Flamboyant artist, working in pen and ink, Vali Myers divided her life between her adopted home of Melbourne, the Hotel Chelsea in New York City, and a 14th century cottage in her valley near Il Porto (Positano), Italy.

Myers was a huge inspiration to the young Patti Smith, whose walls were covered in pictures of and by the artist. When Patti and Vali met in New York, Vali tattooed Patti’s kneecap with a lightning bolt. The lightning bolt is said to represent the energy of Crazy Horse, the American Indian warrior. The same guy Neil Young named his long-jamming band after. The tattooing of the knee was filmed by Sandra Dailey who also filmed the infamous piercing of Robert Mapplethorpe’s nipple.

Sweet little piece of trivia for you to start your week. Thanks to Rebecca.

Happy Monday!

xx

The Eames Office, or ‘The Eamery’ as it were nicknamed at the time, was situated at 901 Washington Boulevard. A hub of creation, play and experimentation. Some designers had proper education and some did not. This on-going process of realising an idea, the process and trial and error, and the creation of what was inside their minds coming into a tangible reality spanned from 1943 until Ray’s death in 1988, which saw the entire team move out in early 1989.

Where you work, who you work with, who you listen to, talk to, exchange ideas with is everything to a designer. Friday Feels Like is dedicated to ‘The Eamery’. A haven for creatives wanting to have the freedom to play, to create and to resolve. Design made to resolve problems, to make things easier, or faster, or better. Or perhaps to just be enjoyed.

Sage and Lemon Butter Beans dressed with Garlic infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

For lunch today I devoured these sage and lemon butter beans dressed with garlic infused extra virgin olive oil. This light lunch or side dish has a perfect balance of lovely aromatic flavors and textures, and only takes a few minutes to prepare. I promise, that this nourishing and beautifully tasting dish, will leave you feeling very satisfied. A dish that ticks all the boxes for me. Enjoy!

1 can of butter beans, drained and rinsed
a good glug of extra virgin olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
a large handful of fresh sage, stalks removed
juice of one lemon
sea salt
pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and sage, and cook while stirring, until browned and slightly crispy. Add the butter beans, and continue to cook for a minute or so. Add the lemon juice, and a good pinch of salt and pepper, and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes, just to let all the flavors sink in to each other. Remove from the heat and serve immediately. Add a little more seasoning, and an extra drizzle of olive oil if you would like.

Serves one as a light lunch, or two as a side.

*gluten free
*dairy free
*vegetarian

xx Petite Kitchen

“lately i’ve been waking up at four or five a.m., turning things over in my head. so much to think about, so much to break down and process and decide. i’m only at the beginning, but it has always been important to me that everything feels cool, feels right. this song means a hell of a lot to me, and to others, and i guess what i tried to do is make something you could understand. a lot of people think teenagers live in this world like ‘skins’ every weekend or whatever, but truth is, half the time we aren’t doing anything cooler than playing with lighters, or waiting at some shitty stop. that’s why this had to be real. and i’m at that particular train station every week. those boys are my friends. callum’s wearing a sweater that used to belong to me. so it all feels right, and i can sleep. thanks for being with me all the way so far — so much to come, such great heights. i’m just getting started. enjoy.”

xx Lorde

Lorde. She’s a kiwi. She’s awesome (at 16yrs old and signed to Universal). This song, Royals, is both beautiful and bad-ass. Bad-ass because it is so real. So nice to listen to lyrics that are written by the artist about what actually goes on in their lives. This is the brand new video for her first single, Royals. A job very well done by Director, Joel Kefali.

FEAT. ROBBIE, CALLUM, HADLEY, ABRAHAM. DIRECTED BY JOEL KEFALI.

Today she spends most of her time in London, where she has settled down for the time being. Her little house moves with shadows and light, and the occasional dinner party. A calm respite by London standards, the house has its very own garden and is just a quick hop step and a jump away from the lush green Victoria Park.

An autodidact, Hanna’s outstanding talent and photographic eye have established her as a name in the field of contemporary art. Producing figurative portraits, she works her subjects like sculptures and explores the notion of authenticity and what it means to be yourself through her images. Interested in conveying moments that defy our culture of ubiquitous self-awareness, she explores the notion of authenticity and consciously works with colors as important elements within every image.

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“In the Summer we like to grill or cook with friends. Either we are in our small garden or in Victoria Park. If friends come by at night during the summer, we often sit with ten people at our long wooden table in the garden. Candles, great food, and wine are all part of the experience. These moments are the ‘favorite pieces’ within the house. A while back we bought a video beamer in order to paralyze our addiction to ‘The Wire.’”

Which films have inspired you in the recent years?
I appreciate the films of Aki Kaurismäki. Especially ‘Le Havre.’ ‘I am Love‘ with Tilda Swinton is also an amazing film. My Dad recently gave me Chris Marker’s ‘Sans Soleil,’ which is simply beautiful. It used to be my parents’ favorite film.

Which book are sitting on your nightstand right now?
Boris Groys’ “Die Kunst des Denkens” (The Art of Thinking), and “Martin Kippenberger. Wie es wirklich war – Am Beispiel Lyrik und Prose” ( Martin Kippenberger – How it Really Was. Poetry and Prose) by Diedrich Dietrichsen.

What would you say are your weaknesses?
I am very impatient. I have difficulties to concentrate for a long time. I am often disproportionately emotional. I also have to say that I love sleeping and very much enjoy to sometimes not do anything. – Which isn’t really a weakness, right?

Source FvF

Paradise Lost, Persia from Above by Georg Gerster.

It is not only the colours and the concept that appeals to me so much in these images, by Swiss photographer Georg Gerster, but the bravery behind making each of these photographs possible. They are beautiful and dangerous, the perfect attributes for a Monday’s Muse! I found this little excerpt from The Independent which reveals a little on the owner of the eyes behind the lens. Enjoy!

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The Independent: Pioneer in aerial photography Georg Gerster, who captured stunning images of 1970s Iran from the air, explains how he came to undertake such a perilous and rewarding photographic journey.

“Flying on business over Iran, I had been struck by the thought that Persia’s natural and cultural landscape was predestined to be viewed from the air, with its salt deserts, gardens like slices of paradise, and waterless wind-sculpted wastelands. Its settlements are textbook examples of architecture without an architect, and the qanats, underground aqueducts, form graphic patterns. The idea of the bird’s eye view certainly wasn’t incongruous: the Homa, half eagle, half bird of paradise, is a mythical beast of Persian mythology, a harbinger of good fortune. On 12 October 1975 I delivered a letter by hand to the imperial court in Tehran, suggesting that I should produce a book, ‘Persia through the eyes of the Homa’.

My position for taking photographs, half sitting, half lying, couldn’t exactly be described as comfortable, but I had an almost clear field of view, with just a hazy marginal vortex caused by the hot exhaust from the engines. There was no sensible way of conversing with my archaeological guide in the cockpit, however – trying to shout over the noise of the engines through the open doorway was of little use. So the captain simply switched off the engines.

Between 11 April 1976 and 30 May 1978, I made more than a hundred flights, completing 300 flying hours. Our planning took into consideration the change of the seasons, as far as was possible, which brought some wonderful discoveries: spring in the Azarbayjan highlands is one of the most beautiful spectacles this earth has to offer. We wanted to cover every part of the country, which almost overstretched the range and capabilities of our aircraft – it took several attempts to cross the Alborz mountains.

The upheavals in Iran put an end to my photographic flights, and the planned book had to wait thirty years”.

Solidago shares a collection of photographs documenting the native, maritime flower, Solidago ( seaside goldenrod ), through its various life cycles and relationship to Mother Earth by way of the sea, insects, sun and wind. As all living beings carry an individual etheric vibration, these works aim to study this single yellow flower, its essence and healing capacity.

6 x 8 inches, 32 pages
Saddle stitched, soft cover
Edition of 100, signed
Printed: April 2013
25 USD

Buy your copy here.

“I wanna tell you somethin’: Neil’s never been insecure about anything in his fuckin’ life. First among equals is Neil Young, and it’s always been that way. When neil’s got an axe in his hand, it’s like the Hulk. His aura becomes solid – he becomes eight feet tall, six foot wide. The only guy other than John Lennon who can actually go from folk to country to full orchestra. The only guy. I think when it’s all written down, he will unquestionably stand in the top five that ever made rock and roll.”

- David Briggs, interviewed by Jimmy McDonough for his book Shakey.

This recording of ‘Cowgirl in the Sand’ is from Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s Boston performance, 1976.

“We first met Neil and jammed with him a little in Laurel Canyon when he was in the Buffalo Springfield and The Rockets were just coming together,” says Billy Talbot. “Later, Neil heard our album, really liked it, and he sat in with us at The Whisky. Then he wanted to record this song, ‘Cinnamon Girl,’ with Danny, Ralph and me. So we went up to Neil’s studio in Topanga Canyon to work on that one song.”

The March 1969 session went so well that Young invited the musicians back to record “Cowgirl In the Sand,” “Down By the River” and the rest of the songs that would fill ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,’ the first album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse (the new name Young had bestowed upon Molina, Talbot and Whitten).

Enjoy!

Neil Young: Guitar, Keyboards, Banjo, Harmonica, Vocals
Frank Sampedro: Guitar, Keyboadrs, Vocals
Billy Talbot: Bass, Vocals
Ralph Molina: Drums, Vocals

As if we needed any more reasons to worship at the altar of Philo.

(source)

There is also the idea of food as being a medium for the transferal of emotional energy. Some can choose to use high quality ingredients and professional techniques in the kitchen, but also follow the belief that what mood you are in, the amount of effort and awareness you give the cooking process, and the love and gratitude that you feel for the ability to eat is imperative to making a good meal. Hari Krishna cookbooks as well as Taoist teachings talk of how the actual emotions that the cook feels when making a meal is transmitted into the food via chi energy. Feelings and food are both forms of energy. Native Americans believe that all thoughts and emotions are ‘alive’.

Eat good food with those you love. Share food, share drinks and share your stories. Yes, we’re all very busy, very “needed” and highly stressed, I get it, but this may be the only time in the day when you are not distracted by the phone, the computer or (heaven forbid) the television. Make time for yourself and the people you love at least once during your day. I promise it will become the highlight.