I don’t think you and I create because one of us is eventually going to make the piece that satiates the primal, human hunger all other art pieces had previously failed to satiate; Or because one of us is going to write the song that renders all other songwriting unnecessary for the remainder of history. … Read More
Title Pending
Star Wars and Your Creative Process
I picked up the Star Wars digital release and immediately jumped to the iTunes extras and searched for the 1-hr behind-the-scenes documentary called “Secrets of Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey.” Honestly, I’d have paid the $19.95 just for that 1-hr. From Daisy Ridley’s audition footage to JJ Abrams’ reaction to shooting Han and Chewie’s classic … Read More
Title Pending Guest Video: Painter Dave Burke
From Title Pending: “At a pivotal point in the writing of my first book, I spent some time at the Phillips Gallery in Washington DC. Along with many other great works, the Phillips Gallery hosts a col- lection of pieces by Mark Rothko, whose work I greatly admire. I stood in the Rothko room for … Read More
Title Pending: Dry Seasons
It is likely that, if you’ve been making art for a while, you have felt the seasons change but might not have had the language or permission to see that seasonal change for what it was. It may have felt like things had simply dried up—that rain wasn’t falling and the ground was hard. Everything … Read More
Title Pending: Keep It To Yourself
When I’m at the beginning of a project, I generally let just one or two people into my process and share my vision, or at least as much of it as I have clearly in mind. They are people who will hold me to the work I’ve committed to rather than just pat me on the … Read More
Title Pending: You Are Always Beginning
The hike to the top of Mt. Diablo is roughly seven and a half miles. And though I know that cognitively, I don’t climb the mountain with that number in mind – I climb it in sections. The first two miles are relatively easy, with a few short hills and plenty of flat ground between. … Read More
Title Pending: Translation
The grease board listed, in red and blue dry-erase marker, all the movements, reps and weights involved in the day’s workout. I was familiar with everything on the board… with the exception of one word. I’d never seen it before in this context. So, I went ahead and took a radical step… I asked what … Read More
Title Pending: Details
At the very end of Pearl Jam’s hit song “Daughter,” the drum track delicately vanishes, the bass track disappears and Vedder’s signature vocals are long gone. All that remains are two guitar parts, playing single-note patterns… and a beat. But the beat isn’t played on a drum kit. Nor is it played on a djem- … Read More
Title Pending: Study A Master
My wife studied studio art in college. And as part of her coursework, she spent a good chunk of time not only looking at but re-painting or re-sculpting pieces by master artists. On the wall near my desk is Amy’s study of Wayne Thiebaud’s “Black Shoes.” I find Thiebaud’s original piece particularly remarkable because the … Read More
Upon The Dawning of a New Year and Turning 41
I’m not someone who worries about my age. I worry more about the Raiders and A’s than I do how old I am. That said, I have spent the past three months on Sabbatical, looking backward at the first forty years of my life and wondering/dreaming about what’s next. Author Richard Rohr, in his book Falling Upward, … Read More