I remember a few years ago, in New Orleans,
I bought a carton of strawberries at the Farmer’s Market.
I had become somewhat ambivalent about them over the years,
having eaten far too many over-inflated, pale and watery mutants
with no flavor to speak of. They left me disappointed and thinking that
strawberries weren’t really ever as delectable to eat as they appeared to be…
The box I bought on a whim literally brought me to my knees.
I think I might’ve actually cried! I had never in my life really tasted a strawberry before!
I can’t describe how perfect they were, but needless to say I went back
the next week and bought an entire flat. We devoured the juiciest ripe
strawberries on the veranda all summer and our hands and mouths were always
sticky and red. I haven’t had any that good since. We tried our hand at
growing them last summer, and man are they cute! Not so flavorful though, alas.
(Click on this + the one below for a larger view!)
This is one of my favorite summer uniforms:
A printed seersucker sack-dress with a vintage leather belt and
20′s heels. Perfect for extremely hot weather, and making everyone
smile in the grocery store- or so I discovered. I think bright red makes
people feel happy- I know it does for me! I also discovered that wearing
red lipstick helps you concentrate and feel focused! Sounds quite kooky,
but I promise it works! One night we were all playing a hot n’ heavy
round of dominoes, and I felt my clarity waning. I put on some lippy,
and offered it around- everyone’s game improved dramatically.
True story. I wear Ruby Woo by MAC- it’s the perfect red, hands down.
I love this piece by Claire Morgan. It’s called “Fluid”- taxidermied crow
and strawberries collide, fatally + forever. The berries began to blacken
and molder after awhile! I’m not sure how long it was installed for.
I hope eternally, as I like to imagine the shriveled strawberry mummies
swinging on their nylon strings and perplexing people.
Discovered via Lau via Siege via etc.
I recently stumbled upon a wonderful photographer: Séverine Pichon.
Her self-portraits are very moving and mysterious.
I just love these images. They are some of her simpler ones,
more dreamy. I want to walk in those woods and explore
that little cottage. What’s inside there? So curious.
“Strawberry Fields Forever” is still one of my favorite songs.
I have such vivid memories of listening to it as a child,
having elaborate picnics in the living room, drinking pink tea
and wearing heart-shaped sunglasses. Not much has changed, really.
Look at this! Who made it? It reminds me a bit of Katy Horan’s work-
could it be hers? I’ll be writing more about her soonly- she lives here in Austin!
(Photo by Brunifia)
I want to be drinking this right now. In lieu of that, here are some
pretty red songs for your pretty red heart to swoon over:
❦ These Eyes Are Berries – Múm
UPDATE:
I totally forgot about this awesome print by Liza Ferneyhough aka Stellarbaby,
who happens to be one of my favorite illustrators! I am totally addicted
to her sweet gocco prints. She’s going to send me one of the mutant strawberries!
I am so excited- aren’t they bizarre and magical? Are they a result of genetic
tampering, or elfin engineering? I like the one with the thorny green seed spikes.
Oh yeah, and check out her strawberry corset! So jealous- want my torso to be a berry!
Also, y’all- I was just thinking about how I was forbidden to have
Strawberry Shortcake dolls. I don’t know why, but my mom hated them.
I was only allowed to have International Barbie too- so I had
Spanish Barbie and Eskimo Barbie. They were pretty great though.
One time I got to borrow my friend’s Strawberry Shortcake doll
for a weekend. I have a very vivid memory of deeply inhaling
the synthetic strawberry scent from the doll’s glossy hair
while listening to my dad squawking away on his first set of bagpipes.
My mama hated those too, and eventually forbade them as well-
so it was a moment of verboten enjoyment for us both!
xox!
15 Comments
I love that photographer! Gorgeous!
you are so beautiful, my friend. and after seeing you this week, i was so inspired and lifted just by being around you (i’ve been going to barton springs pretty much every. day. since we went). you are just wonderful. big hearts.
and yes, strawberries! i am sure you have been to boggy creek farm, but i want to go so badly, the freshest of the fresh! i want to pick the fruit from the vine!
(yes, i am a bit tipsy. ignore my ramblingssss~!)
So true! Red lipstick does help you concentrate, and Louisiana has the sweetest strawberries in the world..possibly even the universe. I’m so happy this begins my Sunday! The music and lovely photographs are much appreciated!
I love that installation — I like art that decays or is otherwise necessarily impermanent.
i just looooove strorbries! i’m gonna send you a strorbry print, this post made me so happy.
speaking of crows and strorbries, my friend jen made me a ring that looked kinda like this buckle: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23470328
i like to pretend the crow is a grackle.
CHOOOOP! ree ree ree reeeee
more strorbry gifts from friends that appeased my well-known fetish:
a skirt
a corset
happy summer, angeliska!
yours in strawberry solidarity,
liza.
You look beautiful in the red dress against the green landscape.
Thanks for introducing the piece, “Fluid” – simply incredible. I’d love for it to rain down juicy-ripe strawberries. That would be preferable over the heat we’re having.
.THEE red song: http://blip.fm/profile/lucian/blip/2887356
yesssss. we went strawberry picking yesterday and i made the best biscuits with a ton of butter and also fresh whipped cream and we ate proper shortcake (not that sponge cake nonsense) for dinner 2 nights in a row.
you are so right about the taste of real strawberries! it is unlike anything else in the world- and nearly impossible to recreate. i tried growing some this year as well, but sadly, they weren’t even close to what i was hoping for.
p.s. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3395/3665629874_d6764104ba.jpg
I love the twenties style heels! And, thanks for including the bit about Séverine Pichon … her work is beautiful!
I have been in france and norway during the height of strawberry season and thank my lucky stars every day as i devour them by the cute little wooden barquette full. In France they are even two kinds of strawberies the regular cute little alpine ones called les fraises and the divine elongated kind called, les garriguettes. In the states I am also dismayed by the tasteless giant sour hard things called strawberries. But Mark never eats them, ever, he says he hates strawberries. In france he changed his mind to the extent that he developed hives! Perhaps not surprisingly the strawberries we bought along the road in the north west fjords in Norway were even better than the french. They were incredibly perfumed with a spicy floral taste. I don’t know why we can’t have them in America, it’s criminal.
I, too, am so spoiled from farmer’s market strawberries. After tasting what REAL strawberries should taste like, it’s hard to go back to buying the subpar versions from the store. Such a thorough tribute to strawberries…very cool.
hi! fancy gum lady here. i actually went to walmart and bought a pack of this new gum, they had really seductive commericials for it of fruit exploding and all that so i just had to. it’s really good. if you want we can exchange addresses here or through e-mail, whichever you’re more comfortable with. i haven’t done a snail mail package in a while with someone so it’d be wonderful. x
ps love love the strawberries. had a salad today prior to fireworks that consisted of spinach, strawberries, toasted pecans goat cheese and light dressing. to die for!
What can I say? You did it again, you have totally delighted me with this strawberry theme.
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[...] it together, slap on some red lipstick and towering heels and go meet the world head on. I believe I’ve written about the mystical powers of the perfect red lipstick before, but I’ve got to say it again: if you feel blue, cloudy-headed, or lacking in clarity (and [...]
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