These are dry times. Summer slips away faster than you can catch it – a dime down the drain. The sky hangs damp and icy today. Across the globe, powerful little men toy with the world’s future like it’s a game of chicken. Hurricanes have ravaged large parts of our earth. Families will suffer the effects for years to come. Terrorists won’t let London sleep.
This planet can get so ugly. So broken. So disordered. So many of our mirrors are shattered.
There is order in beauty. A divine order, I believe, but whatever your theology you can feel it. The affirmation of disparate parts falling into place.
Jennifer Berkenbosch’s Cultivar matters because the world needs beauty today. We need to be reminded that there is goodness. There is a solid bed beneath this wild river.
This weekend there are so many good things going on in our city. I’m one of the hosts of CBC RadioActive’s InCrowd, where it’s my job to say ‘here’s what you should check out in the arts scene this weekend’. That job gets a lot harder come summer.
For those of you interested in the power of art for social change, the choice is easy this weekend. Bleeding Heart is involved with not one, but THREE incredible events on Saturday (and beyond) that you won’t want to miss.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Next week I will resume Website Wednesdays - offering step by step tutorials to fix this problem. I want every artist I know to have a great website that shows off the best of who they are. I want that for you and I believe it’s possible.
In the meantime, I want to know what is getting in your way.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
You can follow these conversations easily with the #TalkbackTuesday hashtag. You can comment below, or post to your favourite social network with that hashtag - which will really help us keep the conversation rolling. That's my goal on Tuesdays - to get people talking about art, wherever they may be online.
I visited a Marcel Duchamp exhibition in Paris. But it was of his paintings (he's known as an experimental/installation artist and scultpor mostly). I took in the Dali Museum, which showcases his sculptures (he's mostly known as a surrealist painter).
So many of us have side pursuits. I'm going to share one of mine, and I'm curious to hear about yours.
Bonus points for pictures or links!
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
photo from Unspash.com
Some artists get to work at their craft, full time, in a dedicated studio space. A massive old barn. A converted garage. A loft downtown. Others of us, well, we make do.
Just last night I seized a 45 minute family absence to write a song in my living room. I did a rough recording on my iPad, because I have no permanent recording space set up at home. Or anywhere. I make space where I can find it. Writing is the same. This post is taking shape at my kitchen table. I'd be reclining on the couch but feel it's bad for my posture (and perhaps my work ethic).
As we look to launch our new space, we're hoping for some creative co-working spaces in the back. Likely four stations where you can bring a laptop, sit in community and work away, far from the distractions of the floor that needs to be vacuumed and kids that need to be entertained. This has got me thinking a lot about the spaces where we work. The spaces where we make. The ways those spaces affect our work.
I've even read about someone who covered a van into a mobile workspace!
Please answer in the comments below, or on social media with the hashtag #artsTalkTuesday.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Libraries are awesome. Borrowing is the bomb. But when you break out the wallet and actually pay cold, hard cash (or colder, harder debit) for a book, it says something. It means something. Usually, it means the book is pretty important to you.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
It's Tuesday - let's talk art.
What art, media and culture have you engaged with this past week? What would you recommend and why?
Art is best enjoyed and digested in community, so this is our weekly space to have those conversations - to practice discernment as a collective.
So, what are you watching, visiting, listening to, reading, etc?
Where have the arts taken you this week?
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Let's talk art. What art, media and culture have you engaged with this past week? What would you recommend and why?
Art is best enjoyed and digested in community, so this is our weekly space to have those conversations - to practice discernment as a collective.
So, what are you watching, visiting, listening to, reading, etc?
Where have the arts taken you this week?
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Art speaks. It's time to stop and listen in community. Arty Tuesday is a project where we post one, two or three pieces of art or media that have made an impact on our lives over the past week. We are moving past what we 'like' towards discernment. Really seeing.
Share your pieces, then take a moment to comment on the sharing of others. Join the conversation!
Oh, and by the way, this week marks a milestone for Arty Tuesday - the feedback loop. This week I watched a film that was recommended a few weeks back in the comments. I love it when this sort of 'feedback loop' begins - when previous pieces resurface because someone else has gotten around to engaging with them. It is proof that my life (or at least my viewing) is a bit different because of my time spent with this community. Thank you.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Art speaks. Let’s stop and listen in community. This week we're chatting about Max's monsters, Arcade Fire's dress code, and whatever you bring to the table ...
Take a moment in the comments below to share up to three art experiences that made an impact on you this past week. Go beyond ‘it was good’ and think about art, film, music, books and more that have left you thinking, wrestling, smiling, etc.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Any artist can benefit from the questions Edward raised. The artist life can be a whirlwind. Often wedged into the nooks and crannies between the 'real' job, family time and social commitments, we can spend all of our time creating our work, without stopping to consider what we are trying to say and to whom. These big 'why' questions are too easily left unanswered, or even unasked. Edward Van Vliet has graciously shared some guiding questions from that workshop. The questions revolve around three key areas; Artist, Show and Tell.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
