I have reached a point where in order to move forward I need to go back to school for my MFA. Both as an artist and an educator this is the next step I need to take in order to elevate my thinking, understanding and making of art. I am looking at low-residency programs which will allow me to participate in intensive study periods in the summer and winter with time between to work in my own studio on my own terms, while maintaining a regular dialogs with a mentor here in Portland. Now I just need to get to work, and make it happen.
from : Some Rules and Hints for Students and Teachers
By John Cage
RULE 7:
The only rule is work
If you work it will lead to something
It is the people who do all of the work all the time who eventually catch onto things.
You can fool the fans – but not the players.
Filed under: art+photography, artsy., life, personal., portland., thoughts
I guess it was about 8 months ago that I first started to use the neti pot to cleanse/rinse my nasal passages after it was suggested by my acupuncturist. I have been diagnosed in the past as having chronic sinusitis, and I am prone to intense headaches, night sweats and have had multiple sinus infections each year for the past 10. Last fall I had gone to my regular doctor with persistent sinus congestion and pain that was not progressing to any infection nor was it dissipating and draining. My doctor basically told me that because I did not have an infection that she couldn’t do anything for me but she could refer me to an acupuncturist. In addition to the acupuncture he has given me strategies to deal with these chronic problems combining yoga practice, general body awareness and some Ayurveda-esque techniques, specifically the practice of nasal cleansing using the neti pot. I have not had any sinus infections, night sweats or intense, crippling headaches since my first visit.
Now I have reached the point where each morning I look forward to using my neti pot— with all of the pollen in the air my body has begun to sort of crave this ritual cleaning. Oprah recently had a show where a doctor demonstrated the use of the neti pot, which has led to a huge surge in the number of people using them and a shortage of the pots in brick and mortar as well as online stores. If you are curious here is a bunch of people doing it on youtube.
Filed under: backstory, life, personal., random, youtube
I enjoy the occasional cup of good coffee, but I have a daily craving for the perfect espresso machiato— a shot of espresso topped with just a bit of milk foam. (sorry Starbucks, but I’m not talking about you) There is one place in Portland that makes such a drink— Arabica. And if I had unlimited funds I would go twice a day. With out any exaggeration, Arabica makes THE BEST espresso machiato I have ever tasted, and Karen loves their cappuccino which comes out looking like this. Now Starbucks makes a decent, strong and slightly bitter cup of regular coffee, and any espresso drink with milk in it is very drinkable there. But once you taste real espresso with its rich almost terracotta colored crema and thick bitter-sweet, velvety goodness, Starbucks espresso just feels like burnt, brown water in your mouth. My problem now is that I have had this miraculous machiato I crave it daily and the espresso I make at home doesn’t even come close to satisfying me.
I must find the best beans for eliciting the ever elusive rich, reddish crema and the sweet side of espresso, so that I may quench this thirst from the comfort of my home—
I wonder if they would sell me the beans they use at Arabica…
Filed under: eating, food., life, portland., thoughts
For a non-musician, music is such a large part of my life, and for that matter my family’s lives. Instead having the television on eternally, we listen to music almost constantly. It is so much more than just background, it is part of the foreground— it is emotional and intellectual fuel for my day. It has become an essential part of my creative process. I seem to need a constant influx of non-visual stimulations in order to keep me moving forward and music has such profound power. It is the only art form that physically moves us— actually vibrating little bones, and causing waves in the fluid filled chambers of our inner ear. We effortlessly feel music in a way that, as a visual artist, I will be eternally envious of and thankful for.
The last actual, physical CD that I bought was TV on the radio’s return to cookie mountain, and its contents along with their other albums have been a staple for me in the studio. Something about the way they play with the vocals and instrumentation never ceases to stir up emotions and memories. If you are into TV on the radio you might also like Menomena (pronounced like the song from the muppets) they’ve been around for a few years but I have only recently started listening to them with regularity thanks to left of center (Sirius 26). You ain’t no Picasso has one of my favorites up for sampling purposes…
so check out Gay A (via you ain’t no Picasso) and while your at it you may want to give a listen to The Pelican (via the glorious hum) and Air aid (via Pretentious prattle). Tracks are often posted for a limited time only, sample soon so you don’t miss out.
Here are a few more artists/songs that have been stirring me up lately, most of which I originally heard on left of center, later found on the web and eventually bought on itunes:
Breaker by Low— apparently it’s just me and one dude from Iceland listening to these guys. I’d like to credit the blog this track is posted on but I can’t read Icelandic.
+81 by deerhoof (via the sky was candy)
True Affection by The Blow (via Not on the guest list)
if you really dug the un.covers and are looking for more, try these:
If you feel guilty about kinda liking Gwen Stefani try Franz Ferdinand doing Gwen Stefani’s what you waiting for? (via I was here)
If you love the lo fi try Casiotone for the Painfully alone ft. Dear Nora doing Missy Elliot’s Hot Boyz (via dial 6-1-3)
Filed under: entertainment., family, life, music, personal., random, thoughts
The growing trend towards smaller portions in our house has lead us to take the top off of our turkey burgers and make them with a skimpier bottom. But we don’t quite leave them naked and exposed, we layer them with carmalized Vidalia onions and melted goat cheese and set them on a toasted slice of whole grain oatmeal bread instead of a bun. This is one of those recipes that tastes like it takes a lot of work to make but actually doesn’t.
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Filed under: cooking, eating, food., life, pics, recipes
I love the way Teagan’s mind works. In words as close to hers as possible, here is my discussion with Teagan about her Mother’s Day gift ideas for Karen.
Teagan: “I know what we can get mommy… a GREAT BIG DANE DOG. Mommy really wants a big dog she says, but I want a small dog like Samson (my sister’s chihuahua).
Me: “Honey we aren’t going to get another doggy right now.”
Teagan: “I thought maybe we could get mommy an ice cream from Beal’s for Mothers Day, but it will probably melt. Won’t it?”
Me: “Yeah, it would definitely melt before Sunday. Is there anything else you think you might want to get for mommy?”
Teagan: “Maybe we can get her her own ice cream maker, so she can make US some Ice cream.”
Me: “I don’t think mommy really wants an ice cream machine. It sounds like you want an ice cream machine.”
Teagan: “Yeah. I would love an ice cream machine.”
Me: “But we’re supposed to be thinking of ideas for mommy.”
Teagan: “Maybe we should get her a lunch bag, so she doesn’t have to take her lunch in the stripped panties bag (a small Victoria’s secret shopping bag). Or we could get her pink speakers for her ipod, or a smoothie maker.”
Me: ” Okay, which one do you want to get for her?”
Teagan: “The smoothie maker. Mommy and I love smoothies!”
Filed under: family, life, personal., random
last weekend we went to Binghamton to visit my family and so that Teagan could attend her first tea party. Despite the fact that she was not interested in any of the non-sweet food she had a great time. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: art+photography, family, life, pics, travel
Earlier this week I put up a post of some covers that I had found in my various web wanderings. In the first version of the post I was ignorantly linking directly to the songs in question. My goal was not to pass off the content as my own, I was simply interested in making it easier for my friends and the few random readers that stumble in to find these little gems. In my haste (or possibly laziness) I hadn’t given credit to where I found the songs in the first place. (this is atypical even for me) Literally, within minutes of the post going up one of the guys over at auralfitness posted a comment, simply and bluntly telling me of my faux-pas, which I quickly corrected.
We shared a few emails back and forth and he helped me to understand my error and the rationale behind the proper way to post music. I enjoy being able to post about anything that strikes me and, while I have no intentions to make this a music blog, I am sure music will appear in future posts as it is ever present in my life. Thanks to the short email dialog with the Stu, and this article that the guys at auralfitness posted I am learning that there is a real code of ethics that is known by mp3 bloggers. Now that I am aware of this code, I will do my best to follow it.
and for the record, I end up buying most of the music I sample—
so thanks to the real mp3 bloggers out there for helping me spend my money wisely.
Filed under: entertainment., life, music, tech-ish., thoughts, web2.0
One of the most simple, quick and delicious grill recipes I have ever come up with is this Portabello quesadilla served with grilled asparagus. The prep work for this recipe is simple, all of the cooking is done on the grill, the whole thing takes less than 15 minutes to pull together and it is healthy. We end up eating this a lot in the summer as a light lunch or dinner (with grilled corn on the cob) so I thought it was worth sharing. If you try it let me know what you think …
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Filed under: art+photography, cooking, eating, food., pics, recipes
