a roasting pan for louisa
“Believing it almost a sin to buy something he could make himself, Sandy would drop anything he was involved in, no matter how important, and beat out a roasting pan for Louisa or fashion a large-capacity serving ladle or a sieve. This do-it-yourself dictum was undoubtedly a carryover from their earlier, leaner days, but it had become an obsession with Sandy.”
A creative artist of any kind—writer, painter, musician—needs two conditions met in his outer life to be productive for the long haul: a physical space in which to work that he doesn’t have to think about, that is as natural for him to get to and be in as a kitchen table, and, just as important, people around him who are dedicated to smoothing his way, who will see to it that the washing is done, that visitors are handled deftly.
Calder had both of these, for nearly his entire career. His homes, in Roxbury, Connecticut and in Saché, France, had multiple workshops and each shop had multiple stations where dozens (and ultimately thousands) of works—mobiles, stabiles, gouaches, jewelry, kitchen goods—lay scattered about, with their attendant tools, waiting for their creator’s hand to turn to them again. To the outsider it looked like a sparkling chaos, but to Sandy it was like working in his own projected brain, with nearly finished thoughts readily at hand.
And for smoothing his way, Calder had Louisa.
(my father wanted to name me Louise.)
(text from here)
(photos of the calder home from here by way of a lovely desert)
(and something for the cold)
Oh my goodness look at this place!! the eating area is a dream come true… wonderful.
we use to live in an open space (built a room for the little one) now we have rooms but i’m sure one day i’ll come home and few walls will be gone.
Lover built a workshop for me in the solarium next to the kitchen, being multitask became awesome.
A dream, a house made of workshops everywhere with pulleys and changing platforms, tools hanging all over…
thank you i enjoyed that so much x
(my little niece is a little Louise)
tea and cactus
August 28, 2010 at 5:42 am
what a charming place– the ceilings are so beautiful!
devilishlypleasurable
August 30, 2010 at 8:46 pm
I want to live there!
Love Grace.
Grace
August 30, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Perspectives
I.
something written
about the magnificence
of an orange
each droplet
glittering
each neat package
in edible containers
joined with other packets
grouped in sections
miraculous symmetry
all wrapped in disposable
biodegradable peel
where was that?
II.
this month they indulge
in an expensive juicer
specific to oranges
squeezer floor model
stainless steel base
mounts to brown formica
countertop.
III.
He uses a five-pound bag
to produce
a single glass
of juice
enjoying process
he is not tempted
to taste
his product
“this is what
I drank
instead of coffee,
when I lived
on the Mediterranean”
satisfied
he sets her juice
purposefully
next to her
hating to throw away
pulp
she teethes juiceless remnants
as quickly
as he discards them
IV.
More than any other
the orange
is a nutritionally valued
source of vitamin C.
Hamilins are pulpy
and thin skinned
non-pitted surfaces
are better for drinking
she leaves
the juice
separating
into light and dark sections
V.
Wandering from sleep
their houseguest is surprised
by a gesture of juice
on the counter:
Gone in one drink
except for a splatter
VI.
on stained linoleum
attracts
when the lights go out
the spring cockroaches
gather
doing
what?
VII.
Some skins are
artificially colored
after regreening
ripedly soft,
fingers inserted
to open, peel back
v
August 31, 2010 at 9:29 pm
you reveal another layer of your elements. peeling back to reveal – the silent stirring.
lovely.
“satisfied
he sets her juice
purposefully
next to her”
finger snap, finger snap.
theuglyearring
September 1, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Its so true having that space to work in where you can leave things undone until they are done… I miss having a space like this.
kelly
September 1, 2010 at 5:58 pm