Work Wednesdays - Paint away...

Today while in a colossal state of boredom, I came across an article that Robert Rauschenberg had died. Rauschenberg was an American artist that came to prominence in the 1950's. While I was reading, I came across the name Mark Tobey and had a bit of a flash back to the days when I was an art student.

About a million years ago I took some summer classes at Rhode Island School of Design, one of the classes I took was abstract painting which was taught by a wonderful professor called John Thornton. In terms of the type of art I like to make, abstract painting is my favorite, so I was very lucky to be able to take this class. The class was held in an old bank building and on the second floor we had some individual loft spaces where we could work. It was amazing.

Anyway, during a critique session of one of my paintings, John suggested I look up a painter by the name of Mark Tobey as he thought I may like his work. Mark Tobey was an interesting painter from Wisconsin, he was born in 1890 and died in 1976 in Switzerland. He was an abstract expressionist painter who delved into the works of Arabian literature and East Asian philosophy. He traveled extensively in his life to places such as France, Italy, Hong Kong and Shanghai. At one stage he even lived in a Zen monastery in Japan to study poetry and calligraphy. His travels influenced his art and his art influenced his travels. His philosophical and spiritual beliefs influenced everything.

So John was right - the mix of the Asian style, the spiritual representation in art, and the new techniques did appeal to me. And I forgot all about it.

Tobey said "Let nature take over your work. Get yourself out of your way when you paint." I think this applies not only to painting but to life in general, almost another way to say, go with the flow.

So this week, I want to be a painter. I think it's time to buy some canvas again and bust open my old tool box filled with all my paint and brushes (that I finally brought up from Miami a few months ago).

Photo credit: Mark Tobey "Blue Interior"

Work Wednesdays - The slash/slash/slash job

I didn't post yesterday. I suppose I wasn't sure what to write about and I was actually quite busy, not an excuse though. So today I've been struggling to come up with an idea about what to write about and I check my mailbox. Guess what's there? My Outside Magazine and on the cover it says "The 50 Best Jobs". Ironic, isn't it?

This led me to pull out my old life saving issue of Outside Magazine and an old notebook where I wrote about different things I want to do. Yesterday I met up with some friends I used to work with, got a lovely email from a friend I met in Bali, talked on the phone with my sister (who is my friend - not everyone can say that about their siblings, you know) and went surfing with another friend. I had such a great day.

So today I will write an ode to my current job, the slash/slash/slash job. Allow me elaborate. My current state of affairs is that I have a variety of jobs, I temp, I design, I dog sit and I research. Although I miss the security of a regular paycheck, being that I still get regular bills, I absolutely LOVE the flexibility that I have.

Sometimes I get anxious about the money factor and sometimes shit happens that ends up costing me a lot of money, such as the week of vehicular trauma - however ALL of that is outweighed by the freedom I have. Specifically now I have more time to see people I care about, spend time catching up with them and being a part of their lives. In addition to connecting, I make time for important things like being creative, doing yoga, going surfing and working on my own business ventures.

Whilst this goes against the grain of every social rule we have been indoctrinated with, is running yourself ragged for a regular paycheck really worth it? For me it's not. Yes, granted, I am extremely fortunate, I don't have to financially support anyone but me. Maybe one day that will change, maybe one day I will tire of the lack of consistency and "security" but for now this fits. So today I thank God for my slash/slash/slash random jobs.

PS When I went to the art function on Earth Day, I had a fortune cookie and it said the following: "The voyage of discovery is not in the seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust" I just thought that was so lovely, I had to share.

Work Wednesdays!

Ok ok so I'm a day late with this post - some of us have to work for a living, right? Ha ha ha.

Anyway so this week's fabulous job is being a music supervisor.

Last weekend I met up with a friend who I would say is about equally obsessed with music as I am. We were driving along in my car, listening to my ipod and chattering away as we do. At some point in a conversation about music, my friend made a statement that almost caused me to have a car accident. Reena says "I feel like I have a soundtrack running through my life." I totally freaked out - I have felt like that for ages! I can apply music to just about any part of my life. I basically score my life in my head.

Well I can't recall anyone else agreeing with me on that one, so it was really funny to discover someone else that subscribes to my particular brand of crazy. So Reena and I decided "music supervisor" would be the job to have this week.

According to our friends at Wikipedia, a music supervisor is an individual who combines music and visual media. The job is both creative and logistic (check, check); music supervisors select music and negotiate usage licenses. Their job is very diverse one, they have roles in the creative process helping to emphasize storyline, emotion, time period and cultural location.

Seems pretty cool to me.


PS Big shout out to MCH who became a mom for the second time this past Saturday. XOXO!

Work Wednesdays!

So the theme for Wednesdays is work, but I'm not talking about ordinary things. I'm going to blog about cool people who have amazing jobs.

This week one of my ambitions is to be the back up singer for the Rolling Stones. Last Sunday a friend and I went to go see the Rolling Stones IMAX movie. It was a seriously rocking movie! We almost felt like we were really at the show. It was actually tough to stay seated but we may have gotten kicked out of the movie theatre for dancing in the aisles. Those guys are soooo cool and they have so much energy!

So my friend decided she wants to be Keith Richards. Yes, I said she wants to be Keith Richards. So I'm gonna buy her a headscarf and a pirate pin. I think she could pull it off.

Since we were on the topic of fantasy jobs, I picked being the back up singer for the band. Lisa Fischer is the the back up singer for the band. She performed with so much charisma and looks like she's having a blast. So this week, I want to be Lisa and shake it with the Stones! If only I could sing!