Dawn > Recent Status Updates

This is a fascinating, if sometimes heartbreaking, story of cultural conflict.

I would like this book a lot more if the authors didn't interject lame jokes every couple of pages. Stop trying to jazz up what's essentially a textbook, okay? I'm fine with sticking to learning over entertainment. I have other books for that.

Really enjoying this one so far. A lot of the riding stuff resonates with me, and there are enough Mormons around here that I can at least recognize some of what she's talking about.

"When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you hold back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes."

"People who need certainty in their lives are less likely to make art that is risky, subversive, complicated, iffy, suggestive or spontaneous. What's really needed is nothing more than a broad sense of what you are looking for, some strategy for how to find it, and an overriding willingness to embrace mistakes and surprises along the way. Simply put, making art is chancy--it doesn't mix well with predictability."

I love that there's already a mention of the importance of beginnings: "the first few brushstrokes to the blank canvas satisfy the requirements of many possible paintings, while the last few fit only *that* painting--the could go nowhere else" (p. 16). This discussion (especially the Didion quote) relates directly to the IO workshops I've taken, which stress that the first three sentences of a scene are crucial.

I'm finding this book to be a perfect complement to Art & Fear, since it is (so far) also focused a lot on identity, and the mental roadblocks we create to keep us from success.