4 Days in Paris

“If your vision of the world is of a certain kind, you will put poetry in everything necessarily.”    Georges Simenon

ck

I thought  my trip to France, the birthplace of photography, had provided me with the perfect setting for the debut of A Photogenic Lifestyle and wrote posts related to my Parisian excursions.  But a day after my return home, Paris was attacked by terrorists, and, obviously, there was nothing photogenic about that save for manifestations of solidarity such as that of taxi drivers who gave free rides home to those on the streets, people who opened their doors to offer shelter to stranded strangers, and men & women who stood in long lines to donate blood to the victims.

So I postponed writing about Paris. Until now.

sous le ciel de paris

Mood influences the way we perceive experience.  So, the better the mood, the better the experience.  That’s why I began my trip with a Live Mood Board: French songs uploaded on my iPod, a few memorized phrases (including Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas français) and  a romantic dinner of camembert cheese and French wine.

In The Mood For Paris

Having a Low Cost flight, packing light was fundamental. Checked luggage is now an expense and there are major limitations regarding carry-on bags  A fisherman vest would be practical in these situations as would a coat with beaucoup pockets so you can stash stuff that won’t fit into your trolley.

Pocket Packing

Towards A Photogenic Lifestyle Observation: Eliminating extras is a good idea not just for travelling but for daily life as well.  Decluttering can make daily life more photogenic.   The more you have, the more you have to organize.   And organization takes time and energy. Things take up space and space is necessary for energy to flow. So the less time and space I have to dedicate to things, the more I can dedicate to myself.

.

.

Posted in Drawings & Paintings | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Living like a bird’s nest

My Rob Brezsny horoscope recently referred to Mary Ruefle’s (Madness, Rack and Honey) description of  two huge trees uprooted by a storm that are compared to the fragile bird’s nests which, instead, had remained intact. The message: what is most vulnerable will have more staying power than that which is massive and fixed.

Bend

Despite the blows, my nest’s integrity remains.

As part of My Photogenic Lifestyle Project, I’d thought about starting a Make-Believe Diary based not on what actually happened as much as what I wished had happened hoping positive thinking and affirmations would achieve desired change. Unfortunately, I have this bad habit of inventing projects for myself since they’re easier to visualize than they are to actualize. And the make-believe diary is too demanding of a project for me right now.  But a haiku a day is not!

A haiku is traditionally 17 syllables divided into three lines with a 5-7-5 pattern.  But I will use a more freeform sauvage style. Because the intent is to take time out for the moment and exercise mindfulness…to be poetic and not a poet.

Haiku is a way of turning excess into essence. It means focusing on what’s important and ignoring the rest. Because, as Robert Browning said, LESS IS MORE.

Haikus make life photogenic.

.

.

References: Pruning a lifestyle + Matisse, Haiku and Muy Marcottage EtsyWell, less is more, Lucrezia, “Andrea del Sarto” by Robert Browning

Posted in Drawings & Paintings | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to be merry

Try Kissing!

.

.

Posted in Drawings & Paintings | Tagged , | Leave a comment

making huipiles on Paros

 

Huipiles made on Paros:

handwashed huipiles

 

ενοτητασ huipil, Muy Marcottage

ενοτητασ huipil, Muy Marcottage

 

καιρός huipil, Muy Marcottage καιρός huipil, Muy Marcottage

.

.

Posted in Muy Marcottage, Paros | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Sufi Spin

Sufi Spinners

One day the Persian poet Rumi was walking in the market place when he heard the goldbeater’s rhythmic hammering. The beating sounded to him like the repetition of the words “there is no god but Allah”.  This made him so happy that he spontaneously stretched out his arms and started spinning around in circles.  And this was the beginning of the Whirling Dervishes.

Spinning is a fundamental condition of our existence.  Just think about atoms, planets and chakras. Life is about motion.  That’s why vibration is important for our health. And what better example of Good Vibration can there be than music?

Ninth cen. Muslim philosopher Al Farabi, who could play a musical instrument so well that he could make people cry or laugh at will, is best known for his book Kitab al-Musiqa which describes the healing effect that music has on the body.  For example, certain musical tones can lower both heart rate and blood pressure.

Music is medicine.

.

.

Posted in Drawings & Paintings | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment