Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Don't think I've mentioned here before the throwaway poems. During the period when this seed was sending tendrils up through the earth in search of sunlight, I started a little creative game. I said to a few visual artist friends, "Are you ready to play a game? I'll send you words, you send me images to go with the words." I would place their images next to my words, and circulate the resulting booklet among us.

The rules were simple:
I must make the words, and you must make the images, in five minutes or less. Do not turn this into some kind of project.

When the final booklet arrives, read it once and throw it away: delete it.

This poem, which itself was not quite a throwaway poem (took more than 5 minutes to write), describes the throwaway poems, sort of. This one does contain an uncorrected typo, so that almost qualifies it: Get Today's Throwaway Poem

Monday, August 30, 2010

Today, I posted, on Amazon.com, a mini-review of Walter Murch's insightful book about the editing of moving pictures, In the Blink of an Eye. It's a great book both for practitioners of the craft, and for people who love moving pictures. The review is to be found here: Review of In the Blink of an Eye.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

If you are anywhere near San Jose, CA,through January 9,2011, especially if you like Color Field paintings, the color qualities of light, or artistic deployments of technological innovation, you must give yourself a rare treat. Visit the Leo Villareal exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Modern Art.

Please do not take the pieces shown in the little YouTube interview, as beautiful as they are, to represent Villareal's whole body of work. His later pieces move beyond the flashing grid, and produce rich color fields in motion that change organically: lush and delicious.

Forget about the jargon above. If you think you'd like to give your soul a bath in sumptuous color, see the Villareal exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Modern Art.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

When in Oakland, CA, you must visit the Institute of Mosaic Art, a color-saturated visual delight showing mosaic works in ceramic tile, glass, mirrors, and many other objects. Check out these resources to get a taste of the place:

My shots of the Institute during a recent visit

Institute of Mosaic Art website

Trailer for In A Dream - a Documentary about Isaiah Zagar by his son, Jeremiah Zagar. Isaiah's mosaic work appears on, in, and around, the Institute. Apparently, Isaiah still gives classes at the Institute. Isaiah's life provides another example of a thesis central to the small creations blog: that the exercise of the imagination and creative activity can provide a path to knowledge and to the integration of a personality. Apparently, in Isaiah's case, it opened a path from psychosis to mental health. No doubt his understanding wife was no small influence either.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Today, I posted on the small creations website, a story about a great teacher, George.
Today, I posted Gryf in Stephen's Gallery on flickr. Please view the largest size.