July 31, 2008
well earned respite...
July 30, 2008
ideas in the ether...
the creative process...fascinates me...to non creative types, it can look like...magic...for me, it's about...habit...and...passion...and paying attention...
case in point...ms scribe...
she's the only natural artist i've ever known...she started painting/drawing at age 4...i'm talking about images with an innate maturity and confidence...i wish i had images to show you...let's put that on my to do list...
anyway...like i said, Amy's a natural...she's formally trained and educated in many media...yet her work comes from an unconscious place...this piece for example...
this was a custom job...she had three weeks...and a description...flower cocktail ring...she went through three different versions until she got something...that felt right...that's how she works...by feel...from her heart...
which brings me to this point...we went to the philadelphia museum of art today to see an exhibition of jewelry by Alexander Calder...an artist known primarily for his sculpture...
as we walked through the exhibit, Amy and i were astounded by how comparable Amy's work is with Calder's...not just because they use some of the same methods and materials...
spirals...swirls...stars...flowers...
"Although it is less well-known, Calder's work in jewelry fits smoothly with his wider oeuvre, according to the show's curator, Elisabeth Agro.
"The jewelry is not a separate thing he did," Agro said. "He did it alongside everything he did. It's another aspect of his sculpture."
Agro says one reason Calder's jewelry is less familiar is that the artist made the pieces mostly for family and friends."
it's uncanny...
case in point...ms scribe...
she's the only natural artist i've ever known...she started painting/drawing at age 4...i'm talking about images with an innate maturity and confidence...i wish i had images to show you...let's put that on my to do list...
anyway...like i said, Amy's a natural...she's formally trained and educated in many media...yet her work comes from an unconscious place...this piece for example...
this was a custom job...she had three weeks...and a description...flower cocktail ring...she went through three different versions until she got something...that felt right...that's how she works...by feel...from her heart...
which brings me to this point...we went to the philadelphia museum of art today to see an exhibition of jewelry by Alexander Calder...an artist known primarily for his sculpture...
as we walked through the exhibit, Amy and i were astounded by how comparable Amy's work is with Calder's...not just because they use some of the same methods and materials...
spirals...swirls...stars...flowers...
"Although it is less well-known, Calder's work in jewelry fits smoothly with his wider oeuvre, according to the show's curator, Elisabeth Agro.
"The jewelry is not a separate thing he did," Agro said. "He did it alongside everything he did. It's another aspect of his sculpture."
Agro says one reason Calder's jewelry is less familiar is that the artist made the pieces mostly for family and friends."
it's uncanny...
July 27, 2008
new terrain...new words to contemplate...
just as the hearts of others deals with...love, sex, and death...the new thing i'm working on seems to be an attempt to view those same themes through...an awakening sense of spirituality...
don't run...this is an exploration...not a sermon...
so...acknowledging that i am by no means the first person to consider this approach to telling a story...and that the estimation of...the level and/or presence of my talent...is untested...at best...let's add some context to to the discussion...
i first came across this combination of themes in William Burrough's Cities of the Red Night trilogy...The Western Lands in particular...
it is here that he most fully describes his Seven Souls concept...
a concept inspired by Norman Mailer...
how does any of this inform what i am working on...not much...except...it forces the question...what is the nature of the human soul...where does it come from...and where does it go...
as a man who doesn't believe in heaven or hell...and because i'm obsessed with questions of mortality...i've spent a long time thinking about this...the new story is, in part, an attempt to illuminate some of my thought...
which brings us to language...because it is the foundation of thought...i've had to expand my lexicon in order to expand my thinking...
so...in no particular order...some new words, and their meanings...as an introduction to some of the new themes i am working on...
theism...
noun
the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities. There is also a narrower sense in which theism refers to the belief that one or more divinities are immanent in the world, yet transcend it, along with the idea that divinity(s) is/are omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.
pantheism...
noun
a doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.
polytheism...
noun
the belief in or worship of more than one god.
misotheism...
noun
is the "hatred of God" or "hatred of the gods". In some varieties of polytheism, it was considered possible to inflict punishment on gods by ceasing to worship them.
(thanks to mr Murray for providing the impetus for my research)
don't run...this is an exploration...not a sermon...
so...acknowledging that i am by no means the first person to consider this approach to telling a story...and that the estimation of...the level and/or presence of my talent...is untested...at best...let's add some context to to the discussion...
i first came across this combination of themes in William Burrough's Cities of the Red Night trilogy...The Western Lands in particular...
it is here that he most fully describes his Seven Souls concept...
a concept inspired by Norman Mailer...
how does any of this inform what i am working on...not much...except...it forces the question...what is the nature of the human soul...where does it come from...and where does it go...
as a man who doesn't believe in heaven or hell...and because i'm obsessed with questions of mortality...i've spent a long time thinking about this...the new story is, in part, an attempt to illuminate some of my thought...
which brings us to language...because it is the foundation of thought...i've had to expand my lexicon in order to expand my thinking...
so...in no particular order...some new words, and their meanings...as an introduction to some of the new themes i am working on...
theism...
noun
the belief in the existence of one or more divinities or deities. There is also a narrower sense in which theism refers to the belief that one or more divinities are immanent in the world, yet transcend it, along with the idea that divinity(s) is/are omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.
pantheism...
noun
a doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.
polytheism...
noun
the belief in or worship of more than one god.
misotheism...
noun
is the "hatred of God" or "hatred of the gods". In some varieties of polytheism, it was considered possible to inflict punishment on gods by ceasing to worship them.
(thanks to mr Murray for providing the impetus for my research)
July 26, 2008
weekend wrap up...
two things...
first...i joined this group...book-in-a-week...the objective...to write as many pages as you can in a week...you set daily page goals...and report on your progress...their motto...BIC HOK TAM...butt in chair, hands on keyboard, typing away madly...i'm optimistic...here's why...
this adds accountability to my process...at least one week a month i have to produce or fail...and then stand by the results...
i enjoy the solitary nature of writing...yet...i've always been frustrated by my inability to connect to a community of writers...there is a long list of reasons why this has not happened...most of them are mine...book in a week is my latest attempt to get over it...
second...
this week at my new job...i worked with this temp...a 21 year old serbian immigrant...a good kid...hard worker...diligent...enthusiastic to...do the work...newly engaged...fascinated with dubai architecture...and tricked out cars...
and he knows the price tag on everything...and the value of nothing...you can be sure he will turn up somewhere in my writing...
first...i joined this group...book-in-a-week...the objective...to write as many pages as you can in a week...you set daily page goals...and report on your progress...their motto...BIC HOK TAM...butt in chair, hands on keyboard, typing away madly...i'm optimistic...here's why...
this adds accountability to my process...at least one week a month i have to produce or fail...and then stand by the results...
i enjoy the solitary nature of writing...yet...i've always been frustrated by my inability to connect to a community of writers...there is a long list of reasons why this has not happened...most of them are mine...book in a week is my latest attempt to get over it...
second...
this week at my new job...i worked with this temp...a 21 year old serbian immigrant...a good kid...hard worker...diligent...enthusiastic to...do the work...newly engaged...fascinated with dubai architecture...and tricked out cars...
and he knows the price tag on everything...and the value of nothing...you can be sure he will turn up somewhere in my writing...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)