Thursday, February 13, 2025
Sunday, February 9, 2025
2025
After spending 2024 stretching my inward self and tight IT band, here I am once again to regurge. I don't read any of the new books or watch much of the new shows or listen to much new music. "New and Now" don't necessarily indicate quality and quite surprising to me, that's what I'm more interested in these days. Depth. Wonder. The stone that the builder refuse shall always be the head cornerstone: whimsical pretentiousness with an underlying utter stone heft.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Sunday, February 19, 2017
Chloe Wofford's birthday was yesterday.
A good interview with Toni Morrison.
She talks a bit about white centrality and that to me brings awareness. And having the power to name things., including yourself. And having the power to choose for yourself vs. the false power of choosing for someone else.
She talks a bit about white centrality and that to me brings awareness. And having the power to name things., including yourself. And having the power to choose for yourself vs. the false power of choosing for someone else.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Pencil shavings
CW Pencils
I'm a dabbler in a lot of things. Painting, poetry, cleaning, essential oils, cooking, tea, make up, nail art, planners, journaling...everything.
Today's dabble is pencils. I love going to estate sales and finding vintage pencils. I use them, I compare them, I sharpen them, and have them all over the house.
I have used expensive pencils, dollar store pencils, pencils from the '50s, pencils from other countries. I've culled my indiscriminate collection down considerably and kept only the pencils that write dark enough for me. I don't care how much they're going for online, or how rare they are, or if they're entirely intact with a good eraser. I love a rich black juicy line without having to press very hard. That is my only criteria, really and if they don't meet that, if it's a pencil I'm just not going to use, I pitch it gleefully off into the donate bag.
And I always always come back to my reliable ol' Ticonderoga iridescent silver, black wood pencils with the black eraser. To me, they write nice and dark and smooth. They erase like a dream. I find that I don't care for the regular ones as much. It has to be the silver ones, I can feel a difference. The feel in the hand is obviously different because of the paint. The lead feels pretty much the same, but the eraser is not as satisfying.
If I don't care about using an eraser, then any drawing pencil that is a 4B will do. I've tried an 8B, and I liked the novelty of them for a minute, they amused me for the audacity, but I'll leave the drawing and shading to the artists. I'm just writing a to-do list.
Collectors Weekly
Comfortable Shoes Studio
I'm a dabbler in a lot of things. Painting, poetry, cleaning, essential oils, cooking, tea, make up, nail art, planners, journaling...everything.
Today's dabble is pencils. I love going to estate sales and finding vintage pencils. I use them, I compare them, I sharpen them, and have them all over the house.
I have used expensive pencils, dollar store pencils, pencils from the '50s, pencils from other countries. I've culled my indiscriminate collection down considerably and kept only the pencils that write dark enough for me. I don't care how much they're going for online, or how rare they are, or if they're entirely intact with a good eraser. I love a rich black juicy line without having to press very hard. That is my only criteria, really and if they don't meet that, if it's a pencil I'm just not going to use, I pitch it gleefully off into the donate bag.
And I always always come back to my reliable ol' Ticonderoga iridescent silver, black wood pencils with the black eraser. To me, they write nice and dark and smooth. They erase like a dream. I find that I don't care for the regular ones as much. It has to be the silver ones, I can feel a difference. The feel in the hand is obviously different because of the paint. The lead feels pretty much the same, but the eraser is not as satisfying.
If I don't care about using an eraser, then any drawing pencil that is a 4B will do. I've tried an 8B, and I liked the novelty of them for a minute, they amused me for the audacity, but I'll leave the drawing and shading to the artists. I'm just writing a to-do list.
Collectors Weekly
Comfortable Shoes Studio
Sunday, July 10, 2016
reading is fundamental
remember that commercial? RIF. advocacy for reading, right on tv. ha.
i told myself instead of "training" to apply for an MFA (i.e. reading my ass off) for the next year to catch up to all the new college grads who've been reading for the last 10 years, i would just read for fun. not work. if it's fun it's not work, and that's just better for everybody.
goodreads is a good place to cache reading progress. it's kind of win-win to me, who has been out of the game all these years, because i get to see my progress and also leave a thoughtful review. that counts as writing practice as far as i'm concerned.
i was watching a tina turner video earlier this morning of her chanting some buddhist chants for peace and calm. is there a chant for writers?
i know, i know, our chant is the lull of fingers striking the keys. this should bring cosmos out of chaos (read Madeleine L'Engle's book Walking on Water sometime) and the well replenishes itself.
my diversion of the moment is the paris review's art of fiction. i love these articles because of the insight into writers' lives. it's almost like a "how to" for me to study.
off to chant.
i told myself instead of "training" to apply for an MFA (i.e. reading my ass off) for the next year to catch up to all the new college grads who've been reading for the last 10 years, i would just read for fun. not work. if it's fun it's not work, and that's just better for everybody.
goodreads is a good place to cache reading progress. it's kind of win-win to me, who has been out of the game all these years, because i get to see my progress and also leave a thoughtful review. that counts as writing practice as far as i'm concerned.
i was watching a tina turner video earlier this morning of her chanting some buddhist chants for peace and calm. is there a chant for writers?
i know, i know, our chant is the lull of fingers striking the keys. this should bring cosmos out of chaos (read Madeleine L'Engle's book Walking on Water sometime) and the well replenishes itself.
my diversion of the moment is the paris review's art of fiction. i love these articles because of the insight into writers' lives. it's almost like a "how to" for me to study.
off to chant.
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