Jane Hambleton is an mixed media artist out of Berkley, California. Jane takes old Red Cross life saving illustrations and brings them into a new context. The result is a mysterious dialogue between the familiar and the unknown.
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favorite projects
best of tunes
I really wanted to compile a "best of" list for 2011. The problem is I don't tend to ingest large amounts of any specific media or have the chops to filter it down to a list. So I had to enlist my dear friend Ben to provide me with his annual list of best albums. I met Ben in college and he took pity on my small stack of cd's and exposed me to the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel and Sunny Day Real Estate. In his own words, here are his picks for best albums of 2011. I've also created both a Spotify mix and a mix on 8tracks of some of the standout tracks listed below. You can listen to it on Spotify HERE or 8tracks HERE {since I'm new to online mixes let me know if this works for everyone!}
10. Wild Flag – Wild Flag (Merge) Of Wild Flag’s four members, two of them fronted Sleater-Kinney, one played for The Minders and the last is independent music royalty. The band and the album of the same name are statements -- loud, noisy, intricate statements of Rock and Roll, like the pedigree of the members. They show us what can be, what it should be, and how it should be done. Unless the Earth spins on a different axis where up is down and dog means cat this album was destined to be amazing.
Standout tracks: Romance; Glass Tambourine; Racehorse
9 . Ben Smith – Crooked Earth (Independent) Ben has been making astounding music for manyyears and deserves far more attention. Smith’s latest and first solo effort, ‘Crooked Earth’ conjures images of Gram Parsons alongside The Left Banke, but only as ghosts. He breatheshis influences, whets his sleeve with them, but the songhe respires are his alone. ‘All the Wonders of the World’ is oneofmy favorite songs that I have heard this year. Incidentally some other notable musicians make an appearance on ‘Crooked Earth’: Aaron Weis of mewithoutYou and Eliza Jones of The Buried Beds. Both amazing bands that you would be a fool not to check into. Don’t be a fool.
Standout track: All the Wonders of the World; Love Potion #10
8. Tune-Yards – Who Kill (4AD) What looks random and accidental like so many abstract paintings are actually contrived and intricately planed piece of art. tUnE-yArDs ‘Who Kill’ is exactly this. The 42 minute schizophrenic mélange that often seems random and accidental is anything but. After 10 polyrhythmic, atonal, stream of conscious aural collages on economic, social, and body politic, ‘Who Kill’, does something that so many other records of this genre don’t do: it doesn’t leave the listener confused.
Standout Tracks: My Country; Es-So; Bizness
7. Real Estate – Days (Domino) Real Estate’s ‘Days’ has that impenetrable feeling of a lazy summer day stretched into infinity. Like a lens flared snap shot, a brief moment made permanent by the camera mechanism. The simple truths these boys from New Jersey lay in our ears are nothing new, but there is nothing simple or misplaced about any of these songs. The impermanence of time, youth, the leaves on the trees, or the summer you fell in love or were left behind never sounded so heartbreakingly sweet.
Standout tracks: Easy; Out of Tune
6. War on Drugs – Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian) ‘Slave Ambient’ is really as close to a modern day miracle as it comes. After co-founding member Kurt Ville takes off to start his solo career and a drummer and an organist disappear into the Philadelphia ether, I don’t think anyone would have been surprised if front man Adam Granduciel disappeared down Dylan’s Highway 61 he so often evokes in his songs. Instead, he filled out his band and delivered one of the year’s most progressive throw back records of 2011.
Standout Tracks: Come to the City; Baby Missiles
5. Girls – Father, Son and Holy Ghost (True Panther Sounds) Girls leader Christopher Owens spent his youth in a religious cult with his mother. His experiences are well-documented. This is important to note, as it is clear that Owens’ is still working through some “issues” and music is definitely his therapy. For his sophomore record under the Girls moniker, Owens, takes a decidedly darker turn from the more garage rock sensibilities of ‘Album’ and looks for a deeper more introspective route to forgiveness and redemption. While I wish no man such a crisis of soul, his search for contrition is a bit unsettling as it is such a pleasure to listen to.
Standout Tracks: Honey Bunny; Vomit; Forgiveness
4. Little Scream – The Golden Record (Outside Music) Like the frosted car that Laurel Sprengelmeyer sits in, laying out a snowy story of isolation, longing and self-doubt in the album stand out. While standout track ‘Heron and the Fox’ isn’t necessarily indicative of the style of ‘The Golden Record’, it is clearly the sentiment. Truth is, the record never really settles on one style or one particular sound. This isn’t unusual for a debut and can frequently be the beginning and the end for a new artist, but here it is actually a credit. Each song has its own voice and all of the voices are clearly Little Screams.
Standout track: Heron and the Fox; The Lamb; Red Hunting Jacket
3. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (4AD) On her latest, Ms. Clark strips down to the bare essentials. (the band. Strips down the band, get your mind out of the gutter, that’s my fantasy indie rock wife you’re thinking about.) Annie Clark’s other worldly voice against her distorted guitar play like the physical embodiment of so many of the stories that make up ‘Strange Mercy’s’ often uncomfortable but always deeply rewarding songs.
Standout Track: Cruel; Surgeon; Year of the Tiger
2. Wye Oak – Civilian (Merge) In 2010, my list was topped by Baltimore’s Beach House and their devastatingly perfect album ‘Teen Dream’. In 2011 Wye Oak, who also hails from Charm City, slides into a comfortable #2 carrying with it an aesthetic edge that is quickly identifiable and easily comparable to their peers without being derivative. Each song on ‘Civilian’ seems like a conversation with unformed thoughts and sentences starting mid-stream, yet unfolding amidst all the confusion, revealing some sort of message before we all leave the room. This record was probably my most anticipated release of 2011 and I am happy to report that it was better than I hoped.
Standout Tracks: Civilian; Holy, Holy; Fish; Doubt
1. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop) I want to write tomes about this album, but what would be the point? What took Søren Kierkegaard in 800 pages to sum up in ‘Either/Or’, Fleet Foxes does in less than 3 minutes on Battery Kinzie. If they can best Kierkegaard then I don’t have a chance. What can I possibly add to give this remarkable record anymore life then it already has? Helplessness Blues is one of the best songs written in the last ten years, maybe the last hundred.
Standout Tracks: Helplessness Blues; Battery Kinzie; Lorelai; Someone You’d Admire
Other records that I loved….(in no particular order) Gillian Welch – The Harrows And The Harvest // Youth Lagoon – Year of Hibernation // Washed out – Within without // The Decemberists – The King is Dead // Lykke Li – Wounded Rhythms // Bon Iver – Bon Iver // Cass McCombs – Wits End // John Maus – We Must Become The Pitless Sensors of Ourselves
portrait by Rory Connell
new year // new perspective
I hadn't planned to take a week off from the blog but then a chest cold wiped me out for the greater part of the holidays. It gave me a lot of time to reflect on this past year; try to find the message. What I take away from 2011 is that although it's very human to become impatient and frustrated; it's up to each individual to decide how to move on from that moment. You can either sit with it in repetitive motion or find the motivation to rise above it. I also discovered that ,as we age, it becomes harder to be a "beginner" at something. It's hard to reveal inexperienced work when there is so much great talent on display. It's important not to let this discourage you. These discoveries read negatively however; they were really wide eyed moments of clarity. On the brighter side, I grew to love Brooklyn even more this year and we are so lucky to be part of such an inspiring community. Twenty eleven was both a year of learning and a year of lucidity and gratefulness. Twenty twelve has a lot to offer and I look forward to what adventures it might bring. XO
Some of my favorite posts from this past year
etsy finds
{my favorite etsy finds this week}
1. shabby rose pattern set $60 Rhett Didn't Give a Damn 2. ten thank you cards $11.50 Quill and Fox
3. leather/brass braided bracelet $26 Son of a Sailor 4. triangle shirt $28 Things Like Diamonds
brooklyn spot // strawser and smith
Strawser and Smith is a gorgeous furniture shop located in Williamsburg on Driggs Avenue. I would be lying if I implied that we've purchased furniture here as it's about two tiers above our usual price range. This is not to say these pieces are not worth the cost. Much of the lighting is repurposed vintage or salvaged metal pieces of art. The maps and illustrations are extraordinary and rare hence the prestigious prices. Personally I like to meander this store for inspiration alone. It's so well curated and the balance of shapes and heights is very thought provoking.
sunday files
It's hard to believe that I planted those bulbs about a week and a half ago and they are already just short of blooming! Winter here is rather bleak and lifeless outside so I'm over the moon to still have so much green peeking around our home. The cold weather forces us to seek warmth in other ways and the holidays help us to follow through. This weekend we had some great meals with friends and a solid round of hot toddies.
featured artist // elisa strozyk
Elisa Strozyk is a german textile designer who was recently awarded textile designer of the year by Elle Deco. She studied both at Central Saint Martins and KHB Berlin where she began to explore the form and function of wood. She found that ,when reduced to small geometric shapes, wood could transform to become quite flexible. Through this exploration, Elisa found ways to reinterpret sense of touch and expand on what we consider conventional. The artist statement really describes it perfectly
"Wooden Textiles" convey a new tactile experience. We are used to experience wood as a hard material; we know the feeling of walking across wooden floors, to touch a wooden tabletop or to feel the bark of a tree. But we usually don't experience a wooden surface which can be manipulated by touch.
"Wooden Textiles" is a material that is half wood-half textile, between hard and soft, challenging what can be expected from a material or category. It looks and smells familiar but feels strange, as it is able to move and form in unexpected ways.
The processes to transform wood into a flexible wooden surface is its deconstruction into pieces, which are then attached to a textile base. Depending on the geometry and size of the tiles each design shows a different behavior regarding flexibility and mobility. There are various possible applications, for example as floorings, curtains, drapes, plaids, upholstery or parts of furniture." - Elisa Strozyk
There is such character to these pieces and I love the fact that they are constantly transforming. Because of the durability, the rugs are very mobile and the dyed wood is so striking. It really challenges the viewer's sensibilities. I think it's important to also give credit to the photographer here (Elisa's sometime collaborator) Sebastian Neeb. It's not an easy task to convey the duality of hard vs soft.
One other quote from Elisa that I found very inspiring (and I think is suitable for a lot of creative endeavors)
“I analyze the mundane, reinterpret it and place the familiar in a new context.“
happy weekend!
really good tidings
The holidays are nearing, if you are still looking for a gift that can be enjoyed the whole year round consider giving a subscription to Kinfolk magazine. Volume 2 debuted this Monday and it does not disappoint. What they have manifested is so organic and collaborative. love love love.
In other news, I'm obsessed with this kids clothing line little warriors
Great work on Industry of One found via Miss Moss
Beautiful illustrations from Tantra Song
photo credits: (all from kinfolk vol 2) leo patrone, alice gao, lisa warninger, yan photo
brooklyn spot // millers tavern
Over the weekend the mister and I walked across the neighborhood towards a french place I remembered enjoying only to find that it had actually closed its doors over a year ago. What replaced it was Miller's Tavern; named in honor of the author Henry Miller whose boyhood home was nearby on Driggs Avenue. This is old hat for the owners Jeffrey Flagg and Gavin Compton who previously brought to the neighborhood Sel de Mer, Sweetwater and two Variety cafes. The vibe is so cozy along the lines of a wooden ski lodge and the dutch pancake was sinister delicious. We'll definitely be making a better attempt at getting out to this neck of the woods more often.
