totally amateur

1. Last week I wrote about companies seeking artists in residence. This week I’m thinking about artist residencies aimed at parents and families (there aren’t that many). Such a promising idea, but one example, the Anderson Ranch Arts Center Parent Artist-in-Residence program, states under additional considerations that “a partner or caretaker must also accompany the child or children to provide childcare.” And that children are not allowed in studios for obvious reasons. Why not just leave the kids at home with the “caretaker”? Other than adding the residency to your CV, I don’t really understand the appeal of this arrangement, one I could much more easily accomplish by taking a few days off work and staying at home.

   

   Paintings by Grade Hudson

2. A couple of weekends ago, my daughter and I accompanied my son to Ukiah for his first grasshopper race (48 miles and over 6000 feet of elevation!). While he was racing, my daughter and I checked out the Grace Hudson Museum & Sun House, where I learned about artist Grace Hudson for the first time and really enjoyed the current temporary exhibition—Printed & Stitched—about the overlaps between surface design, printmaking, and textile art (we also enjoyed some insanely delicious plant-based food from Taste Buds).

   

3. Since I’ve been posting about how MTB/fitness stuff can apply nicely to creative pursuits, I started to wonder, might the reverse be true? In other words, can books/wisdom about creativity be applied to more physical challenges? Here are the top ten creative adages from my art shelfie that I find particularly applicable:

   1. Accept that you are a total amateur.

      

      How To Be An Artist, by Jerry Saltz, based on this Vulture piece

   2. Don’t be embarrassed.

   3. Have courage.

   4. Start now.

   5. [X] is not about understanding…or mastery. It’s about doing and experience.

   6. Develop forms of practice.

   7. Work, work, work.

   8. Get lost.

   9. Redefine success.

   10. Keep going

4. Speaking of this intersection of physical/mental/creative challenges, the team and I did an indoor spin while watching The Triplets of Belleville last stormy Sunday. Per our awesome head coach, we were advised to get up out of the saddle every time the grandmother pedaled (tricycle or pedal boat).

   

   Block printing the periodic table of elements = arts integration win!

5. As I’ve mentioned here before, on Monday mornings, following a very early work meeting, I take my daughter to school and linger for about 45 minutes to volunteer in her art class. They’re working on linoleum block prints of elements right now and next week I’ll take in some examples of my own work (mostly from this body of work) and talk about printmaking in general, show the scar on my left forefinger (here’s what not to do, kids!), and talk about proper gouge use, etc.

6. I recently had a sort of blind Zoom date with a friend of a friend embarking on her creative journey and I sent her a list of various resources after our call. Who or what else would you add to this list for folks trying to work more creativity into their daily lives?

   1. Austin Kleon (a self-described "writer who draws"...I have all his books, including the one linked above, and they're all great); also here on Substack

      Austin Kleon

   2. The 100 Day Project, starting this year on February 18th (anyone doing it this year??)

   3. Wendy MacNaughton (just wrapped up a drawing challenge for the month of January, but has done SO much cool stuff the last few years)

   4. Corita Kent's plork book

   5. Lisa Congdon, specifically her Art Inc. book

   6. How to be an Artist, by Jerry Saltz, based on this earlier essay/list, also included in the list above

7. I’ve just subscribed to the Harvard Business Review podcast New Here after listening to a recent episode of NPR’s Life Kit about starting a new job, including lots of great advice for anyone working anywhere at any point in their life/career.

8. In other podcast news, I also enjoyed the January 27th episode of No Stupid Questions about what makes some objects feel special. Listening to their conversation made me think about my 2007 Lost Object Project and this book that came out 15 years later.

No mushroom pics this week. But I’ll leave you with this gratuitous display of donuts for the now 11 year old’s class birthday celebration last week. Surprised how much 5th graders like raised glazed (I’m more of a cake with sprinkles gal). Which one would you choose?