Category Archives: Bit of the ordinary

Something from everyday goings on.

Bit of the ordinary

silence on a Sunday

it is so calming to sit in silence on a Sunday.

listening deeper, there is more to it

rustle of the leaves in the wind

syncopated sounds of exterior insects

the kids not doing their chores upstairs

snippets of imaginary games floating down

the silence is full of noise, full of life

of action and life filling up the home, but not crowding it

that will leave empty silence once they grow up.

Bit of the ordinary, Family biz

The Universality of the Beautiful by Matthew James Collins

My talented brother, Matt, found something unusual while on vacation:

The sound quality of bad. My amateur filming skills on an now outdated digital camera are even worse. However I felt compelled to preserve this experience and share it. Maybe these things happen on in Venice. I don’t know. But that is where I happened upon these two violinists that included ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana in their repertoire.

What struck me was the power of the 90?s grunge rock was (in my opinion) quite successfully translated in an arguably vivaldesque arrangement.

via The Universality of the Beautiful « Matthew James Collins.

This goes to show that beauty is out there in the world, and that you can pull inspiration from anywhere. So even something totally crazy like, “I wonder what that Nirvana song would sound like on my violin?” Can create something amazing. Take the leap, and maybe it can.

Bit of the ordinary, Design Stuff

Brian Eno: The Revenge of the Intuitive

Brian Eno wrote a great piece for Wired magazine. In it he discusses the use of technology in the creation of art.

The limitations of a certain piece of technology or of a certain medium is not bad, just its signature. He points to the Marshall Amp and how it leads to distortion of the audio signal. In my hands it would sound awful, in Jimi Hendrix’s it is way better. Here is one paragraph I love:

Since so much of our experience is mediated in some way or another, we have deep sensitivities to the signatures of different media. Artists play with these sensitivities, digesting the new and shifting the old. In the end, the characteristic forms of a tools or mediums distortion, of its weakness and limitations, become sources of emotional meaning and intimacy.

Of course as a Theater professor I relate this to Theater, and it really resonates. the role of the artist is to make art out of the new and old, and to bring an emotional meaning to your work.

Bit of the ordinary

Jason Alexander’s thoughts

WIth the Aurora Colorado Massacre, there has been a lot of back and forth about gun control. I found Jason Alexander’s thoughts on the matter to be very well articulated. He looks at the 2nd Amendment gun advocate reference:

As passed by the Congress:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

So the patriots are correct, gun ownership is in the constitution – if you’re in a well-regulated militia.

And he comes to a point that I agree with, that while people do have the right to own guns, they shouldn’t get any type of gun they want.

These weapons are military weapons. They belong in accountable hands, controlled hands and trained hands. They should not be in the hands of private citizens to be used against police, neighborhood intruders or people who don’t agree with you. These are the weapons that maniacs acquire to wreak murder and mayhem on innocents. They are not the same as handguns to help homeowners protect themselves from intruders. They are not the same as hunting rifles or sporting rifles. These weapons are designed for harm and death on big scales.

For me that rings with truth. Assault weapons are very dangerous, and should be restricted to the military. I don’t want to live in a society where you are expected to pack heat to protect yourself. That is a society that I think the majority of american would want as well.

Here is the full page.

Bit of the ordinary

Totally fun “Nightmare Before Christmas” Yard Decor

I wish I had the time to do this, for either Halloween or Christmas.

More Pictures thru the link.
the importance of sketching | design & make

I have been struggling with the design of an enclosure for my CNC mill that would allow me to use flood coolant and contain the mess of metal and plastic chips this machine can create. I had a rough idea in my head, and looked around at existing enclosures, so I immediately jumped into CAD to sort out the design. For days I iterated on-screen, unhappy with the results but trudging through each new concept until I hit a wall.So last night as I sat on the couch I opened up my laptop to give it another go, only to find technical issues that kept me from launching my CAD software. Frustrated, I shut the laptop and pulled out my sketchbook. Within minutes I was teasing out the solutions that were so elusive on screen, and by the time I shut off the lights I had my design roughed out.

So, one more time, especially so I remember: Never underestimate the importance of sketching. CAD is an invaluable tool, as are rendering packages and Illustrator and Photoshop, etc. But for quick ideation, brainstorming, breaking through a mental block, or simply communicating with your fellow designer/engineer/marketing person, nothing beats sketching.

Bit of the ordinary, Design Stuff

The Power of Theater

I’ve seen this shared from a couple of people over the past weeks. Below a scenic artist shared it on her blog.

Yesterday a friend shared the performance report from the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. I had been having a pretty rough day, and this account of the performance changed my entire attitude. I was awe-struck.

If you can't read the above text, here's what it says:

It was generally agreed by all that the show was “kind of rough” (tech wise). But after the show we learned that there was a 5 year old autistic child in the house. He had never spoken. But as the lights went down, he began to talk. In full sentences. He called the teacher by name. She had no idea he even knew her name. He was engaged in the show – at one point commenting to the teacher that if there is a dragon then there will be fire. And there was fire. He talked all throughout the show. When the lights came back up – he quit talking and returned to his world. So, yes, I could list all the little things that wrong today but that is not what this show is about. And that little boy certainly didn’t see those things as he sat talking in the dark theatre watching Harold and his Purple Crayon.

This. This. This is why art matters. Art reaches into those hidden places places inside of us. Art speaks in a language that doesn't even have words. Art touches the unknowable. Art inspires dialog. Art creates something, when at times people thought there was nothing at all.

via How’s Robb?: The Power of Art (This will make you cry, unless you have a heart of stone.).

It is a truly amazing story. I hope that what I do can touch people and make meaningful change happen.

Bit of the ordinary

The James Baldwin Project

Front row, l. to r.: Thurber, Zheng, deBessonet and Collins. Back row, l. to r.: Lambie, Contreras, Rosado, Mannering ’10, Cartmill ’84 and Worsham ’10.

Last week was a whirlwind. I worked on a project called “The James Baldwin Project”. I was joined by a bunch of friends, old and new, from New York. Playwrights Lucy Thurber, Christopher Cartmill, along with director Lear deBessonet, and former students Jenna Worsham and Kevin Mannering, and actors Julissa Contreras, Alexander Lambie, David Zheng, and Cesar Rosado.

To explain the project a bit here is an excerpt from our flyer:

These artists would like to engage in an open conversation, one that revolves around the inspired work of James Baldwin, as he addressed so well what is often seen as unaddressable in our American history, namely: class, race, sexuality, economy, art, and government.

I brought down these artists to engage in conversations with people at W&L and create a piece of theater. We used quotes from the writings of James Baldwin. It was a ton of work. I set up 45 interviews/conversations with students, faculty, staff and residents of Lexington and Rockbridge county. We made care to match the interviewee with someone to complement them from the project team. The project team was made of people from many different backgrounds and races. Because one of the goals was to spark genuine conversation between disparate groups who they might not outside of this project.

The week generated a lot of very emotional conversations among us and the interviewees. Ultimately everybody wrote parts to include in the final piece, including me.

The W&L communications office piece on the event is here.

It was such an amazing and invigorating experience.

Here is the drawing I did for the flyer and program: