Recommended Reading / 56.

Every Monday, words to start the week.  

This week, from The Atlantic: an article by Julie Beck on what exactly constitutes adulthood. Are we adults when we've reached a certain age? When we've accomplished specific goals? When we're married, or mothers, or making it financially on our own? As Beck says, "Society can only define a life stage so far; individuals still have to do a lot of the defining themselves."

Says an OB/GYN featured in the piece: "I think the answer to 'when do you become an adult' has to do with when you finally have acceptance of yourself. My patients who are trying to stop time through menopause don't seem like adults even though they are in their mid-40s, mid-50s. My patients who seem secure through any of life struggles, those are the women who seem like adults. They still have a young soul but roll with all the changes, accepting the undesirable changes in their bodies, accepting the lack of sleep with their children, accepting the things they cannot change."

Fascinating. Read the story, here. Photo via my Instagram.

A few more, just because: 

-A library of pigments.
-Artists in their beds (including a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor and her pet chipmunk, Nibbles).
-10 Objects Around Your House That Are Actually Just Tilda Swinton Getting Lost in a Role.
-From Gillian Flynn: "The point is, women have spent so many years girl-powering ourselves—to the point of almost parodic encouragement—we've left no room to acknowledge our dark side. Dark sides are important. They should be nurtured like nasty black orchids."

Wishing you a very happy Monday. More recommended reading, here.

Author Unknown.

I recently stumbled across Artist Unknown, an online archive of found photographs—little did I know I'd spend the next hour sifting through its posts. What I love about the site is that its images are sorted into categories, so that each entry is a collage of eras and locations, linked by a common theme. Below: Mirrors, Jumping, Long Roads, Happy and Glow.

Visit Artist Unknown for much more, including Headgear, Couch People, Dancing, and TV. Thanks to MessyNessyChic for the introduction.

2016.

Back in Brooklyn after ten days on the road—seven in LA and another three in Austin (where, ironically, it was colder than it was at the time in New York). Though the Monday after the holidays is always a little rough, I'm happy to be here, where I look forward to sharing more as the year unfolds. To start, here are a few photos from a recent shoot and Q+A I did with Urban Outfitters at my apartment, just prior to the holidays. During the interview, I was asked for my thoughts on resolutions—as I shared then, I've never been one to make any. My only wish for this year, and every year, is to be surprised at where it takes me.

Four days in, I'm not disappointed.

Find the Q+A, here. (Also featured: the amazing artist Elise Peterson, who I had the pleasure of interviewing this fall, and photographer Emma Jane Kepley.)

 Photos by Anna Ottum. Have a wonderful Monday—and happy new year.

Happy Holidays.

I'll be spending the next ten days or so on a little holiday—resting, reading, (hopefully) writing, and most certainly spending some quality time with the wooly creature pictured below. Very much looking forward to returning January 4th (after ringing in 2016 in Austin!) with new stories. In the meantime, wishing you all a warm and wonderful end to the year—and a happy start to the one ahead. Here's to new adventures, always.

Some reading for the break:
-The year in volcanic activity, YouTube, and cakes.
-Hand-knitted treasures made by New York City grandmothers.
-Loved putting together The 20-Something's Guide to Glassware.
-Philip Pullman on embracing the cold: "...if we wrapped up against the cold, we wouldn't feel other things, like the bright tingle of the stars, or the music of the Aurora, or best of all the silky feeling of moonlight on our skin. It's worth being cold for that." (Thanks, Stephanie.)
-And lastly, favorite POVs from 2015: on rotations, happy surprises, and feeling human.

See you in a few days, and many thanks for reading. As always, sharing this space with you has added so much brightness to my year.

Photo by Max Wanger.

Isaac Nichols on Sight Unseen.

I interviewed Brooklyn-based ceramicist Isaac Nichols for Sight Unseen earlier this fall, spending an unseasonably warm morning in his Greenpoint studio near McCarren Park. I was already a fan of his famous "boob pots", having seen them in shop windows around the city for months, but I hadn't known anything about his story prior to our meeting. As it turns out, ceramics are a relatively new endeavor for Isaac, who was once a fine arts student and began experimenting with clay amid frustrations with his formal training. Now, his pots have found an audience among creative spirits far and wide. They've even become part of a larger feminist discussion, garnering praise for their realistic shape.

Says Isaac, who likes to listen to Thoreau as he works, "I still have a hard time thinking, ‘Here I am, the boob potter.’ But I’ve been trying not to worry about whether this is the direction I’m supposed to be on. Because before I found success in this, I put a lot of emphasis on, ‘Oh, I don’t do this. I don’t do that.’ And I missed out on a lot of life."
   

Read the interview on Sight Unseen. Photos by Emily Johnston. More from Isaac, here.