becky haycox

Month: September 2009

  • talking about creativity, in an attempt to appear non-procrastinating

    I’m fascinated by the creative process and how people approach it. Me, I’ve always visualized every project I’ve developed as a big, soft, block, ready to be carved down until I find my end result. Rarely do I imagine it as something I build, or add to. It’s in me, it’s already there — I just have to get to it.

    And, of course, getting to it is the hard part. And that road is full of distractions and wrong turns.

    The remarkable Merlin Mann talked about being creative (and just plain productive) on a Sound of Young America podcast. Totally worth listening to here. Here’s the line that made me cringe with recognition:

    How many of you have thought a lot more about the kind of notebook you buy than what you’d like to write as a result of it?
    — Merlin Mann on fixation on the process, rather than the result

    There’s some good advice on getting motivated, too, although it’s ultimately of the “just do it” variety. Hard to do when my internal Cast of Thousands is urging me to snack, to play Farmville, to take a nice nap.

    I love when creativity comes flowing and unbridled, and from a point of view. It’s not a secret that when one does improv with kids, they are the best a crafting a story, and knowing exactly what should come next. There’s no one on earth who are more intimately familiar with story arcs and narrative structure.

    All that blather is just an excuse to present the cutest young thing ever, Miss Capuchine, and have her tell us an amazing story, totally made up on the spot:

    direct link

    And here’s a wonderful animation to remind me that collaboration is a great thing — that you can create things far more deep and fantastic than the mere sum total of your group:

    direct link

    One thing I do know for sure is that it’s important to support and be supported in my creative community. Go, go and support your friend’s screening, show, reading. At the very least, they’ll have cheese cubes there!

    On that note, I present the link roll of my genius friends. If you’re not on there and should be (I’ve left a few off because I don’t know if you want me to release your address to the general public), let me know posthaste. Check them out! Comment — that’s the e-version of eating cheese cubes!

    I’m lucky to have so many (so many!) inspiring creative people in my life!

  • vehicle for happiness

    Gloria (sophomore year roommate at Berkeley, not her real name) and I went to either the Alameda Island Drive-In or the Oakland Coliseum Drive-In one warm weekend night in 1984. We saw either Beat Street or Breakin’. We may or may not have had other friends with us. I may or may not have partaken of the huge amount of pot that was being smoked. I’m not being coy about that last bit; pot and I were never good friends and when I smoked I very often became the freaked-out friend — yes, that one, the one trembling in the corner.

    On our way back to Berkeley, Gloria came to a screeching halt in the middle of the road for no reason whatsoever. That’s when we knew it was time to take a break before attempting more driving.

    So we stopped at Denny’s in Oakland. We probably had breakfast and Cokes.

    One thing I remember for sure is that I stole this mug.

    Those that know me well know that I am persnickity about my coffee drinking. My mug needs to be small for my petite (but frequent) serving portions, and must fit well in my wee hands. It needs to look good, too. This Denny’s mug is perfect. Not only does it fit all my rules of size, shape and aesthetics, but it’s built sturdily and insulates well.

    Denny, if you read this, thank you. I don’t steal any more, just to let you know. If you let me keep my mug, you will allow me to keep feeling a tiny burst of joy every morning when the coffee is hot and this mug is clean and ready to bring hot java happiness to my mouth.

  • chicken tv

    grooming emergency: over

    Nice moments from Summer 2009:

    While waiting for a lunch order, I looked outside to the sidewalk to see a lady staggering to her car. I was nervous that she was impaired and about to get behind the wheel. Then I realized she was walking barefoot, balancing on her heels, trying to maintain her brand-new pedicure.

    From the Ventura County Star:

    Every night, Pat Torres and her husband pour a glass of wine and head to their backyard to watch TV.

    But they don’t watch the news or sitcoms. They aren’t even watching a real TV screen. They are watching their chickens.

    “It’s like chicken TV,” Torres said.

    I had a high-intensity evening in July — a horrible improv show was followed by loud, raucous blowing off of  steam at a local restaurant, into the wee hours. I was exhausted, ready for bed, driving home. Suddenly, a shooting star (or asteroid?) cracked the sky — like a blue-white LED bulb exploding, the shards sparkling behind it.

    The Stuff from the B-Side podcast recently discussed the existence and evolution of sea shanties. The hosts finished their subject, then turned to the “Listener Mail” segment. Suddenly, they’re reading my guilty pleasures songlist, my “Easy Cheezy Listenin’ Tunes,” the songs I only listen to when I’m alone. Now, the world knows that I enjoy supermellow 70s music, and I’m proud! Brandy, you’re a fine girl! (listen here to the podcast)

    The Fair.

  • Becky Home Eccy

    A compendium of creative crap, quilt-wise, I’ve been doing…

    My work is done here

    QUILT ONE

    I remade the Science Quilt into a  wee size (about 38″ x 38″). Well, almost. Even though all instincts were telling me to stop! on Saturday, after a long and hot day, I hurriedly sewed the binding and royally screwed it up. I’m a little in over my head, trying to figure out how to fix it, and feel sick every time I pick it up to do so. Fortunately my sister Annie called and counseled me to leave it the fuck alone until I can rally and approach it with calm. And so it goes. Since I have not rallied nor am I calm, I folded it up and set it on top of the folded full-size Science Quilt (which follows the #7 Rule of Cuteness — A thing, accompanied by a smaller version of that thing, is always cute.)

    The reason for remaking the Science Quilt (which I’m in the early stages of being sick of thinking about) is that I’m going to enter it into a quilt competition, which has a maximum entry measurement of one meter square.

    The competition is “SAQA Frontiers:  Art meets Science.” So, you see. I kind of have to enter it — it’s destiny, right? I make a Science Quilt and a Science Quilt show happens? I have Tanya to thank for turning me on to this competition, and to SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates), of which I am now a proud member.

    If it gets selected, it will be shown at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England next year. I am trying hard not to get my hopes up. These art quilter people don’t mess around and the work is often beyond impeccable. And I am not impeccable. Witness, for example, the stunning work of the above-mentioned Tanya Brown, oh my. That’s varsity-level awesomeness.

    So whatever happens, happens.

    QUILT TWO

    There’s a chance I’ll be entering another quilt into the same exhibit — a quilt depicting the night sky, in embroidery. I just don’t know if I have it in me to make all those multitudes of French knots. So many knots! So far, I have the chart, some dark blue fabric, and six weeks. What I lack is impetus.

    QUILT THREE

    There’s a local “Recycled & Repurposed” Show that is currently calling for entries. I’m going to attempt to make a “quilt” out of pieces of junk mail. It’s actually coming together well, and is so much less labor-intensive than something made of cloth. The timing is good — I’ve been wanting to make a statement about the INSANE amount of junk mail that I receive as a resident of this town. Seriously, it is shocking; the circulars jam my mailbox, two 12-page glossy crap ad packets daily. And there’s no way to take myself off the distribution list. It’s sickening. The paper that I used for the paper quilt is from less than a week’s worth of mail. Bah! So I’m making lemonade, as it were.

    QUILTS QUILTS QUILTS

    I enjoyed a very short period of bliss, having caught up with all the babies — that is, I crafted (or bought) something for all the infants that I know. But then a friend announced her pregnancy of twins. Sigh.

    And my top-secret List of Quilts I’m Planning for Friends and Family is moving at a glacial pace. I cringe to think of the wedding gifts that are way past the one-year anniversary grace period.

    But hey, there’s a crafty group of friends here that expressed interest in making our so-far intermittent Crafternoons (see pictures here) a regular thing. That would be great, not only to complete current projects but also to continue to ride the crest of this creativity explosion that my brain is doing right now.

    I know that explosions don’t have crests you can ride. I know that.

    I feel like a real artist for the first time in my life. Holy shit.