Rachel Zeffira: Poetic Memory inspiration

I'm in the midst of writing a third artist statement for my Poetic Memory series. Most series have a snag: usually it's an artwork that takes a long time to resolve. For this series, the statement is my biggest challenge. My new habit of keeping regular office hours is now one month old and I continue to enjoy it, a big surprise. It's in this time slot that I am sitting with the Poetic Memory writing and I'm giving myself as much time as I need to set down the words that will express the essence of this series. Yesterday, to help the writing, I listened to most of my Poetic Memory soundtrack and Rachel Zeffira's Here On In was among the songs. I hope that patience with the writing process will pay off ... the sooner, the better.

Video: Bomba Estéreo

via Lynda Barry on The Near-Sighted Monkey, with thanks!

If the corners of your mouth are sagging with the weight of gravity, this video will move them up. I've already watched this video four times and I'll likely watch it again. 

Studio and office practices

Today, the day after Labour Day, is my equivalent to New Year's Day. It's a season of fresh starts, new opportunities, and recovery from holiday busyness. Earlier this year, Claudia at Proper Tension recommended Gretchen Rubin's book about habit formation Better Than Before. I've been reading it slowly over the past two months and the lessons are sinking in. The one habit that I'm flirting with this season is to establish better office practices. This includes filing, keeping my work surfaces clear of clutter and dust, and to schedule regular office hours. When I graduated from NSCAD, I dedicated three mornings a week to office tasks and the rest to the studio. Over the past few years, my office work has become more erratic and it's time to change this. The Tom Sachs video (via Austin Kleon) coupled with Better Than Before motivated me to overhaul my office and it's now a thing of beauty.

This week I realized that I function better in a neat and tidy office but require a bit of mess in the studio (as long as my tools are put away). Fellow creatives, what works best for you? Feel free to comment.

Videos: Waylon Jennings

#sounds of summer 2016

Video: Jennifer Castle

#sounds of summer 2016

Videos: Andrew Bird

#sounds of summer 2016

Videos: Cage the Elephant

#sounds of summer 2016

Videos: Elbow

#sounds of summer 2016

Videos: Unknown Mortal Orchestra

# sounds of summer 2016

Videos: How to Destroy Angels

#sounds of summer 2016

Of Note: Truitt, Manley, and Masko

Here's what tickles my fancy this week:

1. Anne Truitt, Working documentary by Jem Cohen. It was extra on the DVD for his film Museum Hours and it is only 13 minutes long, so I watched it twice. Truitt's descriptions of colour and her work are what make the documentary. The documentary was made in two parts: an interview in black-and-white film with Truitt at Yaddo on November 10, 1999 and a colour film of her Washington, D.C. studio in January 2005, just after her death in 2004. I found the filming to be very frustrating. In the Yaddo interview, Truitt is mixing colour and is describing various colours and their functions of either sick, dead, or lifting colours, BUT Cohen filmed this riveting interview in black-and-white. Also, I really wanted to see footage (in colour) of Truitt's sculptures in gallery and museum settings. The more I read her Daybook: The Journal of an Artist, the more of her work I want to see and learn about. 

2. A Little Sole-Searching? The Story of a Pair of Boots by Claudia Manley, of the blog Proper Tension. It's a well-crafted essay about boots and relationships and it has stayed with me the almost six weeks since I read it. I hope she writes more of these.

3. A Flowering Snowball class, taught by Johanna Masko. Masko is a friendly, patient teacher who explains each step clearly and has developed several hacks and techniques that make piecing curves and installing zippers easy. This week I  made my first stress-free zipper installation. I was apprehensive about the class because I had heard about her rigorous safety stance on rotary cutters. Once you get past that, she's really worth learning from.

Video: Grimes Flesh without Blood

Canadian performer Grimes' Flesh without Blood is very danceable –– perfect for dance breaks in the studio (but no break dancing).

Video: Lucius Born Again Teen

Lucius' Born Again Teen has been keeping me company in the studio. 

Video: Meryn Cadell, "The Sweater"

A video for Claudia and all my textile-loving friends. 

Video: Elizabeth Goluch, Halifax Nova Scotia

Lady Bug from Breakwater Studios Ltd. on Vimeo. Directed by Ben Proudfoot
Lady Bug dissects the life and work of master metalsmith Elizabeth Goluch of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Commission Elizabeth's work. Show your support! 

"You miss a lot if you don't look closer." –– Elizabeth Goluch

Video: Heather Lawson, stone carver

Stone from Breakwater Studios Ltd. on Vimeo
Source: Canadian Crafts Federation email

"I learned long ago that it is really hard to be normal, or what people perceive as normal. It is hard enough being me without trying to be what people think I should be. So as soon as you step off that tightrope, sooner you just become odd, the sooner the world will accept you as being odd. And there is great freedom with that." - Heather Lawson, stone carver from Bass River, Nova Scotia

The Danish Poet by Torill Kove

The Danish Poet by Torill Kove, 2006

I first saw this short film in 2007. The Danish Poet by Torill Kove (b. 1958), a Norwegian-born Canadian, won the 2007 Oscar for the Best Animated Short Film. If you need some enchantment for the weekend, watch this. A bonus is that it is narrated by Liv Ullmann.

Quotes: Joni Mitchell

"Anytime I make a record, it's followed by a painting period. It's good crop rotation. I keep the creative juices going by switching from one to the other, so that when the music or the writing dries up, I paint. You rest the ear a while, and you rest the inner mind, because poetry takes a lot of plumbing the inner depths. I mean, the way I write anyway, it takes a lot of meditation. Without the painting to clear the head, I don't think I could do it." 

–– Joni Mitchell (b. 1943), Canadian singer-songwriter and painter. 

Source: Joni Mitchell - Woman of Heart and Mind (2003) documentary written and directed by Susan Lacy.

Sandra Brownlee, weaver/notebook keeper video

A video by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Brené Brown: The risks of showing up

Thanks to Lisa Congdon for sharing this video on her blog. 

Author and researcher Brené Brown spoke at the 2013 99 Conference by Behance. In her talk, she quotes from a speech that U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France, April 23, 1910:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." – Theodore Roosevelt, delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France, April 23, 1910

–– Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), American politician, conservationist, naturalist, writer, and American President (1901-9). 

Brown adds: "If you're not in the arena, also getting your ass kicked, I'm not interested in your feedback." Amen, sister.

For more talks by Brené Brown, check out her 2010 and 2012 TED talks about vulnerability and shame.