At times, someone convinces me to take on a task I later regret. Then I wonder how I got hooked. For example, I attend a temple I love and usually I do about three hours of gratifying volunteer work per week. With in-person meetings banned during the pandemic, I no longer sing in the choir […]
Fixations and Fate Read More »
When I visited rural Japan in late fall, many windows in ordinary houses were filled with drying persimmon (fuyu). They’d become wrinkled, brownish-rust ovals the size of oranges. The large stem had been pared off and the fruits were hung with the former stem on the side, so their shapes became a flattened egg-shape. Outside
MOTION SPEAKS | Toes – Fuyu Read More »
Alexander Archipenko’s Standing Figure of a Woman, created in 1930, is sleek and polished. She seems to stand in elegant repose, but, look closely and notice she’s in a contrapposto stance, off balance, one leg in front of the other, as if she’s ready to stride or spring. The sleek, yet organic contours of Archipenko’s
The Ancient and the Modern: Archipenko and Roman Beasts Read More »
Foraging is in my blood, as if ancient Hunter and Gatherer genes can’t be denied. At the beach, I compulsively gather interesting rocks and shells. Their designs enchant me, and I rub my fingers over the textures, satisfying something deep within. Four to six inch-diameter stones from my father’s favorite salmon fishing beach, La Push
Leonardo Da Vinci taught his students to gaze at random abstract designs in clouds or textured mud walls. “Draw what you see,” he instructed them. I often take his advice. It’s easy to discover delightful sky-dragons or cloud castles in the air. Staring in a meditative state makes boundaries dissolve and re-form; my vision changes.
