materials, techniques, ideas and some of the other 10,000 things excite me.
when the starting of something new or a glimpse of a finished work – in my skull – excites me, that’s where i like to go, to explore – even if it means dropping something else to get there. i’ve found that i do my best work when i’m excited to be doing it.
over time i’ve learned to allow myself this kind of jumping path. as a result, i like what i’m doing most of the time. i’ve also found that i often go back to things and finish them when my excitement for that thing returns. at any one time i may have a number of works or projects going that i intend to complete – in my own way of course.
i like working this way.
one of the things i have to do on this planet is become me. i’m reasonably sure i will be the best complete me that there will ever be in this world – at least for my time being, even when others follow up on things i do. i like that.
the more i work in my own way, the more me i become. as i see it, the more me i become the more unique my work will be. no one that i know of has ever seen how i will become on this planet. no one including me, has ever seen what i will do. which means not even i will know exactly how to react to my work – at least initially for some time.
one reason i do my art, is to find out how it will become, because in some way, that is how i am becoming too.
aloha
Yes, double and triple. I said the same of my poetry a few years back, well
something like that anyway. If I write something and only one person likes it, even if it wasn’t me…than it was worth writing.
While glancing in at another site you listed several other places that you post (if I am not mistaken- and I just didn’t copy at the time). I follow few but bookmark whole bunches. Can you send me an e-mail with your other sites? Artwork and artists are a great inspiration, for me anyway.
While visiting I took with me some watercolor colored pencils. I like to dabble in different mediums. One of these days I’ll figure out how to post photos – maybe then I’ll post my drawing of this piece:
aloha Jules. i’m finding now that writing what i like and the way i like is one of the keys to wanting to constantly write (for me at least). and that often means when i get a wild idea i’m free to go off and explore it. i like that a lot. when it connects with others, i see that as a fun bonus.
i’ve been on many sites. with a number of blogs and other kinds of focuses. i mostly post to WP now. and occasionally to my dotcom:
rickdaddario.com
i have several blogger blogs but i dont post much on those currently. i will see if i can send you some of the other sites in an email. most will be older stuff.
new materials are way fun to play with. so i can well understand your watercolor pencil explorations.
i hope you will explore posting photos. it would be great fun to see what you do with visual works. i find experimenting with technology is just like anything else. the more you do it the easier it becomes. depending on your hardware it is getting easier and easier all the time to load work, photos, scans etc. from one thing to another. and WP is reasonably easy to pop images into. it takes a few steps—just play. that’s all you need to do. when it works, do it again. and repeat. (and if i can help let me know).
Maui (like each island) can be a lot of fun in it’s own unique way. each island being very different yet with some overlappings too. Maui has an extreme range of things to do from very cultured to very wild. it’s easy to see why you’d have fun there.
aloha, RickWrick. Thanks so much for following my blog. I’ve been looking through your posts, and really enjoying your style of writing and photography. Wonderful work, and probably because you are doing it while you are excited about it; wonderful to keep something alive in this way. Definitely glad to meet you here on WordPress. Aloha
aloha Angeline. cool. i’m delighted that you like the writing. imo, i’m still finding my voice. i like the direction it is moving in and i’m having a lot of fun with it. thank you.
exactly. as maybe you’ve read, i find the best time for me to work on anything is when i’m excited about it. it took me a long time to understand that when i’d let something sit for a long time that did not necessarily mean i was finished with it. and that i’d come back to it when the time was right. now i understand that tho and i’m okay with that process. i’m having way more fun too as i dont have to slog through stuff i’m not ready to be doing. in return i find i like everything i’m doing as i’m working on it. and it often comes out better as well.
Aloha, What a great site you have…I like what you say about doing things when you feel “excitement”..If i no longer feel the passion, I quit or put it aside. What I am finding more and more on my “pen name” blog, I try to put things aside if the passion wanes and go back to it…I sometimes am interupted and I lose my thought that excited me…Thank you for following my blog. You have so much talent!
aloha Cheryl-Lynn. thank you. i have a lot of fun with this site (my blog) because i feel like i can do the things here in what ever way i want to do it. i like that a lot. i also have a dotcom site where i try to be a little more organized. but it’s still me and takes off in a variety of directions too.
yes too, when i am excited about something, that’s when i’ll do my best work (imo). and that excitement is very likely to show up in the work. i like that a lot.
and again. letting something sit when i become more excited about something else, i’ve learned is a great way to work. i find i need things to sit sometimes and percolate to find the best way to continue. going to something else, especially something that is exciting, is a great way to let that process develop in what ever i have going (at least for me it is).
yes. i find that i have any number of things going at one time. and that is okay. because some things may be just starting but others are in middle stages and still others are in the last stages. by going to what i’m ready and excited to do i end up completing almost as many things as i start. sometimes the time lags vary but there is always something that is ready to complete just like there is something always ready to begin. i like that a lot. so i hope you continue in this way if it works well for you too.
we all have talent. and we all get better and better at what ever we keep trying to get better at too. that’s what i believe and see all around me all the time. fun on that of course.
way cool on continuing on. thank you. aloha. rick.
Percolating is a good way to describe the creative mind…I have lots on simmer or slow cooker and sometimes I have to put it aside for longer. It is always a pleasure reading your blog and you are so generous with giving information. Thank you for following my blog too…wow! I iam truly humbled, aloha, cl
bwahahaha. yeah. simmer and slow cooker creativity is excellent imo. just keep at it. or at something. it all comes round when the next step is apparent or ready. i find switching from one thing to another and doing what is exciting or appeals to me often helps solutions to another. that then makes the other exciting to go back to and carry if further and closer to completion.
i think we all learn from each other. we each have something to offer that the other can use. that is what i see over and over again. i’m delighted that you like exploring this blog. fun on. aloha.
ha. i forget there is passion. i think you are right tho, it’s there. i’m glad it shows up in my work and words. fun. you are always welcome. laugh on. i like that too. aloha.
aloha Linda. it’s fun to see what others do, yes. i think that is a good thing. i hope you continue to enjoy what i do—and that we learn from what each of us does. and have fun too. aloha.
aloha Tomas. cool. i know we each have our own ways—and yet sometimes there is a deeper way where we also connect. i am sure i am not the only being who can work this way. i think one of the keys to our being our self is to accept ourself in the way we are and make choices that work within that way of being. i’m glad you like this. i do too. aloha.
Agreed! Only once I accept myself am I able to begin to really see myself, see how I am in this existence and with others and then it’s natural to act according to my true nature. Aloha and Mahalo ☼
it is an interesting process. to me it feels natural to seek this way. which is why i follow my own ways as much as possible. more and more i find a sense to it even if initially i did not know how it would make sense. i think that is a coming to trust ourself too, because it seems to me we all have it in us. trusting our self is also a good thing as i see it. aloha.
Flipside Records (in response to your last response) – since i’ve learned that i often learn more by work that doesnt turn out right, i tend to keep that stuff more often now. …i just dont show it as often – unless i need an example of it for some reason. or to point out i can do yick work too. however i’ve also learned that when a work gets out of kilter – or is beginning to be muck, THAT is when it gets exciting.
i discovered this excitement happens because and by painting through the muck to get to the other side of it. this actually gets me to the other side of it – or a new place in the painting/work.
inevitably there is the other side – the beyond the muck point – i just have to keep working until i get there – and often it is a wow side/place.
when something i’m doing goes to muck that is when i am much more willing to risk and take chances and push the edges and boundaries of what i’m doing. – it becomes, who cares what i do because it is already muck? so i dont need to hold it as special or importantly precious etc. – and i am free to play. wow, play, yeah. way cool on that play stuff.
so that is when i let loose and really explore to see what happens and find out where i am going to get to on that other side.
inevitably i learn from this.
inevitably – or at least way often – i end up in a place that i find exciting.
and that is very cool.
i’ve also learned that if i talk too much about what i am going to do i end up creating the work in the words of my speak.
once that happens i’m less likely to do the work in paint because i’ve already resolved it in words. so why do i need to paint then? (okay, yeah, if i paint and let myself explore what happens it’ll turn out different than the words and cool on that – however the start is a starting place where i’ve already found resolution. why not start where i have not found resolution?)
i also find it limiting if i say too much about what i am going to do. it tends to split me as i work – some how i begin to feel i have to hold to what i said i was going to do when as i get into the start of it i realize that is not what i need to do from within the work. so i am split – do what i said i was going to do or what the work needs from within the dialogue between it and myself as i work.
so i try to be careful about what i SAY i’m going to do. because when i do it i want it to be in the moment that i’m doing it.
so yeah. the boy looking in the mirror – you (or for me I would) already know where it had to go when we started. for me doing it then just becomes mechanical at that point (which is okay sometimes) however in this case i suspect i would lose my edge of excitement for doing it because i already know/knew the end of what has to be done. i hope i’m making sense here.
i’d probably be happier stopping and starting something else. …which is what i give my self permission to do when ever something else becomes more interesting than what i’m doing. when i already know the answers other things become more interesting.
…of course now… everything is exciting to me. bwahahaha – so now it’s fun no matter where i jump in. and i like that. fun. fun and aloha on.
You know, we all spend much of our lives wandering around wondering what our purposes are. And yet, you have nailed such a key purpose so succintly and simply:
“one of the things i have to do on this planet is become me”
When you look at life as an endeavor to turn into yourself, completely, it makes life sound a bit more interesting and tolerable … worth the hardship, work, and turmoil.
I’m going to write this in my “important quotes” journal. Very few words make it in. It’s to house inspiration that I want to revisit even years from now. Truth for the ages, if you will. Mahalo, Rick.
aloha Flipside Records. becoming ourself seems to be a double-sided mirror with sharp edges that human beings seem to hold onto with both hands wide open in fists. that is, for being one of the things that should be very easy to do we seem to make it much more difficult than it needs to be. silly creatures that we are. we can try tho.
and yeah, too, i think you are right – it is in how we look at it – our frame of mind reference – that makes something workable. or not.
cool on truth that goes beyond our age and time. yeah, we all need reminders …okay, at least i do. …of course i think we all need fun too.
“a double-sided mirror with sharp edges that human beings seem to hold onto with both hands wide open in fists” … See, this is what I find so fascinating about poetry. There are no boundaries in what is possible. Would that people would see life more like this, eh—no limits on what is possible (that includes me, of course!). What I’m referring to is the fact that you describe a hand as being simultaneously open and fisted. Seemingly impossible. Yet, as a metaphor, entirely possible. We are each a conundrum, a paradox in our inability to just pick one side of a coin and stick with it. We keep flipping it, sometimes so fast that you can see both sides at once.
i like what you are pointing out with boundaries. another area i like to play in with my work (including paintings) is the surface that can be both foreground and background. Escher was a master at this. it’s way fun to play with on a flat surface (imo). …and… it can extend into the 3rd dimension as well – for example a mobius strip. ….or at least i’ve always thought of this strip as 3 dimensional as it includes the front side and the back side. as one surface.
yeah – that spinning coin. amazing. our mind is clearly able to bend thought. something akin to our ability to hold too opposite and mutually exclusive concepts to both be valid at the same time.
the mount Everest
that fits through the eye of a needle
twice
(btw – i wouldnt consider that – above – as haiku. i just like the form of haiku visually and how this sentence works in that form.) (of course i can be convinced otherwise.) (probably.) bwahahahaha – entirely possible.
“our mind is clearly able to bend thought. something akin to our ability to hold too opposite and mutually exclusive concepts to both be valid at the same time.” … I agree 100 percent.
Are you going to write a poem for my list this week? I just posted mine. Would love to see what you’d come up with.
yeah. i like this bending thought thinking. there is such amazing stuff in the world – like understanding infinity by looking into a mirror that faces another mirror at a slight angle. wow. infinity.
yeah again, my intention is to do at least one work from your (this week) list. i’m just a little behind the pace at the moment… altho… i already have one haiku (and parts of others) but i want to work it into haiga.
i also played with one of your other lists. knowing me i may not pay attention to the order or the current list as much as just dipping into your pool of lists until i understand my way with them a little more. eventually tho, i’m sure i’ll get to the point of plunging in to a list the moment a new list is up.
just so you know too… i’m approaching my 30 days of september haiga. which of course i’m behind on mentioning. so we will see which comes first – lists, play. play lists. or music by which to word blossom and other delightful dance waves with elegant bells sounding softly on the shore. okay. i’m up with that. aloha.
All of that was tantalizing to the tastebuds of my eyes, who found themselves drooling while they read your words.
I look forward to absorbing anything you produce, in any order—prompt or not. And I’m thrilled to hear about your September haiga. How exciting!
And Rick, in high school I took on an art project of just what you described—a boy looking in a mirror facing another mirror. My plan was to go as far as I could incorporating reflections. But it was too difficult. It was the idea I liked, not completing the task. Although it was looking great, I got very frustrated and threw it away (a bad habit of mine).
aloha Laz. thank you. i find your blog and poetry inspirational – as well as the way you keep at it – that in itself is impressive, and while doing so you always bring up fresh new work with new wow in it – so cool on what you are doing as well. aloha
aloha TWG – it is amazing how we influence the world – yet the world influences us. what we surround ourself with… has a constant effect on us i think. so in that sense i see it as important to make good choices – even in the things we place on walls. …which is fun too. you are of course welcome – aloha.
Congratulations Rick! I’ve just given you the Versatile Blogger Award! Check it out http://wp.me/pBbcr-b0…it's an interesting blogging phenomenon I was awarded and now I’d also like you to have it.
aloha Josette – thank you. i have no idea what this award is about as i’ve not heard of it – until now.
i think something snafu-ed in the link. it went to a blank page… altho… may be that’s good?? bwahahahahaha. i’ll see if i can hook up to it by experimenting – thank you, i am honored. aloha.
Hi. I like your blog. It’s worth reading for the content to me, because I like art, but the thing that directed me here was your complaint in the wordpress forums about google analytics and page freezing. That’s also happening to me, and it only started after I moved to another country. Have you had any luck figuring out what’s wrong?
aloha AMB – in short, no, not really. i tried the suggestions that came out of the wordpress forum thread. and a few that i thought of or got else where. what i havnt done is to directly to google and contact them. mainly i figured it must not be happening to others so may be it was something in my own machine. if it’s happening to you it still may be within our own computers… if it happens to enough people i think google or some outside entity will solve the issue – may be.
the sites i go to where it happens are either ones i visit on a one time exploration – or a couple that i’d go to repeatedly if i could get on them. i know it’s still happening because i had the issue come up again on a one time visit site – altho it’s not happening as often now.
for me, it seemed to start around the time i added one of the google adsense options to an account. that may be coincidence or related – i’m not computer savvy enough to really know or figure it out. i’m just now wondering if you have something going on with google adsense too?
if the issue is big for you – like one of your own sites that you cant get on – you might approach google – help – or some other contact point and see what they say. for now, i’ve let it go, as i said when it becomes a problem for enough people someone will probably figure it out.
i hope it clears up for you. if you find a fix, let me know if you think of it. but no worries, if you dont get back here.
thanks for your comment. i’m always glad when someone likes to explore the things i’m doing. have fun. aloha – Wrick.
Great site and great art. I especially enjoy and am intrigued by the haiga. I’ve wanted for some time to learn zen ink painting (I’m self taught with acrylic on canvas) and your site nudges me on. There’s too much great inspiration on the interwebs!
cool and thank you. yeah, i like haiga a lot. as with haiku the more i learn the more my haiga evolve. the concept that both image and haiku function together in one work is a lot of fun – i try to keep in mind a few things when i work on one:
– the image is not intended as an illustration of the haiku
– (and) the haiku is not a story, explanation or caption for the image
– the visual weight of the haiku should balance (using such things as size and placement) with the visual weight of the image
– the two (haiku and image) should relate to each other visually in placement – and in other ways, rather than the haiku being placed on the image as a caption or title might be, or as it might be in other poetry forms on a page in a book
– the haiku should be easy to read and clear – as should the image be of course
– hand written words are often preferable when possible – unless there are other reasons for using pre-made fonts
at least those are some of my thoughts at this time.
i’m not sure i know exactly the distinction between zen ink painting and some of the other terms i associate with asian style work – such as sumi-e or brush-stroke painting or one-stroke painting. they may all be a general way to describe painting that uses the calligraphy brush stroke as the base from which to create an image. this kind of work appeals to me too. i’ve studied from books as well – however at some point i think a teacher is needed to help get beyond what a book can do (which imo is a lot). …that thought was added to, about a week ago when i met a local antique dealer – from china – who lives here. we got to talking about some general art areas. he had some great master/student stories. i’m looking forward to periodic visits with him – or at least i’m hoping to get there every so often…
cool if my blog nudges you on. . . i’ve recently gone live with a dotcom of my work – altho at this time it is not complete. the semi-permanent galleries are up but other areas are still under… waiting-for-me-to-get-to-them terms. if you want to visit, have a look: rickdaddario.com
yeah, again, i too find a lot of work and ideas on the net to be exciting and inspiring. i like meeting and exploring with people who simply enjoy the learning process of sharing what we do. imo, a good teacher learns from a good student just as a good student learns from a teacher. in other words we are all teachers as well as students all the time – and there is always more to explore.
you’ve streamlined that ku just about as far as it can go i think. i suspect i know too much about the history of that ku to be able to read it fresh right now – i know i’m jumping down the line a ways as i read it. otherwise i think there would be a lot more think going on in my skull. no apology necessary. pushing to streamline has a place in haiku. i’ve said this before and i think it applies to a lot of things – if you havnt pushed a pencil hard enough to break the lead then how do you know how dark you can make the line? i think sometimes we have to go beyond the limits to understand what the limits are. may be that’s a good side of breaking rules…
A 19 Planets Art Blog 2010/2024 
aloha
Yes, double and triple. I said the same of my poetry a few years back, well
something like that anyway. If I write something and only one person likes it, even if it wasn’t me…than it was worth writing.
While glancing in at another site you listed several other places that you post (if I am not mistaken- and I just didn’t copy at the time). I follow few but bookmark whole bunches. Can you send me an e-mail with your other sites? Artwork and artists are a great inspiration, for me anyway.
While visiting I took with me some watercolor colored pencils. I like to dabble in different mediums. One of these days I’ll figure out how to post photos – maybe then I’ll post my drawing of this piece:
https://julesgemstonepages.wordpress.com/2014/06/17/tuesday-tryouts-a-single-image/
Continued success in everything. Did I ever mention I spent a wonderful week on Maui a few years back? I did.:)
aloha
aloha Jules. i’m finding now that writing what i like and the way i like is one of the keys to wanting to constantly write (for me at least). and that often means when i get a wild idea i’m free to go off and explore it. i like that a lot. when it connects with others, i see that as a fun bonus.
i’ve been on many sites. with a number of blogs and other kinds of focuses. i mostly post to WP now. and occasionally to my dotcom:
rickdaddario.com
i have several blogger blogs but i dont post much on those currently. i will see if i can send you some of the other sites in an email. most will be older stuff.
new materials are way fun to play with. so i can well understand your watercolor pencil explorations.
i hope you will explore posting photos. it would be great fun to see what you do with visual works. i find experimenting with technology is just like anything else. the more you do it the easier it becomes. depending on your hardware it is getting easier and easier all the time to load work, photos, scans etc. from one thing to another. and WP is reasonably easy to pop images into. it takes a few steps—just play. that’s all you need to do. when it works, do it again. and repeat. (and if i can help let me know).
Maui (like each island) can be a lot of fun in it’s own unique way. each island being very different yet with some overlappings too. Maui has an extreme range of things to do from very cultured to very wild. it’s easy to see why you’d have fun there.
aloha rick.
aloha, RickWrick. Thanks so much for following my blog. I’ve been looking through your posts, and really enjoying your style of writing and photography. Wonderful work, and probably because you are doing it while you are excited about it; wonderful to keep something alive in this way. Definitely glad to meet you here on WordPress. Aloha
aloha Angeline. cool. i’m delighted that you like the writing. imo, i’m still finding my voice. i like the direction it is moving in and i’m having a lot of fun with it. thank you.
exactly. as maybe you’ve read, i find the best time for me to work on anything is when i’m excited about it. it took me a long time to understand that when i’d let something sit for a long time that did not necessarily mean i was finished with it. and that i’d come back to it when the time was right. now i understand that tho and i’m okay with that process. i’m having way more fun too as i dont have to slog through stuff i’m not ready to be doing. in return i find i like everything i’m doing as i’m working on it. and it often comes out better as well.
fun on. and explore on too. aloha.
Aloha, What a great site you have…I like what you say about doing things when you feel “excitement”..If i no longer feel the passion, I quit or put it aside. What I am finding more and more on my “pen name” blog, I try to put things aside if the passion wanes and go back to it…I sometimes am interupted and I lose my thought that excited me…Thank you for following my blog. You have so much talent!
aloha Cheryl-Lynn. thank you. i have a lot of fun with this site (my blog) because i feel like i can do the things here in what ever way i want to do it. i like that a lot. i also have a dotcom site where i try to be a little more organized. but it’s still me and takes off in a variety of directions too.
yes too, when i am excited about something, that’s when i’ll do my best work (imo). and that excitement is very likely to show up in the work. i like that a lot.
and again. letting something sit when i become more excited about something else, i’ve learned is a great way to work. i find i need things to sit sometimes and percolate to find the best way to continue. going to something else, especially something that is exciting, is a great way to let that process develop in what ever i have going (at least for me it is).
yes. i find that i have any number of things going at one time. and that is okay. because some things may be just starting but others are in middle stages and still others are in the last stages. by going to what i’m ready and excited to do i end up completing almost as many things as i start. sometimes the time lags vary but there is always something that is ready to complete just like there is something always ready to begin. i like that a lot. so i hope you continue in this way if it works well for you too.
we all have talent. and we all get better and better at what ever we keep trying to get better at too. that’s what i believe and see all around me all the time. fun on that of course.
way cool on continuing on. thank you. aloha. rick.
Percolating is a good way to describe the creative mind…I have lots on simmer or slow cooker and sometimes I have to put it aside for longer. It is always a pleasure reading your blog and you are so generous with giving information. Thank you for following my blog too…wow! I iam truly humbled, aloha, cl
bwahahaha. yeah. simmer and slow cooker creativity is excellent imo. just keep at it. or at something. it all comes round when the next step is apparent or ready. i find switching from one thing to another and doing what is exciting or appeals to me often helps solutions to another. that then makes the other exciting to go back to and carry if further and closer to completion.
i think we all learn from each other. we each have something to offer that the other can use. that is what i see over and over again. i’m delighted that you like exploring this blog. fun on. aloha.
Rick, thank you , you write with much passion and I can hear your laughing voice in your words. 😀
ha. i forget there is passion. i think you are right tho, it’s there. i’m glad it shows up in my work and words. fun. you are always welcome. laugh on. i like that too. aloha.
Aloha 🙂
Thank you for visiting and following my blog. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your posts. What I’ve seen is lovely! 🙂
aloha Linda. it’s fun to see what others do, yes. i think that is a good thing. i hope you continue to enjoy what i do—and that we learn from what each of us does. and have fun too. aloha.
Lovely…
~ like ~ a lot! tomas ☼
aloha Tomas. cool. i know we each have our own ways—and yet sometimes there is a deeper way where we also connect. i am sure i am not the only being who can work this way. i think one of the keys to our being our self is to accept ourself in the way we are and make choices that work within that way of being. i’m glad you like this. i do too. aloha.
Agreed! Only once I accept myself am I able to begin to really see myself, see how I am in this existence and with others and then it’s natural to act according to my true nature. Aloha and Mahalo ☼
it is an interesting process. to me it feels natural to seek this way. which is why i follow my own ways as much as possible. more and more i find a sense to it even if initially i did not know how it would make sense. i think that is a coming to trust ourself too, because it seems to me we all have it in us. trusting our self is also a good thing as i see it. aloha.
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Flipside Records (in response to your last response) – since i’ve learned that i often learn more by work that doesnt turn out right, i tend to keep that stuff more often now. …i just dont show it as often – unless i need an example of it for some reason. or to point out i can do yick work too. however i’ve also learned that when a work gets out of kilter – or is beginning to be muck, THAT is when it gets exciting.
i discovered this excitement happens because and by painting through the muck to get to the other side of it. this actually gets me to the other side of it – or a new place in the painting/work.
inevitably there is the other side – the beyond the muck point – i just have to keep working until i get there – and often it is a wow side/place.
when something i’m doing goes to muck that is when i am much more willing to risk and take chances and push the edges and boundaries of what i’m doing. – it becomes, who cares what i do because it is already muck? so i dont need to hold it as special or importantly precious etc. – and i am free to play. wow, play, yeah. way cool on that play stuff.
so that is when i let loose and really explore to see what happens and find out where i am going to get to on that other side.
inevitably i learn from this.
inevitably – or at least way often – i end up in a place that i find exciting.
and that is very cool.
i’ve also learned that if i talk too much about what i am going to do i end up creating the work in the words of my speak.
once that happens i’m less likely to do the work in paint because i’ve already resolved it in words. so why do i need to paint then? (okay, yeah, if i paint and let myself explore what happens it’ll turn out different than the words and cool on that – however the start is a starting place where i’ve already found resolution. why not start where i have not found resolution?)
i also find it limiting if i say too much about what i am going to do. it tends to split me as i work – some how i begin to feel i have to hold to what i said i was going to do when as i get into the start of it i realize that is not what i need to do from within the work. so i am split – do what i said i was going to do or what the work needs from within the dialogue between it and myself as i work.
so i try to be careful about what i SAY i’m going to do. because when i do it i want it to be in the moment that i’m doing it.
so yeah. the boy looking in the mirror – you (or for me I would) already know where it had to go when we started. for me doing it then just becomes mechanical at that point (which is okay sometimes) however in this case i suspect i would lose my edge of excitement for doing it because i already know/knew the end of what has to be done. i hope i’m making sense here.
i’d probably be happier stopping and starting something else. …which is what i give my self permission to do when ever something else becomes more interesting than what i’m doing. when i already know the answers other things become more interesting.
…of course now… everything is exciting to me. bwahahaha – so now it’s fun no matter where i jump in. and i like that. fun. fun and aloha on.
You know, we all spend much of our lives wandering around wondering what our purposes are. And yet, you have nailed such a key purpose so succintly and simply:
“one of the things i have to do on this planet is become me”
When you look at life as an endeavor to turn into yourself, completely, it makes life sound a bit more interesting and tolerable … worth the hardship, work, and turmoil.
I’m going to write this in my “important quotes” journal. Very few words make it in. It’s to house inspiration that I want to revisit even years from now. Truth for the ages, if you will. Mahalo, Rick.
aloha Flipside Records. becoming ourself seems to be a double-sided mirror with sharp edges that human beings seem to hold onto with both hands wide open in fists. that is, for being one of the things that should be very easy to do we seem to make it much more difficult than it needs to be. silly creatures that we are. we can try tho.
and yeah, too, i think you are right – it is in how we look at it – our frame of mind reference – that makes something workable. or not.
cool on truth that goes beyond our age and time. yeah, we all need reminders …okay, at least i do. …of course i think we all need fun too.
fun on. thank you and you are welcome too aloha.
“a double-sided mirror with sharp edges that human beings seem to hold onto with both hands wide open in fists” … See, this is what I find so fascinating about poetry. There are no boundaries in what is possible. Would that people would see life more like this, eh—no limits on what is possible (that includes me, of course!). What I’m referring to is the fact that you describe a hand as being simultaneously open and fisted. Seemingly impossible. Yet, as a metaphor, entirely possible. We are each a conundrum, a paradox in our inability to just pick one side of a coin and stick with it. We keep flipping it, sometimes so fast that you can see both sides at once.
i like what you are pointing out with boundaries. another area i like to play in with my work (including paintings) is the surface that can be both foreground and background. Escher was a master at this. it’s way fun to play with on a flat surface (imo). …and… it can extend into the 3rd dimension as well – for example a mobius strip. ….or at least i’ve always thought of this strip as 3 dimensional as it includes the front side and the back side. as one surface.
yeah – that spinning coin. amazing. our mind is clearly able to bend thought. something akin to our ability to hold too opposite and mutually exclusive concepts to both be valid at the same time.
the mount Everest
that fits through the eye of a needle
twice
(btw – i wouldnt consider that – above – as haiku. i just like the form of haiku visually and how this sentence works in that form.) (of course i can be convinced otherwise.) (probably.) bwahahahaha – entirely possible.
“our mind is clearly able to bend thought. something akin to our ability to hold too opposite and mutually exclusive concepts to both be valid at the same time.” … I agree 100 percent.
Are you going to write a poem for my list this week? I just posted mine. Would love to see what you’d come up with.
yeah. i like this bending thought thinking. there is such amazing stuff in the world – like understanding infinity by looking into a mirror that faces another mirror at a slight angle. wow. infinity.
yeah again, my intention is to do at least one work from your (this week) list. i’m just a little behind the pace at the moment… altho… i already have one haiku (and parts of others) but i want to work it into haiga.
i also played with one of your other lists. knowing me i may not pay attention to the order or the current list as much as just dipping into your pool of lists until i understand my way with them a little more. eventually tho, i’m sure i’ll get to the point of plunging in to a list the moment a new list is up.
just so you know too… i’m approaching my 30 days of september haiga. which of course i’m behind on mentioning. so we will see which comes first – lists, play. play lists. or music by which to word blossom and other delightful dance waves with elegant bells sounding softly on the shore. okay. i’m up with that. aloha.
All of that was tantalizing to the tastebuds of my eyes, who found themselves drooling while they read your words.
I look forward to absorbing anything you produce, in any order—prompt or not. And I’m thrilled to hear about your September haiga. How exciting!
And Rick, in high school I took on an art project of just what you described—a boy looking in a mirror facing another mirror. My plan was to go as far as I could incorporating reflections. But it was too difficult. It was the idea I liked, not completing the task. Although it was looking great, I got very frustrated and threw it away (a bad habit of mine).
Aloha Wrick … I dig your creations… all
All The Best!
Peace,
Laz
aloha Laz. thank you. i find your blog and poetry inspirational – as well as the way you keep at it – that in itself is impressive, and while doing so you always bring up fresh new work with new wow in it – so cool on what you are doing as well. aloha
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“… to find out how it will become, because in some way, that is how i am becoming too.”. That’s so interesting, Rick. Thank you.
aloha TWG – it is amazing how we influence the world – yet the world influences us. what we surround ourself with… has a constant effect on us i think. so in that sense i see it as important to make good choices – even in the things we place on walls. …which is fun too. you are of course welcome – aloha.
Quit right:)
Congratulations Rick! I’ve just given you the Versatile Blogger Award! Check it out http://wp.me/pBbcr-b0…it's an interesting blogging phenomenon I was awarded and now I’d also like you to have it.
aloha Josette – thank you. i have no idea what this award is about as i’ve not heard of it – until now.
i think something snafu-ed in the link. it went to a blank page… altho… may be that’s good?? bwahahahahaha. i’ll see if i can hook up to it by experimenting – thank you, i am honored. aloha.
Hi. I like your blog. It’s worth reading for the content to me, because I like art, but the thing that directed me here was your complaint in the wordpress forums about google analytics and page freezing. That’s also happening to me, and it only started after I moved to another country. Have you had any luck figuring out what’s wrong?
aloha AMB – in short, no, not really. i tried the suggestions that came out of the wordpress forum thread. and a few that i thought of or got else where. what i havnt done is to directly to google and contact them. mainly i figured it must not be happening to others so may be it was something in my own machine. if it’s happening to you it still may be within our own computers… if it happens to enough people i think google or some outside entity will solve the issue – may be.
the sites i go to where it happens are either ones i visit on a one time exploration – or a couple that i’d go to repeatedly if i could get on them. i know it’s still happening because i had the issue come up again on a one time visit site – altho it’s not happening as often now.
for me, it seemed to start around the time i added one of the google adsense options to an account. that may be coincidence or related – i’m not computer savvy enough to really know or figure it out. i’m just now wondering if you have something going on with google adsense too?
if the issue is big for you – like one of your own sites that you cant get on – you might approach google – help – or some other contact point and see what they say. for now, i’ve let it go, as i said when it becomes a problem for enough people someone will probably figure it out.
i hope it clears up for you. if you find a fix, let me know if you think of it. but no worries, if you dont get back here.
thanks for your comment. i’m always glad when someone likes to explore the things i’m doing. have fun. aloha – Wrick.
Hey Wrick,
Great site and great art. I especially enjoy and am intrigued by the haiga. I’ve wanted for some time to learn zen ink painting (I’m self taught with acrylic on canvas) and your site nudges me on. There’s too much great inspiration on the interwebs!
So. Anyhow, how about this?
train
picket fence
stick
Huh? I know. I’m sorry
🙂
-Steve
aloha Steve
cool and thank you. yeah, i like haiga a lot. as with haiku the more i learn the more my haiga evolve. the concept that both image and haiku function together in one work is a lot of fun – i try to keep in mind a few things when i work on one:
– the image is not intended as an illustration of the haiku
– (and) the haiku is not a story, explanation or caption for the image
– the visual weight of the haiku should balance (using such things as size and placement) with the visual weight of the image
– the two (haiku and image) should relate to each other visually in placement – and in other ways, rather than the haiku being placed on the image as a caption or title might be, or as it might be in other poetry forms on a page in a book
– the haiku should be easy to read and clear – as should the image be of course
– hand written words are often preferable when possible – unless there are other reasons for using pre-made fonts
at least those are some of my thoughts at this time.
i’m not sure i know exactly the distinction between zen ink painting and some of the other terms i associate with asian style work – such as sumi-e or brush-stroke painting or one-stroke painting. they may all be a general way to describe painting that uses the calligraphy brush stroke as the base from which to create an image. this kind of work appeals to me too. i’ve studied from books as well – however at some point i think a teacher is needed to help get beyond what a book can do (which imo is a lot). …that thought was added to, about a week ago when i met a local antique dealer – from china – who lives here. we got to talking about some general art areas. he had some great master/student stories. i’m looking forward to periodic visits with him – or at least i’m hoping to get there every so often…
cool if my blog nudges you on. . . i’ve recently gone live with a dotcom of my work – altho at this time it is not complete. the semi-permanent galleries are up but other areas are still under… waiting-for-me-to-get-to-them terms. if you want to visit, have a look: rickdaddario.com
yeah, again, i too find a lot of work and ideas on the net to be exciting and inspiring. i like meeting and exploring with people who simply enjoy the learning process of sharing what we do. imo, a good teacher learns from a good student just as a good student learns from a teacher. in other words we are all teachers as well as students all the time – and there is always more to explore.
you’ve streamlined that ku just about as far as it can go i think. i suspect i know too much about the history of that ku to be able to read it fresh right now – i know i’m jumping down the line a ways as i read it. otherwise i think there would be a lot more think going on in my skull. no apology necessary. pushing to streamline has a place in haiku. i’ve said this before and i think it applies to a lot of things – if you havnt pushed a pencil hard enough to break the lead then how do you know how dark you can make the line? i think sometimes we have to go beyond the limits to understand what the limits are. may be that’s a good side of breaking rules…
cool on exploring. explore on. – aloha – Wrick