Hello everyone! This week I’m back with 4-3-2-1, a monthly gathering of ideas, resources, and inspiration for your week—these offerings are a reflection of what I’m reading, doing, and thinking about, and today they seem to center on personal sustainability and inner knowing. Maybe this is because I am coming up on the 6-month mark of writing here in this space and thinking a lot about ways to simplify, amplify and grow sustainably—the same things that I periodically reflect on in my studio practice. Enjoy!
Four Interesting Things
Stay on the bus: Sometimes I struggle with sticking with projects that I begin. I start out full of enthusiasm, and then I go through a stage where my focus gets mushy and my interest wanes. I begin to doubt the potential of my idea, or my first efforts are mediocre. Does this sound familiar? I know from experience that if I just give it some time + space and keep working at it, my skills will improve, the project will reveal it’s direction, and something interesting will start to take shape. A few years ago, I was introduced to the video below, and the “Stay on the Bus” concept. I like this short video introduction. I’m also linking to the original graduation speech by photographer Arno Minkkinen which is definitely worth a read.
Transcript of original graduation speech by Arno Minkkinen: https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches/finding-your-own-vision-by-arno-rafael-minkkinen
I’ve been thinking so much about sustainability: in life, in creating, in relationships, and in learning. I really like this Slow Learning Manifesto: https://us10.forward-to-friend.com/forward/preview?u=44c1a005dc628023e00b0de1d&id=d4a70b2087
In that same vein, I mentioned Catherine May’s book, Enchantment. I also recommend her Substack newsletter, The Clearing. A recent favorite: What is Enough
A Little Guide to Glimmers Paying attention to tiny clues like these are often what point me in the direction of my creative projects:
Three Quotes about knowing our work
“It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.”
-Wendell Berry
“The world is violent and mercurial–it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love–love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; being a writer; being a painter; being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.”
-Tennessee Williams
“Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.”
-Audrey Lorde
Two Questions for tuning your practice
Subtractive thinking: What can I eliminate to reduce friction, and bring more clarity and focus to my practice?
Additive thinking: What can I add to bring more energy, generosity, and flow to my practice? Is there a small addition that will have an exponential effect?
One Practice
“Anything is possible; doors are continuously opening, and possibilities are always there. It pulls me along–sometimes it’s a rough ride. It is a way of realizing things. I have to test it, feel it, create it.” -Leonardo Drew
I’ve been doing a dive into looking at wall sculpture as research for a project I’ve begun about wildfire. In this way, I happily re-discovered the work of Leonardo Drew. I remember seeing his work for the first time in the atrium lobby of the De Young Museum here in San Francisco, and it took my breath away.
Interview for SCULPTURE: https://sculpturemagazine.art/making-chaos-legible-a-conversation-with-leonardo-drew/
And last, but not least, his live-work space. Garage + living space, connected yet distinct:
That’s it from me for now, see you next week!
Yours in practice,