First: A friend in Minneapolis is coordinating groceries and other needs for about 50 families who are stuck in their homes, no internet no phones, too afraid to go outside or work, and so without basic things. She can use all the funds she can get, so if you are able or want to, her Venmo is @kristina-halvorson and her profile pic is her next to an adorable llama, so you’ll know it’s the right person. She says “The need is seriously just endless and acute.”

ALSO: I am teaching a class on sketchbooks/journals/stories at Richmond Art Center this spring! We are making a place of gathering and creating and safety out of art supplies. Come join us, and please spread the word!

Sloth and Manatee

New Book: Sloth and (Moon)atee! Yay!

When I was in school studying painting, I mooshed the paint around too fast and, as my prof put it, “made mud” a lot. All the colors on the palette, when mixed around, become none of the colors on the palette, it turns out. It was fun, though. Sometimes you’ve gotta just make a mess and see what things do.

There’s a book called “What Painting Is” by James Elkins that uses the language of alchemy to discuss painting, and it’s beautiful and mind altering. The book is kind of hard to find these days, but if you come across a copy, it’s well worth it. He writes about how we essentially make a new reality out of an existing reality, and how the process of making and engaging with painting materials to make a whole other realm out of them truly is alchemy. And he gets into minute details of paintings to show what’s happening on the surface. So amazing.

When I was very little my parents asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I asked for a dump truck, and they asked what I wanted to do with it, and I said, “Dump dirt.”

Some dirt has clay in it, and it turns into things like this:

This wee sculpture was made by our neighbor across the street when I was growing up. She made the most beautiful organic pieces. I find them to be just sublime.

There’s a place around the block where the drainage overflows sometimes and mud runs over the top of the street. I tried to walk across it and it was so slippery, the silt was so fine, I ended up clinging to the bushes in somebody’s front yard like a weirdo.

When I played youth soccer Presidents’ weekend was always this big tournament where it was guaranteed to rain a ton and it was amazing. The ball did not roll anywhere. Kids would run up and kick the thing with gusto and it would stay right where it was and a huge blast of mud would fly up into the air. We all looked fantastic by the end of this.

My art class kids “make mud” all the time in different ways, often by just taking some stuff and some other stuff and putting it together. One form of “mud” recently involves cardboard and tape, and looks like this:

Sometimes you’ve gotta just make a mess and see what things do.

Brainwaves

Best of Brainwaves Volume One: The Fountain of Stuff

Best of Brainwaves Volume Two: Mom, Dad, I'm a Cat

License Cartoons from CartoonStock

Art!

Print Shop

BunnyFrogCatSnake

Things Of The Week

Speaking of mixing stuff, try the Pattern Collider.

Here’s a huge archive of restaurant interiors in NYC during the 2000’s. Just keep clicking, it’s like endless little visits.

My hometown has a lightbulb that’s stayed lit for 125 years - but the best thing might be the 90s-tacular website design I hope they never ever change it.

Okay! That's enough nonsense for now.

May you mix stuff together, may you make a big mess, won't you be my neighbor? - Betsy