Unarmed and Harmless

Garden Graduation

It's early. My eyes are open but my dreams cling. In the garden, nascent poppies push toward full bloom. I don't know what happened in the night. Pods cracked open and in the dark, each poppy's true color emerged (although no one could yet see it). This morning, with their protective pods still clinging, they are comical, sweet, pleated, and fragile. They look approachable, but let you know they need nothing from you now. The poppies, at this early hour, are not yet bold and fully open, but they will be when I next see them.

Collaboration

Recently, I collaborated with photographer and friend Star Rush on three pieces for the French blog, Une Plume, un Regard. The blog publishers planned to use only one of the image-with-text pieces, but then chose to publish all three! You can view them here:

http://www.uneplume-unregard.fr/en/sirens
http://www.uneplume-unregard.fr/en/canister
http://www.uneplume-unregard.fr/en/balancing

Productive collaboration results in something greater that what each team member produces alone. The creative interaction is a chemistry, a force, and it makes something totally new.

Choreographer Twyla Tharp's book, The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together, is a field guide to the collaborative process. It's full of practical ideas for both businesses and artists, and it's fun to read about her collaborations with Elvis Costello, Milos Forman, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and many others. It's a quick read and a wonderful reminder to join together and make good!

Online Boosts for Your Creative Side

When my artistic efforts need a jolt, I turn to the sites listed here. They offer both inspiration and practical help for artists of all levels. Visit them to wake up your creative side; they'll get you going, even if you're not only stuck, but also broke.

Art House Co-op engages visual artists of all levels in "global, collaborative art projects." Their flagship offering is the Sketchbook Project, in which participants receive a small, 32-page booklet and fill it will drawings, writing, foldouts, clippings, maps, or whatever else they please. Finished books live at the Sketchbook Library in Brooklyn, and Art House Co-Op also takes them on the road. You can view some of the sketchbooks online; their variety is sure to prompt ideas for your own sketchbook and for other work.

Art House Co-op organizes other projects, too. For the Jar Project, participants fill small jars (some rules apply), which become part of a sculpture at Art House Co-op's gallery space in Brooklyn. For Note Swap, participants hand-write notes or letters. Each is sent to another participant. Some projects are free, others require a small fee.

Artist Trust is a non-profit organization that supports Washington state artists in all disciplines. It's a robust resource for everything from open calls for shows and competitions to legal, health care, and housing issues. It's great if you're looking for a place to perform or show work, but also if you're looking for practical business-of-art information.

Creative Live is an online classroom that teaches photography, video, web design, graphic design, app development and more. And here's the wonderful part: You can watch classes, real time, for free! Just sign up. After classes end, you can buy downloads of them for reference.

The Beauty of Letting Go

Magic Carpet

In transition.

Petals fall away; they release themselves from their supposed right place and dart like fledglings in spring wind storms. Their courage to let go makes way for new growth. Making way: an honorable practice if ever there was one. For a brief moment, these loose little forms cover the ground. Familiar gray streets glow pink. It's both seductive and disorienting. Dream like. It's the path to what's next.

Transformation

Open Windows



Ceremony