Organic visions: Art by Moni Basu

My friend, Moni Basu, just shared some of her artwork. Since this blog is really only read by folks I know, most of you know her. Moni and I have known each other for so many years, yet I'd never seen anything she created - only read her amazing writing. She has always liked my simple line drawings. Now, all these years later I'm looking at her art. For some reason this makes me very happy, and that's why I asked her if I could feature her work here on my blog.

When she sent the first one to me in a text I was wondering what gallery she must be standing in where she took a picture of someone's artwork. The colors, the birds, the beautiful composition. She will say I am biased, but I love her work.

Take a look and see what you think. I saved the most intense for last. She calls it Covid Nightmare. I feel like the cold expression could represent a family member stricken with grief, or a very ill person, or even someone who is deceased. 

The first one is one of my favorites - so full of hope and life. I named it Menagerie. 

The second one I call Navajo Bear. 

The third, Bamboo with Fire. 

The fourth: Mid-century Fauna.
The fifth: Covid Nightmare.

If you click an image, you can see a larger version.

Lockdown life: Stress relievers

Photo source: https://iceland-photo-tours.com/articles/photography-tutorials/how-to-make-mesmerising-minimal-photography

Keeping one's head screwed on properly during this strange time can be trying. The news is spooky and heartbreaking. John King's wall reveals your state's ability to remain steady, or spike, or decline with new cases. The emptiness of most places is disturbing, though that is changing as more people venture out and that, too, is a little weird. The idea of being in this together, when you can't really BE together, is a sort-of comfort that you can't quite feel. Yet, we persevere, hold our chins up, and feel grateful knowing we have it better than many; at least for most of us.

Here are a few things I've been turning to, albeit mostly online resources:

Heal Your Living on YouTube - I've followed this channel for quite a while. The simplicity of what Youheum talks about is so relaxing to me. She's an extreme minimalist. While I couldn't go this far, I can see how freeing it must be. She lived nearly furniture free for a while; now I think she's travelling as a digital nomad. I've watched almost all of her videos. Her sister has a channel, too, called Thirsty for Art - also super relaxing content.

Benita Larsson - Benita is a Swedish minimalist with two very cute cats. Great style. Peaceful content, and the videos are not very long, so you get a dose of calm in often 10 minutes or less.

The Okellys - My friends Megan and Nick sailed away on their catamaran a few years ago and recently started a YouTube channel. They put out a new one every Thursday. Fun, interesting content about their lifestyle, and whereabouts.

Oak - This app is free and offers some calming meditations.

On the analog side of things, my armchair advice for chilling out:

Take a walk. But walk slower - don't make it a workout. Make it about the journey, not a hurried, timed effort. Hear the birds, feel the sun. Stop for a second. Take a moment to be grateful you're alive, that you can walk, and see, and breath in the fresh air.

Eat a meal outside. Nature heals the soul. And it's sort of luxurious to dine al fresco.

Get in bed a little early with a good book or magazine. Take a shower first (maybe some of you do this already, I usually shower in the morning). There's something calming about jumping under the covers clean.

Don't eat dinner in front of the TV. This is a habit we've gotten into, but when we break it and actually eat and talk away from the screen, it's really nice.

Call a friend, or do a Facetime call. We can't be together in 3-D, but sharing voices is the next best thing.

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Coming up, my friend Moni has been doing some artwork, and I think her work is beautiful. I've know her for decades, and only recently found that she makes art. Stay tuned for that in my next post.

Lockdown Life

Photo is from https://www.adorama.com/alc/what-is-minimalist-photography 

My feedburner set up went away due to some phasing out of the feature, so I may email an update to the mailing list so folks know I have a new post up. Please just email back to be removed from future updates if this bugs you.

Lockdown life has been interesting. It started out kinda great, then tensions rose for a bit, and now I'm more relaxed about it again. What choice is there? You stop fighting it and just relax into it. What I've learned is that while I consider myself a home body, the pull to get out and about is very strong. 

My summary of activities:

I've been walking more. As I say in my IG feed - nature is my higher power. It truly is - nature is like a god. To see my IG feed, visit @robinwrites

Watched the Netflix series Tales from the Loop, and really liked it. The actors are great, and the premise and magical vibe of it all was a perfect escape for the times.

Cooking is definitely a thing. Lots of soups, fried rice, easy stuff. But we're still trying to support restaurants with some takeout. Favorites are The Red Door's curbside pickup and most recently Madison. Madison is actually one of my favorite places to eat. My number one fave though is Il Dandy - beautiful interior and incredible food. 

There has been the occasional weeknight glass of Cote du Rhone, because in moderation why not.

Glennon Doyle's Monday Morning meeting time has been a balm. Love her. Also on Instagram. 

In a future post, I am going to publish a piece written by my friend Matt Jones, my work friend. He writes "paintings" of people with words. Stay tuned for that. We just have to talk about when he wants to send me one. I'm also going to ask him to write his description of how he'd like to "show" these paintings. When he told me, I thought it was a really interesting approach - you may agree. 

My friend Moni just did some bird art that I will also feature, but will first ask her permission. Stay tuned for that, too.

I've been supporting some retail establishments with recent orders on Uniqlo, Gap, Old Navy, and TheRealReal. Basics are on their way. By the way, Marimekko fans, Uniqlo did a collab with Marimekko for 2020, so maybe go check it out. In non-retail spending, I've donated to a refugee group that provides kits to new mothers and pregnant women who are being held at the border.

A last snippet is that James had COVID in January. He did the antibody test last week and it was positive. I had a mild case of whatever he had, so I had it, too! Are we immune now? I doubt it. Are we carriers? I don't think so because it's not an active infection. Yikes, another reason for us all to stay distanced. This is so very sad, and I can only imagine how it is for those who've lost loved ones. 

I can't wait to laugh again in person with actual people.

To all the Helpers - THANK YOU.

💗,

Robin