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.

Source: classic-danish-designs-elevator-11-auschwi...

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

Source: creative-growth-secret-life-of-4-5-6-year-...

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

Source: bonnie-raitt--pete-buttigieg-mary-olilver-...

Blog No. 211: Jimmy Carter, Mark Nepo's The Book of Awakening, Poem by Ellen Bass

January 4, 2025

Jimmy Carter Rock and Roll President

Back on March 20th of 2021, I wrote the following piece on Jimmy Carter on the occasion of a documentary that had just come out. I repeat that entry here as we say rest in peace to an incredible humanitarian who was an example to us all...

From Blog No. 12:
If you have any doubt that Jimmy Carter was one of the coolest presidents the United States has ever had, think no more. The recent CNN documentary Jimmy Carter Rock and Roll President confirms it. Aside from his political accomplishments in the field of conservation, the Salt II Agreement, and the Camp David Accords (establishing peace between Israel and Egypt), Carter's other deep love and passion was for music. He was friends with a myriad of rock and roll and jazz musicians and they were frequent visitors to the White House. (Willie Nelson was even purported to have smoked pot with Carter's son inside those walls...). Bob Dylan spoke of Carter as "A man you don’t meet every day and you are lucky if you do…." and the Allman Brothers helped propel him into the presidency with their fundraising concerts...

I always thought Jimmy Carter got a bad rap as being a weak president, mostly because of the Iran Hostage crisis. But in my mind, he was a gentle man, a true humanitarian and to this day at 96, still at it, building homes for his beloved Habitat for Humanity and speaking out on issues that matter...I absolutely loved this documentary and if you want to read a good review and synopsis of it, go to Mary Lucia's (aka Looch) Minnesota Public Radio podcast The Current.

Mark Nepo's The Book of Awakening

The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo is a great spiritual guidebook divided into entries for each of the 365 days of the year. Nepo faced death in his thirties and for him that was "the opening through which I stared into Eternity, and the fire I built was The Book of Awakening." The book contains life lessons he discovered for himself and found important to share. Originally written in the year 2000, it is in its 20th Edition and has not grown old. I refer to it on a daily basis first thing in the morning and always find something new to take in and ponder. Today January 5th is no exception. Thanks Dyan for turning me on to it...

JANUARY 5
Show Your Hair

My grandmother told me,
Never hide your green hair--
They can see it anyway."
--Angeles Arrien

From the agonies of kindergarten, when we first were teased or made fun of in the midst of all our innocence, we have all struggled in one way or another with hiding what is obvious about us.

No one plans this. It is not a conspiracy, but rather an inevitable and hurtful passage from knowing only ourselves to knowing the world. The tragedy is that many of us never talk about it, or never get told that our "green hair" is beautiful, or that we don't need to hide, no matter what anyone says on the way to lunch. And so, we often conclude that to know the world we must hide ourselves.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is an ancient unspoken fact of being that blackmail is only possible if we believe that we have something to hide. The inner corollary of this is that worthless feelings arise when we believe, however briefly, that who we are is not enough."

THE THING IS
Poem by Ellen Bass

THE THING IS
By Ellen Bass

SHARE
to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you
down like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.

Painting of the Week

Pam Smilow/Gert Mathiesen Collaboration, Rowboat, giclee print, framed original is mixed media on Mexican bark paper, 8” x 10” $150 (available in larger sizes as well).

Charity of the Week: Habitat for Humanity

Source: jimmy-carter-ellen-bass-marc-nepo-the-book...

Blog No. 210: Jesse Krimes, Ray Masterson: Art from Prison, Bob Dylan Interview, Stretch Pizz

December 28, 2024

Jesse Krimes, Ray Masterson: Art from Prison

Coincidentally two exhibitions caught my eye recently and both have something in common: not only do they involve works of art that were done in prison but they also reflect the ingenuity of an artist working without access to traditional materials.

I just came from seeing Jesse Krimes' amazing work at the Metropolitan Museum in a small show entitled Corrections. Krimes spent six years in a Pennsylvania prison on drug charges and during that time, his art is the only thing that kept him sane. "The one thing they could not take away or control was my ability to create." His work is made from prison issued materials: small bars of soap, bed sheets, hair gel, toothpaste, playing cards and newspaper clipping of mug shots. He innovatively found a way to transfer the mug shot images onto the small soap bars and bed sheets, expressing his feelings about mass incarceration and individuality.

One of the most compelling pieces in the show is a huge wall covered with ten thousand thread wrapped hanging pebbles, sent to him from prisoners across the country. His intent is to serve as a reflection on individuals caught up in the criminal justice system and how dangerous it is to reduce individuals to statistics...

In 2022, Krimes founded the nonprofit Center for Art and Advocacy. The mission is to highlight the talent and creative potential among incarcerated inviduals and to support and improve outcomes for formerly incarcerated artists.

At the Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York City, Ray Masterson created very small embroidered works using threads obtained by unraveling his socks. His work is very small, illustrative and very intricate (the gallery gives out magnifying glasses so you can appreciate the detail).

Produced during the seven years he spent in prison for a crime he committed in the throes of addiction, Masterson began to sew in order to add a personal touch to the uniformity of prison garb. He then branched out to embroider his favorite sports team logos, and subsequently caught the attention of fellow prisoners who commissioned him to make gifts that they could send home to loved ones. In the end, he realized he had his own stories to tell based on his own life experiences...

Bob Dylan: 60 Minutes Interview 2021

Bob Dylan in 1963. courtesy William C. Eckenberg/The New York Times

Bob Dylan was a constant in my life throughout the years--I think his music was a thread that ran through the lives of so many of my generation. Just as the new movie A Complete Unknown is released, I thought I would include this Ed Bradley 60 Minute Interview with Dylan from 2021.

My late husband, Gert Mathiesen, was a big Dylan fan. I'll also include a few of his favorite tunes here, although it is hard to choose...

Forever Young

Not Dark Yet

Is your Love In Vain

Tangled Up In Blue

Knockin On Heaven's Door

All Along The Watchtower

Wylie Dufresne Stretch Pizza

Photo courtesy Stretch Pizza and The Infatuation

Gadi Peleg and Wylie Dufresne, photo courtesy Buck Ennis

Got together with some old friends from Usonia the other day and ended up at Stretch Pizza, one of their local haunts on Park Avenue around 24th Street. It was a great find for me. I knew about Wylie Dufresne from WD50 Restaurant days when he was a pioneer in molecular gastronomy but I hadn't realized he was back at it again after a long hiatus.

Stretch Pizza is Wylie Dufresne's venture into the world of pizza, along with his fellow collaborator, Gadi Peleg (of Breads Bakery fame). Wylie's interest in pizza began for him during the pandemic when he found a brand new pizza oven in the basement of the Connecticut house he was renting and decided to try it out.

This is not your ordinary pizzeria-- in true Wylie Dufresne style, the pizzas are unusual and delicious and his approach is always similiar: like a scientist, he is systematic and innovative as he experiments with many types of unexpected ingredients in very creative ways. You won't find your normal choices here--although they do make a great simple Marguerita one. Many of the pizzas are take offs on sandwiches from local restaurants. The Old Town pizza, named after a sandwich in a local bar, is made up of mushrooms, muenster cheese, garlic cream, and pumpernickel. The one I had, a little more ordinary but no less delicious was called the Stranger, consisting of sweet fennel sausage, roasted peppers and tomato sauce. One that sounds crazy, which I haven't tried yet, is called A-Maize-ing: consisting of corn, cilantro, lime, and cotija. And I should also mention that they have perfected one of the most important ingredients: the crust! which even contains some soy sauce...

Pizza is not the only thing on the menu. The salads are awesome--one of the best caesar salads I have had and one of the other salads has potato chips crunched up inside it. The meatballs are made with ritz crackers. And my friend goes there just for their garlic bread, also a slightly different take on normal fare. Go try it if you are in New York.

Paintings of the Week

Pam Smilow, Tree Series: Spring is Not So Far Off, mixed media on paper, 60” x 22” each

Charity of the Week: American Civil Liberties Union

Source: jesse-krimes-ray-masterson-incarcerated-ar...

Blog No. 209: Intelligent Trees, Playlist of Winter Songs, Melissa Clark Latkes Recipe

December 21, 2024

Intelligent Trees Documenatary

Just discovered the documentary, INTELLIGENT TREES, directed by Julia Dordel and Guido Tölkeabout, about one of my favorite subjects: those majestic green beauties that surround us and provide all living things with the essentials of life: oxygen, prevention against floods, a home for millions of species that protect us from disease, air conditioning for our streets and cities, and a huge contribution towards our emotional well-being.

When my nephew Aaron was in 2nd Grade (at P.S. 290 in New York City), I was so pleasantly surprised that as part of the regular curriculum was a bird study. To this day (he is 30), he knows how to identify many aviary species and knows their birdsongs. It occurred to me that we don't teach enough about our natural environment and what is right in front of us. I, for one, wish I had that kind of education and knew more about how to identify all the trees that surround us...

I read The Hidden Life of Trees by the German forester Peter Wohlleben and this film is a perfect companion to that book. Wohlleben is featured in the documentary along with Dr. Suzanne Simard, a forester and professor of Forestry at University of British Columbia and Dr. Teresa Sm'Hayetsk Ryan, Lecturer of Indigenous Knowledge and Natural Science, UBC. They have a lot to teach us about the interconnectedness of our forests and how trees work as a community and form mutualistic relationships with other species.

We think of a tree as the trunk: leaves and the crown but did you know that the major part of a tree takes place underground with a complicated network of it's roots and fungi that exist on the tips of the roots. There are "mother trees" that protect their sapling kin. Even seemingly dead stumps retain life and are fed by the surrounding community. To say that trees form "friendships" is not as far fetched as we think...

Playlist of Winter Songs

I am slowly putting my toe in the political arena again, but just a tiny bit. Mostly I stay in touch through the substack newsletters of Heather Cox Richardson, and Robert Reich's and Michael Moore.

I know it is time to pull my head out of the sand, but I am not sure I am ready just yet. In the meantime, I spend my time listening to music. Here is a short playlist of some winter songs that I love...

Song for a Winter's Night by Gordon Lightfoot

Flowers in December written and sung by Mazzy Star (Hope Sandoval and David Roback)

7 O'Clock News/Silent Night by Simon and Garfunkel

Baby It's Cold Outside written by Frank Loesser (1944), sung by Ray Charles and Betty Carter

Winter Wonderland written by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith (1934), sung by Michael Bublé

Melissa Clark Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

Of all the chefs on the New York TImes Cooking app, Melissa Clark is my favorite. I haven't made one recipe of hers that I didn't consider a success...

Right in time for Chanukah, here is her recipe for latkes (potato pancakes)--one of my favorite things to eat, and not just in December. Courtesy New York Times Cooking App

POTATO PANCAKES
by Melissa Clark

Ingredients (makes 3 dozen)
2 large Russet potatoes (about 1 pound), scrubbed and cut lengthwise into quarters
1 large onion (8 ounces), peeled and cut into quarters
2 large eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Safflower or other oil, for frying

Instructions
In a food processor, with a coarse grating disc, or by hand, grate the potatoes and onion. Place on a clean dishtowel and squeeze out excess moisture.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, baking powder and pepper, and mix until the flour is well.

 Over medium-high heat, pour in about ¼ inch of the oil in a heavy pan and heat on medium-high. Once the oil is hot, drop a heaping tablespoon of the batter into the hot pan, cooking in batches. Use a spatula to flatten and shape the drops into discs. When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, about 5 minutes, flip. Cook until the second side is deeply browned, about another 5 minutes. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle with salt while still warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Paintings of the Week

Pam Smilow, Tree Series: Day and Night, mixed media on paper, 60” x 22” each

Charity of the Week: American Civil Liberties Union

Source: intelligent-trees-peter-wohlleben-suzanne-...