I'm Nobody Too

oddessa

2011-01-04T19:20:00.003-06:00

It's been some months since I joined a new online endeavor, and it's about time I shared it with you all! 3 friends - one a performing arts grad student, one a self-employed artist, and one a commercially-employed theatre artist (me!) - sharing links and inspiration. I love tracking with these girls, watching the inspiration we share online fuel our real-life art. Follow us here:

oddessa

2010-06-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

I love discovering artists from my home town. When I first saw Debbie Carlos's Human Nature series, I new something about them seemed familiar. Turns out, they're photographs of the nature displays at the Field, shot in the spirit of nature photography.

Stunning. In my imaginary dream house, this would be in the living room above my linen Chesterfield. :)

via

getaway

2010-06-16T23:58:00.002-05:00

via

2010-06-16T23:56:00.000-05:00

let's try this again, shall we? :)

wistful wednesday.04

2008-10-15T21:15:00.004-05:00

me and my Smurf-blue tights on vacation!

I hate playing catch-up. Which makes me procrastinate, which makes for more catch-up - it's a vicious cycle.

So as a preventative measure and without further ado, here are my wistful Wednesday links. Be sure to check back later this week for blog awards and *perhaps* a giveaway!

this puritanical little dress reminds me of Pearl from The Scarlet Letter
the textures of this baked pumpkin cheese soup are irresistible
this photography project reads like a novel by Thomas Mann. Or Isak Dinesen.
thrifting tips to try
light and color and texture: 14 photographers on Fernhill
(also from the last link - I really want a pair of boots now)

wistful wednesday.03

2008-10-08T15:00:00.002-05:00

You know how fashion magazines have that feature where you can dress a like celebrity for cheap? Well, this is my version of that for what I'm wearing to the wedding - only these are the more expensive options! My version to follow, credits here

Weddings! Today I am off for a little vacation - my oldest sister is getting married in Maryland this weekend. Partay!

Everyone loves a good wedding, no? So this wistful Wednesday is devoted to the best wedding ideas I've seen/heard lately:

Casey is going to be such a stunning bride . . .
this wedding is the most fun I've seen in a long time (a tandem bike? priceless!), and you won't believe how cheap it was! (via)
my favorite wedding toss idea to date: lavendar (it smells better than birdseed)
there is so much to love about this wedding, but especially the green shoes . . . (via)
if I ever do get married, I love the clean simplicity of a 1950s gown
No kidding, bikes are the best wedding accessories

(Btw, thank you to Casey for the lovely blog award! I have a plane to catch, but I plan on passing on this award ASAP. Take care all, and see you later!)

quatre raisons . . .

2008-10-07T17:00:00.001-05:00

. . . for me to learn French.

Un. So I can watch cool French films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and those by Jean-Luc Godard without subtitles.
Duex. So I can listen to the music of Francoise Hardy (because CDs don't come with subtitles).
Trois. So I can order food at chic bistros and brasseries without wondering about my pronunciation.
Quatre. So I can channel French fashion muses like garance doré, le blog de Betty, and model Clémence Poésy (okay, so I don't need to speak the language to do this, but it still would be cool . . . )

Is there something you've wanted to do for a long time, but never had? Tell me what it is, and come up with reasons why (maybe you'll talk yourself into it)!

look-listen-learn

2008-10-07T16:07:00.000-05:00

Confession: On an average day, I have more than 20 items checked out from the library, with more on hold. Books, movies, music. I'm a voracious consumer of images and words on random and multitudinous subjects. I'm an addict, a junkie, and the library is my candyman.

Nobody creates in a vacuum. With feed readers and sites like delicious, it's become easy enough to document one's web browsing and inspiration. Once I've returned a book or film to the library, though, that record is cleared.

So I've got this idea - each week, to post a select list of the books/movies/music I've consumed in the past week. Let me know what's on your library card, too!

Looking:

Bande à part by Jean-Luc Godard, 1964

Listening:

"Where or When" by Rodgers and Hart, as sung in Turn of the Century
"Merry Happy" by Kate Nash

Learning:

Mies van der Rohe: A Critical Biography by Franz Schulze
Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan

(Usually I'll try to have a photo with these posts - unfortunately I've returned most of these to the library already!)

a braid for all seasons

2008-10-04T23:33:00.003-05:00

Braids hanging down one's back are simple and pretty enough, but wound around the head they turn a milkmaid into a queen.

images (clockwise, starting upper left): Toast home catalogue fall '08, a mess of braids from glamour.com, Bottega Veneta fall '07 (via), Jackson, Johnstone, & Roe spring '08, spaceheaters, Vogue Italy February '08 (as if models could wield a saw), and alibosworth

I've loved this look for a long time, but I've never got it to work for me. My hair's too thick for a thin plait wrapped flat around my head, and the visual effect of a French braid is lost against my dark hair. Lately, though, I've gotten good results with two reverse French braids on either side then twisted into a bun, kind of like the Italian Vogue photo above.

Braiding links:

instructions for just about every braid ever invented
a poetic mess of braids in 10 minutes (via, photo above)
Anna's braids for short hair
more braiding links
(and simply because she's brought this look to the limelight) Sienna Miller style

2008-10-03T18:02:00.003-05:00

Goodbye, farmer's market; I will miss you. See you next year!

wistful wednesday.02

2008-10-01T22:49:00.001-05:00

Happy October, everyone! Only a few links today, with hopefully more "real posts" by the end of the week . . .

this girl has such a cool look. I wish I had red hair and a bicycle.
this interview with artist and illustrator Maria Kalman is terrific (I'm a huge fan of The Elements of Style Illustrated)
give gingham one last hurrah and say goodbye summer . . .
. . . or should we? Alicia's apple picking skirt from a refashioned gingham shirt makes me rethink this fabric's seasonal potential
more recipes for fall flavors: gooseberry chutney and tomato jam

like something blooming

2008-09-30T13:30:00.006-05:00

Alberta Ferretti, spring '09

Fluid gowns, scrunched hose, and bird's-nest hair - a juxtaposition that puts me in mind of the elegantly graceful yet tenuously fragile women of Fitzgerald's novels.

"You're the only girl I've seen for a very long time that actually did look like something blooming."
~Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald

in your dreams whatever they be

2008-09-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

2008-09-25T00:40:00.003-05:00

the Red Ball Project at Federal Plaza, Chicago

The first time we saw it, it was suspended - floating, hovering. It reminded Heidi of Donald Barthelme's story "The Balloon." It reminded me of Le Ballon rouge.

Today, it was in a different place, a different role. What does the red ball remind you of? More pictures

wistful wednesday.01

2008-09-24T20:02:00.001-05:00

Wistful wanderings for your Wednesday . . .

pears, pine nuts, and cheese - tickling all of autumn's taste buds
helpful tips just in time for the knitting season . . .
and a fair-isle beret to kick things off
if you are writing really badly: 10 overused words
the timeless chignon, answer to all bad hair days
Finally, this vintage drafting manual is a jewel. I've been printing it up and reading it a chapter at a time.

Have a good day, all!

noticing: old-school train cars

2008-09-24T01:33:00.003-05:00

There's no school like the old school. Only a few of these old-school train cars are used anymore, but I love taking them when they are. Besides the awesome aqua-mustard color scheme, the seat-backs are made of metal ribbing.

What are you noticing?

stop using words that diminish us

2008-09-22T19:41:00.002-05:00

I love how, even in divisive times, laughter can unite us.

lovely links

2008-09-19T06:37:00.003-05:00

(I meant to post these links days ago as a "wistful Wednesday" feature, but things have been rather hectic at work with a world premiere coming up. I suppose it's alright to be wistful on Fridays as well, even if it isn't alliterative . . .)

a kaleidescope of pretty, printed dresses
great interview with poster designer Jenny Beorkrem
a lovely collection of found photographs
friendly fashion made from reclaimed overstock fabrics (via)
a letter addressed to Autumn

granola!!!

2008-09-15T22:01:00.002-05:00

I don't know where I got my appetite for granola (I have no memory of it as a kid), but lately I've been on a mission to find the "perfect" recipe. Of course this is different for everyone - mine is minimalistic (just oats and fruit), crispy, crunchy, and just a little bit clumpy.

It needs some tweaking (less allspice and a trifle more salt, maybe some almonds . . .), but the one I made this weekend comes pretty near. (more pictures)

Granola
adapted from, via

2 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
a pinch of salt
1/4 c. butter
2 tbsp. honey
3/4 c. dried fruit (mine was a mix of dried cranberries, cherries, and blueberries)

Mix all dry ingredients except for the fruit. Melt honey and and butter; pour slowly over oat mixture while stirring. Spread onto a cookie sheet and bake on 300 degrees F for 20 min., stirring occasionally. Add berries, stirring to break up some - but not all - of the clumps. (Why do all granola recipes say to break up the clumps? Really, they're tasty!) Bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown; cool.

goodbye summer

2008-09-15T01:03:00.000-05:00

1. transparent., 2. a summer's eve with polly, 3. beachcombers, 4. and then a pause., 5. big one, 6. A world that neither you nor I belong to, 7. overgrown, 8. Dot and Her Boy Toy 1930s, 9. balloon-12

looks like a good train ride to me

2008-09-12T21:12:00.004-05:00

The Age of Innocence has been my train reading for the last few weeks, and this week I finished it. I haven't read much Edith Wharton in the past, but her descriptions are delicious.

How wonderful to read something for the pleasure of reading's sake. That, I think, is my criteria for a good novel (or poem or play, for that matter): It should stand up to analysis, but it must be enjoyed, whether analyzed or not.

Read anything good lately?

the big red ball

2008-09-12T20:20:00.004-05:00

This is just too cool. I'm so disappointed I missed seeing it today - I work within walking distance of LaSalle St. Bridge. I'm totally staking out the day it'll be at Federal Plaza, though - with camera in hand! via

(Non-relatedly, it's even cooler than the red button - which by the way I would recommend you NOT click.)

borrowing from the boys

2008-09-10T21:55:00.001-05:00

images (clockwise, starting in upper left): M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel of She & Him, Legacy Blazer from Urban Outfitters, Garance Doré, vintage photo from bygonefashion, Lyell spring '08, and Garance Doré

I've always loved the jaunty ease of menswear trends. My latest favorite? The little boy's blazer. I thrifted one this summer and, after six weeks of anticipation, it was finally cool enough to wear it yesterday. And again today. :D

Sad as I am to see summer go, I can tell it will be a good fall.

hello

2008-09-08T21:41:00.003-05:00

Hi! Welcome to my new inspiration blog. My intention is to say as little as possible here, and I'll try to keep to that even in this introduction. But if you enjoy fashion, photography, literature, or craft - or simply finding beauty in mundanity - I hope you'll stick around.

I'm Nobody - The poignant plea of this poem has haunted me for years. A plea for anonymity, for simplicity and for sincerity. The desire to live and create as a "nobody." To create art without having to fill the role of an "artist," whatever that means, without the compulsion to be "somebody" all the time. The desire to become so transparent as an artist that only the art exists, universal in spite of its particularity.

Are you - Nobody - too?

2008-09-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you - Nobody - too?
Then there's a pair of us?
Don't tell! they'd advertise - you know!

How dreary - to be - Somebody!
How public - like a Frog -
To tell one's name - the livelong June -
To an admiring Bog!

~Emily Dickinson, #260