4 Feb 04
My resources--time, energy, money--are still in conservation mode, for now. This is beginning to change, but through most of July, I'll still have about four hours a day for productive work, and a slightly funky sleep schedule. That's okay. I need this time to relax, process, and regroup. I'm giving myself through the "Art Unravelled" event for this. Right now, I'm reaching out to find my kind of stuff, here. I've decided not to let the voice with no face--that's what I call someone on the radio who makes fun of people with my accent and many of my values--intimidate me into remaining in that oh-so-familiar reclusive mode. His is one voice. He does not speak for everyone here.
Aside: This experience has actually been very educational. I've realized that those of us with public voices--even if it's simply at LiveJournal.com--whether we're saying anything of merit or not, tend to be heard as speaking for a/the group, whether we do or not. I need to keep this in mind when I voice my opinions. Sarcasm can be more insidious than I realized. When it's Oscar Wilde or P. G. Wodehouse, it can be delicious. When it's modern-day social commentary in an "us v. them" mode, regardless of which side it's on (one that I generally support or oppose), it's... different. I may laugh at the time, but... I still seem to integrate it literally. Sort of like affirmations, but dangerously askew, y'know? (I acknowledge that my cult indoctrination may make me more vulnerable than most, in this respect.) Humor can be a fabulous catalyst, though... I'm still thinking this through. Like, Denis Leary's humor is probably in this "us v. them" category, too, but I think that he challenges me to think in good ways... so what do I do about that...? I need to cognitively set my personal boundaries, and this will take more thought. LJ's "amphoteric" started me on this line of thinking, with one of her recent posts on a similar dilemma. And, I think that this is important to me, too. I'm also realizing that one person's opinion, when said to suggest that "Everyone knows...," or "We all think...," can be internalized at face value, when it might be just that person's opinion. I had to deal with this on a smaller level when I first moved here, but I hadn't applied it, first person. I think that I need to.So, anyway, reaching out... I've discovered BurnAustin.org, the Texas Burning Man event. While I won't get there this year, 2005 is likely. I found out that there are Texas artists with "post-paint" visions, at an Art Papers review. Since privacy is an issue for me, I learned that my NH drivers license coded info about me, apparently readily readable, but my Texas license's code is not so easy to crack. (I couldn't get a scan of my NH license to work, btw. I'd love to hear if others are successful with their licenses. And yes, I asked Swipe to tweak mine to see if/what they read from it.) Rolling along with this morning's discoveries... While I'd learned years ago that the "paper or plastic" issue was pretty much six of one, half a dozen of the other in terms of general environmental impact, I hadn't stayed current with more recent studies. Now, I've learned that Ireland taxes most plastic grocery bags at 15-20 cents-per-bag, and countries such as Taiwan have outlawed their free distribution altogether. Irresponsible littering and the inks used on plastic bags have now tilted the scales towards paper, or even better, reusable fabric bags. Or, reuse the plastic bags that you have--if you can. They're admittedly flimsy in most cases. I discovered that someone else has been integrating the ghost theme into art, for example with this Winchester Mystery House digital art piece. At the same Situationist website (tenbyten.net), I found a cool design for a cool, cardboard night table. It reminds me of storage ideas in Readymade magazine, but even cheaper. Mind that sharp cutting tool, of course. But, also from 10 x 10 magazine, I like the idea of creating art on those business reply cards that fall out of magazines when you're trying to read them. I'm going to do a bunch of them this week, Cheap Art Manifesto style, and put them at my Aisling.net website for sale this weekend. Any that don't sell, go into the mail as-is. Today, I found myself challenged by the ideas at the blackout arts collective, when they state that, "The cultural and artistic expressions of communities of color have long been that generating force in the shaping of the arts in America and around the world." I paused. My leading influences--as artists--tend to be white men from the 19th and sometimes 20th centuries. Bonnard. (Bonnard technique trivia, probably of interest only to painters.) Monet. Hockney. Bantock. But... then I looked at what drives me to create my more original (and sometimes less popular) pieces: Morocco. Africa. The Rom. The Celts. All of them are, or have their roots in, color. Interesting. Anyway, that's the direction of things today. It's 42 degrees in Houston this morning, which is chilly here. The sun is shining, and it's a good day!
Wishing you rich and creative days filled with dazzling inspiration,
What I'm reading right now: Utne magazine, and PanGaia magazine
What I'm listening to right now: Fleetwood Mac's 'The Dance'
What I'm watching right now: The Matchmaker
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---
did you eat today? help people who didn't
But... what I especially support is Walt Disney's vision. The way it used to be...
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