I strongly believe, that the right people and resources find you at the right moment for you, and I really appreciate this synchronicity of the universe :o). Therefore, I am not surprised that it is while I am preparing for my exhibition that I came across the first video about Rick Rubin and his ideas about the creative process.

Rick Rubin is a record producer, who, over the years has worked with musicians such as Adele, Eminem, The Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chilly Peppers, Slayer, Metallica, Johny Cash and has won more than one Grammy award. Being an interesting character, his approach to creation is also extremely unusual, but infinitely effective and close to the world of the creator.

Continue reading Rick Rubin and his book “The Creative Act” at Acrista Cafe.

“The thing we label as talent is not a single ability. It is a complex mixture of motive, curiosity, receptivity, intelligence, sensitivity, good teaching, perseverance, timing, sheer luck, and countless other things.”

“Serious painting is not something that can be learned casually. You must be willing to sacrifice many other things.”

“I regard my disasters as invitations to learn more.”

“Art happens in the mind of the person seeing them.”

“Don’t reject difficult ideas simply because you fail to grasp them immediately. Put them on hold until you do, then decide.

Continue reading Quotes from “Alla Prima”, Richard Schmid at Acrista Cafe.

Two of the surprises for this year’s birthday were a fun contrast: the first one was a Pocketbook (I have officially joined the e-readers) and the other was two incredible poetry books that captivated me both in content and in polygraphy.

If I were to describe Atticus’ style (which, like Banksy, expresses themselves solely through their art, without sharing their identity), perhaps “modern haiku” would come very close to my sensations, though not all of the poems are short. As for the books – this is how I imagine books must look today in order to want to own them on paper in this digital age: a masterly piece of work, with attention to detail, varied and original design, flawless quality and so tactile I wish to go through their pages again and again.

Continue reading Atticus’ poetry at Acrista Cafe.

For me, books have been an especially satiating pleasure since my childhood. Thus I have a ritual for almost every birthday – I gift myself so many books I barely manage to take home. however, lately on several occasions I discovered that I didn’t feel the familiar wild enthusiasm for books and I am struggling to choose even one I want to by.

Whether this is a function of information overload, my filter is getting narrower, the overwhelming abundance on the bookshelves rebuffs me from the onset… I don’t know…

But I do know that when something truly amazing comes up, the delight is absolute.

Continue reading “La part de l’autre” by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt at Acrista Cafe.

I started reading Aneta Savova’s book on a sunny November Sunday, immediately after Women.Speak.Live Forum where I had bought it.

With cup of hot coffee in my hand and background of fragrance of apple cake with cinnamon I had just put into the oven. From the first pages I was enveloped by a feeling of peacefulness and authenticity which (I know as a person who had been writing for years) comes when you express yourself in written words and share your personal story… The way we communicate today due to the constant rushing, the huge amounts of information for processing and discussing almost doesn’t allow us to go below the surface – into the deep (where I usually find it most interesting), thus the written pages are like a gift through which I get in touch with unknown sides and experiences of the person who writes.

Continue reading “The Woman I Created” at Acrista Cafe.

I came across a presentation of Helen Russel a couple of years ago while I was browsing in youtube about the life in Scandinavia. She is a British journalist who moved for a year in Denmark after her husband received an offer at Lego. Thus her first book is born: The Year of Living Danishly.

I have suspected for a long time that my husband a I have something Scandinavian (minimalism, aesthetics, love for a simple and modern design, respect of the aesthetics in the public environment too, which unfortunately is a lost cause in Bulgaria, instinctive attainment of the now popular hygga – the home-made coziness with several candles and a warm blanket), thus, with great joy, I found out that The Year of Living Danishly was published in Bulgaria.

Continue reading “The Year of Living Danishly” at Acrista Cafe.