So Sylvie

recent posts

  • The Romance Language of Dots: French Braille

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    I'm suddenly absorbed by studying French Braille. "Why?", you ask. Simple short answer: Marcel brought home a copy of Marvin Gaye's record album "What's Goin' On?" and it had a Braille label on each side of the jacket, made with one of the early personal label makers. It took me back to when I was young and had a Dymo. I felt so powerful, "I can personalize anything!" I proudly punched out my name on blue plastic tape and stuck it on my Beatles White Album.

     

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    So I was curious, what did the labels on the album cover say? One label had more writing than the other, so they didn't both say "Marvin Gaye" for instance. It seemed like every couple of characters I could translate using the English Braille alphabet, but it was spotty. Some I couldn't figure out. So I tried the French alphabet with the additional accented letters. That seemed to help, but only to a point. It wasn't consistent with either. Some letters from the English alphabet worked and some from the French, but not all. Then it dawned on me: maybe the labels are on "upside down". That was it! I then translated one side of the cover to read "Marvi Gay" and the other side "M. Gaye – Ûat's Go". I'm still learning the codes for contractions, but it appears that the French "U" with a circumflex accent is substituted for "Wh" in English. Now I'm fascinated.

     

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  • Inspired by Susanne Bisovsky

    Austrian fashion designer Susanne Bisovky takes traditional folkloric textiles and reinterprets them in her original designs, embellishing her outfits with vintage fabrics found at flea markets:

     

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  • Barn Promises

    I'm making a lot of progress on the barn conversion project. I promise! I've had a healthy creative outburst to start the year. Making lots of new musical friends has been a grand inspiration. I wish you could all live in the barn!

     

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  • Rock ‘n’ Rolling Record Cabinet

    I finally got around to making a cabinet for my records. I realized when I was sitting on the sofa the other day that I was surrounded by stacks to left of me, stacks to the right of me…the piles of records were accumulating faster than my dust bunnies. I took advantage of this beautiful weather we've been having to get the job done.

     

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    I used birch plywood for the body, painted it with a clear non-toxic coat to seal any out-gassing, then painted the top and bottom with a celery/sage green and left the sides natural. I used peg-board for the backing which works great for organizing the cords. I put twist-ties through the peg holes and gathered the cords and attached them to the back of the peg-board with the ties. 

     

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    Finishing touch, red casters! I'm putting casters on everything these days and it makes perfect sense for something as heavy as a record cabinet. Before drilling the holes to attach the casters I measured the depth from the top of the metal plate and the two thicknesses of plywood (includes the wood block). I then put a piece of painter's tape on the drill bit to mark my depth so that I wouldn't drill through the cabinet bottom:

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    You can see the blocks of wood under one of the casters. It elevates the cabinet a bit and allows you to see the casters better:

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    To prevent wear-and-tear on the album covers when sliding them in and out I lined the bottom of the cabinet with a 70s avocado green cushioned vinyl (it doesn't even smell!):

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    I have more records to add, but I got distracted in the middle of the job by an impulsive dance party.

     

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  • Marcel Loves Vinyl

     

    Marcel will be reviewing his vinyl record collection ~ A-Z ~ in installments on his YouTube channel, while Jimi Hendrix looks over his shoulder…

     

     

  • Old School ~ New Life: Claire Basler’s Atelier & Home in France

    **NOTE**

    Get in touch if you're interested in joining us

    for Claire Basler's Open House 2018. 5 slots available.

    Claire Basler Open House 2018

    www.artfulfrance.com

     

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    In the four years since I first wrote about Claire Basler she has moved from her ironworks property in Montreuil, Paris to an old school property set in lush surroundings in Les Ormes, an hour's drive from Paris. The long-neglected building was smothered in weeds and vegetation, with ivy growing through cracks in the walls, begging to be let in. It's as if this place was waiting for Claire, who gleans inspiration for her large-scale floral paintings from nature, inviting it to creep onto her canvases. 

     

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  • Manifesting A Beautiful New Year

    Il vero atto di fede  è vessor noi stessi, perché è mediante noi che il divino manifesta di sé il bello.

    The true leap of faith is within ourselves, as it is through us that the Divine manifests its beauty.

     

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    ~ my brother Jon with Marcel ~

     

    Today I release the worries and the wounds from the year that has passed. I'll turn my face to the new moon and let it smile on me and prepare me for nourishing experiences in the newborn year.

    Grazie mille to my dear friends who continue to guide me and love me when I need it most. XXX I wish you well in health, hearth and heart this year…and always. Sylvie

  • New Year’s Playlist

     

    Here are some songs about time passing, times gone by and the time ahead.

      

     

     

     Bonne année! Buon anno! Feliz año nuevo!

    Wishing you peace, love and understanding.

     

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  • A Zen New Year’s Eve & Day

    I rarely participate in traditional holidays. I skip Thanksgiving gorging, X-mas excess, and especially inebriated New Year's mob scenes. I prefer to be quiet and calm. In that vein I thought I'd share a couple of alternatives to the 'noise'.

    New Year's Eve at the Santa Cruz Zen Center:

    Tuesday, December 31, 8:30pm 
    Zazen and walking meditation from 8:30pm until midnight, when the New Year is welcomed in by ringing the bell 108 times (to release the 108 delusions). This will be followed with a fire in the courtyard, letting go of 2013 by burning accumulated scraps and old habits that we aspire to drop away in the coming year. Tea and noodles in the house follow. Everyone is welcome.

    Check a zen center in your area.

     

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    New Year's Day throughout the country:

    On January 1, 2014, all 50 states are offering First Day Hikes in state parks across the country. For California State Parks, the "First Day Hikes" are the kick-off for the sesquicentennial, celebrating 150 years! 

     

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    Say Amen to longer days and shorter nights…

    and longer hikes 🙂

     

     

  • 15 Minutes of Fame…or Meditation?

    "In recent years, studies have shown that meditation-like thought (an exercise in the very attentional control that forms the center of mindfulness), for as little as fifteen minutes a day, can shift frontal brain activity toward a pattern that has been associated with more positive and more approach-oriented emotional states, and that looking at scenes of nature, for even a short while, can help us become more insightful, more creative, and more productive."

    ~ Maria Konnikova, Master-Mind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes

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    Being in nature, rather than merely "looking at scenes", is easy for me. I do it every day without effort, as a routine, as a ritual. I'm blessed to live on the border of thousands of acres of wilderness. I can easily walk for hours without any signs of civilization. I walk on deer trails that meander gracefully along hillsides beneath redwood, oak, cedar, alder, maple, cottonwood, fir, madrone and surrounded by wild roses, violets, forget-me-nots and thyme. I feel more at ease walking past bobcat and mountain lion dens than I do walking downtown.

     

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    Sometimes Marcel joins me. He's a natural at tuning-out and slowing down and he'll scale any steep slope that I choose, without hesitation. He's a wonderful hiking companion.

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