seeds + water + time…
Max and I planted some seeds a while back. Cukes, tomatoes, peppers, marigolds…stuff like that… And now…all of a sudden…KAPOW!!!!! Continue reading seeds + water + time…
with cat, without cat…
So, last April, my friend Meredith ran a wonderful “Poetry Out of Nothing” contest in honor of National Poetry Month, and I promised to make a blank book for one of the winners. The winner in question happens to be another friend of mine, and as her poem concerned the mischievous adventures of a cat (pouncing on stink bugs, running through cilantro), I wanted to reflect the poem in the book somehow. Sadly, I’m terrible at drawing, so a literal interpretation was out of the question. Happily, the idea of a cat book inspired me in another direction… I was … Continue reading with cat, without cat…
a muse and some discipline…
I just read Patti Smith’s autobiography, Just Kids, an amazing account of her early years in 1970s New York City just starting out with lover, lifetime friend and muse Robert Mapplethorpe. It’s about being an artist above all else. Reading this book makes me realize several things: Patti Smith is a genius. She’s incredibly well-read, completely enamored of the context and history of every moment, and has a terrific command of language. I am ridiculously jealous. Also, I love her hair. It’s very, very important to write all the time. Patti Smith kept a journal every day of her life, … Continue reading a muse and some discipline…
i made a little book…
Actually, 50 little books. They’re “magic books,” the kind of one-sheet-of-paper-plus-one-strategic-cut-equals-six-pages book I absolutely love because they’re fun and easy to make, easy to copy, and full of fold-y secrets. This one, “Window Washer,” contains a poem about a guy washing a very significant window, and a little girl looking at him from the parking lot outside. That’s all I’ll say about the poem, but I will mention there’s a secret in this book. A secret in its construction and its entirety. And a secret instruction for the reader, which I hope will result in something cool down the line. … Continue reading i made a little book…
Poetically stumped…
That is not to say I have given up, but I must say this: the ocean does not want me to write about it. I spent a week there. I didn’t think I’d like it nearly as much as I did. And once it began to grow on me, I started having ideas. So many ideas, changing slightly each day. So many ideas, I thought I’d put them away for later, right? Let them simmer? Now, of course, they all seem silly, and I think I know why. What can I possibly say to describe the ocean, or a moment … Continue reading Poetically stumped…
Scape landscape…
Today was the first day of our CSA, the third year we’ve participated, and by now, I know the inaugural CSA week is even more special than the others because I usually come home with a swirling mass of garlic scapes. Mmm…garlic scapes. Aren’t they pretty? I know I probably shouldn’t get too excited about a vegetable, but the scapes are so fleeting and so very delicious and fun. I want to curl them around my fingers and my wrist…and then toss them into the food processor, mash them to bits and eat them in a fine, spicy mush on … Continue reading Scape landscape…
I’m excited because…
I’ve been working on a new magic book (one page folded, one cut = six pages), and it’s meant to be kind of a mystery until you open the whole thing, so I’m just going to show a tiny piece here. Hope to finish up production in the next couple of days… Continue reading I’m excited because…
My fingers…
…smell like cilantro. More precisely, the cilantro I grew myself from a tiny seed. The cilantro I picked and chopped and added to my black beans for lunch today. Isn’t it funny what makes us feel pride? Continue reading My fingers…
Walking to Clear My Mind…
The chances to take a loooooooooong walk are few and far between these days, so when one falls unexpectedly into my lap (thank you, ultimately harmless generator explosion at UMBC!), I grab it. The day was perfect: 75 degrees and sunny. I’ve had a lot on my mind, but a nice two-hour walk was just what I needed to 1) clear out the old stuff, and 2) invite in about a bazillion new ideas. During my walk I walked over an overpass and watched the cars beneath me. I found a stream I hadn’t noticed before. But most of all, … Continue reading Walking to Clear My Mind…
Jenny O'Grady 