"I often feel I am trapped inside someone else's imagination, and I must engage my own imagination in order to break free." - Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy
Posts filed under Thought
TCR Talks with Min Kahng
I had the joy of being interviewed by The Coachella Review! Read the full interview here.
The Boring Days
Social media feeds can curate our lives in a way that we are really only seeing the most lively, eventful moments in other people’s day-to-day. When people see me in person, they tend to comment on how busy I am. And while it’s true that this has been a very full year, the truth is there are lulls and moments where there isn’t anything Insta-worthy. Here’s what you’re not seeing.
the days when, no matter what I try, I can’t quite seem to churn much writing out
the days filled with responding to emails and admin work
the days of grantwriting
the days I’m sick
the days of self-doubt and wondering again whether I have what it takes (even though I’ve gone through this rigamarole time and time again)
the days when I feel like I have nothing to say, post, contribute
the days I feel overwhelmed by the sadness and horrors in the world
the days when I’m just tempted to play video games instead
I guess I put this here to remind myself that social media is a version of storytelling, where we really only get the highlights. But these normal, tough, boring, less attractive days are as much a part of my writing journey as the successes and triumphs. Keep on keeping on, I guess?
Cathedralprison
When you've lived
in a cathedralprison
and you stand on a pew
to chuck an offering plate
through a stained-glass window
to bore an escape for yourself
and walk through
At first,
the lights are offensive
the sounds oppressive
a sensory overload
causes you to rethink your exit
But give it time:
your eyes and ears will adjust
and you'll remark
"Oh, there is kindness out here, too."
Adventures in Time and Space
The view from my studio
On the Djerassi Resident Artists Program website, one of the banners simply states “Time + Space.” Sci-fi associations aside, I found that during my month at Djerassi (September 5-October 3), time and space were the very things I needed, learned from, grew from. It’s easy to think that a residency will only entail free time to create and create - and indeed it does. But something else accompanied me when I was given time and space: my own thoughts. Even though I take time for self-reflection and self-care in the midst of my day-to-day grind, to have openness of thought for longer than a week, even a couple days, is rare for me. Philosophical musings arise. Emotions long-buried bubble up to the surface. Djerassi for me was as much about opening up to myself as it was to my creative process. In fact, I am more and more convinced that there is no distinction between the two. I am my creative process - which echos the name of this entire blog site: Life is Dramaturgy. Being surrounded by beautiful vistas with like-minded artists is fertile ground for creative exploration. And, it is also an almost other-worldly place where you see yourself, forgive what needs forgiving, soothe what needs soothing, and bolster what needs bolstering. It’s perhaps too early to say, but I feel my residency at Djerassi will prove itself to be a self-, career-, and art-shaping period for me.
Me and fellow residents appreciating an installation by Kathryn Cellerini Moore.
I’ll never forget the people or the place
or the gift of time and space.