Part I of… many. The talented Dianna Walla of Paper Tiger modeling her newest knitting pattern. Relatively certain there’s nothing this woman can’t do.
gold rush
It is time, apparently, for a quarterly update. I’m crossing streams a bit here, bringing a few snapshots from Mirah‘s recent visit. I was honored to drop in and watch Jherek Bischoff record his arrangements on her [devastatingly beautiful] new record. That sweet sun soaked single mic’ed process isn’t conducive to a lot of shutter clicks, sadly, but this gives a quick view into the morning we spent drinking doug fir tea and listening to the way a cello warms up over time. It is an appropriate nod to the next few months as Lightness grows and shifts. Until then… welcome, Spring.
xo,
SM
Merry Christmas
I got the best gift this year.
Here’s to all the things that make me so excited to start shooting again in 2013. Especially that tender little photo assistant you see above. Thanks for your patience, everyone, while I learned how to be a mom.
xo,
SJ
skillet cookbook: the last juicy teaser
When I think about tomorrow’s holiday, I think about burgers. Okay, fireworks THEN burgers, but still. And to me, ‘burger’ means one thing now: SKILLET. I am so excited that in one week Joshua Henderson’s beautiful book will be out in the real world. It’s been a long time coming, but I feel like summer can officially start, ideally with a kale caesar, half a nutella milkshake, and something that will involve bacon jam. I still feel so lucky to have been a part of the book & of the Skillet extended family. Editorial aesthetic had us select street-inspired grainy black and white photos to tell the book’s story, but I’ll still tempt you with these color shots of some of my favorite foods you can find at the diner.
Wishing you a happy 4th filled with equally delicious things. And if you’re feeling festive around the 22nd, we’ll be celebrating the book’s release with a pig roast and soul dance party.
spring in spain
My last international trip for a bit. Or, possibly, my last trip at all for the next… few months? Year? Fall promises that I’ll have my hands full at home. I could explain this trip in words or I could give you the photos, there’s no space and time to do both. The photos won. Here’s to documenting my own hometown in the same way, soon.
Thanks to those in these photos, those I love so much, those I’m grateful to have shared these adventures with.
where have you been, and what are you doing?
January was a busy month. Not, sadly, busy with photos. As predicted, my iphone 4s replaced my Canon 5D for much of our quick trip to Europe and the UK. It was brand new, and kind of irresistible. I blame instagram, and instant gratification.
February was much of the same. Busy, and happily monopolized by two big projects. One of those I can’t mention JUST yet [but will have word on soon] + the other being Lightness Management. Today Abbey & I celebrate as Drew Grow + the Pastors Wives head out to start a tour supporting the Head and the Heart, and also shout from the rooftops that Damien Jurado has made his Billboard top 200 debut with Maraqopa at #132. We are over the moon.
There will be more photos, and more good news, but until then, the iphone shots of Damien’s press tour. London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin. It was beautiful.
Because they tell the stories better than I do, playlists via spotify: January + February.
swift
At Richard Swift’s National Freedom studios through the weekend. Documentation to follow, pending approval from the dudes here. It is good to be back.
press room
Seattle Times music writer Andrew Matson has given Damien some of the greatest praise and support in the past year. I use his ‘godfather of Seattle folk’ quote liberally because it is awesome, and an honor. When Matson proposed that Damien do a livestream performance in the old Times press room, we were immediately on board. When we found out it would be with punk band Dude York, we were psyched. An innovative bill in a historic space curated by one of my favorite music writers? All in.
The old press room hasn’t been touched much in the past twenty years, and gives a vibe that is half space station half haunted house. Damien, for one, is in love with it. There’s a moment in his performance of ‘Reel to Reel’ [video to follow] where he actually forgets a line. I asked him afterwards what happened there, and he replied that he was so caught up in the history and the vibe of the room that he got lost in it.
Get lost in it.
Full multi cam concert video content coming tomorrow via Seattle Times online.
winter // reading
In the aftermath of Thanksgiving there was a lot of couch time. In the cozy winter months I try to keep that as ‘time with book’ over ‘time with Netflix’ lest my brain atrophy in hibernation. I spent last Thursday trying on the first chapter of Steve Jobs [Dad, I'll be borrowing that when you finish all 656 pages] and a portion at a time of A Moveable Feast.
It reminded me that when I first got my kindle for touring, I sent out a twitter inquiry to find out people’s favorite books. Not just recommendations; favorites. I was happy to discover people LOVE talking about their favorite books. I even promised a few of them I’d sent out a compiled list, which I thought was a lovely idea. One [book-filled] year later, here it is. Sharing the wealth, and coercing folks to be as cozy and lethargic as I am – book in hand.
In the no order, the books submitted – a beautiful, dynamic, wide-swinging list:
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Adverbs by Daniel Handler
Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman
What is the What by Dave Eggers
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Clumsy by Jeffrey Brown
The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter
The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Light in August by William Faulkner
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan
Heart Songs and Other Stories by Annie Proulx
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The Plague by Albert Camus
Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach
The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson
Raise High the Roof Beam by J.D. Salinger
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Gilead by Marilynn Robinson
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
No Man Is an Island by Thomas Merton
The Brothers K by David James Duncan
The Death of a President by William Manchester
No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
And my favorite books, the ones I implore you to read, excluding any that might be referenced above?
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
Lord of the Barnyard by Tristan Egolf
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
Last but not least: in honor of the post, I’ve made a playlist with either OVERT literary references, and/or just some songs so laden with emphasis on lyrical content that to listen to them feels like you’re reading.
“So, you like to read books?”
Didn’t see your favorite above? Please leave it in the comments below. I’ll build list 2.0
by Sarah Jurado
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