Steeping in earth tea plus 10 things I’m into
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This week’s issue includes a list of things I’m currently into.
Enjoy, and thank you for being here.
Ciao a tutti, it’s practically spring! What’s everyone been up to? Milking cows? Napping by the local stream? Planting crops? De-winterizing your wardrobe and collecting scrap wood to build a stool? No...? I thought we were farming through the seasons together. I bought cowboy boots and everything.
Time is so precious and I’m spending more of mine outside. I took silence and privacy for granted as a kid growing up in the country. Where I now live in Los Angeles, I’m lucky to have found a piece of that again. I think we change for the better when we spend time outdoors. I zen-out just being next to trees and flowers (no drugs!), it’s all romantic literature with me. Hot 4 every last organic vegetable. March comes and I’m instantly Walt Whitman honey! Might fuck around at REI and buy Tevas.
Yesterday while I was walking, I saw a group of elderly people working on easels. They were painting the trees and plants surrounding the sidewalk I stood on. I couldn’t help but notice their choreographed-like synchronicity and the way they all dressed: casually, UV sun hats, glasses, heavy sneakers, vests, makeshift painters smocks, colliding patterns and Hawaiian button-ups. This year I’ll get to see my grandparents for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. We talk a lot, but it’s not the same as being there. They raised me in rural Pennsylvania, on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, where the springs are bright green and often muggy. When I’m there, my favorite thing is to wake up as early as my grandpa (which is early, like 6) just to have coffee with him outside. So much of my childhood was spent listening to his stories and being entertained by them. Today at 86, he’s the same captivating storyteller. I have his greatest hits memorized but still need to hear more.
I manage to hold onto an openness and generosity towards everything. Some days make me feel restlessly-psycho just knowing the world rocks with a fury I can’t even fathom, while I keep sustaining my own little plot with so much care. We’re all sweeties doing great/our best with what we got. We’re steeping together in earth tea.
I am trying something new. Here’s a list of stuff that’s keeping my creativity and happiness afloat in this world of SIN—A LIST OF 10 THINGS I’M INTO:
10 things for March
1) The artist Katie of sandw1tch.bigcartel.com
Katie drew this RAM album directly onto a sweatshirt (seen on David) and creates the most playful one-off products. I love her drawing style and how it translates to wearable art. Based in Amish Country, Pennsylvania and ships.
2) Rebe
I listen to the Spanish pop artist Rebe when I wish to be transported to a tender, funky peace. I’m a fan of her layered soft-sounding aesthetics. Slightly reminiscent of CocoRosie’s debut toy-like romanticism (from their 2004 La maison de mon rêve album) that underscored my youth.
3) UNCLE YANCO by Agnès Varda (1968)
Varda forever! I love docu-style video portraits, and this one is a favorite. It takes place in Sausalito, CA where people live the most scenic lives, in floating home structures on the sea. There’s a specific scene in Uncle Yanco where Agnès Varda captures the artist/real life protagonist as he talks about the bold and gorgeous collage-landscapes he created by hand. He defines the tradition of the ‘mosaic’ as an adventure in art. This moment recently came to mind while I was admiring the quilts my friend makes.
Jean Varda (Uncle Yanco) displays a kind of authenticity that inspires new ways of seeing. One of my favorite quotes from him: “To the eye that’s pure, the world is transparent.”
4) Gaetano Pesce’s dining table from his “Nobody’s Perfect” series
(I like this side cabinet from the collection too.) Gaetano Pesce is an Italian architect/designer/artist whose uniqueness and expression I value so much. I recently listened to a talk of his from Columbia University’s archive—hearing his philosophies on art-marking and life put me in a happy, inspired headspace.
5) The Art Laboe Connection on 93.5 KDAY FM (LA)
People dedicate on-air requests to loved ones that are intimately-read and the rest is… incredible. So many sweet quarantine memories of me and my fiancé driving around LA with nowhere to go and tuning in. You will discover and hear so much good music. 7pm to midnight on Sunday nights 93.5 FM.
6) This Substack by Kimberly R. Drew: somethingisaw.substack.com
Kimberly R. Drew sees art, and knows what’s up. It’s simple: she emails you artwork.
7) Recognizing extractive friendships and reciprocal sacred connections
Is the title of an Instagram post by climate justice and human rights activist Céline Semaan, typed in her iPhone notes app:
I recommend this reading for anyone who’s ever felt betrayed, been hurt by someone you trusted, or wants to better understand the skill of handling conflict. Céline writes: “One cannot claim to understand what freedom and liberation will take without embracing the notion of being disliked.” <3
8) Dancing
Right now I’m working on a movement project, and also trying to get back into a real IRL class this season. But lately I’ve been training at home and allowing myself to have real dance breaks where I basically freestyle or choreograph a couple 8-counts in my living room for at least 30 minutes during the day. Nothing can compare to this feeling! I recommend dancing for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you come from a background or not. Everybody moves in their own unique way, and dancing expands your confidence and improves your mood 10 fold. I wrote a little about my backstory as a dancer in my last email, here.
9) Waking up early
This time of day, around sunrise—this is it.
10) Showgirl costumes from the 1930’s
Yes I’m also in the market for one. Sourced via House_of_Panni
That is all for now. If you enjoyed reading this, you can LIKE/comment or spread the word if you feel like it.
Have a beautiful week,
Gabrielle