#obsessed

Fuck, man, there is so much good art in the world! This is gonna be on repeat for a couple of days.



via The Killing Moon

p.s. The more I watch this, the more I realize this is a black and white version of how I feel when I write poems. Basically, this is my life.

the universe inside you

"Each of us is conceived with a unique set of coiled genes 'primed' for realization. We are born with a desire to develop our resources and contribute our matured talents to the pool of human resources. This unfolding and becoming of an individual self is not only a biological activity--it is also a spiritual one. When we bring to life our unique personal contribution, we are active, local participants in the endless cosmic drama of the creation of ultimate meaning, as the universe, itself divine, 'becomes.'"

--Albert Pesso

Also, this:

Have you had your coffee?

I haven't, which makes this too much for my brain.

Source: porlaputa.com via Marissa on Pinterest

are you doing it properly?

all photos from photobucket, click through for link

love story

   

boom

Source: danceabletragedy.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

read my poems! {em:me magazine}

Three of my poems were published today in the inaugural issue of em:me magazine, a new publication founded and edited by the very talented Emmalea Russo--my dear friend and also my roommate during residencies in Vermont. The magazine also features artwork and photography. Check it out! And to my writer/artist friends who are interested in submitting, the next issue goes live June 20th, 2012... think about it!

My poems are on pages 9-13. Click here to read the magazine. Leave some love, yo.

Find em:me magazine on Facebook. 

DO A LOT OF WORK

all good things are wild & free

turn your speakers up and take a break from your monday, just for a minute or two. you deserve it...


all good things are wild & free from Cass Cameron on Vimeo.

click here to see more of Cass Cameron's beautiful work.

firefly genius love magic!

Long-exposure photos of fireflies in Japan. 

Genius. 

via you should be out on a meadow

I think this is the original source and artist, but I'm no good at Japanese.  

The First Thing to Learn in Art School

My Vermont residency is coming up and this time I'm in a special workshop called "Visual Poetry," led by my first semester advisor Jody Gladding and hopefully-my-third-semester advisor Jen Bervin. I'm not entirely sure what to expect, but our pre-req reading is Kit White's 101 Things to Learn in Art School, a 6x6 book of gems!

As White says, "Art is not separate from life; it is the very description of the lives we lead." Art is important because it "studies the world, in all its manifestations, and renders back to us not simply how we see, but how we react to what we see and what we know as a consequence of that seeing..."

There is more to say, of course, on the necessity of art in our lives, but for now I want to share with you the first thing to learn in art school:

"Art can be anything: It is not defined by medium or the means of its production, but by a collective sense that it belongs to a category of experience we have come to know as 'art.'"

Note, however, that this is not to say that "anything can be art." As White states in lesson #36, "Don't just make designs--say something." Which can be applied to poetry, and to photography--don't just string words together, and don't just snap away without saying something. Says White,

Pleasing design alone does not make interesting art. Design is only the first step in making something substantive and convincing. To succeed, an image (and words are images, by the way), must lead to something beyond the mechanics of formal arrangement. It must be integral to a larger discussion about the world in which it was created, and the history of its own form...

The forms that this discussion can take are endless, and the specifics of the discussion itself are endless, but what remains at the core is discussion about the world. Art is an ongoing and engaging process, yielding discovery for both the maker and the viewer/reader/etc., and I think that's what drives me to write. When I write it's pretty much the only time I make sense of the world, of my self. It's both discovery and meditation, because I hate to be stagnant--not discovering, not creating, makes me anxious. Writing (and by "writing" I'm referring to writing poetry) is where I find peace, even if the writing itself is not necessarily peaceful. Which only makes sense because the world is not necessarily peaceful, bringing us to lesson #38 (and then I'll leave you alone. For now):

Complexity derives from the presence of contradiction: The world is not simple. It is rife with complexity. The impulse to eliminate the contradictions that create complexity is natural. But to simplify may be to render a false condition and therefore an incomplete description. Embrace the irreconcilable elements, the contradictions. They are part of any portrait of a moment.

 I don't make art, and I don't necessarily want art, that simplifies the world--that would be a silly illusion (would it be art....?) Rather I make art and go to art in order to ease my anxiety about the complexities of this world, and also to celebrate the joys of this world, of being human, here and now...

last thought tonight

Source

The Post-Thanksgiving Post

I could spend the rest of my life listing the things I am thankful for, but one thing I am especially thankful for is the opportunity to talk to my younger brother last night, who recently joined the Army and is currently in basic training in Georgia. He only gets phone time here and there and I hadn't been able to speak to him since he left in October, but last night he called my parents' house and I was the one to answer. It was so great to hear his voice...it's already changed.

Of course I'm thankful for my family, small yet full; for Jason, without whom I might be clinically insane (I'm kidding. I think). For the many beautiful people in my life, even though many of them live in other states far away. For VCFA, and for poetry, a bit of which I'll leave you with:

...................I want to thank

watermelon in the summer

and Hitchcock movies in the winter, 

especially his film Rebecca

because now my brother and I say

you can never go back

to Mandalay but really we mean

I miss you, you live so far away. Thanks

to coffee beans and coffee, the warm

smell of steamed milk and people putting

cappuccinos to their mouths

so that there is a moment

like lovemaking when their mouths are covered in cream.  

--from Matthew Dickman's "Thanksgiving Poem," All-American Poem, 2008

"How to Feel Miserable as an Artist" (or, how not to)

source

write write write write write . . .

from Jen Bervin's The Silver Book, Ugly Duckling Presse, 2010


write the precise points that touch
the rivers of energy in the body --
enter them -- and tell me -- if they are
still wet -- tell me -- where they've been
-- tell me -- who touched you all winter --
tell me who -- you'll remember -- in
spring --



jen bervin is a poetry faculty member at VCFA (among many other things). she's fascinating, wise, mesmerizing... visit her website and be sure to check out her online project A Non-Breaking Space.

true creativity knows no limits

she keeps telling me she wants a sister....

Daisies {Sedmikrasky}

So....I have twenty poems to prepare for my adviser by November 28th (and then I will have completed half my grad school packets!), about 10 new and 10 revisions (substantial revisions). Plus a paper discussing my revisions. The first half of my Saturday will be devoted to this work. But first, tonight, Jason and I are taking advantage of our Walker Art Center membership and going to a screening of the 1966 film Daisies, by Czechoslovakian director Vera Chytlova (I'm missing accents in there, don't know how to get them on blogger!).

The film is quoted by Jonathan Rosenbaum as being "One of the most exhilarating stylistic and psychedelic eruptions of the '60's." Also, in the Walker Art Magazine, it says the film is "visually arresting," and that it "challenges gender-identity politics. Two young women mutiny against the culture around them through actions that range from playful to recklessly destructive." 

Sounds super interesting. And, I have this obsession with the culture and life of the mid-twentieth century, so I'm always very intrigued by pieces of history like this. 

Here are two clips I found:

My first reaction is "weird" in the best way possible. I crave weird. 

I hope you all have a beautiful and inspiring weekend. Here's something to get you started:

(original sources unknown--if you know, send me an email)

Still hugging them trees....

It's about time I posted something in regards to the environment, but first: my apologies to anyone whose already seen/read a version of this post elsewhere, either on Facebook or my photography blog, but I feel compelled to share here too. So, here goes....

I'm so excited to introduce to you my new eco-friendly packaging. It took quite a bit of online research, but I think I've finally found the photography packaging that's right for my business. Read on for a breakdown of the specifics.

The boxes are high quality yet made from 95% recycled material. I bought them in bulk from an Oregon-based company whose shipping is carbon neutral.

To wrap the boxes I decided to use jute (on the left) and hemp, both natural, highly sustainable, biodegradable, and very easy to grow without the use of pesticides and fertilizer. The jute I purchased along with the boxes and the hemp I already had.

As a final touch, I'm using my business cards as package tags. My business cards are 100% recycled post-consumer material, chlorine-free, acid-free, and made using wind-power.

All of these natural materials are not only better for the earth, but they also reflect my photography style -- natural, organic, simple yet beautiful with a personal touch. I approach each photography session as an opportunity to create, to make art, to connect with other people and make them happy, and I want my packaging to reflect that, to reflect what's inside.

Plus, I owe it to nature for providing me with the beautiful backdrops for so many of my photos...

"Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty."--John Ruskin

p.s. If you like this you should highly consider "liking" here&nowphotography on Facebook (if you don't already. If you do, thank you!). Look to the sidebar on the right. 

dream spaces

I'm pretty big on interior design because I think it's important to love the place you live in, to make it yours, to be inspired by your surroundings. And working from home/being a stay-at-home mom makes this especially important to me -- I am home A LOT. I want to like being home. And I do. Although we still have many projects we'd like to do (new flooring upstairs, some painting here and there, fixing the downstairs bathroom...), we've really turned this house around. But, like many people, I still dream....

source unknown

source

source unknown

Such an airy open space would no doubt clear up my all-too-often fuzzy, fuzzy mind....

"...We need space that liberates us from terra firma, 

allowing our spirits to soar and our imaginations to take flight." --John Saladino