Artbooks: A Play List
Hello in the New Year, and welcome to new subscribers! I hope you had a good holiday. Mine was packed with hugs and laughter, which is always a good report.
I love this re-group time of year, and books inspire me continuously, so I thought I would share some that I received over the holidays.
First, I picked up this one at the Trident Bookstore on Newbury Street in Boston. You can order a diner-style breakfast and then shop in the connected bookshop; what's not to like?
Jeremiah Brent is an interior designer who is married to Nate Berkus, another interior designer you may know. Jeremiah wrote a really thoughtful book that does not espouse the merits of good design but instead tells the story of families and people who have fallen in love with their homes.
"The Space That Keeps You, When a Home Becomes a Love Story."
I saw this as I was roaming the bookstore, opening it to read the intro; I immediately clutched it to my chest and knew I had to take it home. He has profiled people in their forever homes. He was curious because he had been adrift in feeling that sense of place, saying that he and Nate moved ten times in ten years. As an Army brat, I knew this unsettled feeling all too well.
Everyone loves a love story, and love stories that involve homes are delicious.
I read it cover to cover and am having a slow-paced therapy session in my head about it.
The next book I am savoring is Inside the Homes of Artists For Art's Sake. This treat, a gift from Michael, is a luxurious slow-read at the end of a day in front of the fire type of book.
I love a book that shares how creative people choose to live.
Naturally, this speaks to me since we designed and built our home and studios with an idea, a few inspirational images, and cut-outs we made for the floor plan.
In case you missed the last article in the hubbub of the holidays, we launched 3 Gables Studios, a website that features our house, along with our first joint studio release, A Love Story. We are very excited about this! Here’s a new work of mine from the release below.
Next up is a surprisingly easy-to-read art book:Â Great Women Painters. It covers five centuries of living and past female artists. One image and one paragraph for each feature make it easy to discover artists I may not know and want to learn about. In the short time I have owned this book, I have already researched a few new female painters!
I also want to recommend a creative documentary for you. It's on Hulu,
I may be late to the party on this one, but it hit at the right time for me. Rick Rubin (whose book The Creative Process I am a huge fan of) sat down with Paul McCartney in a series of sessions, during which Paul told his stories about the Beatles' music-making. It's not just a history of their fame; it is a recounting of their musical creative process. It is a masterful reminder of what an incredible musician McCartney is and an insightful look at the band from the position of what he now describes himself as "a fan of the Beatles."
A favorite moment so far in the series is when Paul shares how he woke up one morning with the entire song "Yesterday" in his head—the music, lyrics, and everything else. He ran downstairs, found a piano, and quickly played it. He kept saying it was magic.
"The entire song came at once in my sleep. It was like magic."
Beatle maniacs may know this story, but it is a good reminder of what just existing in the creative zone can produce. My overall feeling is that they had a sense of joy (which you can still see in Paul as a man in his 80s) coupled with a genuine curiosity. There was no "What if people want this, or would it sell?"
It was purely, what if we tried this? Wouldn't it be interesting if we did that?
Often, we can tell ourselves that there are risks involved in art-making. I have seen countless people squirm in discomfort and dissatisfaction at their creations. This discomfort is the reason people stop their creative journeys.
What if we made the decision ahead of time to reassign those emotions and call it curiosity?
Paul was able to access this vast amount of creative energy because he wasn't really stepping into it and then out of it. He was existing in it, even as he slept.
In 2025, I hope to exist, inhabit, and dwell in a creative space to help ground me. Michael and I invite you to follow 3 Gables Studios on Instagram, where we will share updates on our art practices as well as news from the studios.
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