Process prior to writing: Yesterday, I blogged about my mother’s 90th birthday party, the passage of time, and how things change. I alluded to a strange quality of my visit. I have found that it is nearly impossible to write well about things that I haven’t fully processed; this is particularly true about ongoing situations. Sometimes I need to […]
I like to tell the odd joke now and then. Many of my friends will confirm that they are indeed ‘odd’. I don’t they the are. Very. As I was perusing my bookshelf earlier today I found a 10-volume set called The Wit and Humor of America that I bought at a flea market, years ago. It […]
It started with writing I found The Norton Sampler (Third Edition) from 1985, a collection of essays about writing, at my local library. It was in the section where they have books for sale. I am interested in improving my writing, so I bought it. This volume included additional material to explain the different types […]
Cleaning I haven’t been to the dentist in a while. It is such an embarrassment. The longer I don’t go, the more embarrassing it is. Dentists are very nice about it, at least the ones I’ve been to see over the decades. When I was I kid I never had novocaine. I’ve walked away from […]
I have been entertaining the idea that writing and painting involve similar processes. This is how I see my process, of late. I understand that not everyone sees these two art forms this way. There are probably painters who do not have any preconceived ideas of what their paintings mean, or any idea of what they mean once […]
I have posted daily watercolor experiments for quite a while now. Sometimes I get inspiration from a previous post. It becomes fodder for my next blog entry. However, I feel a bit lost today. Writing For more than a week, I have been writing in a disciplined manner: no less than 15 minute sessions, at […]
Have you ever seen a chain smoker light a cigarette from the one he is just finishing? I am doing the equivalent with my blog. Yesterday I was trying to explain the thought process I use when I am painting. This is unsettled territory for me. My process has changed significantly from when I began; even […]
I want to be a better writer. I dusted of some of the writing books I bought years ago and reacquainted myself with the basics. The first one I looked at was Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg. Even though the book is 30 years old, the advice is still fresh. She recommends that the […]
Creative process – visual and written In a previous post I considered the difference between painting and writing and wondered how each process differed. Each artist, writer or painter, has his or her own process. Some have been generous enough to share. For example, Paul Klee, in addition to diaries and notes about his work, wrote […]
I was on the way to a bookstore, listening to the radio in the car. I heard a man reading to an audience. It was Billy Collins, former poet laureate of the United States. His poems were conversational and really funny. For example, he read the title, Another Reason Why I Don’t Keep a Gun at […]
