The end of summer is hard. The kids and I get on each other’s nerves; it’s hot. I can barely think, much less write. Markets slow down so I’m not even getting rejections to turn into new submissions. It’s tough.

But now it’s September. The kids are back in school, the weather is starting to turn cool, rejections are flowing (actually, that part sucks) and I’m in the market for some inspiration. Time to go to the Museum of Fine Arts!

I love going to the MFA. When I go on my own, I pick a couple exhibits I want to see, but mostly leave myself open to whatever might surprise me. For example, on this trip I was surprised by the most goth mirror I have ever seen, “Iago’s Mirror” by Fred Wilson. It’s backed with solid black instead of silver. But it’s still a mirror, which means you can’t take a pic without including yourself.

In the same gallery is Betye Saar’s “A Siege of Sirens,” a really neat black and white print which also seemed really goth to me. I tried to take a photo head-on, and this is what I got:

Take a picture and become part of the work. May be something there…

My other goal each visit it to pick a single work and spend ten full minutes with it, writing down my observations and thoughts. This time it was Roberto Matta’s “Cercle du Blé.” This thumbnail doesn’t do it justice.

And of course, it’s not a trip to the MFA if I don’t visit my ex.

Will any of this lead to a new story or a new novel? Hard to say. It has before; The Glass Garden came from a piece the museum had on display. But the trip’s value is more than what I saw. It’s meeting people like Destiny in line at the café, who is having her first week working at the MFA and doing a doctorate at Harvard. It’s taking the train, looking out the windows, smiling at my fellow passengers, and meeting some really, really neat dogs.

The second dog came over and licked my fingers, which I took as an invitation to pet him, while his owner held a phone conversation in Arabic. These are human moments, and as a writer, I need them. Google Vonnegut’s speech about going to buy an envelope if you need someone more famous to tell you about it.

Well, I’m gonna do some more writing (1000 words so far today, plus this newsletter, so it’s coming back) and let these ideas and images and experiences stew for a bit and see what they produce.

Until next time, go make sure your voter registration is current. Do it now! There’s gonna be a big push for early voting next month. Check out The Librarians documentary on Kanopy if you want to get your dander up. (I watched it at the library last night with a Q&A to follow. Go libraries!)

Take care,