Scattered Blossoms Reading on May 12th, 2013, 2 pm at Cy Twombly Gallery

Scattered Blossoms: Poems Inspired by Cy Twombly

Please join us for

A Poetry Reading at the Menil Collection

Sunday, May 12^th, 2 pm

Cy Twombly Gallery

The Menil Collection

1515 Sul Ross

Houston, TX 77006

Featuring these poets:

Joseph Campana

Jane Creighton

Christa Forster

Peter Hyland

Jonathan Moody

Laura Mullen

Robin Reagler

Fran Sanders

Charlie Scott

Randall Watson

Tria Wood

Dom Zuccone

Filed under: Art, Current Events, Poetry, Writers, cy twombly, houston, menil collection

Finding the My in Mythology

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I “discovered” the artist Dan-ah Kim through the writers’ blog, NewPages. Although it seemed surprising to me at first, as I studied Kim’s art, the pairing made perfect sense. Every picture I studied seemed to evoke a whole mythology around it. The more I stared, the more story emerged. I am struck with the personal mythology that this artist launches in her art. Amazing.

Filed under: Art, Blogs, Poetry, Writing, Dan-ah Kim, Mythology

The Inner Light of Jellyfish

Last week Oliver Sacks shared these jellyfish on twitter. The underwater photos are taken by Alexander Semenov, a Russian biologist. So beautiful! [via  Colossal]

Filed under: Art, Photography, Science, Travel, Alexander Semenov, Jellyfish, Oliver Sacks, Underwater Photography

My Daily Poetry Fix by Stefan Hengst

It happens to most creative people: one day Stefan Hengst found himself in a bit of a lull. In his effort to jump-start his creative process, he did a yearlong iPhone photography project that he called “My Daily Poetry Fix.” He collected snapshots he took with his phone each day and shared a few on Facebook  Soon patterns began to emerge, and the design elements that resonated in him became clear. It worked for him. Would it work for you?

Learn more about the Poetry Fix project on his site. 

Filed under: Design, Photography, Poetry, Travel, Writing Exercise, creativity, iphone photography, my daily poetry fix, Stefan Hengst

Northern Lights All Night

I’ve never actually seen the Northern Lights so the idea of a glass igloo in Finland seems pretty extraordinary to me. I wonder what kinds of dreams one has in these thermal glass huts at the Hotel Kakslauttanen. [via Home Esthetics]

Filed under: Architecture, Art, Current Events, Poetry, Science, Travel, aurora borealis, Finland, glass igloo, Hotel Kakslauttanen, northern lights

A Line by Kazim Ali and a Painting by Barnett Newman

Onement by Barnett Newman (1949)

“Feeling at the thin edge between what and what.”

–Kazim Ali, from “New York”

in his book Bright Felon

Filed under: Art, Poetry, Barnett Newman, Kazim Ali

A Proverb

Folk art abstract tree bird houses painting, originally uploaded by karlagerard.

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.

–Chinese Proverb

Filed under: Art, Poetry, bird proverb, Chinese proverb, proverbs

Brian Dettmer: The Art of the Book

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Brian Dettmer sculpts with books and paints with the words on the page. Literally. Dettmer describes the motivation behind his work this way:

The book’s intended function has decreased and the form remains linear in a non-linear world. By altering physical forms of information and shifting preconceived functions, new and unexpected roles emerge. This is the area I currently operate in. Through meticulous excavation or concise alteration I edit or dissect communicative objects or systems such as books, maps, tapes and other media. The medium’s role transforms. Its content is recontextualized and new meanings or interpretations emerge.

To see more of his fascinating art, visit his site.

Filed under: Art, Books, Poetry, brian dettmer

Igniters for Writers

Every writer gets stuck on occasion. When that happens, there’s hope. Check out the Writer Igniter app on the DIY MFA website. The program shuffles an e-deck of cards and provides you with a character, a situation, a prop, and a setting. You take it from there, imagination not included!

The DIY MFA concept is a cool one. I have an MFA in creative writing already, and I still find that I’m drawn to this site for ideas and inspiration. Congrats to Gabriela Pereira on a great project.

Filed under: Blogs, Poetry, Web, Writing, Writing Exercise, Creative writing, fiction, Gabriela Pereira, MFA, writer resources

Pseudomorph by Rebecca Hoogs

I feel like a Rebecca-
like shape, like the real one

has cast me off, spurt me out
and left me to face her predators,

like the real me is off
enjoying her airpocketless body,

while I stay behind going blotto,
a so-so blurb on the back of a book,

a blurry word. My beak keens
for something to say, but I’m a bubble

that’s lost its thought, an ink-tank
without a think. O morph, o nym,

I know I’m just your pseudo,
your thin skin, but please

return my heart and other vitals.
It’s thankless, this being like,

a being not quite right.

by Rebecca Hoogs

previously published at Verse Daily

Filed under: Books, Poetry, Writers, Rebecca Hoogs

Change Your Desktop, Change Your Perspective

Here are a few new free desktop designs that I like from around the web:

1) Geometric Bliss from How About Orange

2) Smashing Magazine continues to share monthly desktop calendar imagery.

3) Pixelgirl collects some great imagery for the computer contemplation. This fried egg comes from Marceline Smith.

4) Just Eleanor has free downloads from her magical work as a graphic designer and artist.

Filed under: Art, Design, Poetry, Web, graphic design, Just Eleanor, smashing magazine

Night Balloon Beauty by YesYesNo

Check out this art installation in England in which 400 balloons with LED lights inside them were released at night. The colors of the balloons are caused by messages sent by people around the world via the Internet:

as part of the london 2012 festival new york and amsterdam-based studio yesyesno adorned a 117km expanse along the hadrian’s wall world heritage site in england with hundreds of large-scale, pulsating light-filled balloons entitled ‘connecting lights’. the digital art installation consists of about four hundred 2 metre diameter weather balloons that transmit messages between each other - these sent in from people via an online platform. these messages are translated into LED lights that change color to create a vibrant row of blinking orbs, shown in several locations across the wall open to the public, including the errington arms in corbridge,
housesteads roman fort, carlisle castle and tullie house museum.

Read the rest of the story at DesignBoom.

Filed under: Art, Travel, England, Installation art, london 2012 festival, Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Weather balloon, yesyesno

OTRO – Skateable Glow-in-the-Dark Art

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Architects: L’Escaut Architectures
Location: Vassivière Island, France

OTRO is a daring skateable artwork by architect and designer Koo Jeong A. It is composed of concrete bowls, a cradle and a tunnel. For more about this beautiful  artscape, click here.

Filed under: Architecture, Art, Design, Travel, France, Koo Jeong, OTRO, Skateboard, Skatepark

Rice University’s Final Frontier: Skyspace

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photos by Karen Warren  © 2012 Houston Chronicle

Look up! A new public art work by James Turrell will soon grace the landscape of the Rice University campus in Houston. Due to open officially in a few weeks, the new “Skyspace” will put on a light show each day at sunrise and sunset.

Filed under: Architecture, Art, Design, Poetry, Travel, houston, james turrell, rice university, texas

An Optical Chapel

 

 

David A Brown created an Optical Chapel in an office space that was once an optician’s office in downtown Houston. The installation incorporated 11,000 photographs. The project was featured in FotoFest 2012.

Filed under: Art, Current Events, Design, Photography, Poetry, Travel, david a. brown, fotofest 2012, houston, installation, optical chapel