Music for me is not only mood related, but also very season related.With this cold, dark, sun-deprived weather, there's noting more soothing than the melancholic sound of good music.
Here are my favourite artists and songs that are getting me through this winter.
Glen Hansard, an artist that I got to know through the movie Once (a must-watch if you haven't).
My favourite song of his at this moment is 'Birds of Sorrow'.
Keaton Henson. A great performer and artist. There's something very odd about him which makes his appearance very interesting. His fragile voice gives me goosebumps. I love listening to this walking outside in the dark in an empty street.
You have to listen to 'Sweetheart what have you done to us'.
Little May. Usually I'm not very fond of female singers but there's something about this band's voice that makes me calm. I love the build up of the instruments and vocals ending up in a climax a several times in the song. Ok, ok, every song has a build-up and a climax, but this one really does it for me. 'Hide' is a very good example of what I'm talking about.
Wise Children. I never get bored of their song 'Absence' because it's so dynamic and changing. I come short of words explaining this, I guess listening to it is the best way to see what I'm talking about.
Do you have favourite songs each season as well? Which artist do you mostly listen to recently?
Home made, natural food. It all started with reading the labels on jars where ingredients were mentioned that just did not make sense to me. This led to weekly making my own peanut butter, bread and apple sirop which gave me a great pleasure. Not only when making it, but also when eating it. Knowing what ingredients are in a certain product gives me a great peace of mind.
Quinoa seeds
This obsession inspired my gifts for this season. The act of giving is not necessarily buying the most expensive gift. I find it more valuable to spend time and love in the gift rather than buying something just for the sake of it. Eventually I'm not sure if I am going to do this ever again. Spending hours in the kitchen the day before is kind of energy draining. So a better planning would have made all of this less stressful.
Apple syrup
But eventually seeing it transform into something that looks wonderful makes it all worth it. If I would be able to buy this somewhere looking like this, I would buy it. It's cute, it's beautiful, it's healthy and above all, it's yummy.
I made this illustration a while ago which I'm still kind of proud of. Somehow I expected to be finished in a few hours when I decided to draw, but it eventually took me 2 days to make this. And this is by far nothing compared to the real artists. This process made me appreciate a thousand times more than I ever did.
EKTC [ekthessee] is a wearable that empowers you to get out of your cocoon and become that creature you've always wanted it to be.
This piece was made within a week in collaboration with ArtEZ. Starting from a bodily movement, this got translated into a meaning and eventually a shape.
My fascination goes out to the silhouettes the outfit creates while you move which means that it transforms depending on who is wearing it and how it is worn. At the same time this gets supported by the hoodie which has different layers of material.
Maybe it's just me because I been through the late nights, struggles and excitement to get to this result, but every time I watch this, I get great adrenaline rush through my body.
I would love to know your opinion about this. Do you like it? Do you see yourself ever wearing something like this?
Nowadays the word diet is almost always associated with weight loss. The word kilos can't be taken positively without combining it with the word loss.
It amazed me how our society is so focused on fatness and weight loss that someone who wants to gain weight is not even taken seriously. Mentioning that one has gained 5 kilos will be put in a negative light instead of giving a compliment. An overweight person who has lost 5 kilos however will be complemented.
What kind of world do we live in? Are we brainwashed or just stupid? "You don't need to gain, you look just fine"
The facts and numbers tell you that you're not fine whereas your environment tells you that you look completely fine. The biggest dilemma here is who to listen to, facts or people? You have to be really strong to ignore what people say and ignore those voices in your head telling you: 'see, no need!'
You will think 'who am I doing it for' if there's no stimulation from anybody in your surroundings.
It almost becomes something to be ashamed of to be (wanting) to gain weight.
We need to get rid of the image that gaining weight is a bad thing. Even though there are many campaigns for 'skinny diseases', it's simply not enough. Searching for weight-gain advice on the internet is much more difficult (at least for woman; there are plenty of advices for men!) than finding a weight loss website and this simply doesn't make sense. Media needs to put as much focus on gain as they focus on loss.
It's time to balance the world. It's time to re-program our mind. Enough is enough.
It's one of those things that you take for granted. You don't realize what it's worth until it's gone. You keep asking yourself what you could have done better for it to stay. And even though it's replaceable, things will never be the same again. Your firsts will always be the most precious and will emotionally always touch you.
The love affair started in July 2011. I hadn't realized back then that we would be inseparable. For about a period of two entire years it had gone with me through life. Providing me the sounds I needed to hear in every situation one can imagine. It never failed me.
I couldn't imagine a life without it; not even a day without it. I got to be extremely disturbed not having it around me on certain days.
Two years later I need to accept the fact that I will no longer be able to use my beautiful headphones any more. After two years of loyalty it fails to fulfil its purpose.
And even though I am trying to convince myself that another headphone will be just as good as this one, or that it will feel the same, I know that it won't because it hasn't shared anything with me (yet).
"Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change."
Wayne W. Dyer
"Dream delivers us to dream, and there is no end to illusion. Life is
like a train of moods like a string of beads, and, as we pass through
them, they prove to be many colored lenses which paint the world their
own hue." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Being inspired by Escher I started making this painting expecting it to be finished in two hours. Eventually it was simply going to be blocks stacked on top of each other from which each side would be painted another colour. Within each step though I was surprised how long it took me to finish. Usually painting is as draining as a day of work which again I underestimated while making this one. The great fun I had however while making this painting was the different shapes I was each time I looked at it from a different angle. It was almost confusing as I was wondering if I made a mistake in the process. I guess the lesson that I learned here is to never underestimate a 'simple-looking' piece of work for which it has gone through a long and complex process.
The last time I did a music post was back in February so it's about time to share some of my recent favourites.
Remarkable for me is that my music taste changes as the seasons change. This mostly depends on the mood I am in during that period of time.
The music I have been listening to lately has given me this adrenaline rush which is simply amazing. It makes me feel alive!
1. Jamie N Commons is an artist I recently found out about. The first time I heard his music I thought to myself: "why don't I know you yet?!" The roughness in his voice reminds me somehow of Johnny Cash mixed with Ray LaMontagne and the energy of the music is just... wow.
2. As every season has its soundtrack, the most remarkable soundtracks for me are the summer ones. The memories built during the summer are ones that stay with you for a lifetime. I believe that The Paper Kites provided me the summer sound of 2013. Featherstone represents the worry-less, sunny day in which anything is possible.
3. While The Paper Kites had the perfect song for a summer day, this song is the one for a nice summer eve, while having a barbecue or sitting next to a bonfire. It is kind of difficult to make a better version than the original one that Alt-J did, but Ellie Goulding adds a complete different sound and atmosphere to the song. The sound of the bass and the trumpet solo add this mysteriousness to it.
4. Talking about energetic songs, this one has succeeded in radiating that energy to the listeners. I can't really describe what it is about this song that fascinates me, but I know that I can listen to it during each occasion I'm in.
5. Woodkid doesn't need many words to explain why his music is amazing. The video, the build-up of the music and the lyrics are matched greatly.
Human beings are the only creatures on earth that have the ability to express themselves through words. We have come to believe that speaking is a powerful thing when it comes to communication.
Blogs, magazines, books, conversations, seminars are all about words.
In one of my previous posts I mentioned that "a picture is worth a thousand words" which it is because it goes beyond vocabulary. Yet pictures are open for interpretation and different meanings. It is difficult to capture a picture in which one can show a universal meaning.
Looking at this photograph, one can say that these children are crying. Or maybe they're camera shy. Perhaps they are just fooling around. From this photograph it is very difficult to conclude whether they are happy or sad or any emotion at all. A caption would be needed to describe the meaning of the image.
Yet vocabulary is a very tricky thing because actions are involved in this matter as well.
I strongly believe that words are meaningless and lose their power if there is no intention of acting upon them.
How many times have you found yourself in a situation where someone tells you sorry multiple times but keeps repeating the same mistake over and over again? How often did someone tell you that they are always there for you resulting in not being there when you need them?
Will you keep believing what they say risking the fact that you get disappointed time after time or will you start believing in their actions instead which is saying that they don't mean what they say?
“People may not tell you how they feel about you, but they always show you. Pay attention.”
People might have the intention of not wanting to hurt your feelings, so they tell you things which eventually don't match their actions later. Even though the intention was not to hurt you, it does not justify the fact that they have been lying to you which is in my opinion the worst thing a person can do.
As a quite naïve person I tended to believe people for their words resulting in being screwed over an over and ending up being the one who was hurt and disappointed I've come to learn to get to know people by what they do and not by what they say. Or better said, I started to pay attention to both.
I can promise that as you keep practising you will be amazed in how much people are not saying but definitely showing. Just trust your intuition and don't be afraid to trust other types communication rather than words.
"If someone is consistently inconsistent, and their actions don't match up with their words, it's time to let them go."
I have been having this enormous adrenaline rush in my body for the last few weeks and even though I slightly know what the reason for it is, I still think there much more behind it.
It feels like I'm living on the edge, being in a roller coaster that has endless ups and down. Several times a day I experience that feeling of going up and down. It is exciting though and maybe sometimes it is better just to accept it and keep enjoying the ride instead of looking for reasons of why things are the way they are.
“Life is like a roller coaster. You can either scream every time you hit a bump or you can throw your hands up in the air and enjoy it”
This state that I'm in might be disturbing or weird for outsiders because sometimes it looks like I am completely disconnected from reality, acting impulsively, flying around like a butterfly.
Sometimes I get being told that I shouldn't stress out this much and that I just need to relax which is completely understandable from their point of view. But as long as the ride is still enjoyable, as long as the ride is still going, I don't see any reason to stop.
Maybe it's not even a roller coaster ride, but just having a messy head that is floating somewhere, just dreaming. Maybe I just get hit by reality every now and then which causes the rush of adrenaline. Or maybe it is just who I am. Maybe this is life!
Every now and then this anti-anorexia campaigns come up who are promoting a healthy size and are trying to fight the pro-ana websites. A good thing one might say, but every time I come across these adds, this huge rage inside me rises and all I can think is: 'You campaign-makers have no idea what this whole disease is about!'
When I read the title of the campaign 'say no to anorexia' I'm wondering how you can say no to a psychological disease! I have seen campaigns who tell you to say no dementia or cancer, but these are campaigns that support people who are suffering from them.
What happens with the anorexia campaign is that these is absolutely no compassion towards people who are actually suffering from anorexia.
I think by now most of us know that anorexia or any eating disorder of its kind is not about how thin you are. Becoming thin is one of the physical and visible outcomes of the disease, but in the end it is all about control or a coping mechanism.
So I would say, at least change the name of the campaign 'say no to pro-anaor thinspiration' but even then would this help? Would this add scare people off from pro-ana? I highly doubt so. These girls (or boys) want to look like the real-life models they see in pictures (which most of the time are photoshoped) who look glamorous and not like sketches.
To keep young people away from the pro-ana sites, I would say, focus on
the issues they are facing (insecurity) and try to emphasize on it and
put a positive spin on it. The Dove campaign which focuses on the beauty
of each individual and which tells you that size does not matter!
My final message to those campaigns is: get your research right before you publish these kind of campaigns. To everybody who calls sometimes calls someone an anorexic: do some research about the disease to know what you're talking about. And if you still don't understand, experience it to finally know what it is about.
And finally to everybody who glamorises being thin: one day you will find out how much you have been fucking up your body and that life is so much bigger and more beautiful than that piece and size of flesh and bones you're longing for.
I felt like the two weeks in Ankara at the beginning of this month have changed me. They have changed my view on things, my view on people and my view on myself. Ever since I have been back I feel that I need to renew myself. Throw out the old and bring in the new. And what more physical and tangible way there is to do this by throwing away clothes and objects, and buying new clothes and objects.
It was an impuls decision. In an hour I decided I wanted a new phone, I went to the store and 2 hours later I was the owner of a brand new phone. And it felt good you know. Yes it was temporary pleasure, but I had plans with this phone.
I made my own case for this phone which I'm so in love with. You can see the results in the following pictures:
It's been an extreme long time since I updated here, and even though I have a lot of reasons, I shouldn't have used them as an excuse.
I have been travelling a lot for a project that I'm working on. I went to Brussels 3 weeks ago and currently I just woke up in the beautiful, warm and sunny Ankara where I'm going to stay for two weeks. Hopefully I can update with pictures every now and then.
I have been in this DYI mood for a while now and if gives me such a satisfaction to have something self-made on the wall.
I started to learn how to crochet and even though sometimes it makes me feel like an old granny sitting on the couch doing nothing but crocheting, I actually enjoy doing it.
Compared to knitting, this is faster and easier to do!
To start a fresh week, I'd like to share some of my favourite music of this month with you!
King Charles is a singer that I recently discovered whom I fell in love with from the very first minute. "Bam Bam" was the first song I heard of him, but truly his entire album "Loveblood" is amazing.
I just can't get enough of looking at him. Face it, men with beard... raawr, I'll always have a weakness for that.
I never really liked Lykke Li and dubstep was not something I was too keen on either. This was until I heard the song I'm good I'm gone which I can't stop listening to! Looking at the video, I get this mysterious/strange feeling which really fascinates me.
Pink is probably one of the most powerful female singers that I have ever known. She has always been a rebel, doing what she wants but because of that she releases amazing music. I have seen her live once and her performance was so cool! And just when it couldn't get any better, I came across this video (see below). Even if you hate Pink, please please watch this video. It's amazing!
I heard this song by The Echo Friendly on the serie Girls and even though it was short, I thought it was a special song. It gives me this melancholic and spacey feeling which is so good if you just want to escape to another world for a little while!
Selah Sue is such an inspiring unique woman. If you look at her, you look at her as this small, shy, tiny woman, but wait until you see her sing and move. All I can say about her is wow!! This is probably the best covers I have ever heard so far done by Selah Sue and Triggerfinger. Total ecstasy!
What do you think of this list? Is there a song missing? What is your favourite song of this moment?
