GRIZZLY PEAR

written snapshots

Category: Artifacts

  • Inktober24, week 1

    This year, I’m doing the Inktober Challenge, which includes a daily word prompt. Instead of waiting a month to compile all of my entries, I’ll share them a week at a time, with a little commentary to accompany each 5 Word Poem.

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    9/29, 9/30

    dancing
    letter
    poems
    Inktober
    incoming
                                hi!

     
    The weekend before the challenge, I learned Textura Prescisus to have a script that contrasts strongly against scripts. I then wrote this 5WP to mark my the arsenal on the eve of the event.

    It had been a struggle over two months to learn twisting the nib for both Foundational Hand and Celtic Half-Uncial because they move the pen differently from each other. To my surprise, that painful skill building set me up to learn Textura Prescisus in a flash. I learned it so quickly, that I picked up Chancery Cursive (hi!) the morning after.

    That said, these new scripts betray an uncertainty in the hand, but only time and practice will fix those lines.

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    10/1

    proudly
    carried
    his
    red
    backpack

     
    The boy got a red backpack at a back-to-school event this summer. Even though we’re doing online school, he proudly wore it when we went to Springs Preserve. With the brilliant Birmingham Ink Magma in one of my pens, this was a no-brainer.

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    10/2

    reaching
    out
    we
    discover
    ourselves

     
    I started the challenge with Foundational Hand, which I knew best. On this second day, I snuck in Celtic Half-Uncial to highlight the day’s prompt.

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    10/3

    boots
    never
    worn
    new
    work

     
    I bought a pair of steel toe boots since we were about to start construction on a new DMV. Then I changed jobs. By the time life slowed down, it was too late to return the boots. They’re sitting in the closet, waiting.

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    10/4

    exotic
    is
    your
    neighbor’s
    normal

     
    I paired an extreme form of Textura Precisus (cutting off the baseline of the script) with Chancery Hand (its narrowness lets me fit “neighbor’s” onto the page). These 5WP’s are a balancing act to find a decent poem that also works visually on the page.

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    10/5

    eye
    see
    binoculars
    far
    out

     
    I took two bites of the apple with this one. After posting the first version, my daughter mentioned that the “b” looked small. I was also unhappy with the original wording so I went back upstairs to try again.

    The shading displays the proud entrance of brushes into the mix. I wanted something that could let me write larger on the page, after maxing with the 6.0mm Pilot Parallels. So now I got hairs to lay ink.

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    This week has been fun. The 5 Word Poem format had gotten stale, so it’s been invigorating to have someone else hand me a fresh word to wrangle every day.

    It’s also a pleasant challenge to produce a finished drawing every day. Sometimes it’s important to lie fallow and just play, but a little pressure is often necessary to push the process. Luckily I had enough free time this week to both play with brushes and make a 5WP each morning. I doubt I’ll be so lucky in the coming weeks with incoming Halloween events.

    Cya next week!

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    BONUS!

    The girl finally joined the Inktober fun on Saturday after I showed her a series with Pokemon. Hopefully she’ll keep it up, at least on the weekends.

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  • unordered

    The husband of local architect collects Pokémon cards. When I asked her where to buy a big box of cheap commons, she handed me a pile that I passed onto the kids.

    That became a giant mess on the floor, way past bedtime!

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    I’m learning that cleaning up is a slow necklace of focused moments.

    Each attempt at organizing takes way longer than planned. But if you tackle each clean-up endeavor as a focused chip off a giant boulder, you’ll make a dent over time.

    Last Saturday we finally put up shelves in the garage. Sunday, I threw the mess up on the wall. Admittedly this just made a vertical wreck, but it was nice to see the concrete slab again.

    This morning, I sorted through the stuff, consolidated the boxes, and we now enjoy a tidy garage.

    Onto the house (a small corner at a time)!

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  • tundra


    In winter, we played in the snow as the sun set over the girl’s last afternoon as a 9 year old. With the rains of that week, our usual spot at Mount Charleston (in the valley below the visitor center) was in fresh deep fluff.

    Coincidentally, this week, I’ve been listening to the Fred Frith soundtrack to Rivers and Tides which includes a few scenes of Andy Goldsworthy working in the winter cold. My memory of the sounds from that afternoon have blended with the sounds of that lovely film.

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    After four and a half years, COVID finally found us.

    I got the symptoms first so I rushed off to my in-law’s empty rental house. Too late, the family all came down soon after.

    But inertia took over and I stayed there for a couple of weeks as we recuperated separately.

    One can get a lot done without family responsibilities. I cleaned up the place thoroughly, finally finished T-Zero (fine book, but still a sequel) and The Conference of the Birds (a glorious Sufi poem that I can barely comprehend), created AutoCAD templates for my calligraphy practice, and ate a lot of TV dinners.

    Without kids, the place stayed remarkably clean. Entropy moves slower in the absence of little people. But still, nice to be home again, mess and all.

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  • shelter

    We settled into our new home six months ago and reality intruded on the even the earliest moments everyday magic.

    Here is the boy is looking down as I tidied the garage. A minute later, a yellow pencil poked a hole in the screen.

    And while making our first batch of pancakes, he threw a tantrum after I mixed the batter, after telling me to go ahead and mix without him. Then I got into a tiff with Mama because I burnt the first few pancakes while learning the new stove. (Couples cooking has never been our strong suit.)

    The gods have been gracious, but they always spice things up to keep us in our place.

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    I was given a tour of landside operations at the airport. Since they manage parking and traffic, they have a large team. I asked one of their managers how someones stands out when a promotion is open.

    First, he noted that not everyone is ambitious. He started with an entry level job 25 years ago and some of his colleagues are still in that exact same position.

    Beyond that, he advises every new employee these three simple guides.

    • Be here when you’re supposed to show up.
    • Do what you’re supposed to do.
    • Don’t do what you aren’t supposed to do.

    After that, he said it’s a matter of politics and luck. These factors are out of our hands. For example, he almost got a job with another county agency in 2007. It didn’t work out, but that team experienced massive layoffs during the great recession while the airport avoided layoffs altogether.

    You never know if you’re winning by losing.

    The gods are funny like that.

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  • relocate

    This kitchen table continues to serve us over twenty years through six abodes.

    This afternoon, we thoroughly cleaned up lunch (cod, broccoli, and rice).

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    It’s been four months since I posted the letter “Q”.

    These hand sketches were photographed last year, so it’s just a matter of tidying the images and writing a little journal entry to mark the passage of time.

    I started the year hoping to catch up on the backlog—let things go, either out to the wild or into the private archives.

    Hopefully I now have the mental space to do this work.1

    Of course, there is a fresh set of sketches to scan. And tiny poems . And those zines that I slammed together twenty months ago.

    One step at a time.

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    1. To repeat myself: if you’re unsure about staying at your current job, it’s time to leave. ↩︎

  • Vegas Ordinary, July 2024

    In early May, this daily practice sprung up at a delicate moment. I so busy at work that I had no mental space to practice anything creative, especially with a looming job switch.

    But I made time to post a simple photo every day.

    This practice kept me afloat amidst the during a season of change. It’s now time to sunset this three month project to make time for other pursuits. Thanks to everyone who supported this little creative life raft on Substack Notes. Your likes and comments helped me persevere, turning a stray notion into a project of seeing (and framing) the mundane.

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    Carpet.

    7/1

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    Ceiling.

    7/2

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    Wrap.

    7/2

    ,

    Checkout.

    7/3

    ,

    Cereal

    7/4

    ,

    Flowers

    7/4

    ,

    Angles

    7/5

    ,

    Dinner.

    7/6

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    Cabinets.

    7/7

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    Reflect.

    7/8

    ,

    Can.

    7/9

    ,

    Cloud.

    7/10

    ,

    Legs.

    7/11

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    Up.

    7/12

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    Plate.

    7/13

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    Wall.

    7/14

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    Twenty-five.

    7/15

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    Telephone.

    7/16

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    Games.

    7/17

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    Mail.

    7/18

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    Cookie.

    7/19

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    Science.

    7/20

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    Snowman.

    7/21

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    Diamonds.

    7/22

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    Phonics.

    7/23

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    Blue.

    7/24

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    Aggregate.

    7/25

    ,

    Smoke.

    7/26

    ,

    Elbow.

    7/27

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    Retail.

    7/27

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    Feet.

    7/28

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    Gap.

    7/29

    ,

    So what’s next? A couple of months ago, I came up with the idea of 1P+1P (one project, one practice).

    Unfortunately, life is complicated. So I’ve changed it to 2(P+P)—two practices and projects (a creative and practical endeavour for each).

    For my Projects, I’m returning to my 2024 theme of “Settling up”. For creative, it’s time to tackle the Grizzlypear backlog (200+ drafts!). And for home, we need to fully settle into our “new” house (six months after moving in!).

    As for Practices, I need to start exercising and I’d like to work on my calligraphy. I’ve hit that inevitable point in this new hobby where it’s time to grind down to reach the next plateau. Maybe I’ll eventually give up, but I want to put in a solid effort before deciding that the next level of proficiency isn’t worth the time.

    Hopefully this dual track approach provides a better balance of fun and responsibility. We’ll see!

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  • Vegas Ordinary, June 2024

    Life has slowed down (in a good way) after changing jobs. For example, I’m posting this collection on July 7th, while I didn’t get around to uploading the previous month’s compilation till June 19th, a week after I started at the new job.

    As for this Project, I got one more month before I move on to something else. Follow me on Substack Notes if you want to see these photos in real time. Or just wait for the final compilation in late August after we come back from our not-Vegas vacation.

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    Type.

    6/1

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    Mess.

    6/2

    ,

    Laundry.

    6/3

    ,

    Corner.

    6/4

    ,

    Cafe.

    6/5

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    Notes.

    6/6

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    Cubicle.

    6/7

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    Blankets.

    6/8

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    Artichokes.

    6/9

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    Airport.

    6/10

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    P.

    6/11

    ,

    Strawberry.

    6/12

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    Foam.

    6/13

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    Muse.

    6/13

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    Legs.

    6/14

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    Empty.

    6/15

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    Draw.

    6/16

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    Conduit.

    6/17

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    Cinema.

    6/18

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    Tails.

    6/18

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    Panel.

    6/19

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    Solstice.

    6/20

    ,

    Grain.

    6/21

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    Laureate.

    6/22

    ,

    Office.

    6/22

    ,

    Desktop.

    6/24

    ,

    Curtain.

    6/25

    ,

    Goodbye.

    6/26

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    Liftoff.

    6/26

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    Keys.

    6/29

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    Straggler.

    6/29

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    Bed.

    6/30

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    Next week will be the first time that I actually work a full forty hours for the airport. In the past four weeks, I’ve had two days of County Orientation, Juneteenth, a day of Airport Orientation, and Independence Day. Three full days of orientation is a bit of overkill, but it was better than 90 minutes of signing forms and learning the rest by asking random coworkers.

    One thing that stood out at the Airport orientation was lunch with senior managers. It was a nice show of solidarity that they would come down and join us for a meal and introduce themselves. Then again, maybe I won’t want them to remember my name after I start to ruin their work lives with the Terminal renovation!

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  • Created with Human Intelligence (HiBadge 2024)

    In June, 

    Introvert Drawing Club posted a badge that caught fire, cause we’re sick of the cheap plagiaristic garbage being shoved in our faces online.

    This morning, Beth Spencer posted a note that she was only 53 badges from 1k.

    Let’s make that 52!

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    The image was hand drawn with fountain pens in and edited in Pixlr. This morning I added the text as a markup on my iPhone, with the PNG export done in Pixlr after deleting the white background. You can see the badge in action on my photo on the about page.

    If it looks familiar, it’s because I made the original image last year in a post about alternatives to AI art. There is so much great free art made by real people, why would anyone outsource our visual world to thieving machines?

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    Bonus! I originally wrote the badge with “Made”. Since it’s not doing any good by itself on the computer, here it is if you’d prefer this wording.

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    Check out the IG page for all the other #HiBadge2024.

    Happy drawing!

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  • Vegas Ordinary, May 2024

    Things have been so busy that I can’t focus on anything outside of work.

    So I picked up a daily practice that can be instantly completed at any time since we are tethered to pocket computer cameras at all waking (and sleeping) hours.

    The title of this project is inspired by Shimzu Akira’s fun newsletter JAPAN ORDINARY.

    I’m not sure how long to keep it up, but it will run at least through June. It’s been a fun way to record the change of scenery at my new job.

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    Puzzle.

    5/4

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    Lavatory.

    5/5

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    Morning.

    5/6

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    Desk.

    5/7

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    Read.

    5/8

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    Durango.

    5/9

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    Yard.

    5/10

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    Stairs.

    5/11

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    Mouse.

    5/12

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    Boxes.

    5/13

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    Dishes.

    5/14

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    Strip.

    5/15

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    Graduation.

    5/16

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    Shadow.

    5/17

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    Trash.

    5/18

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    Park.

    5/19

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    Drugs.

    5/21

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    Logistics.

    5/22

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    Summer.

    5/24

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    Panels.

    5/25

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    Knot.

    5/26

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    Nuts.

    5/27

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    Fluorescent.

    5/28

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    Dishwasher.

    5/29

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    Flower.

    5/31

    Door.

    5/31

    Basin.

    5/31

    Concrete.

    5/31

    Up.

    5/31

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    While contemplating my birthday in May, I realized that my piles of projects and want-to-do lists keep growing as my time continues to shrink.

    To balance the desire to start new projects, I need to close out old projects. (Ironic to write this on a post showcasing a new photography series!).

    So I’ve created a new limitation – one Practice and one Project at a time.

    1P-1P
    顽皮-顽皮
    “naughty naughty”
    (also the nickname of my parents’ neighbor’s cat who chills in their house all day)

    Practices could be something like taking a photo every day, playing the banjo, practicing calligraphy, writing poetry, or sketching my hand.

    Projects are specific endeavors, like finishging my Alphabet Magic series or planning our summer vacation.

    We’ll see if it helps wrangle the fuzz in my brain.

    Even so, June has turned out another whirlwind. See y’all in July!

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    (Unless you follow me on Substack Notes…then you can get my next Vegas Ordinary as soon as tomorrow!)

  • Book Notes, April, May 2024

    Now that we’ve finally put our books up on shelves after a decade in the garage, I pull random old books to enjoy before bedtime. The bedroom is getting crowded with a pile that needs to go back downstairs.

    Here are some notes before sending them back into the stacks.

    Staying by the bed

    Baron in the Trees, Italo Calvino—I’m still slowly working through this book. I paused to read Cosmicomics and might get distracted by T-zero but I want to finish it sooner rather than later.

    Letter on Ethics, Seneca—I enjoyed listening to the selected letters audiobook by Penguin so I picked up the complete letters translated by Margaret Graver last year. I finally started reading them; I’m enchanted by their brevity even though (spoiler warning) the later letters seem to run long.

    The Unbroken Web, Richard Adams—This collection of stories has that pan-religious vibe from the 70/80’s. I most likely would have sent this back onto the shelves but I wrapped it up as a self-birthday present so I might as well give it a solid try in June.

    Carlo Scarpa, The Complete Works—I borrowed this volum many times in college so I finally bought it as a birthday treat. In the past, I only looked at the images, but after spending 100 euros, I’m for damn sure reading the essays. Good lord, that’s some turgid writing. Architecture criticism at its finest.

    Going back up

    Cosmicomics, Italo Calvino—I’ve tried reading this many times over the years and finally broke through. It’s a tender collection of short stories based on scientific principles. I wonder if aging and kids have given me an appreciation for love stories.

    Zhuangzi (Burton) & Lieh-tzu (Graham)—Always good to revisit two of the key texts of Daoism.

    Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess—The boy was curious about chess so we played a few times. I pulled this book of the shelves because I find chess utterly impenetrable. I’ve never been good at with spatial games, much less a perfect information abstract. I slogged through a couple exercises before giving up even though I’m still enchanted by the structure of this book.

    The 26 Letters, Oscar Ogg—Delightfully of its time though I wonder how it holds up with the historical scholarship over the past sixty years.

    40 days dans le desert B, Moebius—Absolute classic. Trippy as fuck.

    The Ode Less Travelled, Stephen Fry—I borrowed this book from the library when I thought I’d take my poetry experiments more seriously. Instead, work took over my life. In stressful times, the pursuit of quality may have the paradoxical side effect of stifling production. Time to send it back to the public library.

    Under the Jaguar Sun, Italo Calvino—I was searching for something to calm the mind, but this was a bit too intense. Turned out that my subconscious was close, since the correct answer was Cosmicomics.

    Journey to the West (Yu)—Always good for a romp Great Sage Under Heaven. Plus a little poetry.

    Charles M. Russell—Nice overview of the artist’s work. Holy hell, the wild west was indeed wild. Life of all types was cheap back then.

    Signal to Noise, Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean—The art holds up. The writing is what you’d expect from a 30 year old writing about a protagonist twice his age. I loved Gaiman, but I’ve soured over the past few years. One day I’ll revisit Sandman, but I’m dreading the potential realization that I’ve outgrown this as well.

    Giovanni Battista Piranesi—A collection of his prints. If drawn accurately, the scale of the ruins are unimaginable, towering over the inglorious lives conducted under these decaying edifices. Quite unsafe to stay in those shadows, though I guess you’ll take what you can get in the heat of summer. Beyond antiquity though, his renderings are sick. Beyond rad.

    Carlo Scarpa—In college, I picked up this Taschen survey on the (relative) cheap. It’s a passable intro to his work, though with the obnoxious style repeating text with multiple languages on each page. Then again, it reminded me of the greatness of Scarpa which lead to my big birthday purchase (noted above).