leaning towards a cyclical nature.

thinking a lot about andy goldworthy during these sunny fall days.

remember that time we danced in the foggy exploding stars?

here i am, once again feeling terribly lucky to have such remarkably radical friends!!

i can't begin to describe how overjoyed i was this afternoon to receive this AMAZING record of last years librAwesome californiAdventure.. sent to me by the one+only mr. multi-talented danny sangra, my newest libro birthday week buddy+bestE's future forever, who has wowed me full-tilt in oh so many ways+certainly again today with his impeccable video documentation skills.

it's just simply delightful to see the still images i've been processing, since our return last october, come back to life in real time...
[also kinda wild that it's been nearly a whole year since, and it's almost time for our 2nd annual;]

i hope you enjoy it nearly as much as i do!
xL

p.s. i strongly suggest watching it full screen..it's way better that way;)

celebrating 10 years of NYC today!

today marks the 10th anniversary of my move to manhattan!

i arrived on thompson street with all the dreamy dreams of any first timer in the city...with lofty visions of my fabulous future as a fashion fotographer...eager to start work as NYLON magazines first foto intern and as it turned out their very first street style fotographer..

in the years between a decade ago and today my path has diverged, away from fashion fotography and further into fine art....

but here i am still straddling the two communities with this upcoming solo show, "the distance of dreamers", presented by my dear friend SFK at the ROGAN store on september 16th...where we will be celebrating and articulating the importance of colorful beauty within our collaborative community --a project that was born and has grown organically out of friends in both fields of fashion and art.

i'll take this opportunity to publicly say that am equally thankful for all the luck i've had and all the mistakes i've made since my move from santa fe at 21...
it started off as very bewildering time (still so thankful my bff cedez made the move with me that semester!) and one that proved a little scary (to be here during 9/11) +yet one that was truly a crash course in city life.
whereas now, not at all.
this is home.
it is nothing, if not still a waking dream.

thank you all for your support and encouragement.
i feel fully blessed!
cheers/danke/ciaociao/namaste!!
xL

annnd here is the official press release for our event:

September 16th, 2011 ROGAN, in collaboration with SFK Accessories, presents a night of fashion, music, art & photography. “The Distance of Dreamers'”, curated by Katharine B. Barthelme, features new photography and paintings by Louise Ingalls Sturges. This unique shopping event celebrates the official launch of SFK Accessories, including the limited edition SFK+ROGAN/ Loomstate collaboration. Music will be provided by DJ Lane (evr.com) and Jill Bradshaw. Delectable treats by Uyen Uyen & FooFoo C.C. Please come toast another NY Fashion Week goodbye with us!

For the ROGAN/LOOMSTATE+ SFK camera straps collaboration series, Sarah worked closely with ROGAN and Loomstate on this project. They came up with something unique by using more industrial chain and salvaged materials such as denim, Mexican blanket, and rope.

About SFK:

SFK is an accessories brand founded in 2010 in Brooklyn, NY by former Teen Vogue Accessories Editor, Sarah Frances Kuhn. Currently, her line consists of her incredibly chic, yet functional camera straps. All pieces are handmade with the finest materials in her Brooklyn studio. SFK has quickly become a favorite amongst some of the most well known names in fashion, such as Susanna Lau (Stylebubble.com), Eva Chen (Teen Vogue), Phil Oh (Streetpeeper.com), and Fiona Byrne (Naag.com). She was recently named "One to Watch" by both NBC's fashion website and ThreadNY, and featured on Vogue.com. SFK also exhibits a wide range of photographers in her online gallery; the first one is Louise Ingalls Sturges.

About Louise Ingalls Sturges:

Brooklyn based artist, Louise Ingalls Sturges is creating an ongoing archive of her life. She documents her friends, lovers, family and surrounding social landscape in an effort to preserve the now, straddling both the joys of youth and responsibility of adulthood. The power of her photography is lead by an uncanny understanding of American iconography. Sturges transforms the viewer into a confidant, inviting us to be her companion as we bear witness to an ever-changing generation in search of the real.

About ROGAN:

Founded in 2001, ROGAN combines soulful minimalism with traditional quality. The men’s and women’s collections are founded on an intellectual design approach that combines spartan utilitarianism with modernism through progressive and unorthodox shapes and constructions. The collection continues to blur the lines between traditional and experimental, historical and modern, rural and urban, and finally clothing and architecture. Inspired by mid-century modern art, Rogan works with the contrast and interplay of black and white to create strong graphic statements throughout each collection. Extensive and ongoing research and development yields innovative form and traditional function in every piece. This combined with careful attention to detail in construction and finish creates seasonal collections that are at once timeless and completely modern.

The ROGAN Bouwerie shop, which formerly housed the Bouwerie Lane Theatre, is inspired by the street-level culture and energy of downtown New York City, of which the Bowery has always been emblematic. This, combined with the recent surge of design-driven development on the Bowery set the stage perfectly for the ROGAN shop.

it does pass us by, but we drew closer as the dawn encroached.

i've been scanning like a madwoman for over a week and have LOADS of new fun stuff to share but for now all you get is this post-souk expedition group shot from tiznit.

xL

she's leaving home.

it's a big one y'all!!
tomorrow's BE NICE is dedicated to rex in effex!!

my lady mercedez is moving to the farm in mere weeks...which is both a most obviously joyous and exciting time as well as deeply bumming me out in a selfish best friend fashion.
she's taking the marlow and daughters principles on the road upstate for bee keeping and chicken cooping IRL....but before the farm girl time, she'll be dancing and sparkling in the way that only she do.

ontop of bestE best fun we've got a brilliant dj line up for all your ass shaking, booty dropping delight!

AND we are delighted to announce the hot to trot duo nicole and lisa from COURT as our gorgeous co-hosts!!
not only will they be there in person but they are raffling off a pair of sweetASSED COURT JEANS!!

so, see you THERE suckas!!!

let's be honest, it's gone beyond bicoastal curious.

archives: from one moon mama to another, 16 years of faithful endeavoring.

gayatri.
full moon: 1996.
nicole. 1996.
+me on nicoles amazing old volvo. 1996
(in my old vintage levi's+first turquiose)
old thelma+louise shot.
in rachels impala.
2001.
my first fashion shoot with cedez.
(what got me hired at NYLON in 2001)
15..."it was fun!"
end of the year photo one report.
(+still not retiring.)
paris. 1994.
(the first foto i was proud of. )
first self portraits.
1994.
(guess i would've been a teen blogger after all)
hippie halloween.
1994.
+lastly,
just this little picture of one alexander wang (as j.Lo in a missoni onesie)
chelsea gayboy party: 2004.

i've been working on this graduate school application for awhile now. as part of the prep work, i've been looking back through+organizing the archives of the 16 years of my very documented life...
i've got LOADS more where this came from but i figured-given that i blasted this jam with words yesterday-i should probs put up some fotos to balance it out.

hope you like'em..

now back to writing/synthesizing.
xL

our hair was white, the grandma fur was wet+we laughed stumbling through the bitter taste of cold.

cedez+i had a wonderful tromp in the snow last night....i've rarely had the experience, if ever of walking on completely fresh, unmarred snow in nyc...
in conclusion, existential talks+snowday walks-tuesday was a true fact-delight.

in other news,
i've been listening to a lot of this cass mccombs song:
"i went to the hospital"
..................in which he sings, "i wanna be famous for falling in love."
to which i say, what a great romantic/artistic/narcissistic lyric.

might even say it's influencing this artist statement in a nice melancholy fashion..

(as it pretty well vibes with some existential leanings of mine: see simone de beauvoir-my new favorite existentialist. [p.s.why didn't we learn about her rad chica shit in philosophy!?!])

anyhoo, have a listen if you've never, or it's been awhile.


oh+mikes's highly anticipated circa 2010 mixes, ***smoke***+***mirrors***, showed up in the mail this week!!! (click on those links to see brandon's full break down+mike's best/worst albums of the year)
(with some very familiar fotos as album art:)

thus, i'm delighted to be able to introduce you (or remind you if you're cooler than me) about these two great jams i've got on repeat:

pepper rabbit "none shall sleep"
+
bear hands "what a drag"

+in case you're curious about what goes on in my head during the art making process, i thought i'd share some recently googled research topics:

ritual
pop art
nymphs
ideology
narrative
witchcraft
mythology
shamanism
on the road
woody allen
existentialism
thelma+louise
dazed+confused
transcendentalism
social anthropology

time keeps on slipping....and them's aiyght facts by me.

one last time.....
let's get groovy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!