http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Wm5JYBaHY
It has gotten longer between posts. The pages I am writing in Ulysses are covered with type...long words, short words, almost no paragraph breaks. Just page after page of thick, dense type. It hasn't been that fun to transcribe lately. In part this is because I don't have an audio book at the moment. Stories can take my mind off of what I am doing until I become lost. The last book I listened to was The Sun Also Rises. I had always hated Hemmingway, but after a while of listening to William Hurt read about Jake and Brett and Spain, bullfights and fishing I found myself looking forward to going back to it, and therefore to writing on my gloves. When I finished listening to the book I was sad...I miss those characters.
A lot of the time I listen to television when I write. The best show to listen to is Sex & the City because I have seen all the episodes numerous times, they usually make me happy, and I don't really have to pay much attention to the plot. But that isn't always on (unless someone knows of an all Sex & the City channel I may have missed), so much of the time I listen to the news, which seems sadder and more upsetting each and every day. Between the economy, Obama's worrisome poll numbers, and the lunatics running the republican party, I can barely stand to pay attention. It is like watching a Stephen King book acted out on the screen as a reality show.
I am writing almost a page a day right now. I had been doing more, but between the back to school schedule for my son, plus the denseness of the pages, plus the lack of distraction, I have slowed down a bit. I think on page 428 things lighten up in Ulysses, and maybe, with any luck, it will be the same out there in the news world. I can only hope.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Page 383
I am so, so close to the halfway mark, on page 290. It's been difficult these last couple of weeks. The pages are so dense with type. Barely a break for a paragraph, and pages 282 and 283 were full of giant words combined in such a way that I can't even believe it is English. Why did my dad love this book so much? Why did I never ask him?
For this portion of Ulysses I have been listening to The Sun Also Rises. I thought I hated Hemmingway, but I don't hate this novel though I don't love it. It irritates me when the female character (and in this book there is really only one woman, in a sea of hovering men)in any book is gorgeous, stunningly beautiful, mesmerizing, etc. I mean, very few people are so beautiful, and can someone really fall in love just because of beauty? Maybe so. It is just so far removed from my life. But to my surprise I have loved the descriptions of the place, especially the parts in Spain, and even the fishing. It is clear to me that Earnest knew so much more about fishing, war, and bullfighting than he did about women. And the drinking. Oh la la. I feel like I should have a tumbler of scotch anytime I listen to his words.
Anyway, it's been a nice contrast to the long, difficult pages of Ulysses that I am now writing. And it isn't going to get any easier for at least forty more pages. Still, reaching the halfway point should count for something.
Meanwhile, hurricane Irene is heading our way.
For this portion of Ulysses I have been listening to The Sun Also Rises. I thought I hated Hemmingway, but I don't hate this novel though I don't love it. It irritates me when the female character (and in this book there is really only one woman, in a sea of hovering men)in any book is gorgeous, stunningly beautiful, mesmerizing, etc. I mean, very few people are so beautiful, and can someone really fall in love just because of beauty? Maybe so. It is just so far removed from my life. But to my surprise I have loved the descriptions of the place, especially the parts in Spain, and even the fishing. It is clear to me that Earnest knew so much more about fishing, war, and bullfighting than he did about women. And the drinking. Oh la la. I feel like I should have a tumbler of scotch anytime I listen to his words.
Anyway, it's been a nice contrast to the long, difficult pages of Ulysses that I am now writing. And it isn't going to get any easier for at least forty more pages. Still, reaching the halfway point should count for something.
Meanwhile, hurricane Irene is heading our way.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Page 363 - August 5, 2011
There are only 27 more pages to write until I am halfway through this project. Sometimes when I am writing on a glove my mind wanders to the time when I will be really close...like a few pages from the end. But no matter how much time I have each day to work on this, even if I do get a residency (not likely) it is going to take at least another year, and probably closer to two. I pretty much work on it every single day, writing anywhere from a page to a page and a half. In a way it's a good thing that it is so time consuming. There is something peaceful about the time it takes to do this. I can't speed through it. It just takes a lot of time to write word after word after word, onto a rubber glove that needs to be turned over each time I run out of space on one side. Write and write and write, then turn. Write and write and write, then turn. The glove is a little smaller down towards the fingers but also more difficult to write on, because of the thumb sleeve, which starts higher than the other finger sleeves. So, no matter what this is just very time consuming and labor intensive. And I can't make the book fewer pages than it is (783). I have learned how to incorporate this hour or hour and a half of writing on a glove each and every day, same as I spend time each day brushing my teeth, showering, doing the dishes, walking the dog, eating and sleeping. The time has always been there. If I weren't doing this I might be doing more of my other artwork. But probably I would waste it. I could probably even find two hours a day to do this, but what's the rush?
Sunday, June 26, 2011
sunday. June 26
Page 323
So, I have passed the three hundred page mark. My next milestone is page 390, which is the half way point of my edition. I should be keeping track of all the audio books I have heard while doing this project. Right now I am listening to The Septembers of Shiraz. It's a beautiful, poetic book, about a Jewish family who lives in Iran, after the shah was thrown out. There is a father, a mother, a daughter, and a son. The son lives in Brooklyn, the father has been thrown in prison for crimes he has not committed, and the wife and daughter are left to their own devices. It's one of those books that one might put off because it is serious, and it forces you, or me anyway, to think about things you don't want to know happen to this day. People put into and tortured in prison, for perceived crimes against some new government. But it is beautiful, and I am glad I have it to listen to while I write Ulysses, most of which passes right through me.
Sometimes I feel ashamed of my lack of lightness, but at least along with my tendency to want to think about the dark side of life, I do have a sense of humour.
So, I have passed the three hundred page mark. My next milestone is page 390, which is the half way point of my edition. I should be keeping track of all the audio books I have heard while doing this project. Right now I am listening to The Septembers of Shiraz. It's a beautiful, poetic book, about a Jewish family who lives in Iran, after the shah was thrown out. There is a father, a mother, a daughter, and a son. The son lives in Brooklyn, the father has been thrown in prison for crimes he has not committed, and the wife and daughter are left to their own devices. It's one of those books that one might put off because it is serious, and it forces you, or me anyway, to think about things you don't want to know happen to this day. People put into and tortured in prison, for perceived crimes against some new government. But it is beautiful, and I am glad I have it to listen to while I write Ulysses, most of which passes right through me.
Sometimes I feel ashamed of my lack of lightness, but at least along with my tendency to want to think about the dark side of life, I do have a sense of humour.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
A Milestone
June 11, 2011: page 304
So, I have made it just past page three hundred. It feels as though each one hundred page segment goes a little more quickly, though right now I am slogging through some pages that are very densely worded, so it is slow going. I am trying not to think about doing it, let alone finishing it. In this sort of long term project it is better to just do it, as the slogan says.
I did get a shot in the arm this morning, in the form of an e-mail. The editor and publisher of Booklist had written a column about his struggles to read through Ulysses, which he finally did after a few failed attempts. It was a funny and heartwarming column and it also taught some things about the story in Ulysses that I would not have realized on my own. As I write out the pages on my gloves I often have the television on, or an audio book, so I am listening while I am writing. Also, I read three or four words at a time and then write, three or four more words, then write some more. Even if it were a more conventional story with a linear path it would be hard to understand what I have been reading. But Ulysses is so odd, so full of long sentences that barely have a beginning and end, that I have only a slim grasp of events taking place. I wrote a letter to Mr. Bill Ott, the author of the column, telling him that I enjoyed the column and explained a little about my glove project, including the link to my website. I sent it snail mail, and then pretty much forgot all about it.
But there in my spam box, of all places, was an e-mail from Mr. Ott that began with "Thanks for your absolutely fascinating letter. I think it's the most amazing piece of correspondence I've ever received in 30 years at Booklist...". Needless to say, this is the sort of e-mail response a girl could get used to! He went on to tell me that he would like to write about the letter and the project. Of course I told him that I would assist in any way with these plans.
The response to my Ulysses glove project has been stronger among people in the literary field than in the arts. I wish I knew how to create a bit more buzz among my visual arts idols. MOMA, can you hear me? Still, I am grateful that Mr. Ott wants to bring this work to the attention of others. For now, that seems like an excellent opportunity and also a great reason to continue.
So, I have made it just past page three hundred. It feels as though each one hundred page segment goes a little more quickly, though right now I am slogging through some pages that are very densely worded, so it is slow going. I am trying not to think about doing it, let alone finishing it. In this sort of long term project it is better to just do it, as the slogan says.
I did get a shot in the arm this morning, in the form of an e-mail. The editor and publisher of Booklist had written a column about his struggles to read through Ulysses, which he finally did after a few failed attempts. It was a funny and heartwarming column and it also taught some things about the story in Ulysses that I would not have realized on my own. As I write out the pages on my gloves I often have the television on, or an audio book, so I am listening while I am writing. Also, I read three or four words at a time and then write, three or four more words, then write some more. Even if it were a more conventional story with a linear path it would be hard to understand what I have been reading. But Ulysses is so odd, so full of long sentences that barely have a beginning and end, that I have only a slim grasp of events taking place. I wrote a letter to Mr. Bill Ott, the author of the column, telling him that I enjoyed the column and explained a little about my glove project, including the link to my website. I sent it snail mail, and then pretty much forgot all about it.
But there in my spam box, of all places, was an e-mail from Mr. Ott that began with "Thanks for your absolutely fascinating letter. I think it's the most amazing piece of correspondence I've ever received in 30 years at Booklist...". Needless to say, this is the sort of e-mail response a girl could get used to! He went on to tell me that he would like to write about the letter and the project. Of course I told him that I would assist in any way with these plans.
The response to my Ulysses glove project has been stronger among people in the literary field than in the arts. I wish I knew how to create a bit more buzz among my visual arts idols. MOMA, can you hear me? Still, I am grateful that Mr. Ott wants to bring this work to the attention of others. For now, that seems like an excellent opportunity and also a great reason to continue.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Bad Pens or Bad Gloves
page 292.
I have been having trouble either with the pens I am using, or with the surface of the gloves. Recently, only with the last few boxes of gloves, the glove surface is rejecting the pen. Instead of writing easily, almost as easily as on paper, the pen catches and the ink isn't a nice, smooth black. Instead it is sort of mottled and it is making the process even more tedious than it normally is.
So, today my husband is buying me new pens. I hope this helps, but I have a feeling it's the gloves, not the pens.
I am only about one hundred pages from the half way point of Ulysses, which seems close in a strange way...close to what, I don't know, but close.
Today, on Memorial Day, I am thinking about soldiers. American soldiers mostly, but also soldiers from other countries. all those people gone, killed. I know that the media thinks we, especially liberals without children fighting, are sort of oblivious to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I suppose I am in a way....I don't follow maneuvers and strategies. But I think about those who are fighting far away, all the time, and I wish they could all come home today. Alive.
I have been having trouble either with the pens I am using, or with the surface of the gloves. Recently, only with the last few boxes of gloves, the glove surface is rejecting the pen. Instead of writing easily, almost as easily as on paper, the pen catches and the ink isn't a nice, smooth black. Instead it is sort of mottled and it is making the process even more tedious than it normally is.
So, today my husband is buying me new pens. I hope this helps, but I have a feeling it's the gloves, not the pens.
I am only about one hundred pages from the half way point of Ulysses, which seems close in a strange way...close to what, I don't know, but close.
Today, on Memorial Day, I am thinking about soldiers. American soldiers mostly, but also soldiers from other countries. all those people gone, killed. I know that the media thinks we, especially liberals without children fighting, are sort of oblivious to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I suppose I am in a way....I don't follow maneuvers and strategies. But I think about those who are fighting far away, all the time, and I wish they could all come home today. Alive.
Monday, May 16, 2011
If nobody sees your art, is it still art?
Page 276.
I have been dutifully writing out one page daily of Ulysses on a glove. Sometimes I write a little more than a page. I feel like I am making progress, but as I do it I always wonder who will see this when it is done, aside from my family and a few friends. Will it find its way into a gallery? A museum? How will I present it?
Meanwhile I have also been working on the slinky drawings. I bought large (for me) paper last week. I had a day or two where I felt my imagination offered infinity possibilities. I felt that if I had the time to draw and draw I could create new work endlessly, great work, astounding work. It was a nice feeling.
The reality is that everything I do takes such a long time that the ideas pile up inside my brain and rarely make it on to paper. And if they do, then what? In my mind I see ideas for exhibits...rooms filled with slinky drawings of every size plus small more narrative drawings. Sort of Kiki Smith combined with Sol Lewitt and a dash of Louise Bourgeois (in my dreams!). But there are no rooms. I mean, there are rooms. But the owners and curators at those rooms have not been calling me. Each show I have I think might be the turning point, but so far it really isn't. I do have an exhibit coming up, in the fall. Maybe this time I'll be lucky...
I have been dutifully writing out one page daily of Ulysses on a glove. Sometimes I write a little more than a page. I feel like I am making progress, but as I do it I always wonder who will see this when it is done, aside from my family and a few friends. Will it find its way into a gallery? A museum? How will I present it?
Meanwhile I have also been working on the slinky drawings. I bought large (for me) paper last week. I had a day or two where I felt my imagination offered infinity possibilities. I felt that if I had the time to draw and draw I could create new work endlessly, great work, astounding work. It was a nice feeling.
The reality is that everything I do takes such a long time that the ideas pile up inside my brain and rarely make it on to paper. And if they do, then what? In my mind I see ideas for exhibits...rooms filled with slinky drawings of every size plus small more narrative drawings. Sort of Kiki Smith combined with Sol Lewitt and a dash of Louise Bourgeois (in my dreams!). But there are no rooms. I mean, there are rooms. But the owners and curators at those rooms have not been calling me. Each show I have I think might be the turning point, but so far it really isn't. I do have an exhibit coming up, in the fall. Maybe this time I'll be lucky...
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