Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 16
Day 16 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM). Another poem in my series, although I paired this one with a photograph.
:::
Posts from the ‘Miranda’ Category
Nov 16
12 Comments
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 14
Day 14 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM): Ink and watercolor doodle. Fairly self-explanatory, this one.
:::
Share this:
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 11
Day 11 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM): I had the pleasure of attending a Random Art Workshop (RAW) hosted by the lovely Mindy Tsonas of WishStudio in Newburyport, Mass. My cohort at the Minerva Project, Ellen Olson-Brown, came along for the fun. (Check out Ellen’s fabulous AEDM mini-book projects here!)
I played with a bunch of things at the RAW evening — stepping away from my poem collage series for a bit — including the watercolor sketch below.
:::
Share this:
Nov 8
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 8
Day 8 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM). I have a few more poems bubbling up right now, so I’ll use the brief amount of time that I have to keep drafting — and will come back to the collage work in a bit. This poem is still very much a work in progress, so it might be quite different by the time I get to my collage.
203 New York
The United Nations concourse is closed
to the public and filled with live music.
Waiters in white jackets move across
highly polished marble, attending to
elaborate tables draped with partygoers
and champagne glasses.
An irresistible standard pulls my father
onto the dance floor beside me.
I cannot mask the glee, the visceral joy of
dancing with my father
a million miles from anywhere
at the center of everything
in borrowed clothes and onyx earrings.
I have never danced with my father before.
We are so full of grinning and laughter that
it’s almost too hard to dance.
:::
I’m posting my Art Every Day Month work here on a daily or near-daily basis. If you’d like to join in the fun, it’s not too late! Here’s all the info. And if you don’t have your own blog, you’re welcome to post your AEDM work here. Just comment on this post to let me know.
:::
Share this:
Nov 7
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 7
Day 7 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM). Today I drafted a poem, but I’m not yet sure which visual I’m going to connect it to for the next collage in my series — TBD.
I’m posting my AEDM work here on a daily or near-daily basis. If you’d like to join in the fun, it’s not too late! Here’s all the info. And if you don’t have your own blog, you’re welcome to post your AEDM work here. Just comment on this post to let me know.
626 River
A timeworn, sturdy pilot boat
moored on the Thames
is my first home.
This floating cradle
wraps me in the lasting perfumes
of my brave new world:
freshly ground coffee, diesel, and
my father’s leather jacket, soft and smooth.
:::
Share this:
Nov 5
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 5
Day 5 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM), and I actually have a “finished” piece in hand, the first in the series I’m working on this month. It’s hard for me to say that a poem is “done” after only a few days of working on it, and it’s quite possible that I’ll ultimately end up re-doing the entire collage in order to revise the poem, but such is the nature of work in progress.
I like how the Instagram filter makes the gobo image pop — which was what I had in mind. But with the Instagram square I can’t present the piece in its actual format (a rectangle in landscape orientation — see second image below). These pieces will make use of a lot of black space. The plan is create an entire collection of these gobo poems and bind them into a book. (Rebecca, I’ll be relying on your help when the time comes!)
I’m posting my AEDM work here on a daily or near-daily basis. If you’d like to join in the fun, it’s not too late! Here’s all the info. And if you don’t have your own blog, you’re welcome to post your AEDM work here. Just comment on this post to let me know.
AEDM Day 5: A closeup of the final "305. Eiffel Tower"
AEDM Day 5: The final "305. Eiffel Tower" (not very well photographed -- there is more of a border on the bottom edge than shows here -- and it's not trapezoidal in real life!)
Share this:
Nov 4
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 4
For day 4 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM), I practiced hand lettering my poem for the first collage. I liked the idea of having hand lettering in the final piece, but I wasn’t happy with how the writing came out. Shortly after a few experiments like the one pictured below, I decided that I would use Ye Olde Trusty Laser Printer instead.
I’m posting my AEDM work here on a daily or near-daily basis. If you’d like to join in the fun, it’s not too late! Here’s all the info. And if you don’t have your own blog, you’re welcome to post your AEDM work here. Just comment on this post to let me know.
AEDM Day 4: Hand lettering my poem; not liking the results
Share this:
Nov 4
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 3
For day 3 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM), I drafted the first poem for my series and began assembling collage elements. I forgot how much I love working on a poem: thinking, writing, sitting back, re-working, sitting back, looking again…
I’m posting my AEDM work here on a daily or near-daily basis. If you’d like to join in the fun, it’s not too late! Here’s all the info. And if you don’t have your own blog, you’re welcome to post your AEDM work here. Just comment on this post to let me know.
AEDM Day 3: Writing, rewriting, and assembling
Share this:
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 2
For day 2 of Art Every Day Month (AEDM), I experimented with different enlargement sizes for some of the images I’m going to use in my collage series. I’m looking forward to getting into the art room with a stack of options.
I’ll be posting my AEDM work here on a daily or near-daily basis. If you’d like to join in the fun, it’s not too late! Here’s all the info. And if you don’t have your own blog, you’re welcome to post your AEDM work here. Just comment on this post to let me know.
- AEDM Day 2: Cutting, copying, enlarging, playing
Share this:
Nov 3
Miranda: Art Every Day Month ~ Day 1
I’m playing catch-up here, as I’ve been without power since Saturday — but I’ve been chipping away at my daily practice for Art Every Day Month (AEDM). I had picked a particular project to work on for AEDM, and it feels great to finally get started after thinking about this project for so long. It’s a poetry/collage collection on a particular topic (more specifics later).
On day one (November 1, which was Tuesday), I took advantage of power from our borrowed generator (thanks, Ellen!) to brainstorm a list of memories for my collection. I’ll be posting my AEDM work here on a daily or near-daily basis. If you’d like to join in the fun, it’s not too late! Here’s all the info. And if you don’t have your own blog, you’re welcome to post your AEDM work here. Just comment on this post to let me know.
- AEDM Day 1: Thinking, list making
Share this:
Nov 3
To Balance or Not to Balance
The following piece is reprinted from the most recent issue of the Creative Times. If you’ve already read this piece, skip to the end for a terrific follow-on post sent in by a reader. Enjoy!
For years, we’ve been hearing about this thing called “balance” and how we need to find it. The entire Western world seems to be in constant pursuit of this mythical state of equilibrium. For a sense of how dominant this paradigm is, go to amazon.com and search on “balance” in just the self-help nonfiction category. Nearly 700 books come up.
I invite you to let go of any aspirations of balance. Unless you’re on a yoga mat in a challenging posture, balance isn’t actually relevant. In fact, one could argue that it’s beside the point — or perhaps even impossible. Everything in your life is in a constant state of change. Life is fluid, and balance is an illusion. Even if you’re able to devise the perfect, balanced schedule, two weeks later someone gets strep throat or school lets out for summer or you have another baby. Your spouse starts traveling extensively for business, or stops traveling extensively for business. You gain creative traction and find that you need to really apply yourself for a week in order to meet a deadline, to the exclusion of everything else. The only guarantee is that something is going to happen, and whatever balance you may have achieved is thrown out the window. And that’s OK. That’s just how it is.
Berit Strong is a classical guitarist who lives in Acton, Mass. I interviewed Berit several years ago while working on my nonfiction book. I love what she said about balance: “When people used to ask me how I balanced my life, I would say ‘You must be kidding!’ There is no such thing as balance. The ancient Chinese didn’t believe in balance; you have to be really intense about your life. When I was preparing for a major concerto performance, balance was a ridiculous concept. I didn’t see anybody, I didn’t socialize. I was getting ready for a concerto. I was happy to sacrifice anything else. No time for jogging, I didn’t promote my career, this was the chance of a lifetime. I once lived in Italy for two years. They think that Americans are laughable in the concept of balance. You can’t have both — it’s really hard to have everything the way you want it.”
So, instead of a desperate attempt to hit all of the cylinders all of the time, let’s reframe our ultimate goals as awareness, intention, and flow. We need to start with knowing what’s most important. From there, through awareness, we know what needs our attention most at any given time. This, rather than balance, is what leads us to presence and peace.
“Balance is overrated.”
~Thomas Leonard
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
On Balance
By Emmanuelle Lambert, reposted from Plans On a Comet
When I take vrksasana (tree pose) on the right leg, I am strongly rooted and grounded, foundations are solid, and I can reach up and out. When I take vrksasana on the left leg, my tree is wobbly and I struggle not to grip the mat with my toes. “Balance on four corners of the foot” YEAH RIGHT WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
This week, our birthday hombre Adan wrote a great post about yoga and balance, which led me to ask in the comments “is there such a thing as balance?”
©Dominique Garnet (that's my mum you guys)
We are all on this quest for the ever-elusive and sacred balance. Well, after much consideration, here it goes: “life balance” looks like me in tree pose on the left leg.
You struggle, you thrive, you stop, you pause, you laugh, and then it starts all over again. Lather rinse repeat. There are only ebbs and flows, because that’s the way life is.
When we seek balance, we are only struggling to find something that is not attainable as is. We resist life. We fight, when the real mind soother is active letting go. Letting go of stuff that doesn’t serve.Taking care of ourselves in difficult times, and even not so difficult times. Learn to appreciate what is from a place of gratitude.
This morning, I was supposed to go to a yoga class with a new teacher in town. This morning I hit the snooze button and decided to stay in bed instead. My initial plan was to go to that place at least once a month, show up and make my face known because, who knows, one day they might call me to cover.
But there was a catch: in the situation I am in right now, Saturdays are my only rest days. The only day when I can have a lie in and do whatever I want to do. What if I got called to teach? I would have to say no, because I am by no means available, in body and spirit, on Saturday mornings.
So I didn’t go. Instead, I decided to let go of that big plan, because it’s not the right time.
Balance is difficult to achieve, unless you are willing to let go of the unbearable pressure you put on your shoulders. Balance doesn’t mean juggling a gazillion activities in a day. And remember: let go of what doesn’t serve you, that doesn’t make you less brilliant. You are enough 
Share this:
Oct 12
Child Time: Backward Follow-the-Leader
Here’s something fun to try the next time you’re hanging out with the kids, blissfully agenda-free. Rather than working on a particular piece with a specific outcome in mind, this is an exploration of creativity. See where it takes you. Adapted from The Mindful Child by Susan Kaiser Greenland.
Backward Follow-the-Leader:
In this version of the classic children’s game, the child participant doesn’t know that there’s a game going on. The primary “rule” of this game is that regardless of your child’s age, he or she is always the leader. The idea is that you, as Mom, simply follow along with whatever your child chooses to do, engaging in whatever conversation your child initiates, all at your child’s pace. Don’t tell your child that he or she is the leader; simply try to become totally tuned into your child’s rhythm, interests, and activities. If you have more than one child, take unspoken turns with each of your children. Try to avoid “redirecting” your child’s attention unless he or she is actually facing danger. Let go of the “shoulds” running through your head.
As mothers, our role is often that of corralling our children’s wandering minds and bodies and shepherding them through a maze of goal-directed activities dictated by schoolwork, family, and community obligations — and sticking to tight schedules. Letting go of this role, the one in which you are a cross between an army general and a personal valet, and assuming one in which your child is in control, can be difficult, exhausting, and boring. “Boring” is a word many of us feel guilty about using in connection with our kids, but to be honest, following your child’s lead can be very boring. Using tools of mindfulness, we can transform these occasionally frustrating and dull moments into an entirely different, even interesting, and extremely satisfying experience.
This piece was reprinted from the last issue of the Creative Times, our monthly newsletter.
Click here to subscribe!
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
