Synchronized umbrella twirling?

If it were snowing where I live, I would be outside doing this, right now.  I wonder what the comparable activity to do in the rain would be?  Ideas?

Snow Drawings by Sonja Hinrichsen, found via Colossal

Great GOOD article + Ira

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Remember, yesterday, when I said "we should create because we can"?  If your response was either "Yeah, but I'm not creative," or "Yeah, but what I come up with is crap,"—well, then, today's post is for you.

First, I'd like to remind you that both Ursula Le Guin and Pablo Picasso believe that creativity is innate; it's just a matter of recapturing it (if you ever feel you lost it).  If Ursula and Pablo's wisdom still isn't persuasive enough, please read Becca Nath's article on GOOD, How I Learned to Be Creative.  Before she needed to hem a pair of pants for a hot date, Becca would've said "nature" when asked if creativity was a nature or nurture thing.  But, now she knows the truth: being creative truly is a matter of being creative.  Creativity begets creativity.   

Now, for the scary truth: you may not like what you create, at first.  But fear not, friends.  Every creative person who is renowned as a "genius" created "crap" at some point.  (Don't believe me?  Perhaps Milton Glaser will convince you.)  And, if all of the words offered so far are still not enough to encourage you to create something, I direct your attention to Ira Glass's take on creative work (watch video up there ↑).  True, he's speaking of storytelling, but the same principles apply to creating in general.    

So!  What will you make because you can?

Fill in the blank

You may have noticed that I like me some whimsy and cheek in my street art.  I also have a penchant for pieces that make me think.  But Candy Chang's Before I Die project goes beyond simply making me think.  She re-imagined an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans, and gave her community a public place for reflection and awareness.  Using plywood and chalkboard paint, and offering chalk to all passersby, she created opportunities for individual expression and community interaction.  Brilliant.  I am in awe of her vision and its execution.

The project has grown, and continues to spread into other communities.  I found the wall in Santa Cruz particularly poignant.  And, as a runner, I appreciated San Francisco's twist: I Run Because.  Reminded me of the exceedingly sage pontification I once offered the world, via Twitter (the source of all contemporary philosophy worth its salt): we should run because we can.  

I now expand my credo to incorporate living an art-ful life—we should create because we can.  Thanks for the reminder, Ms. Chang.

Makes me smile

when people re-imagine their surroundings—

making streams of hearts gush from once-obsolete pipes,

and dumpsters smile.

Makes me smile when folks see potential in objects, and use them for something other than their original purpose.

And turn something mundane into something amusing.

Makes me smile to daydream of a home that greets me with a cheeky grin.


Sources
Color Me Katie's heart pipe 
Kristin Farr's smiling dumpster
refrigerator magnet letters mural
piano stairs
smiling house

Progress Report

Have you guys crossed off any tasks on GOOD's Art Every Day list this week?  I managed to check off a few, especially if you allow for altering and amending (which I do!).

✔ Doodle for 10 minutes straight.  Here's a close up of my favorite part (the yellow squiggles!).  Little did GOOD know, I keep a notebook exclusively for doodling, and I "assign" myself one doodle a week anyway.  :)

✔ Create something handmade.  Here's a crocheted cowl I'm working on.

✔ Research an art topic.  I began my quest to learn more about the origins of street art.  Yarn bombing is a form of street art that is particularly close to my heart.  On the left: Ben shows appreciation for a yarn bomb in Leipzig, Germany.  On the right: a tree cozy in Salzburg, Austria.
  

✔ Share links to a favorite artist's work.  I am smitten with Björk.  Not only is she a talented, hard working, and unique musician, she collaborates with others to create stunning visual aspects to her music performances.  Have you seen her videos for Crystalline and Moon?  Mesmerizing!  But, since we're about to usher in the weekend, I thought I'd also share my favorite upbeat Björk tune: It's Oh So Quiet.  I dare you not to dance along!

✔ Support the local arts scene.  Tomorrow is my first day of volunteering at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco, and I am so excited!  (But not like Jessie Spano excited; not to worry.)  Some of my first tasks will be in preparation for the closing party of the Randy Colosky Fiat Lux exhibit, which features the piece pictured above, Axis Mundi.  The entire exhibit is interesting and thought-provoking—especially in regards to how we view ordinary objects and their use.  If you're in the Bay Area, you should come check it out between 4:00-6:00 p.m. tomorrow.  MOCFA is near the Powell Street BART station.  And I hear there will be beer. 

I hope you all have an art-ful weekend!

p.s. I have a few other ideas for how to incorporate art into your weekend, if you're interested.  ;)

Thought for Thursday

Spotted in Portland

Grab your world-watching gear + do as the sign says, people!

I didn't study this in my art history courses

When I was in Europe last fall, soaking in all of the architecture, (sanctioned) public art installations, and fine art in the museums, the question I was most interested in investigating was when and how did street art, as we know it, develop?.  It's not that I wasn't in awe of the traditional art.  Of course I was, but what can I say?  I'm a fan of subversion.  And beautifying our neighborhoods.  Because they are our neighborhoods, after all.  I suppose I should research the "artivism" sub-category from the diagram above, because street art that makes a statement, be it aesthetic or political, is my favorite.  I admire the combination of creativity, cleverness, and conviction.   

Many moons ago, I watched Style Wars (which is kickass, btw), but like the amnesiac I am, I don't remember many of the details (luckily, the entire documentary is streaming on YouTube).  New York.  Subways.  Train yards.  Cans of spray paint.  That's pretty much the extent of my knowledge on the origins of street art, specifically graffiti.  So, I went where all deeply serious academics go to conduct thorough and reliable research: Wikipedia.  I now know precious little more than previously noted above.  (Did you know cave paintings that date back to 30,000 BCE, can be classified as graffiti?  I did not.  I always thought of cave people as rule followers.)  As you can imagine, though, it is difficult to determine precise origins for such a dynamic movement.  And being such a recent (comparatively speaking) branch of visual arts, I didn't expect to find oodles of definitive texts on the topic. 

But, I shall not be deterred!  I plan to watch Style Wars again.  Then, I'll read Street Art: The Graffiti Revolution, Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents, and Graffiti Women: Street Art from Five Continents.  You better believe all this research totally counts as one, if not two (or three!), of the tasks on GOOD's 30-day Challenge checklist.     

Would you like to see some of my favorite 

street art works from my recent trip to Europe?

diagram source       

Be GOOD: Art Every Day

I'm a bit tardy alerting you guys to GOOD's 30-Day Challenge for March.  But you know what they say about late and never.  Plus, I'm giving you the opportunity to double up on some artistic activities for a few days in order to catch up, thus enhancing your enjoyment on said days twofold.  You're welcome.  ;) 

I digress.  The good people of GOOD are challenging us to incorporate art on the daily.  They've brainstormed 31 tasks that will ensure we are maximizing our artistic interactions with the world.  A few of my favorites:

• doodle for 10 minutes straight
• take a street art walking tour 
• make origami

Ok, you know what?  All 31 are my favorites, and I don't want to retype their whole list.  So, follow the link above to see which daily art activities you'll perform in March.  Feel free to alter some of the tasks, delete any you're not into, and/or add your own!  I even see some major crossover opportunities should you still desire to participate in the Magic Mission.  :D

p.s. That stunning Tupac/Adventure Time mural up there?  Is in Castro Valley!  I know!  (I mentioned it once before.)  Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would not believe it either, friends.  But extraordinary surprises are all around us.  Are you looking?

Seeing the world through extraordinarily-colored glasses

"I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary.  I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was." - Jacob Portman in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

Kinda reminds me of the Roald Dahl quote about magic—you gotta keep your eyes peeled.  Or wear special glasses, I suppose.

Apologies for the thug face.  I promise you I'm smizing behind those sunnies.  :)

Starting with #4

My partner in whatever the opposite of crime is (aka Ben) and I finally completed one of the projects for the Magic Mission.  We gathered provisions:

(yes, bubble tea played an essential role in this particular project)

and got busy.  Ben was, of course, all about the pun.

(TAG! You're it!, Don't leave me hangin', bro!, etc.)

Rhyming anthropomorphism also served as a muse—Cats shooting craps!

I, too, tried my hand at the visual pun.  See the corner of Have a [soccer] ball peeking out down there?  I was kinda proud of that one. :)

But sometimes just-plain-cute trumped clever.

Bonus points for sparkle.  Always.

We tied our tiny-messages-to-the-world on chain link fences, tennis court nets, tree branches, door handles, and bridge railings.  Today was such a windy day, though, that it was difficult to get photos of our tiny messages "in the wild".  Let's just say this guy reads, "you're a shooting star," ok? 

We saved quite a few of the lot, so the adventure will continue!  Do you have plans to complete a Magic Mission this weekend, friends?  If you're looking for an easy/fun one to start with, I highly recommend #4.

Cheers + magic to you!