Two things I’d like to do more of in 2016 is teach and be personally involved in theater again. To get that going, I’m teaching a free playwriting workshop, On With the Show!: Playwriting and Performance, for kids ages 6-12 at 826DC’s office at 3333 14th Street (Columbia Heights neighborhood) on Saturday, January 9th, and Saturday, January 23rd, from 1pm – 3pm.
Together we’ll learn about storyboarding, plot development, character development, and snappy dialogue. To register your child, visit the 826DC workshop website and fill out this form. See you there!
To keep myself in a constant pursuit of wonder, meet my Wonder jar. Every day, I’ll be writing down things that I’ve done, seen, heard, and experienced that remind me of all the joy that life has to offer. I love the start of a brand new year. Though every day is a new beginning, there is something particularly special about January 1st. I wake up excited and ready to get going. I was more than happy to say goodbye to 2015 and welcome the start of 2016 with open arms. In this new year, I hope we find ways every day to celebrate the world around us, lift up one another, and pursue our wildest dreams. Happy New Year!
I went to visit the Wonder art exhibit at the Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C. The exhibit sparked a conversation with my friend, Jeff, about the definition and importance of wonder. As I cultivate new personal and professional opportunities in 2016, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of wonder. For me, it’s about being open and allowing myself to be amazed. It’s the ability to be delighted and filled with joy. This world is wild. Sometimes it’s downright cruel. Wonder is what keeps us going, in times of light and darkness. And I’ve found that the more I look for wonder, the more I seek out opportunities to be happy and free, the more of them I find. As we turn the page today, letting go of 2015 and welcoming 2016, I hope we can all find moments of wonder every single day.
I’m not great at vacation; I never feel rejuvenated by it. I wish I did. I envy people who do. I just can’t. If anything, I feel overly anxious about the very idea of vacation. About 12 hours into it, I start to get antsy. I need a project and I’ve stopped trying to fight that need. I am who I am, and my idea of fun is creating things. It’s what I do and who I am.
In 2016, I’m not going to fight that anymore. I’m an intense, passionate, and some might say (slightly) manic, person. Moments of calm and peace are necessary (I sit in meditation for 18 minutes a day no matter what my schedule is), though the natural hum of my life exists at a higher frequency and that’s just fine by me. I’m most comfortable when I’m using my mind, body, and heart to build something.
In the new year, I hope we all find that—the way and speed of life that feels most authentic for us. It’s different for everyone, and there isn’t a way that’s better. Just a way that’s better for each of us as individuals. Let’s honor that.
“Art saves lives. I used to think that was corny, but it’s true. It saved mine.” ~Gil Batle, former prisoner and artist
If you ever wanted to see an elegant story, beautifully told and deeply felt, about how art saves people then this post is for you. Jane Pauley interviewed Gil Batle on CBS Sunday Morning and it’s one of the most incredible interviews I’ve ever seen. Gil Batle has struggled with drug addiction for most of his adult life, and he committed a series of crimes to support that habit. At age 53, he’s clean, free, and creating art that channels his painful past. He carves intricate scenes into ostrich eggs using a high speed dental drill that etches the scenes no deeper than 1/16 of an inch into the shell. If you’re in New York, his work is on display at the Ricco Maresca Gallery. If you’re not in New York, take a look at his work through the video below. You can also see his art at http://www.gilbatle.com/ and on Instagram at @gilbatle.
“May all that has been reduced to noise in you, become music again.” ~David Teems
I’m off from work through January 3rd and decided to stay in D.C. to use the time to focus on defining my creative projects for the new year. I get tremendously excited about turning the page in the calendar, and I am absolutely ready to say hasta la vista to 2015. This was a rough one, maybe the roughest on record, in nearly every aspect of my life. It was a character building year to say the least. It was also a time of high creativity because I was forced into situations that required me to solve huge problems and conflicts.
2015 held a lot of noise for me, complex emotions swirling around in my head and heart. Rather than fighting them, I decided to use them. After all, the worst of circumstances serve as the seeds for the best art. The loudest noise can be transformed into the sweetest music. And that’s what 2016 is all about for me.
What do you get for the dog who has everything he needs? The same thing you get for people who have everything—art. I made this paper collage for Phineas to capture his philosophy on life. Merry Christmas, Phin!
Here’s the Phineas Way:
Join a parade whenever possible
Don’t be afraid to lead the way
A first snow is a very happy thing
Sometimes the best thing to do is sit and be quiet like a yogi
“How good can you feel?” is a question you should ask every day, and answer
Share something wonderful with everyone, always
Fall in love with as many things, and people, and animals, as possible
There’s cool stuff out on the edge
Be excited
Embrace the wild
You’re perfect just the way you are
Stay unique
Learn how to be a good copilot
You can never have too much joy
New York is my soul city, and always will be
Embrace tomorrow, no matter what happened today
Live color fully, in many different directions
Sing loud and proud like a bird
Be unstoppable
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the greatest places in the world to hang around
I love snuggling; snuggling’s my favorite
I have one goal: to be the best dog ever. (And, for me, he absolutely is!)
I am so deeply committed to the arts in any form for one simple reason: it is the one vehicle we have to take any circumstance, be it joyful or tragic, and turn it into something that can inspire anyone who comes in contact with it. One of my favorite examples of this is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Dickens’s tale makes him synonymous with Christmas. He grew up in dire circumstances, going to work in a factory at age 12 in order to support his family because his father had been jailed for debt. His early personal experience with poverty fueled his passion to use his writing to speak for people who couldn’t speak for themselves. Originally, he wanted to create a political pamphlet about poverty in Victorian England and instead decided to write A Christmas Carol because he felt it would have “20 times the impact of a political pamphlet.” He was right that it would have more impact. What he didn’t know is that it would remain in print for 172 years (and counting!), and become one of the most beloved texts and multi-media traditions of all-time.
So this Christmas, whether you’re listening to holiday music, reading a book like A Christmas Carol, or watching a holiday movie, let’s take a moment to recognize that the tough times we experience have the potential to be turned into something beautiful that could inspire people and help them persevere.
Graffiti artist Banksy has created a new artwork in the so-called Jungle refugee camp in Calais depicting the late Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple.
The artist Banksy raised his paintbrush to raise his voice and our awareness of the Syrian immigrant crisis.
Via BBC: “We’re often led to believe migration is a drain on the country’s resources but Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian migrant. Apple is the world’s most profitable company, it pays over $7B (£4.6B) a year in taxes – and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs.”
This is a snapshot of my newest paper collage. It’s a re-creation of the D.C. Cool logo composed of small bits of paper that were part of advertisements for other cities.
Washington, D.C. has a bit of everywhere packed into a big city that feels like a small town. I moved here about 9 months ago and it’s really beginning to feel like home to me. I’ve still got a lot of exploring to do, and this collage is a reflection of my journey in this shining city so far.
Christa Avampato 