Monday, May 21, 2007

The Flotsam and Jetsom that Floats Around in my Head,Otherwise Known as Inspiration

School is almost out,Oklahoma closed,recitals are done,and the cobwebs in my head are clearing out to reveal a renewed sense of creativity.I have some beautiful new ideas to unleash on you soon,but for today lets look at the world of inspiration .Every creative being (that means EVERYONE on the planet)needs something to inspire them.Inspiration has been a big topic of conversation at my house lately,I believe when you are unable to find inspiration,you can get stuck in the mud. Inspiration is all around us. It can be something you've never seen before or something you re-visit again and again.
Breakfast At Tiffanys is one of those familiar friends I visit again and again when the well runs dry.
When I was little and first saw it I decided Ms Golightlys life was the life for me. New York City,beautiful clothes ,urban adventures,...and a mailbox complete with a mirror and lipstick for quick touch-ups.You better believe ,just as soon as I got a locker in middle school,my own mirror went up for a between classes Holly-like touch-up.
Though I never played the guitar,I sang Moon River many times walking barefoot through my Daddy's beautiful vegetable garden.One of my favorite dates with my very inspirational husband ,was modeled after Holly and "Fred Baby's" day of taking turns doing things the other had never done. The hubs had an impromptu phsycic reading,while I breakfasted at the IHOP,well yes I had been there in the wee A.M. hours,but never after a proper sleep,so "ofcourse it counts".I always thought the perfect Halloween costume would be dressed as Audrey and George on that special date as they pilfered Halloween masks from the 5 and dime.
Though it ended up being my oldest babe....
...who took Halloween costume inspiration from Holly.

If you read blogs you already know that when you find a new site it can be very inspirational.I recently stumbled on Tokyo Bunnie a lovely artist,who among her inspirational offerings showed me this wonderful short from the Russian stop motion animator Roman Kachanov . Stop motion puppet animation and claymation,happens to be one of my favorite things.

Has anyone ever heard of Young Edwardian by Arpega ?

This was the Hubs and I on NewYears Eve,heavens,I don't know how many years ago,but I am wearing a vintage Young Edwardian,inherited from my sister. She called it her Juliet dress,and we both wore it quite a bit(yes thats an ankh(eek!) peeking out of the neckline). Goodness, do I ever wish I knew where that dress was.
Vintage Seventeen magazines from the mid 70's,bought from e-bay,are presently lending inspiration.I know,I know ,always with the vintage!Click ,enlarge(and please forgive my burgeoning scanning skills) and read this wonderful interview with Sue Wong,who was the designer of Young Edwardian at the time.She's an embellishor,just like so many of us!
This Young Edwardian was recently featured on E-bay and a wee bit too small for me,or otherwise.... Note the apron and bird print,just scrumptious!
Has anyone seen these unique shoe creations from Irregular Choice ? A tiger pump...
...and a blanket stitched shoe,truly inspirational !


My littlest inspiration,was bored and cold while waiting to go on for her recital.
Oops,caught in the act of photographing her! "Mommy don't go",who could resist that face? She sure had fun,later exclaming,"Gramma,it was a REAL stage with REAL curtains!!!
Finally ,I am wondering,what makes you say WOW?
My husband has taught me that it can sometimes be inspirational to look at things from a different perspective.HE recently re-connected with a college chum,who is also a writer and "success coach",whose catch phrase for his radio show is "What makes you say wow?".I find this little phrase quite inspiring.
THIS house makes me say wow! We are experiencing some growing pains in our once inspiring house.Since I have established that the Pagoda is really a state of mind ,perhaps the time has come to find a new Pagoda,that makes all of us say WOW !!!

23 comments:

Jane said...

Right now I am inspired by gardens like the Japanese garden here in LA and also the works of Ramona Otto who uses 1,000's of found objects and a love of word play to create folk art. Also, the multitude of crafty blogs sharing their studio spaces...oh there is so much to look at...

alexgirl said...

I LOVE the Holly Golightly halloween costume. That is so brilliant!!!
Breakfast at Tiffany's is exactly what you said: a familiar friend.
And i love the pic of you and your hubs! So cute.

Anonymous said...

Just being able to find a good buy at a thrift store inspires me, or countless numbers of blogs that I visit on a daily basis.
Hmmm, maybe a new Pagoda is in order...how exciting.
If you get a chance stop by my blog and look at the Italian Opera Screen play book I got oh-so-cheap. When I looked at it I thought of you and your artistic family. If you are interested in it, it's yours. Just leave me a note and email me with your address, if you like.

Anonymous said...

oh my, you gave the best posts. This was very inspirational, it is always great to see pics of Audrey as Holly no matter how many times you have seen them before. And I am awestruck by the Young Edwarian with Sue Wong as designer. I adore Sue Wong, she still makes fabulous over the top clothing. I never heard of Young Edwarian, but now I have something to covet.

Angelina said...

I really enjoyed this post. I sing "Moon River" pretty much non-stop every time I rediscover my Andy Williams record. I love Breakfast At Tiffany's too.

About the house, I am already envious of your mid-century modern house, are you going to put me in a permanent state of drool by moving to something even cooler?

Darn it!

Anonymous said...

Hi!!! I just saw a movie last night that I adored! FUR, it was fab. Now, your girls are as lovely as ever, and that crooked halo is really really turning out to be quite the little Audrey...The blonde version. And, she is so adorable! You are so lucky your girls like to play dress up. If I ever have kids and they are girls, they will probably run and hide from me, like my sister used to do, when I want to play dress up. As for the bumble bee shoes, I just almost bought them when I was on my shoe quest....Alas, I didn't think I could wear them that often.. Could I have??? xxxxoooo, you made me swoon 500 times yesterday! Did you read your e-mail????? xxxxxoooooo

eb said...

hi miss Loveliness - thank you ever so much for the Pagoda treats - we (and esp. Boone - who is interested in all things - well most - hippie) are setting aside a special night for the viewing of your Hair - we will settle in - all cosy and comfy

a new Pagoda STATE OF MIND?????????

yowsa miss - do keep us posted...

and yes - to blend a blend of lovelies - as in our delightful children - hmmmmmmmmm an interesting prospect...

oh - Audrey - in all of her guises is my uber alter ego - you should see my peach mandarin collar rain coat - oh so Holly Golightly!

much love and

xox - eb.

stilettoheights said...

Oh, Love all the HollyG stuff, I too often found myself singing moon river, and am determined to lear how to play in on the guitar.

your little ones are so beautiful!!!!!

and, the fact that you and your hubs had a date like that...it gives me chills all over.

miss vintage love said...

Vintage ANYTHING inspires me...clothes, movies, music, cars, decor, u name it!

Timothy Hogan said...

I read BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S before I saw the film and was impressed at how the cinematic version softened Holly Golightly's "profession" into the misty background.

Just what was she doing returning home at odd hours...?

jungle dream pagoda said...

Timothy Darling,I too have read the short story by Mr Capote,but not until I had grown up on the movie.
I prefer to think of them in the same way ,I think of Wicked the musical and Wicked ,the book.
They are 2 amazing sides of the same coin,but none the less different.
After reading the short story ,I finally saw why Mr Capote,wanted Marylyn to play Lula-May/Holly,though I can imagine NO other actress occupying those frames!

jungle dream pagoda said...

What I meant to say was(why,oh why can't we edit in blogger?) ,No OTHER actress than Audrey Hepburn in those legendary frames of film!

Anastasia said...

i love your new banner and red background!!
I think Holly Golightly and Breakfast at Tiffany's is an inspiration to many - i love your date idea - what fun! So did the psychic tell your man you two would end up together?
Scouring Ebay is another fun activity of mine - I recently won a vintage Anna Sui dress...i thought of you ...its so beautiful, the pic didnt do it justice!!

Recy Vintage & Creations said...

Inspiration... what I wonderful thing!

I also love Breakfast at Tiffany's and love most anything to do with Audrey Hepburn.

However, I find my main inspiration in several other things. Mainly they are:

Amelie, the movie

Pride and Prejudice, the movie

The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

November Rain by Guns-n-Roses

Variations On The Kanon by Pachelbel by George Winston

ANYTHING by Miles Davis

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

quotations by Thich Nhat Hanh

Lots of other things but these are some powerful ones for me... :)

Great post! It was nice to pause and think about these!

xo,

Karen Beth :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, so much inspiration here. I must watch some of the old movies, they look wonderful (love your daughter's outfit)! I love Irregular Choice, they create the most awesome artistic shoes.

Petula Darling said...

Great new look! It's very pagodan.
Looking at pictures of Audrey is always inspiring. Your daughter looks amazing.
I've often wondered how you managed to reconcile your passion for collecting with the minimalism of your home's architecture so successfully. Does the secret of your success lie in having a reeeeeeaaaaaaaally big mid-century modern house?

StephenMosher said...

My dearest friend. You are such a lovely writer. I am so glad that you have this blog and that you take such attention to detail with your stories and your photographs. You are an artist and a philosopher - and in many ways, including the art and philosophy of parenting.

You have always served as a great inspiraion for me, artistically (as has your entire family) but you are building up a new audience to inspire and I am sure everyone is as grateful to you for it as I am.

Love

ste

Peta said...

Darling, I love the new look! Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my all time favourite movies too.

woof nanny said...

Surprisingly, I've never seen Breakfast at Tiffanys. But it's playing soon at an outdoor cinema, so I think that will be fun. I love the inspiration of "what makes you say wow"

Shel/Nate/Anipals said...

WOW! What an amazing bunch of photos! Your daughter's Halloween costume is the best!

alexgirl said...

I can't believe you have a Jem doll! That is so awesome. I used to have Jem coloring books, but never the dolls.

Emma said...

Aww, how cute are you and your family? I LOVE that your daughter dressed as Holly Golightly, when I'm having kids I'm dressing them all up like Audrey Hepburn every Halloween whether they like it or not. Even if they're boys.

Maryam in Marrakesh said...

That really does win the Halloween costume of the world award. And is all that mass of hair all yours....Egad, can I have some?

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