individualism abo bator

“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.” 

― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

I do know you're sick of my whining over the house project, but I am shocked and amazed at how much time it is taking running the errands and doing the legwork to get things in place-  and I am not even the contractor!  I get a call most every day to come check this or that, then have appointments with people all over hell's half acre to pick  or more often RE-pick things that need attention.  I do have to say that it is coming together swimmingly (can you tell we just dealt with the pool guy?)  We basically tell them everything we want, pick things from a few pictures and options and then a few days later fall flat on our faces when we get the estimates.  It's then back to Square 1 to implement Plan B to see how that shakes out.  Sure enough, a few days later we are back to Plan C-  the bare-bones approach.

They are putting up the wallboard now, should be finished today, and I can actually see the rooms.  We picked out exterior paint and it's ready to go, and I next have to solidify the interior colors.  (An exciting (!) array of grays with a dash to white and a splash of black- running the gamut of neutrals.)  Ya gotta do that when your stove is so bright!

Today we did a walk through with Landscape Guy, a lovely gentle soul who apparently spends all his spare time in the gym because he could break me in half with one swipe of his massive arm.  He doesn't seem to have much of a fighting' manner though, would prefer to talk color and texture and which plants are fluffy, which are tough and hearty.  Today we trooped through a nursery, miles of plants that he described in detail.  I could see TY fading fast, eyes glazed over as all plant blurred into each other.  I managed to keep up and we eventually found a Travelers Palm of my dreams that wasn't on the plan.  This will go behind the pool and no matter what the estimate comes in at, this is the one thing that WILL stay.  I love this palm...well, as much as one can love a palm.  It's a big thing but grows flat and in a fan shape.  Very dramatic, sort of Egyptian in concept.  And it's gonna be mine.

Over the last few days I have found some sculptors I find very interesting, quite different from each other in approach.  First, Ernesto Neto and his twined and crocheted hanging objects:

The works by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto—he defines himself as an sculptor—were designed to be walked through, inhabited, felt, and even smelt, which enables the viewer to experience their own body, their senses, and their mind through the work of art. Visitors interact with each other, as well as with their surroundings, immersed in a sculpture-architecture fusion. Neto claims: “What we have in common is more important than what makes us different. I am interested in debating the plight of humanity, the temperature of the things we experience, the movement of things, language.” For this reason, he inquires into the common features of human relationships through sculptures that appeal to our sensuality, corporality, and reflection.

Gazing Globes, Paula Hayes’s first outdoor sculpture exhibition in New York City, is currently on view at the West Gravel area of the park until April 19, 2015.  The work features eighteen transparent polycarbonate spheres that hold the remnants of contemporary culture, including up-cycled radio parts, industrial materials, acrylic wands, and other pieces of vintage technology sprinkled with fairy dust made of pulverized CDs.

Moving Day