Art thoughts

The Two x Twos #8

Art thoughts, assignments for self, The Two x Twos

Previously on Assignment #7

Surprisingly, mainly to myself, I have really been on top getting through the various artistic works in the assignments. In the past, I struggled. It was so hard for me to find the time. With raising my kids, a day job, a night job, going back to college…you know, life…I would miss works. That was why I changed the Two x Two’s from weekly to bi-weekly. Yet with assignment #7 something changed. Shifted even. I am not tired anymore. I hunger. (Mother Wolf could this be you and your pack running through my life again?) Could art be like a salve during a chaotic time. Good art can move you, as the saying goes, but can it heal?

And now Assignment #8

Albums

  1. Aladdin Sane from David Bowie
  2. True (Avicii by Avicii) from Avicii

Cinema

  1. Aladdin (1992)
  2. Dinner For Schmucks (2010)

Literature

  1. Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen
  2. The Columbian Orator by Caleb Bingham

Comic Books/Graphic Novels

  1. Astro City Vol. 04: Tarnished Angel
  2. Astro City Vol. 05: Local Heroes

Video Games

  1. Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash (3DS)
  2. Bomberman GB (Gameboy)
  3. Dr. Mario (Gameboy)

Update: My Bomberman GB cartridge is not working, so I am substituting it with Dr. Mario.

From the Desk of Thomas Typewriter 06/29/2020

Art thoughts, From the desk of Thomas Typewriter

A studio update

  1. The Great Works Project

As always, TGWP moves on. I have been working on season 05. It will probably take me another week or two to finish the rough drafts. I like to write the episodes then let them sit and percolate before publishing them. That is why I am working on season 05, even though I am publishing season 02. I view my subconscious as a writing partner and I like to give them a chance to review and rewrite.

  1. Up Late, Late at Night

I have finished the script for season 01, episode 01. Ophidia wants storyboards completed before we start building puppets or filming anything. We’ll see how that goes.

  1. The Script Illuminated

I completed and posted the rough drafts from the first page of the script. The question I am wrestling with now is do I create the illustrations physically or digitally. If physically, then I would need markers, bristol board, rubber cement, and an x-acto knife. If digitally, then I would need to install Corel Draw onto my desktop and laptop. 

  1. Untitled project

Can I help my city, my community, be better? I honestly don’t know. But I have to try and for me the schools are the best place to start. 

  1. A prayer to Brighid

Yesterday, while contemplating your grace, I saw your burning hand. A golden handprint of blazing light and curving lines, it called out to me. Touch my hand, you said, and know the arts, for I am art and art is me. I so wanted to reach out, to place my hand in yours. 

The Script Illuminated – rough sketching

Art thoughts, The Great Works Project scripts, The Script Illuminated

While writing The Great Works Project, I am aware of the fact someone might actually try to stage this thing. While I view the script and the reading of the script as the medium, I do wonder how it will hold up when transferred off the page. How does it hold up to reinterpretation? To explore that idea I am going to try my hand at reinterpreting The Great Works Project. Maybe I’ll learn something in the process.

The Two x Twos Episode 7 (June 22nd, 2020)

Art thoughts, assignments for self, The Great Works Project assignments, The Two x Twos, thinking

PREVIOUSLY IN EPISODE 6

Episode 6 had a few surprises. Ocean Waves and All Systems Red were great. Something I was thinking about was time and connection. Like how events in our lives may be in different points in our lifespan but sometimes a connection occurs. In my head, I visualize this connection like a long ribbon of sunlight and at each end of the ribbon are the two connected moments. The ribbon spreads through time shifting and twisting so that I now feel as if these two moments are one moment, right now. Distance is an illusion. 

Watching Ocean Waves was one of these moments. 

As I watched it, and loved it, I started to think about when the film was made. It was produced and aired in Japan in 1993. Why didn’t I see this movie in 1993? I wouldn’t because it takes time to translate and travel overseas. So maybe I could have seen it in 1994 or 1995. Then it happens…two moments meet. I remembered that I first saw Metropolitan in 1994 one late evening on Channel 11 WTTW (Chicago PBS station). What I felt watching Ocean Waves were the same feelings I felt watching Metropolitan the first time. Wow.

THE TWO X TWOS EPISODE 7 (06/22/2020)

Albums

  1. Aja from Steely Dan
  2. Playlist: The Very Best of 311 from 311

Cinema

  1. Akira (1988)
  2. You Might Be The Killer (2019)

Literature

  1. All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare
  2. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas by Frederick Douglas

Comic Books/Graphic Novels

  1. Astro City Vol. 01: Life in the Big City
  2. Astro City Vol. 02: Confession

Video Games

  1. 80’s Overdrive (Nintendo 3DS)
  2. Crusader of Centy (Sega Genesis)

One last thing I should mention is that doing the Two x Twos on a weekly basis feels too rushed. I would like to have a little more time to spend exploring each work. Starting today, the Two x Twos will be bi-weekly.