Desiderata

Art historical retention and research. Art writing. Critical thinking. They are like any other learned skill. You need to continually practice them or they start to fade. Then when you finally get the courage to put pen to paper you've got scant to say and shit similes . Well, I'd like to start out small. I'm giving myself two weeks to write about a new artist every day. Someone up-and-coming, maybe even just finishing their MFAs. There are two reasons I'm choosing to focus on young artists. The first is that there is limited reading that one can do on an artist that maybe just graduated college. They are not in history books yet. They probably have a website and links to reviews of their senior project. I need to regain the skill of inferring, analyzing and dissecting works of art based on the visuals and available context alone. I need to remember what it's like to do original research. Maybe I'll even reach out to the artists personally. Young artists ar...

Ahhh, the first day of spring. I love it. This morning I woke up at 7:30, bleary-eyed, but determined to keep up this early morning thing. After wandering around my apartment for a few minutes, I opened up the paneled blinds that look out onto our patio. It was a gorgeous day! I decided in a split-second that I was going to run to the ocean and get myself an iced coffee and a green juice. I started running, but my lady-body hurt so badly I simply couldn't continue. I felt a little angry at my boobs for a while, but took a deep breath and decided to change my perspective. It was still a beautiful, bright morning and I was already outside. I had brought my Kindle with me so I read Game of Thrones as I walked all the way to the beach. When I got there I loved how busy it was in the morning down on Ocean Ave. People were already well into their days, and there was an exciting energy all around. Spring fever? Actually, it wasn't until I got to work that I real...

This morning I read a few great chapters from  A Storm of Swords . I love how George R.R. Martin handles complex topics like faith, religion and loyalty. Each chapter is named after a character and told in third person limited perspective. Because of the dire circumstances in The Seven Kingdoms, the passages frequently focus on their relationships to faith. Whether they worship the old gods or the new, the Lord of Light or the Nameless Other of Darkness, each character and their respective peoples' theologies are informed by where they were raised, what they were taught, as well as their present circumstances. With so many variables, it's impossible that everyone would share the same beliefs. Ser Davos is first and foremost a knight, which means loyalty to king and country prevails over all else. He was raised to pray to the old gods and even under great pressure from the priestess Melissandre, he sticks to his beliefs and counters her sermons with personal strength and sp...

"We might remind ourselves that criticism is as inevitable as breathing, and that we should be none the worse for articulating what passes in our minds when we read a book and feel an emotion about it, for criticizing our own minds in their work of criticism. --T. S. Eliot ( Tradition and the Individual Talent, The Sacred Wood, 1921) Last night we gathered together to read Marie's play. It's not finished, but what it lacks in an ending, it more than makes up for with its heart, voice, and tenacity. I'm seriously proud of Marie for creating something so intriguing, so insightful and so interesting (for lack of a better word). I won't go into any details about the plot/theme/characters here--I'll let you find out all about that once it's inevitably picked up by some super-reputable theater company. Magic reentered my life last night, you guys. That magic smell of freshly sharpened Ticonderoga No 2s. The magic feeling of hitting print on your FinalEssa...