A stupid question about re-defining one's style

6 years ago

Ok..not one's but mine

Since I'm very stupid today anyway I figured I'd continue to run with it I guess

I don't seek to throw away my stuff that I love(and I do love it). I also don't look for words like "traditional "or "eclectic" or "Mediterranean" or "modern" or " bohemian" or whatever.

I want not to get rid of things but find a way to introduce other things..and I have of course a limited amount of space, a family that's a bit on guard with my choices lately, and a bad case of design envy (like, why is that Lorraine Kirke has so many sad and strange portraits and nobody tells her what to do, and she just does as she pleases? Well she's also like million times more talented than me so it explains I guess..but still. I want to break free(c) but not to hurt anyone while doing that lol..and to still keep that part of my identity which is my place now. I don't want to change it; I want to expand it a bit.)

So I started thinking. I connect to the world through visuals and words..and I often start with words. That help with imagining visuals too

I arrived to the conclusion(took me several months no less) I should find a metaphor that will let me to define the place in a way that will allow me to pull off all of it..happy and sad..light and dark..weird and glamorous..

I started thinking..one of my first association with the house was, frankly "Winnie the Pooh" one. Lol

I think it a genius book ..you can enjoy it being five and being eighty five

yet it still wasn't it..I wasn't quite there already

then I thought "Alice in Wonderland". Absurdist, a tad more mysterious a tad darker..yet still a lot of happiness and hope and magic garden..right?

Then I suddenly thought "One hundred years of solitude" yet got seriously scared))))

Then I thought:

-how about I ask other people? you have associations I don't know..or don't apply to myself..or didn't think of yet. And these might show me the light..or some new angles that will show me the light

I'm here for about a year..writing all sorts of ramble I really shouldn't be writing, and I've no idea who has the patience to read through it..but I guess something can be drawn from it anyway, I expose myself much more when I write than when I talk..so if something rings to you like it can be applied to me..something like a book, a story, a tale, a quote, a movie, a character, a line, even the language you think it was written in, a cartoon lol. a whatever..

I'd be very grateful.

It might give me ideas about that metaphor I'm struggling with. And I do sincerely believe it will start falling into a place after I find it.

Ah, and if you got to the end of that post-I thank you just for that:)

Featured Answer

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

For me it's also art that makes me want to go in new and different directions. This picture of a wild dog does not in any way go with my other art because of its boldness and in your face quality, but yet I cannot get it out of my mind. Perhaps it's because of my strong connection with nature and the pain that I feel that wild dogs in Africa will be extinct in a few years. However, increasingly, raw and somewhat disturbing modern art is claiming a place in my brain.

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Comments (41)

Jane
6 years ago
I'm not sure what you're talking about. But I pick one thing I love and frame it with things that accentuate it. Sometimes it goes in a different direction than you planned.

I tend to frame things with neutrals that bring out the different colors, lines, shapes of the thing I want to emphasize. After a few things are added, I'll need something else complex to balance it out. Over time, you get better at finding things. Look everywhere and don't pressure yourself. Your gut will tell you if it's right. Otherwise it's usually wrong.

For winnie the pooh, I tend to think of rh baby and child, or pottery barn kids for ideas. That's because I like clean, coordinated montages. If it's a adult space, you can still get ideas from those collections.

Not a fan of Alice, so I can't help you there.
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Oaktown
6 years ago
Mater: Oh, for a second there I thought you was trying to fix my dents.
Holley Shiftwell: Yes, I was.
Mater: Well then, no thank you. I don't get them dents buffed, pulled, filled or painted by nobody. They way too valuble.
Holley Shiftwell: Your dents are valuable? Really?
Mater: I come by each one of 'em with my best friend Lightning McQueen. I don't fix these. I wanna remember these dents forever.
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Yayagal
6 years ago
To cheer you up "May the Metaphorce be with you".
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1929Spanish-GW
6 years ago
I don't think you have to have a name. It's a construct of the HGTV era where everyone wants to name their style. One of my husbands least favorite shows was where you had to pick three things you would like and the gal would tell you what your style is. It's just a label.

And having a name for something doesn't mean others will accept it more or less.

If you're visual, find a collection of visuals that appeal to you. If you're verbal, find some descriptions that do the same. Since you're both, why not start with the visuals and see if the separately selected descriptions have the continuity you seek.

When I think broadly about how I best like things to look, the truth is that they start with a slightly different foundation then our house. But I live our house and have nightmares about selling it. In truth, the background of my dreams is a much larger home in a place that is not where I am.

So if I try and use those words and visuals to describe me and my environs, it's really describing what's in my head.

Therefore, I'm much more practical about the approach we take with this house. When we did our backyard, we told the landscape designer that we wanted more of "south of France" and less of "south of Orange County". Then we focused on what worked in our unique yard.
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cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
6 years ago
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

A.A. Milne
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ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
6 years ago
It helps to have passions. Mine are books, art, antique Chinese porcelain, Oriental rugs and English country house interiors with eclectic touches. What about you? Can you verbalize what's important to you? Can you identify what attracts you when you look at pictures of interiors? This all sounds very cut and dried compared to what you've written, but you have to have something concrete to start with. Once you can identify something that works, the rest of the journey becomes easier.
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aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
I appreciate your responses, more than I can say..it's too late to answer right now..I also think it would do me good to take it in, you know? to take some time

and then I'll try to verbalize..well, something))
aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
..just a short thought before i fall asleep because i'm afraid I'll loose it upon waking up..which happens a lot (actually I'm the best when I sleep lol ..lots of creative potential. all gone in the morning)

I know I suck at explaining, but this is not about the theme or even about the words. ( I know I did ask for words-I meant references, hints..like a catalyst for my thinking. obviously we all think differently..yet some things, you can see with more clarity..or put it in a way that's new to me.and it's a road to enlightenment, sometimes)

it's about the metaphor. I thought-what's the difference? well theme, or naming something, well, does define. and closes a bit at that

a metaphor-it doesn't close. it opens. it can be constantly re-interpreted. it doesn't end..it leads to more things

since my husband is a very verbal person-yes I do believe finding one will help tremendously. maybe it should be our metaphor, not only mine.

and yes, I do have tons of visuals saved (and books -I have lots of books), I know what I'm drawn to, sometimes I know too well, and sometimes I find out..and I have some strong passions too.

OK I send myself to sleep for now..

Thank you again, so very much..I already have my wheels turning..:)
seagrass_gw Cape Cod
6 years ago
Your wheels turn well, April. I always know I'm reading your posts even not looking at your name. Wish I still had my mojo for decorating my home. Have been too ill to put any time/effort into it for several years and it depresses me. I'll be interested to follow your stream of consciousness. Maybe I'll find a spark.
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palimpsest
6 years ago
I am a strongly verbal person as well as visual/analytical. Not verbal in the sense of talking, I can go for hours without saying anything, but in vocabulary---and I am not sure that I could verbally define or come up with a metaphor that would explain my style outlook very succinctly to someone else. Maybe it is "analytical and appropriate", because there is no way that I could design or decorate the interiors of the house I live in now, the same way that I could when I lived in a building built in 1838 (even though the vast majority of furniture and art is the same in both houses). Try explaining that to someone: that the houses need to look completely different with all the same contents.

But that's because the interior architecture ( which to me includes kitchens, baths, millwork, hardware, (wallpaper and window treatments)) always always needs to respond to the house that it is in, and the furniture to some extent can then fall where it may.

(There are some exceptions because for example we have a few pieces of family Victorian stuff that is big and ungainly and looked okay in the old house but won't work at all in the new one, mostly because it's too big).

But I think trying to come up with a metaphor may actually be limiting to some extent because you may start trying to decorate to fit the metaphor rather than using the metaphor to describe the décor.
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blfenton
6 years ago
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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Jane
6 years ago
I don't know about a metaphor, but for my house I relate to lighthouse, treehouse, water, docks, decks, open space view. That translates to blues and greens, white for openness, minimal furniture, height, views of trees and sky. Probably doesn't help much.

Inside my favorite room I have lots of blues with a few red accents indicative of a lighthouse. Outside I have decks at height.

I can see the winnie the pooh style fairly clearly in my head. Garden cottage, some open space, pastels mixed with a few browns, maybe some typography or not, books, animals, grass, hills, boulders, rounded thin lines, soft edges, ....
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nicholsworth Z6 Indianapolis
6 years ago
aprilneverends..I saw this expression years ago and thought I have that.."option overload"..I like and appreciate lots of things..too many..but I'm a good decision maker and realize that I can't have everything..I limit myself a lot..was shopping with my sister and she said "isn't this pretty?" and I said "yes but I don't want it"..my goal now is to simplify..but I still want to love what I have..
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IdaClaire
6 years ago
I agree with Pal that trying to come up with a metaphor may impose unintended limitations, and you don't want to do that of course. It sounds to me as though you seek to establish a "language" that your husband will understand when you convey your ideas to him regarding your home. I can understand a desire to do that, but I think that's where one should be careful. Communication is so highly nuanced, even between partners who otherwise feel they can read each other's thoughts. No matter how well you think you can convey and he can absorb, you're still two very different, unique people and you will always have different perspectives and varied experiences.

I guess what I'd like to say most of all is this: Don't overthink it.

Speaking for myself, as I become more settled and confident in who I am and what I have done and am doing in this life, I become more accepting of the way that my surroundings reflect me. Oh sure, there are times when I survey it all and wonder just what the heck one would call this style of nest that I've created, but I don't think it's of great importance. The nest is, by necessity and nature, a very organic thing that will continue to evolve. I want to be more about embracing the evolution, and just finding outright joy in the process, than getting bogged down in the details of how to describe it.

Make sense?
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Anglophilia
6 years ago
One doesn't need to write down what ones style is, just look for things you love! If one loves something, it will most likely go with other things one loves. I'm still amazed at how I am drawn to certain colors, style motifs and they all work together, if not in the same room, in an adjoining room.

I used to advise a new client to go to a local newsstand and buy a bunch of shelter magazines and then clip the pictures that spoke to them. As we went through all those pictures, a theme always emerged. Now one can do this online - SO many web sites with tons of pictures. If one makes ones mistakes in ones clipping file and not in real life, this is a very good thing! I still clip from magazines to which I subscribe, and about every 2-3 years,I go through my voluminous files and discard pictures that no longer appeal to me. There really are fewer and fewer, the older I get, as I no longer am drawn to something "cute" or "whimsical" which I was 30 years ago. I tend to love things for the long haul now.
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yeonassky
6 years ago
Seagrass so very sorry you struggle with illness. I know I can never
fully understand but I do sympathize. I was bedridden with chronic
migraines that left me dysfunctional on all levels. It took 30 years of
my life. I found techniques that work for me and have helped my son
marginally. I hope your answer is around the corner for you.

Sorry to hijack Aprilneverends. My thought though I'm no expert is
if the colour or shape or texture or size complements what you want to
match then you can fit it in. Of course Jane said that in the first
post and others followed. :)
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Boopadaboo
6 years ago
You are sweet yeonassky - and I am glad you found a way to cope. I wish you energy and healing seagrass.

Aprilneverends - this was really great - thank you for starting this thread. I am really struggling with my latest house. so this is helping me too.

I like what Pal wrote" But that's because the interior architecture ( which to me includes kitchens, baths, millwork, hardware, (wallpaper and window treatments)) always always needs to respond to the house that it is in, and the furniture to some extent can then fall where it may." and I think this is EXACTLY what I am struggling with.

If I had bought a contemporary, or an old home, I think it would be easier. But, I have a 30 year old sort of colonial with a semi open floor plan in the back of the house. it is kind of like a tree house to me though with the views and the way it is on the lot, but that does not lend itself to a style either! It took me like 3 months to get one bathroom done or at least the main elements picked out. And I do LOVE it! and to me, it feels like it has always been there and that the house likes it. BUT, what kind of furniture goes with treehouse colonial? I have no idea. starting a thread on my family room next and I am totally at a loss. I still love the house though, and spent a bunch of time sitting on the front porch this weekend. so peaceful. now I need to get my inside peaceful.
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aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
no, yeonassky you're not hijacking, not at all

actually it's very much ..it fits. and-what can be more important? I am very sorry too

PS everybody said very, very different things:) which is cool-that's why the thread exists

still thinking..or rather, taking in..

I know what I love, I love what I've got, I love many other things too..I know them when I see them(the problem is-easy to see things nowadays lol)..I know how to fit it, I have the most of things in place(almost all actually..it's just me craving more art, let's be honest), I think they are sensitive to the house and they do reflect us..it's just that I thought that I'm settled and content and lo' and behold-I'm probably not. And I won't be, because I'm struggling stuff ..so when I stop struggle then I'd become content I guess

but I can't afford to stop struggling

thank you guys

your responses are very dear to me
suero
6 years ago
I have a style. I don't know whether to call it "deferred gratification" or "messy." I know what I would like to have, and I'm willing to wait to find the right item, but in the meantime, I live with the mess.
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Yayagal
6 years ago
There is no stupid question, we all learn from one another and I appreciate that you included us on your journey. I understand what you mean. To put it in words is not easy but I can put it in to feelings. When I reach the point that I've made a home what is in my vision and heart, I'm content. At a certain age I ran out of the need to go any further. It was about 65, I have all that I need and more and now I devote time to others and that makes me more content. It's all about how you feel, I really don't care if any one else doesn't like it. I own it and love it.
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Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
6 years ago
Would the concept of chiaroscuro touch on something for you? I hear you wanting to explore and incorporate more emotional shades in your decor- and I may be thinking too much on your previous post about the picture of Judith- but an emotional chiaroscuro comes to mind- using the dark to highlight the light in a sense.
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OutsidePlaying
6 years ago
You mentioned Alice in Wonderland. Have you ever just googled Alice in Wonderland art? Take a look at some of the art and maybe let some of that be an inspiration. Not all of it is dark, but rather interesting, bright and fun ('Every adventure requires a first step', 'sometimes I've believed as many as 6 impossible things before breakfast'). And many unusual images of the White Rabbit, Cheshire Cat, and other characters. My friend and neighbor, who is an artist, has captured a lot of these characters in a weird, abstract form, so I've seen 'Alice' from a different perspective through her eyes. Keep looking and being inspired.
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User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago

I didn't read any of the other responses. Here is my opinion and only mine ☺️

I know EXACTLY what you are addressing. It's where I was a number of years ago. Before divorce. I had a lovely home, fairly ordinary, but nice. I also had a husband and seven kids. Plus a bunch of pets and family and friends and stuff. I loved my home because it had all of those elements. But that home wasn't me.

after a long winded go around that included my kids all grown, husband as a he now a she, and the family home sold, I moved all the way across the country and bought a little townhome. All mine, payed cash (real estate in California is HOT and Charleston SC not so much).

i brought very little furniture with me. I did bring art work that I had collected over the years (ex took great pleasure in letting me know it was financially worthless, but that wasn't why I bought any of them. Idiot). I lived in this little place, on an air mattress for about a month. And started ordering online.

without any distractions I have been able to figure out what I like. Only what *i* like. No one else. I did so much online window shopping. I figured out at I don't like the soft white light bulbs, I prefer bright daylight ones. I LOVE white flowers and am pretty good at arranging them too, so I buy $12 worth almost every week. I have a pretty good eye, I am told and my little place looks like me. I don't have a name for it, likely quirky. I am a bit OCD so everything as a home and I am doing my best not to accumulate. I ended up with a major leak and mold and was able to find a contractor to replace all the wood floors. I knew I like distressed vintage and went with the wood look matte tile. I LOVE it. My bedroom is exactly the place I want to get to every evening, bright, Aqua, white bluey/green/turquoise, all me.

it has been so much fun. I haven't been to a brick and mortar store through all of this. Houzz, Joss and Main, Overstock have been excellent. I bought this home, sight unseen. It is working out quite well (but I do miss my grown kids)

some flowers
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User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Ingrid,

fabulous. I don't have a space but I could see making one ☺️
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hamamelis
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
No insights to offer. I just wanted to express my appreciation for an approach that is very different from mine but that excites awareness that we don't all respond to the world, or even decorating our homes, in the same way.

My approach is not metaphoric at all, but very simplistically based on things that please me without introspection. Books as both symbol and reality of the good life. Sunshine because it makes rooms feel alive, happy and inviting to me. Shelter for comfort. Connection to nature, because lack of it is...a very sad lack (but views of people can be a facet of nature to me). The dimension of time for the richness and depth it adds.

I have the impression that searching for and finding a metaphor for inspiration could carry an approach deeper and define it more profoundly -- or impose counterproductive constraints -- depending on how well employed. I love some of the responses that I believe are in tune with you. Best wishes, and hope you continue to follow your "muse" to a very individual (but probably always evolving, "redefining" style) destination that feels very right while it is right for you.
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aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
OK..I'm hesitant to answer, because..you know that point in conversation when you don't want to spoil it? Like in a book, I guess..not to add something that shouldn't be added..

Also you all know how bad I am in writing short posts..:) And if I'm answering everything-no one will be able to even read through the thing..

Yet I'm very grateful since I did organize my thoughts a bit..and I think I should say it..I'm very grateful..

Rita, it's interesting you mentioning chiaroscuro...as I do find myself less..scared of dark and light, black and white..started to introduce them, bit by bit..

Spanish I get what you say..about things that are actually in the head rather than in the house as it is.."my" house wouldn't be on this continent-so even this makes it yes..things in my head, to a certain extent..

OutsidePlaying if I think about it..yeah..we even had an Alice in Wonderland party at some point..I still have a big big key and a small small porcelain rabbit..:) (quite tasteful, not cartoonish interpretation by the famous St Petersburg porcelain manufacturer..the name escapes me but everybody knows it..anyway..it was so small it was affordable..and easy to pack..so we bought it there and brought with us..) interestingly i can't find the pics from the party..but we did paint the roses...:)
aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
..so..the house is some sort of a fairy tale already. I'm into animals and florals from a very young age..actually wanted to be a zoologist, or rather-zoopsychologist..that said until we started organic chemistry lol..then I understood I'm too dumb to be in sciences..

but I've been fascinated with them all my life. If you throw a name of an animal to me-yeah, I'd probably have it somewhere..fabric, ceramics, plates, netsuke(I collect...but only animal ones), sculptures, paintings..well can't remember an armadillo..:)

And yes some animals-most of them are weird a bit..:) Like a small horse with wings, or these plates and mugs from Iittala.

I'm into fabrics and patterns-florals and ethnic patterns..that's because I love travel, places, people and their cultures..languages..I'm infatuated by it all..of course I have my own culture strongly represented too, and the places from my country I cherish the most.,but I do bring things from everywhere.

I love books..yes, I still have fairy tales wide in the open..)) I've got many. I love poetry. I love legends. ballads. If I'm seeking for music on YouTube-it will be ballads..and folk..or something that tells a story..

And I love portraits..and the more I live the more I love portraits

And Ingrid, yes..it starts with art for me too..

So..I was thinking about everything that was said, and looking around me..it's already a fairy tale of sorts..it won't help or is not needed as much to re-define it..it's who I am..not going to change..

Louise I read your post..yes..it's a different situation, very different..but the world is crumbling a little bit..just in a different way. But it changes..hence this inner drive inside..

Seagrass..that's what holds me, well one of the things that hold me-all this design and decor stuff..not even for my own place but in general. It's sort of an escape..somewhere you can dream and..I don't know..it's important to dream. On my good days, I'm dreaming. Wishing. On my bad days, I don't..

I wish you find your spark..

Making steps is easy, standing still is hard(c). I know a lot about that. It's very hard to stand still..

So..I feel so bad not to answering everybody personally..but be sure-if I don't-it means I'm thinking..thinking hard..

I have the fairy tale(not quite a good name but let's leave it) going on already..it won't stop. the question is: how scary my fairy-tale is?..will be?

And why it's important for it to become moodier and scarier?

Maybe because I'm ready to take it out..instead of this Dorian Gray thing going on..:)

Thank you, thank you, thank you
aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
one of my friends..she's a photographer..she asked whether she can come and shoot my house..I told her "Gladly but we moved it's unfinished yet."...she said "so what" and she came..she's still working on the pics..so she's sending them to me bit by bit..

I'll share a couple..different rooms, different mood..

that's dining..and yes, I was very unsure about this pendant..I know it's a bit childish maybe? but omg, does it make me happy

and here's one of the nightstands in the master bedroom( I kinda thought she'd shoot wide lenses and all that, and she did..but she was very much into details..and I'm, like "ok..she's a photographer let her do what she likes.."

the light doesn't do justice to the portrait which is extremely meaningful to me..even me showing it on a public forum..that's a big big step..

that's the portrait..

OK.. now I feel I reciprocated, even if just a bit..you were too kind..:)
cpartist
6 years ago
Looking at those photos wants me to see more.
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User
6 years ago
Oh my....I adore your style. And you certainly have style! That pendant is...perfection.
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User
6 years ago
May I ask, what is your home culture, where you came from? No worries if that is too nosy, just tell me to shhh. And yes, this world is crumbling just a bit.
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l pinkmountain
6 years ago
Couple of thoughts: first for Aprilneverends. I'll tell you what my chemistry teaching assistant told me when I told him I was too dumb to learn chemistry. "You're not too dumb, you just haven't found anyone who can explain it to you in a way you can understand." He managed to do just that and I got a B+ in the class. And became a scientist and I'm not that smart! Well, I became a science teacher determined to eradicate the notion that to do science you have to be a super human brain. Just because some scientists are geniuses doesn't mean they all are, and some are quite ignorant in other areas and don't know as much as they pretend to know even in science. Everyone's a scientist, to some extent. But I digress . . .

As for my style, I have taken to calling it "curatorial" because there is this whole set of design books on the "curated home" which I became aware of here. I am in the process of combining three homes, mine, my parents and my significant other's. So I am "curating" it because I can only keep what I really love and what means something to me, I don't want to have just "stuff" sitting around, I don't have the space or the desire to see it. On the flip side, I'm pretty darn sentimental, so I have to really think hard about how to fit all that I love into my surroundings. But that makes for really interesting decorating, IMHO.
aprilneverends thanked l pinkmountain
aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you..

Not too nosy, since I mention it plenty of times, here and there..

I was born in Kiev, Ukraine, the former Soviet Union.. as much as I felt I've moved on-we left when I was 18..this Maidan revolution in 2014 and everything that's followed was hard on me..you see, my childhood home overlooked Maidan( that was of course called differently, and I must say looked much much nicer then..it's like these urban planners compete how to make it uglier, really)..anyway when you see the place you were born, saw from your window, walked every day.. place that was your home..burning..you suddenly understand that you didn't move too far..

and no, you can't predict, until something like this happens.

I really thought it's part of me, of my past, integral part, but not a home anymore. Israel is my home.

we moved to Israel.. I spent there many years..then my ex got transferred here..I was hysterical and didn't want to go yet I went..very young kids, family..you know..

then they transferred us back

I was so happy

still wasn't a walk in the rose garden..as much as my previous employers loved me-they didn't hold space for me..:) so looking for new job and all that..you do start again, even if you left for some time and went back

you still adjust.

even when everything around you spells home. And Israel has this thing about it..you change, it changes, yet it's the only place on Earth that gives meaning to me being there, besides just being with the people I love anywhere else

I won't say it's a Garden of Eden, yes? it can be downright scary..the bombings and all-I wasn't there(actually came to take care of my Mom, also in 2014- but they didn't get to Haifa then..was too far for their missiles..)..but I lived in Jerusalem through two intifadas..you understand that every day is a dying day(c)..yet you know..you continue..because -where else? and you have to stay human. there are two sorts of death, right?

This is a very strange, magical place. People go crazy there. We even have "The Jerusalem Syndrome"..:) that some tourists get..need to be send to a hospital for some time, take meds you know..they start thinking they are Messiahs..

It's too old and seen it all. Jerusalem I mean. It doesn't care about you. And the sky is amazingly high there.

But you can't stop caring about it.

When I'm in Israel and it so happens I didn't go to Jerusalem-I feel I didn't fully go..

so.. sorry about the big lyrical off top..when my ex's bosses decided to send us here again I was very sad but less panicky..I thought "ok they're going to send us back again, as they did the first time"

and then everything unfolded differently

so..as they say in Russian fairy tales "for longer for shorter"..for now I'm here, and listen, I love it too. It's been many years already..I lived on two coasts..I think 7 years(altogether) on the East, and probably 7 on the West? goodness..time really flies

I love West Coast much more

first, it reminds me of Israel. The sky is high here too..:) and other things

second, I'm plainly happier. on some important accounts

but I will always want to go back

If somebody translated Joseph Brodsky's poem(no.. he never been to Israel and never wanted to, and didn't feel any connection as per his interviews.. but since he was a genius poet he just knew certain things I guess...that's a poem about a desert)..in short if I find a good translation-I'll post it..the link I mean

ok..that was really long..:)
aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
ok..I found it..it's called "An Admonition", and I of course think it's much better in original..the poem is too long, so here's the part about the desert

"When you halt in the desert, make an arrow from pebbles, so,
if suddenly woken up, you'll fathom which way to go
in the darkness. At nights, demons in deserts try
travellers' hearts. He who heeds their cry
gets easily disoriented: one step sideways and-well, c'est tout.
Ghosts, specters, demons, are at home in the desert. You
too will discover that's true when, sand creaking under your sole,
all that remains of you is your soul"
User
6 years ago
Thank you. My home will always always be Ireland. I have lived in the U.S for more than thirty years. I still hold my EU passport. I moved from the west coast to the east just a few months ago.

again thank you. You are a gifted writer.
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One Devoted Dame
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
"so if something rings to you like it can be applied to me.."

Yes... *me.* ;-)

This most certainly won't help, but you and I are sisters, in many ways. <3 Which you already knew. <3

Not sure that the answer you seek has a name, or can be quantified. Some things are just Mysteries, and can be appreciated and loved for what they are, without full understanding.
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Lars
6 years ago
I've gleaned a few bits from this although I have not read all of it as carefully as I should have, due to the possibility of getting an overload, but it does inspire me to make a few comments, and do appreciate your sharing so much of yourself and allowing us to get to know you better. Most people here feel like strangers to me, as they keep so much of their own identify secluded.

I love Russian folk tales and started reading them in German before I read them in English. I found the English translations to be extremely edited, and so I decided to translate one story (Prince Ivan and the Evil Sorcerer) from the German, so that more details could be included. Then I learned some Russian and found a Russian version of the story that was even more detailed, and I added that to my translation. I also have a large collection of Russian DVDs (from 1970s movies) of folk tale stories. Furthermore, Dostoevsky is one of my favorite authors.

Concerning metaphors for style, my own style I consider to be a mix of primitive tribal with abstract modernism. I think those two mix together well. We have a lot of my brother's paintings in our house, and he considers his style to be Romantic and narrative, although he went through an abstract phase earlier in his career. I have a fascination with ancient art, legends, and mythology, and I share an interest in science fiction with my brother, but I do not get into the comic book version of it to the extent that he does.

I was born in Texas and always wondered why, as it never felt like home to me. I am much more at home in California, but I also felt at home traveling through Mexico and especially in Italy and in Vancouver, Canada. I do not feel a strong identity as American - that is a mere accident of birth. Next month we are going to Brazil, and I'll see how I feel there, and I am anxious to visit Greece.
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User
6 years ago
Legends and mythology are abundant in Ireland. Stop in on you way to Greece
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aprilneverends
Original Author
6 years ago
I have so much to write to you guys I'm afraid to start..so I'll hold for now..just to say..it's a pity you can "thank you" only once..because I feel like so much more..
1929Spanish-GW
6 years ago
Thank you for sharing your story.
aprilneverends thanked 1929Spanish-GW