Glass is fragile. I have accidentally broken more of it than I can remember. Jagged pieces discarded and forgotten. Glass distorts and reflects. It bends reality like dreams bend consciousness with mysterious and sometimes haunting effects. Glass is transparent. I know it has mass but I can see inside it and through it. Glass is…
Diving in to project 6, “Monochromatic Still Life Studies,” I wondered why anyone would want to approach painting with such limitation. As an artist who tends to throw a lot of color around, it seemed counterintuitive to me. On top of that, I sat in an area of the classroom where the still life…
Four days before class: I grip the X-Acto knife and slice deliberately into a piece of cardboard. I’m making a viewfinder. I don’t know what size window to cut so, with a strong need to be prepared, I make two different sizes. I am mildly aggravated at the lack of clear sizing and color instructions. …
Here is what I know: On September 20, 2014, after struggling with ever-worsening pain and addiction, my dad took his own life. Here is what I don’t know: Why he thought this was the only solution. The following eulogy, written by me, was graciously delivered by Rev. Carl Gnewuch during my dad’s memorial service at Prince of…
“I also had to learn that losing myself in my work was not dangerous.” ~from Virginia Valian’s essay ‘Learning to Work’ We jumped into class with our weekly critique. The task was to post a couple versions of last week’s 10-minute still life studies on the wall, offer quick comments on what we liked…
I never had children. The choice was deliberate. I am too needy. I need long periods of deep introspection. I need to rebel. I need to meditate for an hour a day. I need to quit my job for idealistic reasons with nothing else lined up (yep, I’ve done it twice). I need to jump…
8 rules to turn bad days into good habits 12 things you should start making time for again 10 things successful people never do 8 time management sins 6 things to figure out when you hit 6 figures 7 toxic habits that drain your energy 10 ugliest celebrity wedding dresses 12 bizarre things happening on…
A blank page. What countless people wish for. What I wished for. I got my wish. And then I stared into the bright white future and I froze. As a 42 year-old accounting and finance professional, I found myself divorced, liberated from a dysfunctional marriage, devoid of most of my belongings and starting over…
The Naked Notebook 