zig zag
“I’m a curious person. I’m not afraid of failing.”
A lot of things, updating this newsletter included, went on an unplanned, temporary hiatus last week. I’ve been auditing lots of things lately as well, and after 2 1/2 years, I thought I should audit this newsletter in an attempt to maybe focus it a bit?? Trends emerge over time, even for a restless generalist like myself, so today’s update will be part reflection based on that audit and part list of things to share with y’all. And the latter will continue, this list format complementing my sporadic blogging habits nicely, but maybe in a more focused way moving forward? Time will tell.
Neal and I were chatting recently about existential midlife identity crises and he defined being an artist in a really nice way, as someone who follows their curiosity. If that’s true, then this newsletter has become a pretty core part of my creative practice.
I had forgotten that the lost pigeon thing/title came partly from the CCA Oakland campus ceremony I wrote about here, but also after watching Kelly Reichardt’s 2022 film Showing Up, in which Michelle Williams’ character, an artist, nurses an injured pigeon back to health (can’t believe I can’t find a clip featuring the injured pigeon storyline).
There’s a lot of underlying desire for community expressed here, which I think helps to explain why I’ve cut way back on my Instagram habit, which is somehow increasingly unsatisfying in this quest. At the end of the day, I’m just really trying to find my tribe so I can have this (minus the suicide, of course). And you can’t do that on social media.
And let’s face it: I can be a bit of a downer, a buzzkill, a negative Nelly. Much of what I explore here is, simply put, failure, commiserating about it, learning from it, etc.
“Sharing our fiascos with others…minimizes shame, encourages truth telling and offers people a chance to learn from each other’s mistakes.”
I’m trying to make peace with where I am creatively and professionally, nearly two decades after going to grad school. It’s like Mark says to Alexa in Severance season 1, episode 1: “This is the life you've been given and that's another life. You don't get that one. So, do something with this.” And I guess I do this in a public confessional sort of way because I can’t imagine I’m the only creative type who feels this way. I just want a little time leftover after all the to dos. Y’know?
And anyway, what even is creativity and why is it important?? Dan Gross, from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, describes creativity as “this ephemeral thing. There isn’t a broad consensus on what this even is, let alone what a good way to measure it would be.”
With that, let’s get out of my head and onto (on topic!) things to share, like this recent Economics of Everyday Things podcast episode about pigeons.
Former nurse Norma Geddes took a stained glass class at age 69, retired 2 years later, and now at age 82 spends every day in her studio, via The Guardian, part of this series about life taking on new direction after the age of 60. “I’m a curious person. I’m not afraid of failing.” Two topics I love in one interview: curiosity and failure!
Speaking of audits of sorts, and continuing to make my way through the Boston/grad school blog posts/113-page Google doc, and following nicely on my recent international flight viewing of Poor Things, looked up the Benaki Museum (visited on day one in Athens; read more here), which has an exhibition organized around the costumes in the movie directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos.
Another great John August update about timing and all the things that get between us and spending time on our creative projects. I especially like the first link to the idea that you will never be ready by James Greig. Linked from there, I love the title of this book about creativity, which describes my path well (zig zag).
Still reading Charlie Kaufman’s book Antkind, which I was surprised to learn is his first novel. I guess I assumed his screenplays were based on novels? Anyway, his wife, Denise Monaghan, and daughter, Anna Kaufman, are both artists.
Alas, no pictures this week. I’ll leave you with a lovely Oakland sunset from a couple of weeks ago.
