That's "the thing about the world", says Lev Grossman, it's not "that things [are] harder than you thought they were going to be, [it's] that [they're] hard in ways that you didn't expect."
You get me every single time. You're a master of hooking the reader at the end of your text. In my case, it always finishes in the same way: A sigh, and an "Oh!," after which I say to myself, "This is so damn good." Thank you so much for sharing.
haha, Thank you Anne! You’re too kind. I’ve read that there are three stages to a magic trick: The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige. In the Pledge the magician shows you an ordinary, every day object, something you’ve always seen but never paid attention to. In the Turn the magician makes it do something extraordinary, the impossible becomes possible in a way we can’t believe, we question the very nature of truth and reality. And in the Prestige, the magician resolves the mystery, not in a way that answers all our questions , but in a way that shows us how far deeply and widely the mystery breathes into everything, that the miraculous is hidden within all things.
I’m not a magician, but I believe that writing is a chance to do something magical. That it can take the most mundane of things, thoughts, and feelings, that it can turn them into something beyond belief, and that it can then presents it back to us in a way that makes us change the way we see the world. The pledge, the turn, and the prestige.
It’s a sacred honor to fulfill this code every time words are committed to a page. When it’s done right, when it’s done well, when it’s done with discipline, commitment, and grace, we all get to share a moment when we see that the magic has always-already been there, and its worth believing in.
I have been taking in the second collage and keep coming back to it. It’s different, almost three dimensional. I feel like I am entering into someone’s space…
I love that! I'm always trying to play with scale and depth in interesting ways, or at least ways that are interesting to me, lol. I tend to think of and relate to my collages as spaces, like small windows into other places and worlds, fragments of bigger narratives that are just out of view.
Thank you for putting words to feelings that are so hard to name. Sometimes all we need is that little reminder that we’re not alone, and this feels like a gentle lifeline in the dark. Truly, thank you for sharing this.
So well said! Those little reminders always mean the world to me, they always make the biggest difference, and I do my best to put as many back into the world i can.
Thank you Hannah! It’s one of teh most interesting and surprising parts of putting together these newsletters every week. The writing and the collages to place completely separate from one another. At separate time and in separate places and in separate headspaces. I don’t think about the writing while I’m collaging, and I don’t think about the collages when I’m writing. But it sit down to put them together. I discover that all week they’ve already been speaking.
I'm admiring the way you weave your collage pieces in with your stream of thoughts. And the titles of the collages are a definite plus in the equation. Excellent musings!
Thanks so much George! I love picking where each collage will sit within each section of a piece of writing. It wonderful to see unfold into a conversation that i feel lucky to be a witness to. thanks so much!
Wow! That’s such a high compliment! I am familiar with Todd’s work. He’s amazing. Interestingly enough I have a collage that was just in a show that he was one of the co-curator’s for at the Simmerling Gallery in Chicago. I wasn’t able to attend but it was an absolute privilege to be amongst so many amazing artists and to have been selected by him. Thanks again!
This was beautiful and grounding to read. Thank you for this gift.
Thank you Davor! So glad it resonated with you!
;)
You get me every single time. You're a master of hooking the reader at the end of your text. In my case, it always finishes in the same way: A sigh, and an "Oh!," after which I say to myself, "This is so damn good." Thank you so much for sharing.
haha, Thank you Anne! You’re too kind. I’ve read that there are three stages to a magic trick: The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige. In the Pledge the magician shows you an ordinary, every day object, something you’ve always seen but never paid attention to. In the Turn the magician makes it do something extraordinary, the impossible becomes possible in a way we can’t believe, we question the very nature of truth and reality. And in the Prestige, the magician resolves the mystery, not in a way that answers all our questions , but in a way that shows us how far deeply and widely the mystery breathes into everything, that the miraculous is hidden within all things.
I’m not a magician, but I believe that writing is a chance to do something magical. That it can take the most mundane of things, thoughts, and feelings, that it can turn them into something beyond belief, and that it can then presents it back to us in a way that makes us change the way we see the world. The pledge, the turn, and the prestige.
It’s a sacred honor to fulfill this code every time words are committed to a page. When it’s done right, when it’s done well, when it’s done with discipline, commitment, and grace, we all get to share a moment when we see that the magic has always-already been there, and its worth believing in.
“When you're standing at what you thought was the end of what the universe had to throw at you, and it turns out it was only stretching.”
Love this.
“Hidden and unbidden…”
“…feel it in the marrow of things..”
Oof. So beautiful, Duane. You stole my breath
Glad you liked it! Thanks so much!
https://www.atelierdoffard.com/en/catalogue/catalogue
Enjoy!
Oh my goodness! This is amazing! Thank you!!
Sadly the future is not what it was.
It isn’t, but there’s still some wonder and curiosity left for what it could still be.
I have been taking in the second collage and keep coming back to it. It’s different, almost three dimensional. I feel like I am entering into someone’s space…
I love it!
I love that! I'm always trying to play with scale and depth in interesting ways, or at least ways that are interesting to me, lol. I tend to think of and relate to my collages as spaces, like small windows into other places and worlds, fragments of bigger narratives that are just out of view.
Thank you for putting words to feelings that are so hard to name. Sometimes all we need is that little reminder that we’re not alone, and this feels like a gentle lifeline in the dark. Truly, thank you for sharing this.
So well said! Those little reminders always mean the world to me, they always make the biggest difference, and I do my best to put as many back into the world i can.
Beautiful words. Ever expanding vision in your work.
Thank you so much!!
Love this Duane. I've been away a little, what a lovely piece to read tonight. May all that is mysterious, hidden and unbidden find us. Carry us.
How, if we aren't afraid of the dark, if we let it define the light, how it might illuminate the surprising path, the calling
.... of feeling ALIVE
"May all that is mysterious, hidden and unbidden find us. Carry us." - what a gorgeous blessing to give and receive! Thank you for this!!
I like your point about going through the trials and tribulations and later realizing it was just stretching and the warm-up. So true.
Oh, boy does it ever feel true! Thanks Neil!
Really like how the compositions echo your thoughts, as if the visual and the verbal interweave between your mind and hands.
Thank you Hannah! It’s one of teh most interesting and surprising parts of putting together these newsletters every week. The writing and the collages to place completely separate from one another. At separate time and in separate places and in separate headspaces. I don’t think about the writing while I’m collaging, and I don’t think about the collages when I’m writing. But it sit down to put them together. I discover that all week they’ve already been speaking.
I'm admiring the way you weave your collage pieces in with your stream of thoughts. And the titles of the collages are a definite plus in the equation. Excellent musings!
Thanks so much George! I love picking where each collage will sit within each section of a piece of writing. It wonderful to see unfold into a conversation that i feel lucky to be a witness to. thanks so much!
Are you familiar with the work of Todd Bartel? I think of your work when I look at his. The work is stunning- he’s jargon less so …
Wow! That’s such a high compliment! I am familiar with Todd’s work. He’s amazing. Interestingly enough I have a collage that was just in a show that he was one of the co-curator’s for at the Simmerling Gallery in Chicago. I wasn’t able to attend but it was an absolute privilege to be amongst so many amazing artists and to have been selected by him. Thanks again!
:'} So good.
Thank you so much!