Blog
6/30/2020 2:31:55 PM
While in the periodontist’s chair having surgery, the doctor, who could see my twenty-three-year-old rusty Toyota Corolla station wagon from the window, asked me what car I drove. As he cut into my gums, he proceeded to brag about the fancy something-or-another car that my surgery was helping to pay for.
I don’t care what he drives, nor do I give a shit about his or anybody else’s opinion of what I drive. In fact, I’m proud that I use things until they are absolutely, positively worn out.
And that periodontist? I guess he’s bragging to somebody else these days. Since my surgery, I found myself a kinder, gentler doctor.
6/22/2020 12:46:05 PM
Funny how early life experiences can have a life-long influence.
The lesson I learned from the extreme, unrelenting, year after year soul-crushing boredom of school was this: when I’m bored I feel like a caged animal. That’s why I shoot for art projects that involve failure after failure. Failure means I’m learning.
So I go into the studio and try new things, hard things, things that I can’t find directions for. When something doesn’t turn out right, I keep trying and failing again and again until I finally get it right. I do enjoy the getting it right part, but I also immensely enjoy the challenge of not knowing what the hell I’m doing because it’s the opposite of being bored.
But too much hard stuff can get me both frustrated and unproductive. I just recently figured out that if I intersperse the hard stuff with the easy stuff, I don’t get bored, I just get happier.
My offerings here are going to end up being a mix of things that baffle and make me try over and over again and things that I could do in my sleep.
6/8/2020 3:43:02 PM
Seeing images of people all over the world protesting George Floyd’s brutal murder, feeling sad about not taking part in the protests because of the virus, reading about Trump cowering in a bunker and behind the new wall around the White House, plus watching video of the gassing and firing of rubber bullets into a crowd of peaceful protesters so that he could have a clear path to a photo op—it’s been quite a disturbing few weeks.
It’s the right day for me to post a new blog, I’m just having a hard time finding something to say. So what you see here is a repost that appeared on my previous website. I posted it originally after finding (real!) pearls at a thrift store.
