My sculpture is leaning a little to the left. As I pile the pennies onto the sculpture, I position them with meaning. Quadrants: left lower is negative, right upper is positive, right lower is falling, left upper is rising. The rising quadrant has the most pennies so far, and I think that’s a good way … read more Day 100: Copper river
Tag: art
Day 99: Playing with Kandinsky
Can you build a whole painting around a single square of color? You can learn to, if you play around. That’s what I’m doing by playing with colored rectangles derived from those used by Wassily Kandinsky in Thirteen Rectangles. Although the arrangement of Thirteen Rectangles seems random, each shape and its color is part of the dynamic … read more Day 99: Playing with Kandinsky
Day 97: Tired of words
Too many words. That’s the impression I have from reading a few chapters of a book I was working on in 1997-2004, “Difficult Places”. I felt literally sick reading it. So much effort to produce … a lot of words. Just two things today: Not that these two bits are so spectacular. One is an attempt … read more Day 97: Tired of words
Day 95: Memory guts
When we lose a memory, where does it go? Inside the guts of a computer, the information is still there even if we can no longer activate it. That must be why I’ve kept this decade-old Vaio laptop in storage for almost five years. Couldn’t bear to just toss it in the trash. It holds … read more Day 95: Memory guts
Day 86: Broken glass
When I was a kid, I used to accumulate burnt-out light bulbs in a paper bag and then take them down to the river to smash against the rocks. In my twenties, it was vodka and gin bottles. Last year, I got so mad at my computer that I hurled a glass of water against a … read more Day 86: Broken glass
Day 81: On the grid
Grids: Some drawing teachers refuse to use them. Perhaps they believe that drawing something wrong, over and over, is better because it’s unaided. Grids can be used to scale an image: Take a 5 by 7 print of a photo, and draw lines dividing it into 35 one-inch boxes. Then draw 35 three-inch boxes on an 18 by 24 sheet … read more Day 81: On the grid
Day 78: Reset
When I started this project, I cashed a check for $162.52 to get the 16,252 pennies. That was the last check of an annuity inheritance from Dad. Or so I thought. I got a letter from New York Life asking why I hadn’t cashed the check for February. Huh? I looked at my records and sure enough, … read more Day 78: Reset
Day 76: Heart’s desire
Friday my fortune cookie said, “Your dearest wish will come true.” Well, that would be nice. Maybe then I’d know what it is. In the early 1990s, I was struggling to figure out my next steps in life. A very wise friend of mine told me, “The hardest part is knowing what you want.” So … read more Day 76: Heart’s desire
Day 74: Dipping in
I woke up early this morning certain of one thing: I will not live past this year. I will not survive past the age of 56. It was not a panic, nor a vague fear. Just a clear understanding: 56 is it, the final year. There was no image of death in a fiery wreck … read more Day 74: Dipping in
Day 71: Scattered
I’m not sure if I should even be writing today. All day I have been unable to focus on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. Peck, peck, neck swivel, peck, check email, peck peck, think about painting, peck peck, add up some numbers, peck peck, peck peck peck. Ever done that? … read more Day 71: Scattered