blossoming

small seeds gracefully do grow
into beautiful things that spring from these rows
- eisley

black and white

I'm in the midst of designing a black and white flyer right now. There is something awesome about designing in black and white. Maybe it all routes back to my obsession with the combination of black and white and the sense of striking contrast between them.

At times, it's easy to feel that black and white is restrictive and consequently wish to use color. Yet, I often find that color can be super distracting, weakening my sense of structure. For me, it's easy to get hung up on color combinations and lose sight of the foundation of the composition at hand.

quotations

Collecting quotes is something I have grown to enjoy in the midst of my journaling and blogging. Carefully selected words carry such an unbelievable sense of power. For me, it is amazing and comforting to see how individuals centuries before experienced the same sense of wondering and feelings I experience now. In some way, I think the resonance one may feel when reflecting upon a single quote cultivates a greater attachment to humanity at large. All that being said, here is a quote I came across today that really resonated with me.

"It is not work that kills men, it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more on a man than he can bear. But worry is rust upon the blade. It is not movement that destroys the machinery, but friction."

- Henry Ward Beecher

connectedness

I went to a sweet arts/fashion event last night called GeneroCity LA. One room was set up with a variety of quotes hanging from the ceiling. This was by far my favorite:

"We cannot live for ourselves alone.
Our lives are connected
by a thousand invisible threads,
and along these sympathetic fibers,
our actions run as causes
and return to us as results."
- Herman Melville

rest

"He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities."
- Benjamin Franklin

One of the hardest things about living in LA is the pace of life here. Everyone moves so fast. The most tangible example of this can be seen on the streets and freeways. It is constantly clear that everyone is in such a freaking hurry.

So, it's quite appropriate that I got a cold (or something of that nature) when I reentered this face-paced city. The little bout of illness has reminded me that I have to stop. I have to rest. I have to defy the message this society continually feeds to me. If I don't, I may miss out on so much of what this life has to offer.

the waltz

As I stand comfortably in my own space,
Successfully pried free from the same song and dance
I am interrupted, invaded by these steps.
A trail of footwork rudely crosses my path.

Alas, here springs forth the master of the waltz,
Stepping to and fro while repeating that song.
He glides ever so carefully foward
Evading the overwhelming weight collected at the core.

With his steps, he beckons me to join in the footwork
To usher in once more that same song and dance,
But these feet that once lived for the waltz
Now strongly refuse to carry that movement anymore.

music city

snapshots of nashville