article Hipster Style Council and there’s an eery resemblance to the first disenchanted hipster in front of her brownstone and my photo above… I dearly miss these characters that were part of Brooklyn life!

It’s been written about before but it’s worth checking out the ridiculous ensembles here: Hipster Style Council

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Loving all these tights as pick-ups for gray days. Warm up with a pair of lux snugly tights from Plush Wear, Decorate your stems with a shot of color from We Love Colors, Or graphically strut your stuff with Les Queues de Sardines!

Loving all these tights as pick-ups for gray days.

Warm up with a pair of lux snugly tights from Plush Wear,

Decorate your stems with a shot of color from We Love Colors,

Or graphically strut your stuff with Les Queues de Sardines!

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An enlightening (and fun!) find last week was the Toltec Oracle. To quote its creator, Victor Sanchez, these cards have the power to “show you the lights and shadows of your soul”. Recently, a friend and I used the Oracle to do a full Mirror of Life Spread, over sage and candle light, and sought the answers to specific questions we had about our path in life. The part I enjoyed most was found under the Teotle quadrant which represents my spirit and the Great Spirit. What was revealed was the Masatle, the Deer card. Having the Deer in the house of the Spirit means I have sacred task to accomplish! The oracle says its necessary to make a pilgrimage to a sacred site, sit quietly, and look within myself. This act is called a Vision Quest — a journey taken to inspire a turning point and assist in finding yourself and your life’s direction. I’ll have to get back to you on my quest. In the mean time pick up a copy of Victor Sanchez’s Toltec Oracle here… and find your destiny for under $30!

An enlightening (and fun!) find last week was the Toltec Oracle. To quote its creator, Victor Sanchez, these cards have the power to “show you the lights and shadows of your soul”.

Recently, a friend and I used the Oracle to do a full Mirror of Life Spread, over sage and candle light, and sought the answers to specific questions we had about our path in life.

The part I enjoyed most was found under the Teotle quadrant which represents my spirit and the Great Spirit. What was revealed was the Masatle, the Deer card.

Having the Deer in the house of the Spirit means I have sacred task to accomplish! The oracle says its necessary to make a pilgrimage to a sacred site, sit quietly, and look within myself. This act is called a Vision Quest — a journey taken to inspire a turning point and assist in finding yourself and your life’s direction.

I’ll have to get back to you on my quest. In the mean time pick up a copy of Victor Sanchez’s Toltec Oracle here… and find your destiny for under $30!

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I am learning more about the Hopi way of life in northeastern Arizona. I’ve long since been curious about them after my uncle would teach me bits and pieces as a little girl. Today I was so moved while viewing Hopi Songs of the Fourth World, a documentary that discusses the importance of corn and how it influences art and the daily life of the Hopi. (you can see excerpts from the film on utube here). What resonated most was their connection to nature and the world around them as well as their techniques of teaching their children through experiential and observational learning. It was beautiful watching the children pick up customs and ways of life from their elders. Additionally, check out Meditations with the Hopi, “a story of prophecy and fulfillment in the world we all journey through”. Within the book I discovered koyaanisqatsi (world out of balance) and my hope is to find a greater sense of inner peace from the Hopi’s way of life. What a beautiful discovery!

I am learning more about the Hopi way of life in northeastern Arizona. I’ve long since been curious about them after my uncle would teach me bits and pieces as a little girl.

Today I was so moved while viewing Hopi Songs of the Fourth World, a documentary that discusses the importance of corn and how it influences art and the daily life of the Hopi. (you can see excerpts from the film on utube here).

What resonated most was their connection to nature and the world around them as well as their techniques of teaching their children through experiential and observational learning. It was beautiful watching the children pick up customs and ways of life from their elders.

Additionally, check out Meditations with the Hopi, “a story of prophecy and fulfillment in the world we all journey through”.

Within the book I discovered koyaanisqatsi (world out of balance) and my hope is to find a greater sense of inner peace from the Hopi’s way of life.

What a beautiful discovery!

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