Today, in addition to necessary life tasks, I will attempt to create and format the second photo-essay page of this blog. Despite all the chaos and tragedy in the world, I am celebrating the return of my creative drive, which had largely been missing-in-action for many years. I’m noticing that a lot of my friends are engaging in creative endeavors . Some of them are consistently productive with art (which I so greatly admire!) but others, like myself, have had long dry spells. The current world situation seems to be bringing out the creative spirit in a lot of people, and it also (by necessity) makes the time available to make good on artistic ideas.
The photo essays are works-in-progress, but I want to share the entire journey here. At some point, they may become much more polished creations. For now, I want to journal the creating of these projects as they happen. I’ve always been very process-oriented in my art.
No promises as to a time frame, but I also feel the drive to paint again. I haven’t painted in earnest since art school (my poor fragile ego took a hard hit with that expensive adventure.) I’ve since done a lot of reflecting on self, other, the meaning of making art, etc. I think I’m ready to go back to the canvas. All things considered, I’m very glad that I went to SFAI when I did. I am still unpacking the things I learned there, and making sense of the experience. I recently learned that SFAI is very likely to close its doors after this semester, which is sad beyond belief. It is a place like no other, and I am fortunate to have been able to study there.
My goal for today is to have the second page created and formatted, and to have an introductory post up. I do have real-world things I need to do as well, but it still seems to be a reasonable goal. The tech aspect of all of this terrifies me, but it is also providing a much needed push to get me into the 21st century. I now own a camera for vlogging/video lectures/etc. I have yet to take it out of the box, as it just arrived yesterday. I think I have a hot date with a user manual in my future, and perhaps the need for a wall against which to bang my head.
It’s time to face the news for the day, while I caffeinate with some very strong, take-the-paint-off-your-car coffee. I am trying to limit my news intake to a couple of hours a day, as I had been reading news to the point of total obsession since this situation began. I learned of the outbreak in Wuhan on New Years Eve, and the entire first part of this year was largely swallowed up by reading as much international news as I could find. I have watched this whole thing unfold.
In addition to staying on top of the major events and updates, and staying home and wearing protective gear when I need to go out, there isn’t a lot I can do about it. I’m taking a lot of supplements and attending to my own immune health, and protecting myself as much as possible.
So, I want to make the best of this time at home. It isn’t every day that one finds oneself living out an apocalyptic scenario in slow-grind, real time, as it happens. In addition to being horrifying and tragic, it’s also rather freeing, in that it allows for a restructuring of the world as we have known it, both on a grand scale, and on a personal level.
I’ll be adding a separate page dedicated to the psychology of the liminal space, and the role of the Trickster in the upending of the world. I haven’t written it out yet, but I have much to say on the subject.
Spatchcocking the Future 