FIG. I · Louise Dahl-Wolfe, for Harper’s Bazaar, June 1944. Shown as reference.

THE HOUSE OF SEA JOURNAL

A FAMINE OF BEAUTY
Reporting on the restoration of human vitality

01/ THE JOURNAL


I'm Beginning to Think Consciousness 
Loves Surrealism
And why I think the eccentric ones 
were wide awake.

I just read Water Moon by Samantha Sotto while on a water bathing immersion in Ischia, staying inside a castle that housed both an art gallery and artist studios. Which, in retrospect, feels like exactly the kind of setting this book was meant to be read in.



The novel begins inside a pawnshop that is actually a portal into another world, and without giving too much away, Samantha’s imagination carries you into places that feel both fantastical and strangely emotionally true.



READ MORE






02/ THE JOURNAL 
In The Presence of Red Lipstick 
A Mini-memoir and historical 
sharing of what I believe red 
lipstick to be: A Threshold


I remember the exact moment it happened. It was cellular—an undeniable turning point in how I would move through this life.



I was eleven years old, standing in front of the mirror, studying my reflection and contemplating how one might uplevel a Catholic school uniform. I had been at St. Hedwig’s for about a month—my new school, chosen by my parents for its “better education,” though there were other, very practical motivations at play. Namely: the promise of one outfit a day, every day. No more morning rituals of me perched on my bed while my Dad held up clothing options like royal offerings, waiting for my verdict...



READ MORE









03/ THE JOURNAL 
Cocteau’s Secrets of Beauty 
A selection of declarations from 
Jean himself

I’ve been going down a beauty rabbit hole lately and let’s just say — I have no interest in climbing out. At this point, I’m digging deeper.





I’ve been immersed in Secrets of Beauty by Jean Cocteau. A marvel. In Pierre Caizergues’ foreword, he reminds us of Jean’s book about Jean Marais, with the lines below.



READ MORE





04/ THE JOURNAL 
Normalazing L’dance
Filed under things that make you feel alive

I come from people who dance.

A mother who was an artist and a dancer.
A father who is always the first one on the dance floor at weddings. I call him the man that returns to joy fast and this is a perfect example. He comes from Alice and John, who, among other notable attractions, found their romance on the dance floor. This was back when romance still felt innocent, when you went down to your local Elks Lodge in the early 1920s



READ MORE




05/ THE JOURNAL 
Reimagining What Deserves Ceremony 
Deepening our relationship with the ordinary 

It’s summertime, and I’ve let my lackadaisical ways linger a little longer.



I’ve decided reading poetry is one of the boldest things one can do if your intention is to slow down. I almost think of it as tai chi for the mind.

After my morning meditation, I’ve started spending twenty minutes with a single poem. Well...I’ve managed it three times in the last couple of weeks (small steps).



READ MORE




06/ THE JOURNAL 
Conversation Canopies 
On meaning, stories and the 
architecture of an inner life

For the last few months, I have been carrying around a single sentence from Muriel Rukeyser’s poem The Speed of Darkness:


“The universe is made of stories, not atoms.”



It has become one of those sentences that can shapeshift a life. Well, that is the sensation I experience when I say it over and over again. 



READ MORE







01/ THE JOURNAL 
A Letter to Old Friends and New Ones


Hello there…Some of you are new here, and some of you have been here for a little while.

And some of you may remember me from a newsletter I wrote over a decade ago through my glassware company, Bib & Sola. Back then, I was writing about many of the same things that continue to captivate me today: beauty, water, art, nature, atmosphere, and the small rituals that make a life feel more alive.



READ MORE