On the off chance that you feel uninspired, or as if you lack the necessary requirements to make art, I give you Tatsuo Horiuchi. This retiree decided that he would start with what he had and go from there.
While most digital artists opt to use Photoshop or other similar digital imaging software, 77-year-old Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi chooses to work with Microsoft Excel to produce his beautiful works of art. His “paintings” are remarkably intricate works that mimic traditional Japanese paintings that offer scenic views of natural landscapes rich with cultural motifs.
And the next time I think I can’t art without more (fill in the blank), I’ll remember this.
How do I know when it is Spring? There’s the calendar, of course, and yesterday was the March Equinox, yay. But that’s not as reliable as some other indicators. Like what, you may ask?
It’s still too early for cherry blossoms or daffodils here, but there are other signs of spring.
For example:
Canada geese flying overhead? check
the season’s first roar of a motorcycle? check
melting snow in my yard? check
the Fish Doorbell up and running in the Netherlands? check! I haven’t seen any fish yet but it’s still fun. The migration has begun, so the lack of sightings are probably because I’m watching during work hours my time, which are snoozing hours for Dutch fish (do fish have nationalities? unique patterns of DNA by country? accents? so many questions!)
A key finding: “…people are much too pessimistic about the benevolence of others. For example, when wallets were dropped in the street by researchers, the proportion of returned wallets was far higher than people expected. This is hugely encouraging.”
Well, that makes me happy!
“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”
He thought hard, going over the philosophy of sports, considering what made games popular, grasping for how he could invent a new principle that wasn’t already steeped in tradition. And finally, he had a lightbulb moment.
“I can still recall how I snapped my fingers and shouted, ‘I’ve got it!’”
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all! One great thing about this holiday is that you don’t need to be Irish to enjoy it. Find a green shirt in your closet, break out the food coloring and drink green drinks and eat green foods, and have a fun day.
But hang on, what’s this? The day hasn’t always been about having fun or the color green?
St. Patrick’s Day usually conjures images of partying, Catholicism, Irish nationalism and, perhaps most famously, the color green: green clothes, green shamrocks, green beer, and green rivers.
So my students are often surprised when I tell them that St. Patrick’s Day was once a solemn feast day when you’d be far more likely to see the color blue. In fact, there’s even a color known as St. Patrick’s blue.
Have to say, I prefer our modern version.
I was also surprised to learn that St. Patrick wasn’t Irish, or named Patrick.
He wasn’t Irish; rather he was born in Wales, the son of a Roman-British official. He was, however, captured by Irish pirates and enslaved in Ireland. After six years he went back to Britain but returned to Ireland as one of the missionaries to convert Irish pagans to Christianity. At some point he adopted the Latin name Patricius.
And so, after a bit of piracy, a name change, and the appropriation of a solemn holiday for patriotic and community-building purposes, here we are.
To the long tail of unintended consequences. Enjoy!
“Don’t throw any of yourself away. Don’t worry about a grand scheme or unified vision for your work. Don’t worry about unity — what unifies your work is the fact that you made it. One day, you’ll look back and it will all make sense.”
If you’re stuck on a problem, don’t sit there and think about it; just start working on it. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, the simple act of working on it will eventually cause the right ideas to show up in your head.
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