Hello dear friends,
I am thrilled and ecstatic to welcome the beautiful and talented Nicole from Astulabee here for tea & talk. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Nicole's work...I would, if I could, have one of her little ponies, bunnies, & birdies....so far, I have a little Astulabee twig and the beautiful "hello, sweet Valentine" card (shown in the second collage below). For those folks in the NYC area, Nicole is going to be at The Renegade fair this weekend in Brooklyn. I , for one, am looking forward to meeting her and seeing more of her work in person. I have a feeling there will be quite a few other folks flocking to her booth as well! :) Won't you grab a seat, get cosy, and enjoy your cuppa as we talk to the lovely Nicole? Wonderful!
Melis's questions: 1. 3 living things you treasure My girl My guy My sisters (that’s 3 more) 2. 3 non-living things that you treasure A marker scrawled poem from Lucia age 6. Archived correspondences. Supplies 3. favorite time of the year and why I love brisk autumn days but I quickly am cold…so a not too hot summer day, I love long meandering walks through the city. 4. favorite things to wear Winter hats and tall shoes, tall like high heeled or tall like high boots. And I’m forever trying on and sometimes buying big ugly cheap sunglasses. 5. are you a perfume wearer ? If yes, which one? I love perfume but it’s a luxury I rarely purchase for myself. If I have any, it’s because my sweet sisters know the sort of scents I like and have supplied at holiday time: amber essential oil from Whole Foods, Trish McEvoy #9. Someday I’ll save for Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb, Miss Dior Cherie. Yum. favorite smells: Coffee beans grinding My daughters freshly washed hair. a wafting cloud of cigarette smoke, forgive me (I quit just under a year ago) 6. favorite animal I love my kitty Rosie but I’m enamored with elephants. 7. top three events in your life(so far) Well, I’ve got that spectacular child who’s a never-ending supply of wonderment. I think getting accepting into art school was huge for me. My late teens were very difficult and college acceptances served as much needed affirmations and potent potentials. Any time I’ve felt confident, hopeful, content and sure. 8. top three favorite small pleasures An excellent cup of coffee with The New Yorker Food shopping at a farmers market A drink with friends outdoors 9. top 3 favorite places in the world (you have visited or would like to visit) I would love to visit an old friend and a new baby in Berlin. I use to tease my daughter that I was going to sign us up for a volunteering vacation (like peace corps for weekenders) until I looked into it, saw it cost more than I could ever afford and realized I really would like to do it. Lately, I’m dreaming of Spain. 10. top 3 favorite sounds: Lucia’s unbridled laughter Birds singing Ocean waves 11. top 3 favorite things to eat I crave things loaded with fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables (homemade rosemary sweet potato and spinach tacos, crusty bread arugula and tomato sandwiches) but for a super treat I’d choose moules et frites. 12. 3 favorite favorites right now! (from etsy or elsewhere) This (specific) embroidery from Iviva Olenick. I've seen this bag- many times in Union Square in NYC at a table market and it always makes me smile. You can find it here I could pretend it’s not true but I look at this photo quite often: It’s actually the swords that get me. (Tattoos by Liam Sparkes) 13. 3 small ways someone has made your day lately An easy hug from Lucia is the best. A sweet glance from Shawn is lovely. The comments I receive on my flickr account, blog and in my etsy feedback blow me away, mean the world to me, sometimes move me nearly to tears! 14. 3 small habits/quirks you have that make you specifically you! I can lead a largely attended (teachers, student, parent) workshop or lecture but am otherwise (like as soon as the workshop or lecture is over) extremely shy. I know everyone’s astrological sign, friends and celebrities. I’ve an astrological affliction, I’d say. I think of my guy as himself but also as an ‘Aries’ with all the good and bad that implies. I’m embarrassed by this but can’t shake it. I’ve said this before and am searching for some sort of application for this ridiculous ‘skill’ for the quiz TV show I’d ace! When alone, or around those exceptionally tolerant (deaf or indifferent), I sing…often. Ez's Questions: 15.-Describe your life using 6 words maximum (for each time frame). PAST: inhibited, chaotic, loving, passionate, unsure, afraid PRESENT: anxious, lucky, adoring, grateful, impatient, industrious FUTURE: committed, loved, tranquil, appreciative, comfortable, inspired 16. You are truly passionate about indie and handmade goods, tell us how that interest was formed: I was a punky, rebellious and fairly full on outcasted arty teen in the mid to late 80s. Feeling apart from the herd or somehow unable to attain what was widely considered desirable helped to cast a critical eye upon mainstream mass-produced goods. I felt sort of invisible and conversely empowered. I was always making my own costumes, so to speak, embellishing, decorating, searching for that specific thing I thought was cool, which was often hard to find. It’s great to see all that spirit all still around now so often coupled with exquisite skill. 17. favorite books, films, and music... list 3 of your favorites in each category here: Books: The Elementary Particles- Michel Houellebecq Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for None and All - Friedrich Nietzsche Crash-JG Ballard Films: The Marriage Of Maria Braun - Rainer Werner Fassbinder Two-Lane Blacktop - Monte Hellman Persona- Ingmar Bergman Music: A band called Soulo new album Sun Valley is about to come out and it is excellent. (hello shawn ) Too tough! The Orchids by Psychic TV is such a nice song, so is I Couldn't Say It to Your Face by Arthur Russell, Run to Your Grave by The Mae Shi, Destroyer, Okkervil River (sorry shawn) I’m all over the map… too hard! 18 Name 3 words that you can't stand, settle past-due languorous and 3 that you love: of course and let’s! 19. What are a few of the goals you have for your future and how do you plan on making them a reality? I would like to be (soon) a wonderful chef, a marathon runner, a home owner of some sorts (shack, barn, apartment, tent), the proprietor of a late night snack stand, a studio space rentee, a person who showers her loved ones with gifts and vacations, an all-together successful artist who studies theory and philosophy in preparation for a future in psychoanalysis (on the giving, not receiving end). How? You ask? By winning the lottery, of course! My only plan until then is to keep working. I’m open to alternative stratagems. 20. What is the best piece of advice you've ever heard? I don’t know if the best but my sister Jenn years and years ago memorably quoted The Smiths before approaching her favorite author in a woman’s bathroom and it was a perfect moment so… “Shyness is nice but shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life you’d like to” 21. What is your favorite quote and why? “I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” -Joan Didion I think that pretty much sums up what I consider a rich creative process. Nicole's new site: Astulabee Her etsy shop: here and her flickr: here Nicole, thank you so much for being a part of this series, it is a true honor to have you and so wonderful to get to know you a little bit better! I hope you all have a wonderful wednesday and I will see you back here tomorrow for a new "Little Things". xo Melis & Ez
