We arrived in Flagstaff on Friday afternoon. Since then it's been all about good food, lots of work, some wine, and some more work.

There is still a lot of work to do, so this morning's breakfast was simple and a quick collection of leaves & co. seemed appropriate before our departure tomorrow early morning.

I didn't get to spend as much time outdoors as I would have liked... but after all it was a work-weekend. I can't complain much though, Flagstaff is beautiful; a perfect respite from downtown Los Angeles. The air is so clean and crisp, it's just nice to breath.

CG is building a house here and being on a construction site again is reinvigorating. I'm hoping there will be more trips up here as the house progresses.

As a freelancer, there's a constant effort to not let work take over life. Work is sneaky; it creeps into your evenings and weekends, and while it's something you may love, it's still work. Work is too often an excuse I use for not being able to do things...like impromptu weekends away.

Having said that, and even though it makes no real sense given the coming week and all the deadlines, my studio mate CG and I are getting in the car and driving to Flagstaff tomorrow.

The irony is that it'll be a work weekend... but we're shaking it up, and giving Work a run for it's money. It's going to have to keep up with us this time.

{image via here... found on English Muse}

I feel like going on a voyage.

A long slow trip to somewhere cold.

To a little solitary house where I can make hot drinks and walk around in thick socks all day.

{image by lynann}

I finished making Jean-François and realized he bore a striking resemblance to another New Recycle, Émile.

So I've relisted Émile along with Jean-François, because at this point they are best buds, inseparable.

{update: sold}

It's growing...I added to the collection some things I found on the sidewalk this morning and few more things I found in my drawers.

I like my new bear friend.

The wind blew so ferociously last night. The streets are littered with palm fronds, pine needles, eucalyptus leaves and seed pods.

Makes for good treasure hunting.

Some things within arm's reach... made into a wee collection. Nothing special, just little bits and bobs.

I love that the acorn has nostrils, though you might have to click on the image to see them a little larger.

Yesterday evening the temperature was perfect. There was a lovely warm wind that churned the oak leaves on the driveway and through the garden. We turned on the little lights, cooked outside and watched it grow darker. Despite these warm temperatures you can tell when the Los Angeles summer is near it's end... the winds pick up, the skies clear up and the moutains suddenly come into crisp focus. It's perhaps the best time of year.

I think it must have been incredible to have seen this in person.

The Berlin Reunion by Royal de Luxe.... see a video here.

I didn't realize it but a bean was left in the sink drain for a day or two under the plug, and when I finally realized and pulled it out, it was full of life.

I remember in school, maybe Grade 1 or 2, when we had to cultivate plants that we germinated from various seeds. I can't tell you how many beans I sprouted in between two pieces of wet cotton wool on a little saucer in the window of my bedroom. Not only is the process of growing this little bean nostalgic, but to have found this little guy sprouting on his own in the sink without sunlight is amazing!

It reminded me of a image I saw a while back on flickr by olivelife... plants in an ice tray. Genius.

I think my little bean is destined for a similar future, along with a few other beans and seeds I've got going on the side.

Ladies and Gentlemen....

May I introduce Ramon. The newest member of the family.

{finally something produced from my often-neglected knitting life. It feels good...}

I've moved my desk in the studio. Now I sit downstairs. I like my rearrangement very much, but I have this sad little face looking back at me.

This past weekend I think I baked the craziest cake I've ever made.

It stood 14 inches tall. Can't wait to make another one... so much fun.

This week was busy visiting a few fabricators for some upcoming projects. I love going to places where things get made. I'm definitely a "behind the scenes" kind of person...

{psst... I cheated a little with these photos... and used this application}

I am certainly liking the work of Lizzy Stewart.

She likes bears, as do I... but R likes them even more.
We have a lovely local bear that comes down the mountain sometimes. He likes to get in the garbage cans at night, and then we don't like him as much. If he helped us clean up the mess in the mornings, and had a quick sit down, perhaps a cup of coffee, all would be forgiven.

Nevertheless, I think this bear of Lizzy's is perfect.

Just when I was getting really good at not wanting everything, I came across Baden Baden.

So it's now back to square one with the 'not wanting.'

Great.

{via piou, another blog to love}

Note to self... not necessarily a sentence... or even to taken literally, but little hints, or nudges if you will:

eat = cook more: make food, don't buy it. don't eat at your desk.

swim = don't pass up an opportunity to get in the water

see = pay attention to the world around you... look at things, take your time.

cactus = get your hands dirty, make planted environments

I am working from home today. The little cabin we live in is small. If I turn around this is what I see. Living in a small space is hard, but it's also refreshing. You tend to shed what you don't need.

R is good at keeping the place not very cluttered; if I had my way with this spice shelf it might not make a pretty picture.

I am lucky enough have a fairly large wall by my desk (about 7 feet) on which to pin up ideas that inspire me. Right now this 1 foot section of wall does the trick. I almost don't need more.

Sometimes my 'inspiration' wall gets so thick with ideas I can't see the ideas anymore. For me, this is a good place to focus and a reminder to simplify.

I am riding high today, newly refreshed by these 12 inches.

I have to admit that I've been feeling completely uninspired these last few weeks, not quite bored of my work and my asethetic, but something very close to that. Unsatisfied? It's time for a change but I have no clue in which direction to start off.

I've been bombarding myself with as many images and words as I can to try to jump start something in my creative brain, nothing has quite stuck. It's just been a constant stream of colors, and shapes and textures, but everything's been feeling rather flat.

This morning, finally, I think I stumbled onto something...

It began by looking at Home: Where they Create, a visual document of people's creative environments by Paul Barbera (found via hello sandwich). And of course, given how magnetic these work/live spaces are I drifted off through the links and arrived at ijm's string gardens.

A sigh of relief... it reminds me that I've been wanting to get my hands dirty. I'm not sure how yet, but I want the remnants of a day's work under my fingernails. I've been saying I want to ditch the old computer for a while now, maybe it's time?

{wish I was in Amsterdam, ijm had an open house this weekend!}

Having just come home from vacation, I'm of two minds about this statement. I suppose three-quarters of the time this is true. The other quarter of the time, it's really wonderful not to be busy and to just sit on your butt and think about how very un-busy you really are.

That said, I'm back to the three-quarter life and I'm about to get very busy, and not the good kind of busy. Crazy busy. The light at the end of the tunnel is an October camping trip to Death Valley.

{image via Yay!Everyday, by Jamie Tao}

A long overdue post about my growing ceramic cityscape, by Susan Dwyer of up in the air somewhere. I still need to buy the third factory vessel, but thus far have collected two of them and they happily co-exist on my desk with my water silo, also by Susan.

And if you read this blog often you know how much I love her work. So lucky for me, I also received one of her stunning little gold-lipped dishes, which.... let me tell you, makes me melt. I love the handmade quality of everything; I love that the lids fit "just so" and the lines are not quite straight. You can see the wonderful markings of process, but it's so clean and crisp. After I get the remaining building, I have my heart set on these. Cups dipped in rubber.


I actually can't talk about it anymore for fear of impulsively purchasing them all right this second ... patience, Debi.... patience.

I think spending time underwater could make you a really good textile designer. Endless inspiration.

{images by Jeff Bozanic}

I suppose I should admit I am back from holidays... back from my diving trip to Fiji.

On the first day I found the first letters for my coral alphabet. There were millions of bits of coral on the beach and throughout the week the alphabet slowly filled itself in. I didn't want to assemble letter forms out of parts of coral. I wanted single pieces. As you can imagine, finding some of the letters was difficult. The S is the only one that isn't a single piece of coral.

I had help from some really lovely kids who were on our trip. They would come to me with options for letters I already had, or were able to find ones I was unable to find myself. One day, while we were all getting off the boats and arriving back at the resort after a day out diving, J.A. came running down to the beach with two pieces in his hand, shouting that he had found the X and the Z. Ah, those little letter-hunters! I miss them.

And of course I left the task of photographing the alphabet to the very last minute, with a crinkly damp piece of paper as my backdrop right before we left the resort. I also left all the letter forms there on the table outside our room, along with all the little shells, seed pods and other bits we found on the beach and in the water.... I miss them too.

{p.s. click on the image for a larger view.... note to self: must sort out how to post larger images}

well... not exactly. But very soon.

Saying farewell to the blog a little early... and who knows, maybe I'll have internet access where I am going, but I'm kind of wishing I don't.

Happy end of August to you all, see you in Septem-ber.

I've been doing a little house sitting lately. Nice to be in new surroundings and pretend.

My temporary pretend life has the following features:
- a nice view of the Silver Lake reservoir
- two sweet dogs
- a reminder to be calm

Came across these lovely posters on ffffound... the negative space is like a breath of fresh air.

{images from here, and here}

p.s. it's R's birthday today.... hip hip hooray!

One of my studio mates just came back after a trip to Seattle with word of stunning ceramics found at {far 4}. The artist is Yusuke Aida and they look incredible. They are not painted, they're constructed from colored clay.

I'm secretly wishing that she buys some so that I can drink out of them. I think the drink will surely taste sweeter.

{images via far 4}

Yesterday: San Pedro, California 5:30 a.m.
Just leaving the docks for our first open water dive.

Happy to report that I am alive and well, having survived and enjoyed what I had previously considered one of my greatest fears: the ocean.

Don't get me wrong, I think I still have a healthy fear of the ocean and things that live in it, but I'm no longer paralyzed by it. And actually I find being underwater, moving with the currents, quite calming.

Can't wait to go back down.

Love it.

Typographic experiments by seven-nine.

{via handmade charlotte}

We spent a lot of time outside.
And did our fair share of inside too at the hotel.

Once back on the mainland, we ate modestly and simply. And outside.