I was writing to a friend and thought I’d mention it to you. There is no theme intended and nothing particularly linear here. I have this feeling that doing art during tumultuous times … allows one to flow alone into god space. The Serenity Prayer in its most common form: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." … Buddha was asked, 'What have you gained from meditation? He replied, “Nothing. However," Buddha said, "let me tell you what I lost: Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Fear of Old Age and Death." Yes. I slap wide, overlapping strokes onto art and meditation. We may also have heard that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. … Notes from early August … Anniversary It was our 37th wedding anniversary last week Wednesday. We decided to go out to the Chocolate Factory for lunch across the street from the Pewaukee Lake Beach. Never had I ever. Fun time. Hot. Crowded. And by God, we will go back after Labor Day. It was a lovely experience. It also happened to be root beer float day. Yum. And the anniversary gift to ourselves was our first ever air fryer. I had done a little research. I wanted to read what’s in the box. And we went to a retail store and picked one up. And it’s still in the box. Because in a couple days we needed to be ready to go out of town for the weekend for the 65th Annual Square and Round Dance Convention. It was in Oshkosh at the Marriott this year. Lovely. Good times. Nice to be somewhere different for a little while. …. Quiet I had just finished reading the book titled Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop by Susan Cain Still at my tender age I’m looking for I continue to discover expanded perspective. I find that invigorating. Sometimes agitating and upsetting and sometimes, perfectly, just so. If you like case studies this will be very pleasing read. I ordered the large print book from the library and that’s probably the only reason I was able to get through it. Susan Cain probably has a TED talk and other videos. I’m not sure. I haven’t looked. But the introversion thing is still of some interest to me. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4101935.Susan_Cain …………. Artist Trading Cards I recently bumped into artist trading cards sometimes abbreviated to ATC. They are the same size as baseball cards and playing cards! And this is of some interest to me as I continue to explore what to do with my art. I’m so obsessed about not creating inventory that I’m also not creating art because I don’t know what to do with the product at the end. And honestly … packaging, prepping, shipping … the whole thing the energy and attention that needs to go into. That is a very low interest to me. For free or for money. I don’t wanna spend a lot of time thinking my stuff has monetary value. It’s a rabbit hole. … Paradox of Curiosity You may not need to know any more about it than that right now. … Recipe The naming of things … Dinner, for instance: Black Bean Tuna Fajita - no broil. $24.95 It was fun. Tasted fine. Probably make something similar again. … The Blank Page The blank page, and in this case, sheet, has been said to be intimidating to writers and artists and other people who have to start somewhere. And I started by folding it up as if it was a rosary, prayer beads or a fidget stick. And I’ve folded it back-and-forth for quite some time before I started. Folded into thirds and thirds again on a sheet of card stock it’s a little rude, but it’s a unique art letter to a friend. The high points of my first week of August. And so I had 18 panels. I made a list. A recipe, the obligatory flower art, a quotation and a couple of items of personal news. And when I got to filling it out, editing happened and … The blank page I’m talking about here happens to be a piece of letter sized card stock: 110 pound index. The grain direction of index is very forgiving. You can crease it in either direction fairly easily without a lot of buckling to the surface of the sheet. In this instance, I got off the rails early and just kept steaming ahead driving that train off the missing bridge. Before I even scratched a note though I folded it back-and-forth and upside down and held it this way and that as if it was a rosary or prayer beads or a fidget stick. There is something a little bit calming about it. At any rate, I folded it in thirds, and then again. Then I ended up with nine panels per side. Wow… I’ve been meaning to write to a friend. Yes, we use email, voicemail, telephone, yet to use FaceTime or Zoom. One of the things, my friend and I have in common is some affiliation with graphic design. Her professional mine not so much. To prepare a document for someone to send them physically requires a certain amount of presence and touch in the first place and so it is regardless of the message, or the recipient, it can be worthwhile time spent. It is time that I am not consuming any messaging from anyone else. No social media. No television news. Nobody in a small group yakking up their opinion. Really is quite lovely time. And that message right there is probably more important than whatever I had to say to my friend. … Tic-tac-toe After folding and unfolding this blank page sheet from every possible direction for What was probably hours on and off for a day or so. I finally realized I was looking at a tic-tac-toe board before I ever put down any lines. I was really tempted, but that would seem to distract from whatever the random design would end up being. I didn’t want to box it in so tightly. … Coming Soon to a screen near you Radio Free David presents MFQ: my favorite quotes Here’s one now … "You fall in love with the people who make you love the person you are when you're around them." - author unknown … Radio Free David
Thank you for visiting. Take some time for your self.
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Thursday, August 14, 2025
Notes from August Early
Friday, August 8, 2025
Sparkle Rock Glitches
Thanks for being here. I’m a little sad to say - Sparkle Rock has run it’s course. Random quotes are fine and fun … and do require some attention. Due to flux in my space time, my attention is called into greater focus. Coming soon to a screen near you - MFQ, or My Favorite Quotations. This is an opportunity for us to add a little spin. Blessings, David
Spirituality, in its deep sense, begins when we see the futility of endlessly trying to control experience. If we don't see that, then we'll use all of our spiritual practices as a means to control experience. ~ Adyashanti … Don't try to understand your mind or even the mind of another. It's like a piece of art. It’s to be appreciated and admired and just like art it doesn't always have to make sense! ~ Erin Chatters … The desire to fix another is an active avoidance of the neglected self. ~ J.MIKE FIELDS … "There is only one important point you must keep in your mind and let it be your guide. No matter what people call you, you are just who you are. Keep to this truth. You must ask yourself how is it you want to live your life. We live and we die, this is the truth that we can only face alone. No one can help us, not even the Buddha. So consider carefully, what prevents you from living the way you want to live your life?" ~ Dalai Lama … "What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless: well-educated, brilliantly promising, and fading out into an indifferent middle age." ~ Sylvia Plath … Stop rescuing people from their lessons. It's delaying yours. ~ Molesey Bridgette, The Queen
Thank you for visiting. Take some time for your self.
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