Wednesday, August 25, 2010

'the loving care he gave to that bread'



Pip Wilson has a blog, which has been a helpful blessing to me in more ways than I can say. And now he has a book too (actually one of many). Opening the book at random I came across this (and it touched me):

One man, a Chef in a college community,
striving to meet the needs of young humans,
started to tell me how he baked bread.
And then he started to weep as he told me
of the loving care he gave
to that bread -
to those humans.
Beautiful

The last few weeks for me have contained a big mix of stresses (some good). On the blog, Pip had recommended acknowledging feelings but not being ruled by them. Recognize the fear, paranoia, stress, anger - acknowledge and then realize that the feeling does not have to rule your behaviour. I am sure I am not quite capturing the message but the exercise has been enormously helpful for me the past view weeks - freeing. Certainly helping me to see the world differently.

This is some of what I have been up to.

I don't always feel as clearly but here is the part of the Auden poem I was thinking of.

You need not see what someone is doing
to know if it is his vocation,

you have only to watch his eyes:
a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon

making a primary incision,
a clerk completing a bill of lading,

wear the same rapt expression,
forgetting themselves in a function.

How beautiful it is,
that eye-on-the-object look.

The rest of it is here.

this makes no sense


And you will scratch your head if you try and fathom it. It is all a learning process for me.

rendez-vous

Sylvain Chomet talks about animation from Sam Taylor on Vimeo.

I love what Sylvain Chomet has to say about the dream-like state of drawing. After a funk of a week this helped me see that things taste better again.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

the week that was


In which I forgot how to draw. Why does it feel like starting from scratch after just a few days away?
There are links to Tony Judt's New York Review of Books pieces and other recommended reading here.
And the Gil Scott-Heron article is here. There was something in the tone of the piece that I really did not like. But Scott-Heron is playing Greenbelt this year and they have a nice audio interview with him here.
I do not know anything about Paloma Faith but loved this Q&A at the Guardian.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

fun



After waking up feeling a bit stressy, this made me happy this morning. Posted here.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

beeswax

"Beeswax" trailer from Matthias Grunsky on Vimeo.



So good.
The director, Andrew Bujalski, has a way of making the naturalism in his films really work well for the stories tells. I was not sure I was in the mood for this but am so glad I watched it. It felt like spending some time hanging out in someone else's world just like this one.

more camels



I'm well into the Scott Pilgrim books (see reading sidebar) and loving them.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

first drafts


I had forgotten about these. I sketched out my ideas for Andrew's album art before sending him each completed drawing. He has a very kind post about the drawings here. And there is another stellar review of the album here (including a nice mention of the drawings).

Monday, August 2, 2010

epicness


Friends have kindly parted with these for as long as it takes me to read them. Finished the first one at lunch - fantastic. Biggest surprise for me is how clearly it feels like Toronto. Reading on.

'this young Scot'



From the Scottish Sunday Express. Makes the day feel a wee bit better. Andrew's album is here.