Monique and I have done a number of collaborations, and we loved her suggestion of shooting some new pieces in her beautiful new organic space, here she tells us more.
We created this story in Amesbury MA, where my partner, Caleb and I, are living. It's a small town on the Northshore. We photographed in the building that we have been renovating for the past year and a half. We live on the second floor, and have been finishing the ground floor the past few months. It will be a showroom space where we can welcome our community for art shows and other gatherings. The space is called F.B. Keene, which was the name of the hardware store the building once housed.
If you had to name three things that have shaped your method of creative expression, what would they be?
The number one thing that shapes my creative expression is how I consider poetry as a living act. I look for things in my daily routine that could be a poem; this includes making up our guest bed when friends are in town and placing fresh cut flowers on the bedside table, cutting vegetables for a salad with intention, listening to a jazz cd while i drive out to the beach, mending a pair of jeans by hand stitching, anything that transports the mundane into the magical realm. Seeing poetry in new mediums helps me to keep my creative expression fresh in my work.
What is inspiring you right now?
The colors of Luis Barragan homes, growing food and flowers, candle stick holders that Caleb makes on his lathe, and Monty Don.
Are you a morning or evening person?
Right now it's all about the evening. Just having passed the summer solstice, I have been spending long evenings in the garden and watching the sunset from my allotment. My friend Alice encouraged me to start gardening this year and I’m hooked. Sometimes Caleb & I will just have ice cream for dinner when I get back from the garden.
Do you have any rituals that you never fail to begin and end the day with?
Lately I go to bed thinking about the next morning’s whole milk cappuccino that I have been making at home. I love ending the day with a bath, even in the summer. I love the feeling of swimming in the ocean in the evening and going home and taking a bath while I read.
What are you looking forward to do this year? Travel within the US or international?
Caleb & I are traveling to Nova Scotia this summer for a wedding, & have opted to take a sprinter camper van up and extend our trip to stop along different sites on the way. We are looking forward to hiking, swimming in the ocean, and eating seafood in mid coast Maine and Canada.
What are you currently reading and listening to?
Listening to Sinead O’connor & Patsy Cline CD’s in my car from our local record shop, Mel’s. I’ve been reading the creative act: a way of being by Rick Rubin. It's short chapters lend itself to morning reading and often spark reflection on my own creative process.
How do you stay grounded?
The most effective way for me to stay grounded is to spend as many minutes of the day outside as possible!
Do you have a favorite recipe that remains a constant in your repertoire? If so, please share it with us here.
Caleb started making Panzanella salad for me when we first started dating and we have been eating it ever since. We get our sourdough bread locally, and use different herbs and vegetables alongside the tomatoes (which are starting to peek out from my garden!). It's a dish that is meant to be made with whatever is in season and have fun with it (add stone fruits or cheese and any combination of herbs you desire) the leftovers hold well in the fridge and make a great breakfast!
Here is Calebs recipe:
Tear bite sized pieces of sourdough bread (a bit stale is best). Toss with olive oil and salt
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until a nice golden brown.
2 large tomatoes (Save all the juices!), 1 large cucumber, 1 bulb sliced fennel all cut into bite sized pieces and added to large bowl
Chopped Herbs! We like dill, parsley, chives
Add the bread to the bowl
Drizzle of olive oil, pinches of salt, drizzle of balsamic reduction and lemon juice all to taste.
Can you tell us what your favorite Two Dawson item is and why?
My go to is the Rita pant in chalk. I love them for lounging in the morning with my coffee, as well as wearing them to the beach, and even dress them up to eat out in the summer. They are so comfortable, the perfect shape, and can be worn so many ways. I also always have the Meetra top in my suitcase for travel, its a perfect layering piece.
Items featured: Desert Rose Quilt, Chalk Quilt, Ochre Duvet, Ochre Pillow Cases, Sylvia Dress Soft Moss, Classic PJ Top Chalk, Euro Embroidered Pillow Case White, Euro Embroidered Pillow Case Chalk, Fitted Sheet Soft Moss, Soft Moss Pillow Case, Rupi Boxer Shorts Desert Rose, Sea Salt Pillow Cases, Soft Moss Duvet Cover.