Small Stone: January 19, 2014

I simply chose a cloud picture from my files for today. To document the interaction with a photo would have been invasive, or beside the point.

As I walked along the edge of the park this afternoon, two very young gay men were walking ahead of me. They were obviously enjoying being together and one reached for the other’s hand ─ such a common show of affection. There was a moment of embarrassed hesitation. What was so clear is how both did not know if it was ok to for two men to make an innocuous public statement. It was disconcerting and painful to see. I have thought for some hours now about how we are socialized to withhold the expression of even the most basic and loving gestures. And, how standards of disapproval and rejection sometimes underlie fulfillment in human interaction.

Small Stone: January 18, 2014

The artist gives us a Madonna and child figure, but perhaps in a burqa? An anti-war statement with the halo framed with “no war”. And, a tear in the eye of the Madonna figure. This message meant so much to the artist that she has attached this large painting to the front of her house for all to consider. Very powerful and enigmatic. Still dealing with the enigma, but thinking of what issues would prompt me to make such a public statement. It would not have been a question in my youth!

Small Stone: January 17, 2014

We take a lot of ribbing here that every conversation ends in talking about food and restaurants. This year, they all seem to end in a discussion of the lack of rain and the severity of the historic drought. After a phone conversation with a friend about the dire circumstances our environment is experiencing, I was walking in a nearby neighborhood, still focused on the future. I turned a corner and this little blast of Spring brought me back to the present. Of course, that is the goal of the Mindful Writing Challenge. And, this photo says “This is the present. Enjoy!”

Small Stone: January 16, 2014

It seems that absolute precision is required in so much that we do today. The digital age has brought an exactness that was never achievable…seemingly. My great love of letter press printing has required enough precision to be able to set type, set up a printing block and turn out nicely done printing. Beautiful, but not at millimeter specifications. This much used and loved “furniture” is part of the press work in setting up type for printing. We often use wood blocks that help keep it all in place. I think they are beautiful…and precise enough for me.

Small Stone: January 15, 2014

The first picture is a Denver Square; second: San Francisco Victorian; third: a 1915 store front; fourth: an art deco apartment building; fifth: a 2013 street side mural. All of the San Francisco buildings are within three blocks of my house.

In my childhood Denver, I thought of “architecture” as the buildings I knew well─ the Denver Square. Solid, built of brick and with almost no adornment. But, now I live in city where there is a long tradition of ornamental architecture. I wonder what a child growing up in my current neighborhood takes in as their “standard” of architectural style. So very diverse, it must have a life long impact on creativity.

Small Stone: January 14, 2014

It must be spring. Flowers explode in brilliant colors at stalls along the street. The sun shines so bright that it must not be winter. People lounge in the park on blankets and munch afternoon picnic treats. Except, it is not really spring. Mother Nature is playing a trick with a high pressure ridge all along the west coast. When, oh when, will she tire of this game and let it rain?

Small Stone: January 13, 2014

How do we define creativity? I have been observing the work of this assemblage artist at the San Francisco Center for the Book gallery over the past few weeks. I am amazed at how she has taken so many elements to make her artistic statement. Otto Octavius combines a lot of elements from an antique lens device to a 50’s set of rabbit ears. All the little tubes filled with objects are obviously part of the statement. I want to appreciate her work. Yet, I simply don’t get it. I guess I just need a little help here.