Stop the presses

I’ve been blogging for work, helping Chase with his art book and reading the crap out of City of Roses which has been crazy fun, and everything is ramping up to busy season again, so here’s a quick dump o’ stuff:

A friend of mine is doing a project called “Secret Chicago”, which now has a wider-ranging LJ group.  They’re ultra-short vignettes that open little mind-doors of (often dark) magical realism into whatever place the writer is from or holds dear.  Some places have strong existences, once you’ve lived there a while and you go past that shop that has been closed for years or take public transit daily it can start your memory reeling into possibilities of whys and what ifs.  Secret Cities is a fascinating project, expanding pocket worlds from chance impressions.

I’ve played with the idea of writing a couple myself, but I think what magical realism I’ve found in the Portland metro area is already being tapped in a couple of ways.  The area in and around where I live I photograph.  Yes, rural suburbia is weird, but in a way I mostly enjoy by living in it.  The city I work in I have a love-hate relationship with and I’ve already got the place drawn up in a different genre of writing experiment.

Besides, the magical realism aspects of the city are, for me, incredibly tied up in someone else’s work.

If I’m waiting for a bus and start a cigarette, I think of Jo in Anvil (#6).  Ghost bikes have a new dimension.  More or less, when I’m looking at the city I’m either wondering what it would look like if the plants went un-battled or if that’s the Safeway in book eight.

It’s a kind of nepotism, I guess.  I am of course fond of my own ideas and I know the writer of City of Roses, who is damned charming—except maybe for how his saga totally overwhelms my impression of the city and keeps me waiting for the next instalment like my own personal narcotic.

Which is still rather charming.

And.

However I feel about any sort of thing where one does something daily in a group goal, NaArMaMo is a good excuse to maybe focus on what I am doing and making a bit while working in all that various media I know, because I seriously stagnate (ew) if I focus too long in a single one.  I personally call bullshit on “NOT NECESSARILY VERY GOOD ART. But a finished achievement of artistic endeavour.”  Because why the shit would I bother if that is the case.

So, we’ll see if life gets in the way, but the plan is this:

Saturdays: Embroidery/Fiber
Sundays: Assemblage-2D (also known as: collage)
Mondays: Photography, moving or still
Tuesdays: Sculpture
Wednesdays: Wearable
Thursdays: Assemblage-3D
Fridays: Painting/drawing

My “weekend” is Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so you see I put the more time-consuming stuff there.  I’ll not be participating in the LJ community, but will be tagging things on Flickr with that horrible sounding “naanarmo“.

Also, dudes, I picked up the latest book of City of Roses and finished it before the train got me home—hoovering it up like a stockbroker in my birth year.  And damn do I love it.  I am tired of hearing that Nick and I are the only fans.  We are obvious because we are rabid. Let the man know you care.

And isn’t he the cutest?

We went to a gallery show, accidentally on First Thursday.  We went to this place that specialised in East Coast deli stuff, right down to the prices, but dude they have pastrami cheese fries.  And we went to Gen X and I resisted getting ridiculous clothes while he had a shirt made.

The man started his day by shooting a retirement party for Forest Grove’s postmaster.  It was at 8:30 in the morning and they had a taco bar.  A taco bar.  Then he went home and made himself strawberry shortcake.

What I am saying here is that he is great.

Sunday we went up to Seattle and it was super fun, but totally wiped me out (although in that positive way where you feel like you accomplished something). So it took me a couple of days to realise I should be all, there are pictures! If you want to see!

Now back to moving.  Hopefully I will not be distracted by the library sale again today.  It sort of defeats the purpose of packing all my books when I go and get more.