Twisting myself in to a pretzel today at yoga and what is behind me- but a super sized cranberry red bottle. Let’s take it as a sign that a magical distance is but a vintage shop away
Jun 23·edited Jun 23Liked by Suleika Jaouad, Holly Huitt, Carmen Radley
compose an ode to "one of your favorite" colors is one thing...but an ode to "your favorite" color...like asking to pick a favorite child. for me there are 4. one is medium grey. the other two i rarely get to see: peach (one certain rare shade), wine (not maroon), and periwinkle. so here's to peach:
1. why doesn't this country love you as i do? do the people here not want to be happy?
2. the hotel room i am in is entirely black, dark grey, beige, brown, and tan. whoa. seems intentionally cruel to the human spirit. like 'don't you dare feel happy'. good thing there is a huge window from the 7th floor looking out onto an endless forest and sky. but still no peach in sight.
3. the first time we met you were on my mother's lips. some designer of cosmetics decided people would like you and should see you. and some chemist managed to put you into goo on a retractable stick. and my mother liked you. and she looked great with you on her lips.
4. but lipstick was only my thing in 8th grade -- yardley 'pink' so light it was almost white. but i saw your little peach molecules in there. thank you, yardley chemists.
5. so where in the world ARE you, my dear favorite color? probably indonesia.
6. i saw you in chile recently on passion fruit hanging from a giant tree in my friend's yard. i was gobsmacked!! gorgeous peach gems everywhere! my friend kept putting you in my hands to eat -- a flavor as soft and gentle and warm and sweet and miraculous as your color! i could only eat two because i couldn't bear to take you off the tree.
7. i saw you on a dress that will never fit me but i bought it anyway so i can see you every day in my closet. next to the other peach clothes i'll never be able to wear.
8. i see you in my art. that makes me happy. but i want more.
9. turns out you were also my mother's favorite color. she looked great on you.
10. in honor of you i describe wonderful things as 'just peachy'. oh no! almost at 13.
11. i found you yesterday in suleika and anne's art. hi there.
12. mangos! you are almost always somewhere on a mango. and i actually won't buy a mango unless you are there! my grandfather had a huge, prolific mango tree in his front yard in florida. sometimes people came in the middle of the night to steal mangos. when my parents sold the house, they put sign on the lawn "Mango Tree for Sale". but i digress.
13. lovebirds also show you off. that make sense. i love you too.
I was curious about the artwork names, I love this. It’s no surprise how much thought went into this, like everything you do, Suleika. They were breathtaking. Anne’s work was too.
What a joy filled evening last night, it was palpable in the gallery. One of the highlights of my life, meeting you and having a delightful conversation.
I appreciate the process Suleika describes of naming her work, piece by piece. It reminded me of the ways I deeply look at art works created by others. I look for a long time…allowing the artist and their message to arise in me. Often it is a message of who and where (within themselves) the artist was as they created the piece and sometimes it is a message for me. And sometimes it’s both…creating a soul connection in that moment to the Creator. Thank you, Suleika for describing your process. It has opened another door in me that I didn’t fully understand or truly appreciate in the same way as I do now.
"Often it is a message of who and where (within themselves) the artist was as they created the piece and sometimes it is a message for me. And sometimes it’s both…" This is beautifully put. ❤️
I can't even imagine going through what you've been through with the cancer - twice - and then marrying Jon and not knowing if you'll live to celebrate together. And of course we all know now that not only have you survived, but once again, you've made brilliant art - with yourself, with and for friends who didn't make it, with Jon, with your mother, with us. Thanks for your grace and beauty and compassion.
Lavender. (2 e's, not 2 a's.) Now I know for sure.
When my first husband died after a 6 year experience with 3 different cancers, the first thing I did was buy new linens that were extremely feminine, all white with embroidery and lace. I knew I'd be cocooning (euphemism for crying, uncontrollably) every morning and night. But, at least my surroundings might cheer me up.
1. Next, when I recovered enough to make more permanent changes, I had the walls painted lavender, my favorite color. They've been that color ever since and are now the color of my new bedroom, in my (relatively) new husband's house, along with my lavender flower linens, and rug. Good thing he loves the color, too, and flowers.
2. It extends to our new bathroom where the gray tiles have a lavender under hue and can look lavender depending on the lighting. Plus, there are darker lavender, (also known as purple,) mosiac flower tiles, called Walden Pond, as accents around the room.
3. Lavender is, also, one of my top 2 favorite scents. So, our soaps and room sprays are all lavender. And, we have lavender plants in our garden.
Weirdly, the world does not share my love of lavender. It has always been very difficult to find lavender colored items.
4. To me lavender is romantic, cool, soothing and just lovely. It's, also, a fun color to make when I paint watercolor flowers.
Not an abstract explanation, nor 13 in number, but a personal discussion of my attachment to my favorite color. Meanwhile, I'm at the beach in a blue bathingsuit, sitting in a blue beach chair, looking at beautiful blue water. Doesn't everyone love blue?
Purple is the color of royalty, respectability and dependability
For the majority of my life bedroom walls have been lilac
When trying to relax I picture myself in a field of purple wildflowers
The loveliest shades are named for flowers: lilacs, lavender, heather periwinkle, irises, violets and orchids
What an image my great-grandfather must have cut in his purple car and purple neckties.
Amethyst is the most beautiful of gemstones
Purple has been around for many years. The first purple textiles were found in the early second millennium BC. In the 15th century BC purple dye was made from snails. Purple is named in the Iliad and the Odyssey.
I most enjoy the purples of sunrise and sunset.
When a rainbow appears I have to look carefully for the violet arch
I have many purple things, but for some reason I do not have many purple clothes.
Purple in all its shades and glory is the color I turn to when thinking peaceful thoughts
Many years ago being indoors for many years recuperating from childhood traumas manifesting as panic attacks and agoraphobia (fear of space). And then taking a magical trip back and to Bermuda with my husband at the time. Going from the huge granite, concrete, brick apartment buildings and brownstones in NYC and flying off to Bermuda with its pastel pink, yellow, blue painted homes to the blue ocean full of gorgeous colored parrot fish. Riding on a moped seeing all of the green and lush flowers everywhere. Flying to this destination with anxiety and landing on this beautiful and colorful island finding a freedom within I hadn’t experienced in ages.
According to Google. You are well loved by eccentric and creative types. Well, who knew. Perhaps you edged your way forward in that sea of Crayola, making yourself known to me from an early age, or showing your glory in the rich brocades and tapestries of French chateaux on those summer holidays. And then, when I showed up at Kansas State University for my first day of grad school, pre internet, must have been, and so the grand reveal of seeing purple in every direction. And even today - showing up in my yoga blocks and yoga blanket. In recent years, I find myself drawn to your cousins, the gentle lavenders and pops of lilac, a reflection of my spirit, perhaps, in harmony with life as it is today
I checked my library system for Bluet, but it's at a beach town location and currently unable to be transferred to my land locked location... How appropriate for it to rest by the sea.
Cranberry Red
You bring out my vibrance
the shade of it shoves all insecurity to obscurity
my face shines in the blue/red hue of a little berry
reminders of a dress long ago that enchanted me and others who saw me in it
daring me to dress again in this voluminous simplicity
one color, draping me in a vast possibility
perhaps that is why I do not currently have it
and now, I must
why did I give that dress away so casually after one comment
"It calls too much attention to you"
No, I wear it and it becomes me
Well, I wore it and now I must again
And the search begins.
Mary, did you know you are a poet?
So lovely and inviting.
Thank you.
JDB, oh, that was a compliment I shall treasure. Thank you.
I hope you find an even better cranberry red dress!
Thank you, Lisa! Vintage clothing stores, here I come!
Mary, I recommend you try online vintage. All my clothes come from thredup They have a huge selection, they are inexpensive and easy to return!
Lisa, I will! I have shopped The Real Real (the On Sale/Vintage) and even if I don't buy anything, the wearable art is so much fun to view. Thank you!
Twisting myself in to a pretzel today at yoga and what is behind me- but a super sized cranberry red bottle. Let’s take it as a sign that a magical distance is but a vintage shop away
Magical dress*
Oh, yes! A sign! I love that you were at yoga when you saw it too. Thank you.
Mary, and All,
I love your ode to cranberry. It always has been my favorite along with forget-me- not blue and any variation of green.
I spend my free time dreaming about blue and looking to see what blue flowers that are perennials I can acquaint myself with.
In loving admiration of your cranberry.
Ps, I have found an old English rose 🥀 that is a cranberry/ burgundish tone and the scent makes my soul float.
Best Wishes,
Joellen Megan
Oh, an old English rose...how delightful. Thank you for that image and for the lovely message.
compose an ode to "one of your favorite" colors is one thing...but an ode to "your favorite" color...like asking to pick a favorite child. for me there are 4. one is medium grey. the other two i rarely get to see: peach (one certain rare shade), wine (not maroon), and periwinkle. so here's to peach:
1. why doesn't this country love you as i do? do the people here not want to be happy?
2. the hotel room i am in is entirely black, dark grey, beige, brown, and tan. whoa. seems intentionally cruel to the human spirit. like 'don't you dare feel happy'. good thing there is a huge window from the 7th floor looking out onto an endless forest and sky. but still no peach in sight.
3. the first time we met you were on my mother's lips. some designer of cosmetics decided people would like you and should see you. and some chemist managed to put you into goo on a retractable stick. and my mother liked you. and she looked great with you on her lips.
4. but lipstick was only my thing in 8th grade -- yardley 'pink' so light it was almost white. but i saw your little peach molecules in there. thank you, yardley chemists.
5. so where in the world ARE you, my dear favorite color? probably indonesia.
6. i saw you in chile recently on passion fruit hanging from a giant tree in my friend's yard. i was gobsmacked!! gorgeous peach gems everywhere! my friend kept putting you in my hands to eat -- a flavor as soft and gentle and warm and sweet and miraculous as your color! i could only eat two because i couldn't bear to take you off the tree.
7. i saw you on a dress that will never fit me but i bought it anyway so i can see you every day in my closet. next to the other peach clothes i'll never be able to wear.
8. i see you in my art. that makes me happy. but i want more.
9. turns out you were also my mother's favorite color. she looked great on you.
10. in honor of you i describe wonderful things as 'just peachy'. oh no! almost at 13.
11. i found you yesterday in suleika and anne's art. hi there.
12. mangos! you are almost always somewhere on a mango. and i actually won't buy a mango unless you are there! my grandfather had a huge, prolific mango tree in his front yard in florida. sometimes people came in the middle of the night to steal mangos. when my parents sold the house, they put sign on the lawn "Mango Tree for Sale". but i digress.
13. lovebirds also show you off. that make sense. i love you too.
I love the idea of directly addressing a color. Wonderful. ❤️
i talk to 'inanimate objects' a lot. but never before in public! :-)
This is sublime. The lipstick on your mother's lips...
oh my god and now i see all the typos!!!!
Peach is a synthesis. I am after it too. Not too pink, not too yellow. Maybe our paths will cross there.
exactly! it's a synthesis. and you know it when you see it. i googled the color 'peach' this morning. nothing even close.
Amazing 🍑
“And she looked great with you on her lips” Judi 🍑 parfait perfect ❤️
I love that peach is the lead character . That phrase and so many are wonderful . ❤️
Mary just so wonderful a reflection for peach!! I also enjoyed the rhythm of the poetry!!
I was curious about the artwork names, I love this. It’s no surprise how much thought went into this, like everything you do, Suleika. They were breathtaking. Anne’s work was too.
What a joy filled evening last night, it was palpable in the gallery. One of the highlights of my life, meeting you and having a delightful conversation.
Congratulations!!
Thank you so much for coming! ❤️
Glad you got you got to be there
1.Tender was last night.
A Tender new day
dawning,
Holy BLUES and
whites.
2. Only in New Orleans
In a humid Second
Line
We dance BLUES
away.
3. Broken BLUES fill my
heart , crying out for
holy peace, in pieces:
Bring Them Home!
Grant a technicolored
Ceasefire today.
We pray, we plea, we lament in every shade.
4. At NOVA, The world must dance again as partners. BLUE will lead the way.
Blue-arriving in Konya
Tomb of Rumi in the distance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uKLbAju5Vs
Blue Victoria and Albert Museum
Moroccan collection-
Debauched decadance
Sitting in the Met
Absorbing blue-
Mexican streets- the color
Mayan- Blue is everywhere
Cars, food stands
It is not just Blue
It is blue
Blue makes me cry
I know Heaven-the Angels
The Birth of Venus
Alone in a room with
Rothko’s orange
No words
Just my body vibrating
❤️
Hope your show was everything you desired Suleika.
And hope your mom was thrilled to be showing her work in this receptive community.
Harriet and I will be going to Atlantic City to see Jon again this weekend
for an infusion of joy and to celebrate the loving life of her 100 year old mom Betty
who passed yesterday.
It’s been a long few months for Harriet caring for her mom at home
but such a beautiful thing.
Then we will come to see your art show over the summer.
The community you have created with ISO, art and writing
and what Jon creates with music is a blessing. Alyson🙏
I appreciate the process Suleika describes of naming her work, piece by piece. It reminded me of the ways I deeply look at art works created by others. I look for a long time…allowing the artist and their message to arise in me. Often it is a message of who and where (within themselves) the artist was as they created the piece and sometimes it is a message for me. And sometimes it’s both…creating a soul connection in that moment to the Creator. Thank you, Suleika for describing your process. It has opened another door in me that I didn’t fully understand or truly appreciate in the same way as I do now.
"Often it is a message of who and where (within themselves) the artist was as they created the piece and sometimes it is a message for me. And sometimes it’s both…" This is beautifully put. ❤️
❤️
I can't even imagine going through what you've been through with the cancer - twice - and then marrying Jon and not knowing if you'll live to celebrate together. And of course we all know now that not only have you survived, but once again, you've made brilliant art - with yourself, with and for friends who didn't make it, with Jon, with your mother, with us. Thanks for your grace and beauty and compassion.
I really LOVE this idea of finding out later what something means.
Sending massive congratulations Sulieka and Anne, from across the seas in New Zealand to Frenchtown. 🥳🩵
Lavender. (2 e's, not 2 a's.) Now I know for sure.
When my first husband died after a 6 year experience with 3 different cancers, the first thing I did was buy new linens that were extremely feminine, all white with embroidery and lace. I knew I'd be cocooning (euphemism for crying, uncontrollably) every morning and night. But, at least my surroundings might cheer me up.
1. Next, when I recovered enough to make more permanent changes, I had the walls painted lavender, my favorite color. They've been that color ever since and are now the color of my new bedroom, in my (relatively) new husband's house, along with my lavender flower linens, and rug. Good thing he loves the color, too, and flowers.
2. It extends to our new bathroom where the gray tiles have a lavender under hue and can look lavender depending on the lighting. Plus, there are darker lavender, (also known as purple,) mosiac flower tiles, called Walden Pond, as accents around the room.
3. Lavender is, also, one of my top 2 favorite scents. So, our soaps and room sprays are all lavender. And, we have lavender plants in our garden.
Weirdly, the world does not share my love of lavender. It has always been very difficult to find lavender colored items.
4. To me lavender is romantic, cool, soothing and just lovely. It's, also, a fun color to make when I paint watercolor flowers.
Not an abstract explanation, nor 13 in number, but a personal discussion of my attachment to my favorite color. Meanwhile, I'm at the beach in a blue bathingsuit, sitting in a blue beach chair, looking at beautiful blue water. Doesn't everyone love blue?
Linsey
Musings on Purple
Purple is the color of royalty, respectability and dependability
For the majority of my life bedroom walls have been lilac
When trying to relax I picture myself in a field of purple wildflowers
The loveliest shades are named for flowers: lilacs, lavender, heather periwinkle, irises, violets and orchids
What an image my great-grandfather must have cut in his purple car and purple neckties.
Amethyst is the most beautiful of gemstones
Purple has been around for many years. The first purple textiles were found in the early second millennium BC. In the 15th century BC purple dye was made from snails. Purple is named in the Iliad and the Odyssey.
I most enjoy the purples of sunrise and sunset.
When a rainbow appears I have to look carefully for the violet arch
I have many purple things, but for some reason I do not have many purple clothes.
Purple in all its shades and glory is the color I turn to when thinking peaceful thoughts
Many years ago being indoors for many years recuperating from childhood traumas manifesting as panic attacks and agoraphobia (fear of space). And then taking a magical trip back and to Bermuda with my husband at the time. Going from the huge granite, concrete, brick apartment buildings and brownstones in NYC and flying off to Bermuda with its pastel pink, yellow, blue painted homes to the blue ocean full of gorgeous colored parrot fish. Riding on a moped seeing all of the green and lush flowers everywhere. Flying to this destination with anxiety and landing on this beautiful and colorful island finding a freedom within I hadn’t experienced in ages.
First arising thought/sensation
Is the color Flesh.
Not A Color you say,
I beg to differ.
Flesh of my flesh,
Born unto you,
Because of what?
For which desire(s)
Led you onward?
So many variations
Notes of solitude
And symphonic sympathies
Ah, too, the conductor’s baton
This Beauty lying
In your eyes, dear
Beholder. Truth be
Told, what do you Think
You see, behold, Flesh.
Ah, this too, the power
Of flesh, tones of many modes,
Moods and fantasies,
Flesh, doth dare entice,
And terrify.
Open your palms
Reveal another story
Son of, daughter of,
Reveal.
Yet, still, concealing,
Containing, Flesh,
Familiar, and So foreign.
Flesh tones, tunes,
Notes of disparity,
And then, could be,
Harmony. BYO.
Ancestral blush,
Flesh mysteries and
Stories, mythologies,
Fears and frights,
Name them, and behold.
How can a color be
So sensitive? Contain So much
Energy, touch, draw near,
And recoil when necessary.
Flesh, flesh, flesh,
So alluring, delicious,
Nourishing, forbidden.
Flesh, as deep as any ocean,
A world within,
A world without, lineages,
And lines of discontent.
Until the music begins,
Lines form, Flesh opens
And arms tangle, Flesh
Unto Flesh, a wild dance,
A rainbow, Flesh.
The color purple
According to Google. You are well loved by eccentric and creative types. Well, who knew. Perhaps you edged your way forward in that sea of Crayola, making yourself known to me from an early age, or showing your glory in the rich brocades and tapestries of French chateaux on those summer holidays. And then, when I showed up at Kansas State University for my first day of grad school, pre internet, must have been, and so the grand reveal of seeing purple in every direction. And even today - showing up in my yoga blocks and yoga blanket. In recent years, I find myself drawn to your cousins, the gentle lavenders and pops of lilac, a reflection of my spirit, perhaps, in harmony with life as it is today
Green
coming home from out west it welcomes me with it's lushness
it feeds my body and keeps me healthy
the eyes of my husband and my daughter
the walks and bike rides along the canal
the beautiful tree that my beloved dog Lola laid under and rested
the dress that I'll wear to celebrate life with best friends
the soupy sky right before the storm
the grass right after the storm
the velvet box of things that my Oma left me
the farms out the window of the airplane on my way to see family in Holland
the myriad of greens that draw me in and connect me to art
pine trees against a back drop of fresh snow
avocados and guac! yum!
I checked my library system for Bluet, but it's at a beach town location and currently unable to be transferred to my land locked location... How appropriate for it to rest by the sea.
💙💙💙