Choose your object

Dear CoReaders,

Besides the cheerful distractions of the holidays, I had found an effective way to procrastinate on the next assignment, the second assignment on page 19th, looking at something that doesn't change. Corita recommends "something that doesn't change--a soda bottle is fine." Well, there are cider and wine bottles aplenty in my kitchen, but was I was stubbornly wanting to do this exercise with a specific object I had in mind but that wasn't easily at hand. In fit of "organizing" I had put away several of the smaller but not necessary objects floating around the kitchen, including one little cream colored pitcher I had found at a yard sale a few years ago, well at least five years ago. It has a tiny chip on one side but has a wonderful shape and I was hung up on using it for this activity. Finally finding some resolve in myself this morning, I dragged the stepstool around the kitchen and dug into high reaches of cabinets until this little treasure revealed itself again.

Why does fifteen minutes sound like such a long time? Fifteen minutes of concentration in a day of 24 hours. So, I allowed myself some classical music on the radio and a cup of tea, then set the timer. And as in the first exercise, once I let my eyes take over and look slowly in, across, and all over the small pitcher, the time slid by. One of the reasons I had specifically wanted this little object is because of the layering of coloring that has taken place in the glaze of this item--it might originally have begun its life as a solid cream color, but there is really a lot happening in terms of color and texture in this little gem.  Tiny clear crackles but also changes of color in the material, either from wear, exposure to water or sun, however it has happened I wanted to take the time to really look at the multiple layers of color in this object.  

Will you join me this week in choosing an object to view for 15 minutes a day and share your observations?

Cheerfully yours, The Bookcharmer

Here we go!!!!

Dear friends,

Earlier this month I saw the exhibit Someday is Now:  the Art of Corita Kent at the Pasadena Museum of Art.  On coming back home, I ordered a copy of the book Learning by Heart, the book co-written by Corita and Jan Steward.

It is so inspiring that my mind is still whirring at almost 5 a.m. pacific time, and its been whirring since 1:40.  This is most unusual behavior for your Bookcharmer, as I am what is known as a "good sleeper."

I will write more coherently about what I have in mind for this book club, but it starts with this:

get the book.  Start with your library of course, and if you decide you want your own copy, search this ISBN 9781581156478 in your favorite independent book supplier, start with http://www.indiebound.org/ but also check out abebooks or alibris if you want a used copy.

Then, read!  Think about what art projects you want to try.  We can try them on a schedule, or do them in any order you want.  We'll think up some useful hashtags so we can post images and thoughts on social media so we can see what our experiments produce.  Maybe we'll schedule a twitter chat, a google hangout, or even an in person meeting.

If anyone happens to be in the SoCal area, do get over to the Pasadena Museum of California Art, as the Someday is Now exhibit is only up through the end of October!!!  Here's the scoop on place and times:  http://pmcaonline.org/exhibitions/someday-is-now-the-art-of-corita-kent/

There is so much to talk about in this book:  teaching, creativity, materials, and looking.  The assignments that have you practice observing are very compelling to me right now as I feel like I'm in constant visual overload and want to learn to slow and harness the the way I experience visual information.  That is probably my biggest goal in experiencing the art assignments.

So let's get started.  Get the book!!!