January 31, 2010

David Foster Wallace

I've gotten convinced that there's something kind of timelessly vital and sacred about good writing. This thing doesn't have that much to do with talent, even glittering talent.... Talent's just an instrument. It's like having a pen that works instead of one that doesn't. I'm not saying I'm able to work consistently out of premise, but it seems like the big distinction between good art and so-so art lies somewhere in the art's heart's purpose, the agenda of the consciousness behind the text. It's got something to do with love. With having the discipline to talk out of the part of yourself that can love instead of the part that just wants to be loved. I know this doesn't sound hip at all...But it seems like the one of the things really great fiction-writers do- from Carver to Chekhov to Flannery O'Connor, or like the Tolstoy of "The Death of Ivan Ilych" or the Pynchon of Gravity's Rainbow- is "give" the reader something. The reader walks away from the real art heavier than she came into it. Fuller. All the attention and engagement and work you need to get from the reader can't be for your benefit; it's got to be for hers. What's poisonous about the cultural environment today is that it makes this so scary to try to carry out.

David Foster Wallace
There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.
— Jack Kerouac

January 30, 2010

January 23, 2010

January 18, 2010

I am trying to figure out what I am making for my next body of work. I have learned to ask, "Why should it exist?" Also, on my mind is, why I am making anything, why do I even want to do this? I have read once that to begin creating any object, there has to be a recognition of need or purpose. There has to be a problem that requires a solution. And in making this object, this form should carry out this concept and answer what is being questioned. So what is my need/question/purpose?
"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love that is the soul of genius." Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

January 14, 2010

Barbara Seidenath






(via Sienna Gallery).

thinking about

making art... reaching consciousness?

i still need to process that more, but it has been on my mind a lot.

edit (1/15)- "The capacity of art to feed our souls and assist the process of awakening is widely acknowledged. What is art if not transformation and refinement of energies? Raw materials are transformed, uplifted into a refined state, guided by human consciousness and creative imagination. Experiences are distilled from a personal, intimate, and highly subjective realm into universal expressions of our shared humanity, becoming soulful affirmations for others. The spacious perceptions of artists — expressing their longings, their agonies and bliss — are imbued into their works, creating a resonance in the viewer where feelings are intensified and thought evoked. Certain frequencies of vibration — carried by colors, shapes, lines, word patterns, and musical tones or melodies — can correspond to those same frequencies within ourselves. When painters, poets, musicians, or dancers distill their experiences to an essential core and express a refined sensibility, viewers find that those same qualities within themselves are activated, stimulated, and awakened. Why else is it that a line from Rumi or Rilke, music by Bach or Beethoven, or shapes and colors by Rothko or Pollock can create such an intense response? The making of art is, at its best, a disciplined practice; of refining word patterns, finding subtle relationships of form and color, or fine-tuning movements of the body, which may heighten wakefulness, increase mindfulness, and cultivate an opening of the heart. Creativity encourages a widening and deepening sense of being — for both the artist and the viewer." David Ulrich

January 9, 2010


TWO OF US :-)
Originally uploaded by weirena

January 5, 2010

January 4, 2010

textile by Mina Perhonen


(via Mina Perhonen)

the stars will align...

I tell myself this because I am totally feeling uninspired and lazy. What a great way to start off 2010!

I feel a lot of times, life is just waiting periods. What about making things happen? What can I do in the meanwhile?

How are you constantly motivated? Don't you get lazy periods? What about times when you are not feeling so enthusiastic?


On the other hand, the week before, not making any jewelry, I made baked goods and treats for family/friends. I only documented my banana bread because I was so happy with it. It was my very first time.


Baking is fun. I have to admit that the walnut adds interesting texture to the bread, visually.

Anyhow, I should feel good and well rested to be productive soon. I need to go back to reality now. 2010, I know you are here...

January 3, 2010

Silvia Walz


Brooch: Macrocosm 2007
Copper, silver, enamel
5,5 x 4,5 cm



(via Silvia Walz's blog)

January 2, 2010

Gallery HL


so happy to be a part of this gallery in Korea!!