I haven't done much painting but I am working on many things. This is an opportunity for me to make a list.
God, I love lists! I really do. So, here it is.
Things Occupying my Mind:
1. Just sent my painting to Sonoma State University Art Gallery. I have a pain in my stomach for some reason over this.
2. Started reading The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch. And I love it. Its a beautifully dark book. And a memoir; a genre that I absolutely love.
3. A few looming deadlines for proposals I would like to submit to some galleries.
4. My daughter is possibly hitting puberty and it is totally freaking me out because it is SO emotional. I'm scared.
5. Christmas and how we are going to approach it this year. Things are tight around here and its going to be small but we will have a good Christmas. And I'm absorbed with making some gifts.
6. I kind of want to learn more creative crocheting.
7. Christmas party coming up tomorrow and I'm wondering if I should bring white wine or red? I traditionally prefer red but I don't know.
8. Company holiday party Saturday night and I still do not have anything to wear. I don't know why this is such a big deal. Most of the time I really don't stress my appearance much but when it comes to the holiday party I want to be 'smokin'! Its a mystery to me.
Okay, so here is my list. I feel satisfied now.
I want to talk more about The Chronology of Water. I can't believe how much I love this book so far. And yet I'm not surprised. People have told me that I would love this book. Because I love memoirs and especially dark-themed memoirs. LOVE them!
There is an early chapter in this book called Metaphor. It is so beautifully written that I keep going back to it. And here is the excerpt that I feel I must share:
Collect rocks.
That's all. But not just any rocks. You are an intelligent woman so you look for the unimaginable inside the ordinary. Go to places you would not ordinarily go alone - riverbanks. Deep woods. The part of the ocean shore where peoples' gazes disappear. Wade in all waters. When you find a group of rocks, you must stare at them a long while before you choose, let your eyes adjust, use what you know of the long wait waiting. Let your imagination change what you know. Suddenly a gray rock becomes ashen or clouded with dream. A ring round a rock is luck. To find a red rock is to discover earthblood. Blue rocks make you believe in them. Patterns and flecks on rocks are bits of different countries and terrains, speckled questions. Conglomerates are the movement of land in the freedom of water, smoothed into a small thing you can hold in your hand, rub against your face. Sandstone is soothing and lucid. Shale, of course, is rational. Find pleasure in these ordinary palm worlds. Help yourself prepare for a life. Recognize when there are no words for the pain, when there are no words for the joy, there are rocks.
Lidia Yuknavitch has stolen into my soul and exposed the things I've kept private. She has shown all the dark sides of her soul and all that has fed it. I feel as exposed as she has exposed herself. When an author finds that place where my soul shares residency with hers then I am amazed. Nearly speechless, if it were possible. But I'm rarely speechless because I always have words. And Lidia found them and spoke them.
Well, I guess this is not an art post. Not really. Its more of a list of things that I can't stop thinking of. But wait.
I can turn it into an art post because I am so inspired by Lidia Yuknavitch's writing that I'm planning out a series of paintings based on this book.
God, I love lists! I really do. So, here it is.
Things Occupying my Mind:
1. Just sent my painting to Sonoma State University Art Gallery. I have a pain in my stomach for some reason over this.
2. Started reading The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch. And I love it. Its a beautifully dark book. And a memoir; a genre that I absolutely love.
3. A few looming deadlines for proposals I would like to submit to some galleries.
4. My daughter is possibly hitting puberty and it is totally freaking me out because it is SO emotional. I'm scared.
5. Christmas and how we are going to approach it this year. Things are tight around here and its going to be small but we will have a good Christmas. And I'm absorbed with making some gifts.
6. I kind of want to learn more creative crocheting.
7. Christmas party coming up tomorrow and I'm wondering if I should bring white wine or red? I traditionally prefer red but I don't know.
8. Company holiday party Saturday night and I still do not have anything to wear. I don't know why this is such a big deal. Most of the time I really don't stress my appearance much but when it comes to the holiday party I want to be 'smokin'! Its a mystery to me.
Okay, so here is my list. I feel satisfied now.
I want to talk more about The Chronology of Water. I can't believe how much I love this book so far. And yet I'm not surprised. People have told me that I would love this book. Because I love memoirs and especially dark-themed memoirs. LOVE them!
There is an early chapter in this book called Metaphor. It is so beautifully written that I keep going back to it. And here is the excerpt that I feel I must share:
Collect rocks.
That's all. But not just any rocks. You are an intelligent woman so you look for the unimaginable inside the ordinary. Go to places you would not ordinarily go alone - riverbanks. Deep woods. The part of the ocean shore where peoples' gazes disappear. Wade in all waters. When you find a group of rocks, you must stare at them a long while before you choose, let your eyes adjust, use what you know of the long wait waiting. Let your imagination change what you know. Suddenly a gray rock becomes ashen or clouded with dream. A ring round a rock is luck. To find a red rock is to discover earthblood. Blue rocks make you believe in them. Patterns and flecks on rocks are bits of different countries and terrains, speckled questions. Conglomerates are the movement of land in the freedom of water, smoothed into a small thing you can hold in your hand, rub against your face. Sandstone is soothing and lucid. Shale, of course, is rational. Find pleasure in these ordinary palm worlds. Help yourself prepare for a life. Recognize when there are no words for the pain, when there are no words for the joy, there are rocks.
Lidia Yuknavitch has stolen into my soul and exposed the things I've kept private. She has shown all the dark sides of her soul and all that has fed it. I feel as exposed as she has exposed herself. When an author finds that place where my soul shares residency with hers then I am amazed. Nearly speechless, if it were possible. But I'm rarely speechless because I always have words. And Lidia found them and spoke them.
Well, I guess this is not an art post. Not really. Its more of a list of things that I can't stop thinking of. But wait.
I can turn it into an art post because I am so inspired by Lidia Yuknavitch's writing that I'm planning out a series of paintings based on this book.
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