Blog No. 214: Classic Danish Designs, Lessons from Survivors of Auschwitz, Elevator 11

January 17, 2025

Classic Danish Designs

When it comes to design, nobody beats the Danes.  Here are a few of my favorite Danish classics...
  

Royal Copenhagen Model Number 1/525 Blue Fluted Half Lace Teacup with Saucer

Bang & Olufsen was founded in 1925 when Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen started making radios in the attic of the Olufsen family home.

Created in 2007 by H.C. Gjedde for Royal Copenhagen

Hans Wegner’s “The Chair” was designed in 1949 by Hans Wegner and its iconic status was established further when it was selected as seating to John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in the first ever televised election debate in 1960.

Lessons from Survivors of Auschwitz

27 January was chosen to commemorate the date when the Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945. The day remembers the killing of six million Jews, two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population, and millions of others by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

The Claims Conference put together these short videos from 80 Auschwitz survivors that are still alive, asking each of them to answer the question: What would you like the world to remember?

Scottish Elevator Voice Recognition

This made me laugh: Scottish Elevator 11. I hope it has the same effect on you. God knows we need it these days...

Quote of the Week

**I am about to leave facebook and instagram and join blue sky.**

Paintings of the Week

A client just sent me this photo of a piece they bought many years ago from Gert Mathiesen. A beautiful piece that I had forgotten all about…

Charity of the Week: World Central Kitchen

World Central Kitchen and Jose Andres are as usual on the front lines—in this case, helping and feeding victims of the California fires…

Charity of the Week: Pasadena Humane Society

Anyone who has a pet can see the terror in the eyes of this dog and my heart breaks for all the animals affected by the LA fires. Please consider giving to the Pasadena Humane Society. They have taken in over 400 animals from the Eaton Fire Emergency and are desperately in need of monetary donations to help purchase medical supplies and other resources as they start to see a significant increase in the number of burned and injured animals coming to our shelter.

About The Author

New York City based contemporary artist, Pam Smilow, began writing the creative lifestyle blog “things we love” in an effort to foster a sense of community during times of isolation and reflection. To read more about her and her art, visit her website and check out the essay written by Frank Matheis entitled The Sophisticated Innocence of Pam Smilow.

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Blog No. 213: The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds, Creative Growth, Amanda Gorman on the Fires (Copy)

January 12, 2025

The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds

So much for me these days is trying to find some distraction from what is going on in politics and the world...and it is a struggle because I know that looking the other way is what enables the status quo to exist--I suppose there must be some kind of balance between burying my head in the sand and seeking joy in other things.

This entry is in the category of seeking joy: The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds is a heartwarming and often humorous, sometimes distressing, British television show that gives us amazing insight into the emotional and social development of children.

A specially designed playroom is the setting of the show where we can observe, through hidden cameras, a group of children in the midst of their free play. As viewers, we have the opportunity of watching them make friends, communicate with each other, juggle leadership roles and behave and navigate life in a group setting... The show's expert psychologists offer commentary on the children's behaviour, providing insights into how they are developing and offering advice for parents and educators. This is one of many episodes of The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds which can be found on youtube.

This is a good follow up to my recent post on Chasing Childhood, the documentary I recently wrote about in a previous blog post (scroll down) that accentuates the importance of free play in childhood.

Creative Growth on Sunday Morning

Photo courtesy New York Times and Pete Buttigieg

So happy to see this piece on Creative Growth featured on CBS Sunday Morning, the Oakland, California organization I have been raving about for years now. Wonderful that they are getting the national attention...

I remember the first time I stumbled upon this place...I was walking by and looked in to this enormous studio space with people hard at work, totally engrossed in all kinds of art making activities: printmaking, embroidery, sculpture, painting, ceramics. And there was a gallery attached full of wonderful, raw, inspiring work. I stopped dead in my tracks and thought, "What is this?!" Tears came to my eyes. I realized that the place was full of artists. Not people with disabilities making art but artists who just so happen to have disabilities...people who normally the society might consider throwaways and everyone in there was engaged in creating and producing amazing work!

Founded in 1974 by psychologist Elias Katz and his wife Florence (an artist herself) in their garage, Creative Growth is a pioneer model that should be adapted in every town. The philosophy of the founders "is that each person has the right to the richest and fullest development of which he is capable. Only then can society reach its fullest potential … Creativity is a vital living force within each individual.” — Florence Ludins-Katz and Elias Katz, founders of Creative Growth

Click here to learn more.

Art by Dan Miller is in many museum collections around the world.

Creative Growth at the Oakland Museum, courtesy Leopoldo Macaya, Oakland Museum of California

Art by Scott Martin, courtesy of tghe artist, Jeff Minton and The New York Times

Amanda Gorman on the Fires

Photograph by Abbie Trayler-Smith / Panos Pictures / Redux

Born in California in 1998, American activist, poet, and model Amanda Gorman has emerged as one of the leading voices of the next generation. Here she reads her new poem Smoldering Dawn, a tribute to her home town of Pacific Palisades, California, in the light of the catastrophic fires of January 2025. Gorman first rose to fame when she performed her poem The Hill We Climb at the inauguration of Joe Biden in 2020.

For more information, watch her on The View.

And here is a list of some of her favorite things.

Paintings of the Week

Charity of the Week: World Central Kitchen

Charity of the Week: Pasadena Humane Society

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Blog No. 212: Bonnie Raitt Interview, Pete Buttigieg, Mary Oliver Poem (Copy)

January 11, 2025

Bonnie Raitt

It is ironic that I chose this comprehensive in-depth two year old interview with the revered Bonnie Raitt, conducted by New Zealand's Zane Lowe to include in this week's newsletter, just as we are experiencing the apocalyptic fires in Southern California. In the interview, she talks and reminisces about the Los Angeles where she grew up, the LA she knows and loves...in addition to her musical inspirations and influences.

She is about to embark on an extensive world tour beginning in February in San Francisco. Quoting from her website: "More than just a best-selling artist, respected guitarist, expressive singer, and accomplished songwriter, Bonnie Raitt has become an institution in American music. Born to a musical family, the ten-time Grammy winner, who Rolling Stone named as both one of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” and one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” is the daughter of celebrated Broadway singer John Raitt (Carousel, Oklahoma!, The Pajama Game) and accomplished pianist/singer Marge Goddard. She was raised in Los Angeles in a climate of respect for the arts, Quaker traditions, and a commitment to social activism. A Stella guitar given to her as a Christmas present launched Bonnie on her creative journey at the age of eight. While growing up, though passionate about music from the start, she never considered that it would play a greater role than as one of her many growing interests."

Here are some of my favorite Bonnie Raitt songs:
Just Like That
I Can't Make You Love Me
Love Has No Pride
Dimming of the Day

Pete Buttigieg

As we enter the dark ages in American history, I am trying to look ahead to the possibility that we will emerge from this time somewhat intact. So I look ahead to some politicians and leaders whose leadership abilities might be able to guide us out of this. One of the voices of sanity for me is Pete Buttigieg. I recently did a deep dive into Pete-Buttigieg's bio which I share with you here...along with the speech he gave at the Democratic Convention a few months ago.

"I know I will make myself useful again."

Poem by Mary Oliver

Poet Mary Oliver. Photo courtesy Lannan Foundation

STARLINGS IN WINTER
by Mary Oliver
from Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays

Chunky and noisy,
 but with stars in their black feathers,
 they spring from the telephone wire
 and instantly
they are acrobats
 in the freezing wind.
 And now, in the theater of air,
 they swing over buildings,
dipping and rising;
 they float like one stippled star
 that opens,
 becomes for a moment fragmented,
then closes again;
 and you watch
 and you try
 but you simply can't imagine
how they do it
 with no articulated instruction, no pause,
 only the silent confirmation
 that they are this notable thing,
this wheel of many parts, that can rise and spin
 over and over again,
 full of gorgeous life.
Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us,
 even in the leafless winter,
 even in the ashy city.
 I am thinking now
 of grief, and of getting past it;
I feel my boots
 trying to leave the ground,
 I feel my heart
 pumping hard. I want
to think again of dangerous and noble things.
 I want to be light and frolicsome.
 I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
 as though I had wings.
Copyright ©: Mary Oliver

Painting of the Week

Pam Smilow, mixed media on canvas, 50” x 80” approx.

Charity of the Week: World Central Kitchen

Charity of the Week: Pasadena Humane Society

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