Artipathy discussion

Hey Kay, I'm adding this folder for general comments so you can put your Van Gogh book comment here. I would love to read that too! Don't know why I never got around to it before.

Ah, here we go.

Reposting: I added Dear Theo for later, because I keep taking it out and putting it aside again. I'd like to actually read it eventually-- I bought it because I love him and his story... and because I love reading letters/diaries. They feel more accurate than straight biography, if not a little intrusive.

Hey Andrea! Welcome! Didn't think about the whole compromising yourself as a teacher thing. Geez, is it so bad these days? How dare you leave impressions on the children!

Pity that people here won't see your photos, though I'm sure there's some that aren't so risque if I remember correctly.

That would be fun if you took up drawing. I'm supposed to have started a sketchbook trade with a friend in Iowa. Wouldn't it be fun if we could get one going here. One person draws a page, then sends the book to the next person and the next... There are some blogs out there on this if you guys are interested.

Can you move your intro to Hello!? That way we all see who everyone is in the end.

Kay, yes, letters and diaries can be quite interesting and personal. I've been wanting to do Van Gogh's for some time. I love Dali's writing. Not a diary, but reads like one in some ways. I'll put that one up too, and there's some others of his I'd like to read.

Kim,
That's such a creative writing tactic. In fact we just did exquisite corpse (where you pass around the story with only the last few words showing) in class Friday. I don't know if I can move it, I didn't see a way, but feel free to if you can.

Hi Andrea... I think you have to copy the post, then delete it, and then just repost in that section.

If you ever care to share work privately, I'd love to see what your style is. That's purely up to you though. :)

Kim, the journal exchange is something I've just started up recently with a friend too. I think ours is a little more personal, with letters, drawings and such, but I'm really excited to see where it goes. I've seen a few sites that promote it and the outcomes are lovely.

Also, I have Dali's 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship that I've been meaning to read but, of course, haven't started it yet. Perhaps it's one we can add to the list.

Hi Kay,
I'd love to share, I have to scan a bunch of my pics anyhow, so I'll try to do that soon, might be able to find one or quickly. Maybe I could put them on snapfish or something and share the link.

Yes, the passing of the drawing/writing is an old teaching trick/game. Hey guys, it occurred to me that I just jumped in and started Art and Fear without asking if that's what you wanted to do. So, here's what I'll do. I say that's my pick and that's where we'll start if you want to join in. (I've already put one post, but I'll wait till you respond I think before adding more if you haven't read it yet.) Kay can pick the next one, then Odette, then Andrea, in order of sign up and if anybody else comes along, we'll go on like that. It can be anything from the shelves or something art (fine art) related that you might want to read. Does that sound good? Oh, and if there's one you want to just start in between, that's good too. I might post a few here and there that I'm reading and you can also jump on if you want. Keeping it relaxed and open.

That was weird, I think we just got hacked, unless one of you guys knows something about it. Somebody put something about "weavers unite" and saying they had a record label. Probably should have reported it, but I just deleted it. We'll see what happens next. If I was wrong, let me know!

Certainly wasn't me! Sounds like a troll. I do need to catch up with this community though... hopefully I'll get a chance to write some longer responses before the week's over. Hope everyone's well.

About Art & Fear, it's a great first choice and appropriate right now, for me at least. I think that's a good plan... I haven't gotten a chance to start a new book yet though (I feel like I need to finish a few of the ones I have going) so it might take me some time.

Sorry to jump around in the categories...Dear Theo will be up next after Art&Fear. Didn't realize Cornell was so expensive! Thanks for pointing that out, Kay. I may wait on that one too as I have to order and not borrow here. Let's all take that into consideration, please, when choosing, at least to make people aware. If you can afford it and want to discuss it though, you could make a category and even if we can't all read it, those who can could discuss it and those who just want to jump in on the discussion can do that too. Am I being too much of a dictator here? Just want to get some guidelines laid down and then I'll stop doing so much admin.

Nope, not a dictator. Ground rules are the basis of a good group. I'll try not to dominate conversation with everyone... I think I get a little too excited with this subject. Lots of thoughts and ideas.

Do you have a time limit in mind for Art & Fear or are we reading as we go?

Hmmm...time limits. Let's do this, we can discuss Art&Fear as long as anybody has something to say, but we'll also start a new book in a month. So...let's say we'll start Dear Theo in mid-November. I'd make it December, but A&F is a thin book. Sound good, everyone? Comments?

Odette: Whoops, sorry, it sounds like I negated your Cornell book. Hmmm...what to do...could you pick a secondary book? The Cornell could be a side book for those who can afford it and the other your "official" choice. Hopefully not another 30 dollar one... But here I am assuming you wanted the Cornell book...I'll just wait and hear your suggestion. Bit tired today. Got up at 4 to drive some friends to the airport.

I'm loving how polite everyone is, and careful not to hurt feelings. I think the web can get downright mean, and in so doing, unproductive. So nice to be among adults.

I'm looking forward to Dear Theo. I bought it recently, and it turns out we're going to be reading it here. Excellent :o)

Ahh...whoops! Here it is almost mid November and we haven't even gotten through Art and Fear. What to do...Well, I guess we could have a simultaneous discussion here (A&F and Dear Theo), or we could postpone till beginning December. Thoughts everyone? I'm looking forward to it too!

Andrea, sorry we won't get to hear your thoughts on Art and Fear. Maybe if you read it sometime later you could post about it. It's short and so worthwhile!

Wow... I'd appreciate having until December because I didn't realize mid-November was creeping up so fast. Doing them both at the same time will mean falling behind further, but if I'm in the minority, I can definitely catch up on my own later.

I'm fine waiting until the beginning of December... I bought about twelve books at the same time, so I can keep myself occupied until then. :o)

Ok, while I haven't heard from others I will consider this a vote to start in December on DT. I'd better get cracking on A&F comments! I'll put some up this week for sure!

I havent ordered Dear Theo yet but I do HAVE art & Fear and plan on starting it this week

Great Terri! I look forward to hearing what you think.

Hello all, sorry to be so silent. My computer has crashed so I will be out of the loop for a while , unless I can get to a cafe. Currently using a very slow keyboard that is driving me crazy. Also, lost all my favorites, so I'll be updating that slowly...

Yikes, sorry to hear that... went through the same a few months ago.

Take care, and a see you when you return.

Thanks Kay. Looks like I might be able to use this computer after all, a lender. We'll see how it holds out. Must...have...Internet... I'm way behind and apologize to everyone, but I also want to keep this relaxed. I'll post soon on the Art and Fear and get started on Dear Theo soon. Finishing up some other reads soon.

Welcome Reem, glad to see you over here. Take a moment to introduce yourself on the My Handle thread if you feel so inclined. It's not to late to join the Art and Fear conversation and we've just started Dear Theo, so jump in when you feel like it.

Ok, for some reason the bookshelf isn't showing our to-read books anymore. I'll wait and see what happens and if it doesn't rectify itself, I'll do something. In the meantime, if you click on bookshelf, you can find the books we've put up. Must be something about me and computers these days...

I just tried adding a book and it seems they are starting a new system. I'll try and figure it out.

Hey Andrea, a book a month is a bit ambitious, especially since I'm reading about three! But I also don't want everybody to get bored being stuck with the same book or waiting for one they want to read...So, let's do this (though I might be repeating myself here): Everyone gets a chance to pick a book on their month according to when they signed into the group. We can start that book that month but also continue the others we've got going. We can see who's interested in a discussion by posting to see who's going to join. If the person on the list wants to postpone they can do that. If people aren't ready to join in a discussion, the discussion can wait. But I don't want anybody to miss their turn at getting to pick a book. Dear Theo, I can see is going to take me a while just because of the references and because I'm enjoying digesting it in parts. We aren't in a race. When you're ready to join a discussion you can. This is more like an on-going discussion about art and I can even envision the book discussions overlapping each other, one idea reminding you of another in another book or opposing viewpoints etc. And the books themselves can instigate another art topic. Let's keep it organic and relaxed.

Welcome Ashten!

sounds perfect

Slight amendment, you know how I like to mess with perfection, when a book is picked, I'll just create a discussion folder for it and when people want to jump in they can. If the one who picked it wants to see who wants to join in they can post a thread about that. There, that's it.

Odette, you're pick is in January and Andrea you would then be February. I'll put up reminders when we get closer to the other months. If you don't make a pick that month, like a couple of weeks before lets say, give or take, you can forfeit your choice and get back in line at the end. I say a couple of weeks because some of us have to order and wait for orders, like me! Odette, I'm just putting this up now, so of course you can have some extra time. Also, it seems we are behind, so if you want to start yours a month later, we could do that too and start picks again as of February, moving everybody down one. Hope this doesn't sound too complicated!!

Hi Everyone,
I'm finally reading through all the postings I missed and I'm overwhelmed - in a good way. What an incredible group.

Regarding the reading choice, I'd actually like to suggest my book choice later if it's not too inconvenient. I'll be in NYC in a few weeks and I often end up with a new long reading list after visiting the museums there.

I'm still reading Art and Fear. I'll bring it with me on vacation if I'm not done before then.
I'm looking forward to reading Dear Theo as well.

So, do you want to pick a different month, Odette? I can postpone you to February or put you at the end of the list. Anything else would be infringing on the others, I think. I'm jealous about your visit to the museums in NYC! Looking forward to your comments on our current readings and glad you like how the group is forming. I'm enjoying all of you too!

Thanks Kim.
I'll take the February choice - if you don't mind waiting until early January for me to suggest it.

I noticed that you and a few other members on Artipathy asked me questions in some of the threads in the past few weeks. Sorry I let those balls hit the ground & roll into the forest. (I need some sort of banner that says "Odette is deeply sleep-deprived and overworked, but she will be back in contact as soon as life gets moderately sane again. ;) )

That's cool, Odette. Don't have all my balls in the air at various moments myself. When you catch up on your sleep, you can catch up on the questions. They'll still be there and we'll still be happy to hear from you. Beware of the beasties in the forest though...;0)

I'll bring snacks and make friends with the beasties. ;D

I could use that banner as well. I'm in such a state at the moment that I keep finding myself on autopilot and doing something completely incomprehensible, like putting mayonnaise on a pb&j sandwhich.

Just added a few books to the "to-read" shelf. Just click on "bookshelf" to see what's there. Not too happy to have it this way, since I'd like to see all the books, but I guess we will see some if we ever finish one or two! LOL Andrea, mayo and pb&j...mmm-mmm...maybe you can pass some to Odette to feed the beasties. ;0)

Added a book on Burning Man. Looks like a good one. I would so love to experience it. I love it when artists feed off of each other to spur on creativity!

I know we're a diverse group here, so I am in no way assuming you celebrate Christmas, but this is a time of year when people are on holiday, so if that is the case for you, I wish one and all here a peaceful and relaxing break and a very Happy New Year! All the best for the one to come. May we all get the books we want and the time to read them!

Dear friends,

Hi, I am sorry that I have not been on in a long time. My grandmother passed away recently and I have been busy helping my mom out and stuff. It will probably be a while before I log on again. i have a lot of things that I need to take care of as well as to go back home to the Middle East. I hope you all understand. Take care. Ma3a salama my friends.

We will be here when you return, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Oh, Reem, I'm so sorry. It must be a difficult time for you. You will be missed. As Andrea says, we will be here when you get the time to come back. Take your sketchbook with you! Sometimes drawing can be a way to deal with difficult feelings, or take you away from them when they are too overwhelming. Peace, Kim

I'm sorry to hear that, Reem... and in chorus, our thoughts are with you and your family.

Kim wrote: "Oh, Reem, I'm so sorry. It must be a difficult time for you. You will be missed. As Andrea says, we will be here when you get the time to come back. Take your sketchbook with you! Sometimes dra..."

That is a great idea. Thanks Kim. I recently purchased the classical drawing atlier to study drawing further as well. Take care my friend. Ma3a salama Kim.

Thank you so much for your condolences everyone. I am fine though. She had been sick for a long time and she went peacefully. I feel like she is in a better place and may be reunited with my grandfather already. Take care all. Ma3a salama my friends.

That's a lovely thought, Reem. I've got that book, by Juliette Aristides. Did you know she has one out about painting too? She has a very classical way of looking at things. I like the book, but it seems a bit general in some ways, more of a teaser to get you to come take her classes. Still, it gives many ideas for the right path to take. Now, if only I could afford plaster casts! I digress. Safe trip and come back to us sometime!

Ok, New Years resolution number...I will post once a week on one of the two books we are currently reading.