It always strikes me as amazing, whenever I attend a Broadway show, that these talented performers are doing their shows eight times a week- that they’ve done it countless times before and may do it for countless times thereafter. I feel lucky to catch a favorite when they happen to be gracing the stage, or revisiting a once-in-a-lifetime performance when lightning strikes for a second time.
Philosophically, that’s how I think of this blog: as a daily ritual and performance for a small audience of dedicated favorites – and I’ve managed to do it consistently for well over a decade. If you’ve been away from it for a few days you can catch up with the more extensive Blog page, or search the archives for a specific date and navigate through ‘Older posts’ when the option appears. But if you’re a regular, you know that I’m here at least twice a day with some sort of nonsense or fluff or, when I’ve been extra-prolific, something worthwhile and soul-searching.
That sort of schedule takes its toll, however, and as mentioned it’s almost time for a break. A small one for now; a bigger one down the line. Rather than take the air out of the sails, it will hopefully reinvigorate our juices – both in my creative output and perhaps in your thirst for visiting.
Lately it feels like things have been getting watered down, or, even worse, repetitious. In the past, I’d create one or two projects a year. I’d have a few months of exciting creation – organizing inspiration and ideas into a workable theme, focusing on refining and editing passages, and putting it all together in the solitude and secrecy of my own space. This blog has made all of that public, as I work things out in diary-like fashion. It has become an endless project of its own, evolving and morphing through the years, but never offering a break or moment of rest.
I want to get back to the idea of an event, a release that happens on a certain date and lasts for a specific duration. Something that can be encapsulated for the future, and that has a beginning a middle and an end. Something finite and sure. A traditional project. Like the sculptural rendering of Albany’s iconic Nipper, in various painted forms throughout the city. They won’t last forever, and like the Dutch clogs that stormed the city a couple of years ago, their magic is only fleeting – but here I am talking about shoes and dogs in a way I can only wish this blog is discussed at some point in the future.
I also want to get away from a daily schedule. My Virgo nature enjoys a good timeline and the comfort of a regular program, but the most enchanting parts of life tend to be surprises – I want to capture that unexpected magic, to show up unexpectedly and disappear in similar fashion. A tendency of the trickster should prevail for anything as fleeting and whimsical as a blog.
