The New Yorker posted a depressing entry on the rise and (slow, painful) fall of the US Post Office through the lens of 14 of the magazine's covers. I'm broken hearted to say that I've recently switched and now entrust FedEx with my client packages, although I still do send regular mail. Visiting post offices in rural areas during our cross country drive made the cuts and closures even sadder.
SPARK
Andrea from Switzerland kindly sent along these photos of her "spark" tattoo, a word she chose as a reminder that: "there's a spark in you, you just got to ignite the light, and let it shine." Above, the appointment card, healing process and final result. I love how the outline so closely lines up with curve of her rib.
Many thanks to Andrea for the photos, and to tattoo artist Darek Darecki, originally form Poland who was doing a guest stint at GIAHI in Zurich.
{Photos by Andrea H.}
TWO YEARS
As is my custom I rifled thorough the last year of snaps for a photo of Andrew's wedding ring-- in celebration of our two year anniversary today-- and this came up. I don't post an image of a captured cutthroat trout from our flyfishing expedition lightly (as my eyes dart to the mention of Martha Stewart on my right) and yet this seems to convey what our love has been about this year: rolling up our sleeves, getting our hands dirty and bringing to these experiences love, curiosity and respect. Our beloved friends-- so many present on our wedding day-- constantly model how to do this. Friends like Alex (pictured above), a masterful angler who lured this beautiful fish from the water with such an arresting grace and calm and sensitivity that the current nearly swept me away.
CHANGE OF PLACE
As you may have surmised we finally landed in Los Angeles after an epic and unforgettable road trip. And now, I find myself in a welcoming new studio embedded in the side of a steep canyon. The photo on the left is the sunset in Harrisburg on August 15, when we set out on our trip from Philadelphia. And on the right, the sunset in LA last night, after a Sunday concert at LACMA. And the new blog header is from the mountains of Northern New Mexico. A bit of that adventure tomorrow...
NEITHER SNOW HIRING: LOS ANGELES STUDIO ASSISTANT
Neither Snow is hiring a Los Angeles-based studio assistant. I am looking for a meticulous, detail-oriented and motivated addition to the team. The position requires 5 - 10 hours of work per week (hours and days are flexible) and must be completed at my Beverly Glen studio. It will last 10 months. Please email me for more information. Thanks!
MEETING OF THE CALLIGRAPHIC MINDS
From left to right, beautiful work by: love*jenna, Primele and Paperfinger.
Earlier this summer I had the pleasure and honor of meeting up with Bryn from Paperfinger, Jenna from love*jenna and Patricia from Primele for a day-long session of calligraphic inspiration, advice, story-sharing and collaboration at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. (Nary a photo was taken because we were all a bit damp from the ungodly hot weather). What a gift to have formed a little modern calligraphers guild. Bryn kindly posted soon after the meeting of the minds, and I've been intending to follow suit. Please check out their outstanding work if you haven't already.
BEAUTY WILL SAVE THE WORLD
Many thanks to Oriana for turning me on to the Ideas program on the CBC. It is so inspiring, and so different from a lot of programs on NPR. I can't recommend enough the episode "Beauty will Save the World." And speaking of Canada: thank you to the Canadian Opera Company for posting about Mary Heron. And speaking of beauty, a photo from Kate Joyce's recent portfolio taken during our visit to the Wharton Eshrick Museum earlier this year. The leaves were hauntingly translucent and parchment-like.
COLLABORATION WITH: TWIGS AND HONEY
You may have see the lovely indigo and white inspired shoot over at Once Wed. I was so fortunate to contribute to their vision. When I heard that they were thinking feathers, I enlisted the help of Myra Callan over at Twigs and Honey. Her work is such an inspiration, and I was eager to see what we could dream up. We took her beautiful handmade feather wing hair clips and played around with using them for seating cards. Here's a little outtake of our work together, and here's to hoping for more feathers and calligraphy in the future. Thanks, Myra!
PART III: TO THE FAITHFUL, REWARD IS CERTAIN
{See Part I and Part II of this story}
And then last week I got this email from Catherine with the update:
Hi Mara,
All healed up, and home from a week down in New England - a memorial for my grandmother at the Bridgewater Town House in New Hampshire (a wild looking building) and the internment of her ashes on the land she saved for our family - on top of a mountain - land that's been passed down for at least five or six generations. That's where I'm standing in these photos. It felt appropriate.
We gathered at our family cabin there en masse for a time and celebrated her in a lot of little ways - the women sitting in a circle and dividing her piles of costume jewelery and scarves and dresses among us, and tracing the family lineage as far as we could.My family loved the piece and continue to get compliments on it wherever I go - and tell the story of the whole thing proudly. I get comments in the weirdest of situations - most oddly from a security guard at a casino while I threw down roulette chips.
Most importantly - I love it, and it feels almost as if it's always been a part of me.
I've set up an annual donation to the Canadian Opera Company in her memory. Her nephews opened the memorial service with a duet on trumpet and stand-up bass - a sweetly arranged aria she particularly loved.
Thank you again for contributing such a big part to the end of this story.
Fondly,
Catherine
Let me say that when I started Neither Snow I couldn't have dreamed up that I would one day receive a photo of a beautiful woman trying on the clothes of her beloved grandmother in the New England summer air, with a relative helping her button the blouse, and with my calligraphy forever etched on this delicate arm. There are inumerable moments in my work when words fail me, and this is one of those times.
With a full heart and a check in the mail to the Canadian Opera Company in honor of Mary Heron, I am unspeakably honored to have been a part of this collaboration and grateful to Catherine Heron, her remarkable family, Tyson Ward at Passage Tattoo in Toronto, and photographers Andrew Thuss and Mawgan Lewis.
As a reminder: i give away an expression of gratitude every month. Please contact me with a candidate + story if you would like to be considered.
PART II: TO THE FAITHFUL, REWARD IS CERTAIN
...Catherine and I collaborated on the design of the tattoo and she narrowed down the options to one that spoke to her.