CATS AND LION HEADS

... knock six times on the lion head and free the cat inside you...

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Cats were put into the world to disprove the dogma that all things were created to serve man.

                                                                                                                           Paul Gray

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

 Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

                                                                       Eugene O`Neill

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

 If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way.

                                                                                               Mark Twain

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

 A cat will be your friend, but never your slave.

                                                      Theophile Gautier

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Today`s invitation: awake your inner cat...

There are days when we can allow ourselves a little game only girls can play:

being tamed, yet elusive at the same time...

After all, that`s why we love cats so much...

WHAT IS A WOUNDED BODY?

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

My youth began when I was 21. At least, that`s when I decided it began. That was when I started to think that all those shiny things in life- some of them might possibly be for me.

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

If you think 21 sounds a bit late for youth to start, just think about the average dumb Chinese peasant, who leaps straight from childhood to middle age with nothing in between. If I was going to miss anything out, it was middle age. Be young or die. That was my plan. 

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

People always say it`s harder to heal a wounded heart than a wounded body. Bullshit. It`s exactly the opposite- a wounded body takes much longer to heal. A wounded heart is nothing but ashes of memories. But the body is everything. The body is blood and veins and cells and nerves. A wounded body is when, after leaving a man you`ve lived with for three years, you curl up on your side of the bed as if there`s still somebody beside you. That is a wounded body: a body that feels connected to someone who is no longer there. 

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

I recalled what Huizi said to me: „Fenfang, never look back to the past, never regret, even if there is emptiness ahead.“ But I couldn`t help it. Sometimes I would rather look back if it meant that I could feel something in my heart, even something sad. Sadness was better than emptiness. 

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

I am 17 and it is a sweltering summer morning. I open the creaking shutters and look out at the hills. Rows of sweet patatoes stretch into the distance. The silent fields shimmer in the heat. I contemplate the pale clouds collecting in the sky. It`s time to leave. The unforgiving sun is melting my youthful body. I tell my 17-year-old self:

Fenfang, you must take care of your life.   

20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo 

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

How to break away from the bonds of the collective consciousness?

How to build up an individual mindset without hurting yourself to death along the way?

These are the fundamental questions which torment all of us, not just Fenfang, the Chinese peasant girl who tries to answer them in a fresh, honest and in-your-face way.

If you want to beat your prejudice about the Chinese people and be reminded how hurtful, yet liberating it was when you were only 21 Invitation To Inspiration assures you- this is the book for you! 

MEDITERRANEAN ARCHITECTURE...

This is why I can say that architecture represents my life. I am convinced that it is the most beautiful profession, because it allows you to see and get to know the world, understand cities clearly, not just from a point of view of buildings but from a more profound social perspective.To become familiar with a city, it is essential to capture its soul, its essence...
I have always been fascinated by the sequence of spaces produced by Mediterranean architecture; ambiguous spaces of inter meditation between architecture and the city, where the limit between the building and the street almost vanishes. Public pathways which are converted into lobbies, terraces and patios, combining different dimensions in order to stimulate emotions. 

                                                                                           GUILLERMO VASQUEZ CONSUEGRA 

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

There's something magical about small Mediterranean  places in the winter and early spring... There are no tourists, only empty spaces waiting to be filled with the thundering voices...This is the time which Invitation To Inspiration finds the most inspiring...

We visited BETINA- village located on the Croatian island of MURTER and we were smitten by the beauty of this place...

  

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

photo by Invitation To Inspiration

 ...only empty houses and lonely, romantic, courtyards waiting for their owners to return from crazy and hectic cities to bring them back to life...

Invitation To Inspiration in photo-action by KLARA MATJAN

Invitation To Inspiration duo want to thank our lovely friend KLARA MATJAN for being such a warm and wonderful host who made our trip to Betina so much more comfortable and fun! ( Darling, you're the best photo-companion ever...)

photo of  ITI by KLARA MATJAN

JUST A PERFECT DAY...

Just a perfect day, problems all left alone,

weekenders on our own,

it`s such fun... 

                                       Lou Reed

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

 We`ve been told that perfect days have become utopia...

They have become a rare kind found only in old books and movies...

We have decided not to believe it!

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

The search for a perfect day was so easy...

The recipe is quite simple: step outside into the warmth of the first day of May,

take your best friend by the hand and visit the beautiful corners of your hometown.

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

A tall and scowl lighthouse, agave fighting the rocks over who jabs harder and turquoise sea caressing the shore, calming down the spiky fighters- the most beloved cliff in our town was the perfect setting for our perfect day. 

via

Perfect days and perfect places are to be treasured as they were rubies and emeralds on the bracelet handcrafted by a nameless Turkish gentleman...

Photo by Invitation To Inspiration

A pair of matching souls breathing in the sudden rush of Mediterranean summer:

Invitation To Inspiration`s perfect day!

IN THE MIDDLE OF RUINS...

This absolutely stunning house called HOUSE OF RUINS has been designed by Latvian architects NRJA ( NO RULES, JUST ARCHITECTURE ). It is is located in Latvia on the coast of the Baltic Sea. 

Invitation To Inspiration loves the idea of CONTRASTS! 

• wind from the sea is opposed to the warmth of the family
• perfection of glass is set against rough surface of the old stone

Who wouldn't want to live in the house which provides modern life comfort and quietness of the nature which we love and need so much. Especially if we know that our new modern house is build inside the 19th century ruins of traditional Latvian barn. As you may have noticed by now, Invitation To Inspiration loves when architecture finds dialogue between old stone architecture and modern structures. And another thing- what we love about this house is the feel of mystery and an amazing cultural and historical background it possesses.

We are always inspired by interesting textures and material combinations! 

 

 We love how the ruins make it a private estate, yet the glass house makes the whole living space open and airy.

THE HOUSE OF RUINS by NRJA won 

• the Grand Prix at the Latvian Architecture Prize Ceremony (2005) 
• the Best Technology Award by the Interior Digest Magazine (outstanding implementation of a project using contemporary construction, constructive and electronic technologies, 2006) 
• was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award (2007).