āIām all for the scissors. I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.ā -Truman Capote
As hard as the writing process can be, editing is so much harder. It’s emotional, even painful, but it’s also necessary. Editing is the polish that makes a piece of work shine, whether that work is done in words, images, or sounds. It takes perspective and intense reflection. What are you really trying to say or show? What thought, feeling, idea, or action are you trying to evoke in the people with whom you share your work? Creation is so much more about what you give, not what you get. It’s an act of generosity so edit, edit, edit, and make it a gift you’re proud to offer.
“The trouble is, you think you have time.” ~Buddha
Immediately after I finish one of my paper collages, I replace it with a blank one on my easel. That may sound a bit over zealous. Shouldn’t I at least give myself some time to just revel in being done with a project before pushing on?
Ed, my teacher, mentor, and friend, posted this quote from the Buddha a few days ago and it really struck me. I’m very conscious of the passage of time. Some might say too conscious of it. I’ve known, loved, and lost too many people too soon, and the same is true for many of my friends. We think we have time, but really, time has us.
I’ve learned the hard way that it’s much better to look at a blank canvas that symbolizes our next great potential project than to spend our time looking back at our accomplishments. I’ll save the reflection for when I’m very old and gray and less able to do. Now is a time for moving forward and crafting what comes next.
Over the past week, I’ve been trying something new. When I wake up, the first thing I do is read this quote: “Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known.” ~Carl Sagan. And then I get up, get ready, and try to find that one thing that I’m meant to learn that day. Some days, it’s wonderful. Some days, it’s not so wonderful. But it’s always incredible because day by day I’m learning about another small layer of life. I trust that the lessons I get are the ones I need and that they appear exactly when I need them. Maybe this is a profound practice. And maybe it’s a fool’s errand. But I do know it helps me go out into the world, no matter what, with a sense of purpose.
I love Ryan Adams, and all the more so for quotes like this: “There is nothing wrong with loving the crap out of everything. Negative people find their walls. So never apologize for your enthusiasm. Never ever.”
The negative people I meetāand sadly there are so many of them out thereāoften think I’m overly enthusiastic, that I’m just too excited about life. And to that I say, “Someday, I hope you realize what you’re missing.”
I do love the crap out of everythingāmy friends, Phineas, my city, my writing, my creative projects, music, art, books, animals, nature, my home, travel. You name it and I can find something I love about it. Negative people will knock us down; that’s their choice and we can’t control it.Whether we stay down or eventually rise up is our choice and we do control that.Ā Their behavior has nothing to do with us and everything to do with them. Their negativity is a direct reflection about how they feel about themselves, not how they feel about us.
So here’s my advice: take every wall that a negative person throws in front of you and carve a window into it. Crawl through that window and leave those negative people behind.You are not responsible for them. They don’t have anything to offer you and they don’t want the gifts you have to give. That’s their loss, not yours. You deserve to be surrounded by love; don’t settle for anything less.
I can hardly believe that 3,000 posts later, I’m every bit as excited about this blog as I was when I published my first post in June 2007. I’ve received so many blessings by doing this daily writing. This blog has helped me get jobs, start a business, interview and highlight people whose work I admire, and above all it’s introduced me to some of the best people in my life whom I’m lucky to call friends. I’ve been able to share ideas, failures, and successes. I’ve helped and served others through these posts, and that has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.
Thank you for being here, for reading these posts, and for sharing your own stories with me. It’s been an honor, and will continue to be.
This week I’m going to start a 3-week audio storytelling class and I’ve been thinking about different ideas for a podcast project.
I’ve been getting to know the many sides and faces of the D.C. cultural scene in all of its beautiful forms. Though D.C. is largely known for government and politics, there is a very rich creative scene that exists here and it’s constantly growing. I’m thinking about some ways to be a part of this community and to promote its many talents.
On Thursday night I pulled my quadricep playing soccer. I’ll be limping around for the next little while it heals. There’s not much I can do for a pulled muscle except rest it so I’m spending most of this cold rainy weekend inside reading, writing, playing piano, listening to music and podcasts, and working on my next paper collage. Time and creativity make a magical healing duo.
Last week, I had the extreme pleasure of volunteering with Little Salon DC, a fantastic program that runs monthly artist salons. The title artist is defined broadly at Little Salon DC meaning anyone with creative moxie and the courage to put their creations out into the world in some form.
This month we enjoyed opera, physical comedy, puppetry, poetry, fiction, and homemade jam. It was all topped off with plenty of drinks, revelry, and smiles. 60 of us loaded into a beautiful apartment in the U Street area and by the end of the night, no one wanted to leave. It was truly a collection of 60 of the coolest, kindest, and friendliest people in D.C., all in one fantastic venue. I’m excited to get involved with this incredible effort and to grow its passionate mission.
Here are a few pictures snapped by my friend, Logan, at last week’s event. We’re already looking forward to October’s edition. To learn more, visit Little Salon DC’s websiteĀ and follow along on Twitter at @LittleSalonDC. Viva el artista!
Many hours and thousands of bits of colorful magazine ads glued on canvas conspired to create my first paper collage. I’m really proud of taking advertisements that told us we need to buy more to be more and transforming them into a creative act. Below are pictures of my process. I hope they inspire you to create your own art!
The image that inspired my collage
Pencil outline complete
Pencil outlines
Pencil outlines filled in with acrylic black paint
A few months ago I saw a few of Matisse’s lesser known works – his paper cutouts. Toward the end of his life, he turned his attention from painting to collage. I didn’t know it at the time, but a little seed was planted in that moment as I looked at these works. I began to think about creating some visual art of my own in an attempt to grow my imagination in a new direction. The idea of it thrilled me, and now I find myself spending hours happily cutting and gluing tiny bits of paper together to create something much greater than the sum of its parts.
All creative acts in every medium take courage. We have to set out to try something new, something we know nothing about. A story, a painting, a collage. They all lead us to new destinationsĀ and we don’t know what those destinations will be until we arrive at the end of the road. Creating is a journey without a map with only our hearts as a guide and we cannot help but be changed by the experience.
