Changing In Mid-Stream

Never fails. Just when I said that the sky was clear, blue and bright, this happens. It didn’t last long. The clouds just blew in another cold front. I could wear long pants all day, yesterday. That’s something. I think.

I’ve been doing some cogitating. I’m having trouble moving forward creatively. I read something a friend of mine wrote about how every digital thing we use today is frictionless. And, that we’ve been trying for the last two decade to get to this point.

Friction.

Ah ha. Artists need friction to develop, to grow to make new art. What friction have we had lately? The only thing that could marginally be called friction is whether I use a new or old mask when we go grocery shopping. Oh, and if I forgot gloves to pump gas for the first time in three months. I used a paper towel instead.

No wonder I’m repeating myself. I can’t tell one years take from another. I’m frictionless. The only thing that comes near is determining which way to walk is the all seeing spaniel. And, she picks the route.

Dogs don’t really have the kind of recall that humans have, but somehow she remembers that yesterday we went this way and that way, so today we are going this other way. I don’t care. It’s all the same to me.

So. Friction. It doesn’t need to be any terrible thing. It could just mean stepping ousted of my comfort zone. Like going to a different grocery store.

Nooooooooooooo… that’s not what I mean.

Here’s what I mean. I use Google Maps to guide me to places that I’ve never been, or to find a more efficient way of getting someplace.

I really started trusting it when I got outside of “the box” two Mardi Gras ago. The box is an Uptown area that is bounded by parades on all four sides of the map. I kept trying and failing to penetrate a gap in the parades. Google Maps somehow realized what I was doing and found a way in for me.

Onething it does if you leave it on is track where you’ve been on how many miles you’ve driven in a month. It sends you an audit at the end of the month.

Before you start in on privacy issues, I don’t go anywhere that I want to hide from anyone’s eyes. I’ve yet to see any targeted advertising and I reckon privacy has been blown long ago.

So.

In the month of September I drove 5 miles. That’s right. Five miles.

I can start adding friction by driving to other places so that I can make a few pictures.

What about you? Is creativity a non-starter right now? What can you do to jump start it?

The picture. The picture. The plane. The plane. Nah. Not the plane. Some of you might remember that from an old television show called “Fantasy Island.”

As I said, I’ve been repeating myself for the past few years. Few either means three or four.

Sure. The clouds are different because they are. But, the picture framing is my standard go to thing.

Time to move on.

Time not to make many pictures on a dog walk. Time to get out there, burn some gas, and go looking.

I don’t really have a project in mind so I’ll just see what I can find as long as it isn’t sky, trees or flowers.

This things can be in the picture, but they shouldn’t be the picture.

We’ll just see how this goes.

Stay safe. Stay mighty. Wear your mask. Keep your distance. Look after each other. Vote.