When I get a moment of light breaking through, an epiphany, a moment of clarity, I heed the urge and reach for a piece of scrap paper. It might be months later, or even years, when I encounter this scratch paper note in a pile of them on my desk, Read more…
I have a history of celebrating milestone birthdays solo. By choice. I don’t have a mental catalog of when, where or with whom I have spent every birthday. But I do remember these: 21 … In Indianapolis. Alone. 25 … In Singapore. Alone. 30 … In Eufaula, Alabama. Alone. And Read more…
I create everyday, and usually in multiple ways. Writing, photography, podcasting, editing, publishing, designing, visual art making. And so on. It’s inherent in the flow of things I do, professionally and personally, and generally in the flow of any given day. But I do not always create in all the same Read more…
Sometimes keeping it moving one step forward at a time is all we can do as creators. Or sideways, backward or whatever direction keeps the motion motioning. Like when I’m on my bike, near an intersection and trying to sustain even the tiniest movement while waiting on vehicles to take Read more…
I had a one-sentence blog post1 in my head. Something about a thing that was not everything, followed by a notion about what is everything. (Even though that phrasing bothers me these days, because it might be confused with the socially popular, dramatic, vapid penchant to declare any and all Read more…
For the past six years, I have woken up every morning and made journaling my first priority. With rare and reasonable exceptions. Well, first priority after brushing my teeth, drinking a glass of water, and getting a cup of coffee to place next to me while I write. Six years Read more…
It’s been many, many years. I’ve occasionally photographed a random basketball goal somewhere in one city or another, using the camera on my phone of the time. A driveway, an alley, a park. And for many, many years, I’ve held an idea in mind that I would intentionally create a Read more…
A short walk along the Arkansas River in central Colorado, a seat on a boulder at the water’s edge. Meditation. & Poetry, unpolished. A flow I call poetic notings from time spent in nature come to mind, and I listen: The water at the river’s edge expands and contracts, inhales Read more…
In the audio trailer of Michael Franti’s Staying Human podcast, he says, “ … the belief that I have, there’s no one that you wouldn’t love, if you knew their story.” I appreciate Franti’s sentiment. Truth is, I struggle with love. I am amazed over and again by how easily Read more…
When we’re unsure of who we are as creators, when we are new to the experience, especially coming to it later in life, it’s tempting to think there is a particular way to create, a right way. It’s tempting to think there is a secret language known to “real” artists Read more…
One of the lines I keep coming across is, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” To keep that in mind is to practice the yogic or Buddhist idea of detachment. It’s practicing and expanding our capacities to dispassionately witness Read more…
Nostalgia is a loaded concept. And, I suspect, not much more than an illusion. Handle with care.
“Lunch” A sandwich: One slice of Italian white bread An almost liberal application of mayonnaise Four thin slices of smoked turkey, edges interlaced in the center of the sandwich Abundant mustard spread unevenly Eight round dill pickle slices in a single layer Seven Fritos Scoops! corn chips in a single Read more…
As my wife, Becca, and I sat down at the brewery in Gunnison, Colo., the college-aged kid who would serve us our lunch asked if we were local or passing through. We were part way home after having picked up some photographs from my latest art show. Becca told him Read more…
As a teenager in high school, I’d occasionally poke my head into the art classroom or look through the window of the door. I was curious. I’d look at the drawing tables and potter’s wheels, and the students’ artwork hanging along the walls. And I’d wonder what it was like. Read more…
Random thoughts pop to my mind from time to time, inspired by a brief experience in the world: a song lyric, a line in a book, a fleeting sound or sight on a walk, or any of the above in a film or TV show. Or from anything else. Ideas Read more…
A whimsical idea. A practice of simplicity at its simplest. Six condiments: mayo, pickles, ketchup, yellow mustard, sriracha, hot sauce. Creativity comes at all times. I no longer make the mistake of self-censoring or denying it when it arrives. Let it flow, receive it, have fun with it. No idea Read more…
The Irish poet David Whyte surely speaks to countless souls with his poem, “What to Remember When Waking.” He posted only a small piece of it on social media yesterday, the first stanza plus the opening line of the second. It drew me in to search for the whole of Read more…
These weekly roundups are an extension of “The Log Book of Doings,” which I keep daily in a handmade journal gifted to me by my wife, Becca. I use the Log Book of Doings for recognition of creative accomplishments and as motivation to keep going in the various facets of Read more…
I recently wrote that self-study is the point. True. And at the heart of self-study, and so much else, is vulnerability. So now I am saying, vulnerability is the point. And that’s true too. Vulnerability is the point and, through that vulnerability, we are constantly becoming, learning ourselves and going Read more…