My last post was several months ago and also featured mirrors. I have collected an assortment of mirrors along the way. There is something about the dispersion of light and intimate view of the material world–the metaphors around reflections. Since the author Milan Kundera recently passed away, I watched again the popular late 1980s movieContinue reading “Mirrors and a Hat: unbearable lightness of being”
Category Archives: Creative Life, Artists in the World, Lastingness
Enough: poem, biking, bonfire
I picked up this little red book of poems of big ideas by Diane di Prima (1934-2020) at the airy bookshop/cafe Fitz Books. Originally published in 1971, Revolutionary Letters remains relevant, such as this letter #17 . . . we will all feel the pinch there will not be a cadillac and a 40,000 dollarContinue reading “Enough: poem, biking, bonfire”
Pandora’s Box: horror, guns, and sadness
A hundred years ago Gertrude Stein wrote one of her truisms that speaks to this moment: There ain’t no answer. There ain’t gonna be any answer. There never has been an answer. That’s the answer. Carrying on as an artist is nearly impossible as mass shootings mount up around us. Without time to process theContinue reading “Pandora’s Box: horror, guns, and sadness”
Flags: for fun and spirit
Memorial Day marks the the first “holiday” of the summer season. It’s a solemn day of honoring those who died during military service–not really a rah rah Happy Holiday kind of occasion. Yet, as a child, I recall flags, parades, marching bands, and the first big cookout of the season. Due to the pandemic lastContinue reading “Flags: for fun and spirit”
Lastingness: more on “before and after”
A few years ago, I read Nicholas Delbanco’s, Lastingness: The Art of Old Age (2011). The profiles of “tribal elders” whose art thrived in later years is one part of the story–what stuck with me is the idea of endurance in art, the ability to carry on with it in addition to earning a livingContinue reading “Lastingness: more on “before and after””
Haiku: write three simple lines
We attended a class in Haiku poetry a few years ago. The approach from school days always stuck with me–write three lines of five syllables, seven, then five again. I have written a few through the years, but took more interest after the class. Tim and I have each written in journals, attempted essay andContinue reading “Haiku: write three simple lines”
The Underground: our basement studios
Transitioning work spaces from bright open second floor lofts to a dark basement was the tradeoff part of our move. In order to have the spacious surroundings outside, we opted for this change. The underground is loaded with cosmic symbolism. According to musician, Frank Zappa: “The mainstream comes to you, but you have to goContinue reading “The Underground: our basement studios”
Seasons: weather can be entertaining
We began living here the week before Christmas and had a big snowfall that weekend to give us the full lake effect of snow. These views from out our windows were endlessly inspiring. I made frozen ice “Charms” to hang outside from moulds of flowers and greens inside a heart-shaped pan. Everything becomes novel inContinue reading “Seasons: weather can be entertaining”
Hash Tags: labeling and naming,
I play around with different hashtags on Instagram. Lately, I have been using a few of note: #notpainting, #ordinarymagic, #lastingness, #artful. Life in transition remains creative and productive in different ways. I take a lot of pictures that represent the way I connect with things here and now. Ordinary and artful domestic life has dominatedContinue reading “Hash Tags: labeling and naming,”
Moving: one of the top five stressors in life
We have each moved quite a few times in our lives. This is my 25th. Tim had just about as many–living all over the country as a kid with a father in the Navy, including a time overseas. I moved just once during childhood–to another home a mile away when I was 10–this one timeContinue reading “Moving: one of the top five stressors in life”
cottage industry 