In addition to being a very nice person with a winning smile, she teaches Vinyasa Flow Yoga a few blocks from the barn. For those of you who have taken classes from Helén before, she has a new studio about twenty paces from her old one. Look for the barn at the end of Artist’s Alley (just off Cannon and Cross Streets).
For those of you who have not taken classes from Helén, you are not quite as happy, flexible, or in touch with your chakras as you could otherwise be. Take it from me, the bumbling clod, who stepped into one of Helén’s classes last fall only to find myself transformed into the graceful, elegant creature you know today. Such remarkable transformation can only be enacted under the guidance of a trained master.
Helén is such an outstanding teacher that even a baby can master even the most difficult techniques. For example, Kato knew nothing of yoga at 3:00 this afternoon.
With a little help from Helén, by 3:15, he was performing even the most advanced moves with ease!
To further support my point, Helén can even teach a surly two-year old how to do Yoga.
Alden was quick to master downward facing dog.
And have you ever seen a finer example of this move (the name of which is too complex for me to even share with you)?
In all seriousness, Helén is a truly gifted teacher: kind, patient, and passionate about what she does. I’ve taken four of her classes already and am looking forward to the start of a new one next week.
If you’ve enjoyed yoga in the past or have ever been curious about trying it, check out Helén’s site and give it a try. She still has a few spots left for the fall (going quickly, as babies all over town are clamoring to improve their posture).
Hello folks. This morning, Josh (award-winning author/wry sonovabich) posed some interesting questions on the Creative Pairs Facebook page.
1) Which creative pairs do you find most compelling? Your cases may be historical or contemporary, high culture or lowbrow, famous or obscure. I’ve done much of my early research in the arts, so I’m especially interested now in pairs from science, tech, business, sports, and so on.
2) Can you suggest a *form*of relationship that probably escapes most of us? In many fields (every field?) there are hidden collaborators in positions that insiders know well, but outsiders remain ignorant of. Directors have their DPs, pro surfers their board shapers, judges their clerks. Can you think of other, surprising examples?
Of course, Robbi and I are interested in your thoughts along these lines, but should you care to share them, why not head over to the group page so that the folks over there can benefit from your wisdom? There’s already an interesting thread unspooling. Dare to be illuminated.
Josh sends his thanks to those of you who have already joined the conversation.
Just discovered a new exquisite-corpse-style book put together by 100 artists – it’s called “The Exquisite Book” and looks beautiful.
Illustrations here are by Mike Perry (totally hipster, if hipster weren’t a bad word these days), Camilla Engman (one of my very favorite illustrators) and Lab Partners (another collaborative team who does inspired work).
Make sure to check out the Previews & Process link, which is just full of awesome behind-the-scenes design mystery, which is my favorite stuff to see in art. I was once at a museum with a non-artist friend and got all giddy about an unfinished painting where you could see the different pencil sketches below the paint on the canvas. And my friend was like, “Why would they hang this in a museum? It’s not even finished.” So, if you’re that friend, maybe you don’t need to bother clicking on the link.
If only we could convince Chronicle to throw such a budget at us. We could be great. (Great like Alexander the Great, not great like the Great Depression.)
For months and months we have been keeping the lid on an exciting piece of news, but now the hour is at hand. We have just been given leave to announce our involvement in an incredibly interesting project (or so we believe).
Our friend Joshua Wolf Shenk (above), non-fiction writer, essayist, and author of the award-winning Lincoln’s Melancholy, has lately turned his focus to examining creative pairs, asking specifically:
What makes creative relationships work? How do two people — who may be perfectly capable and talented on their own — explode into innovation, discovery, and brilliance when working together?
In attempting to answer these questions, Josh has been taking a close look at a wide range of creative pairs—from John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Conan O’Brien and his producer Jeff Ross to Watson and Crick to the Car Talk guys—while exploring various archetypes of creative collaboration. He has been focusing on well-known and unarguably accomplished or important pairs…with one notable exception.
In order to take a close look at collaboration in action, Josh has decided to put on his lab coat and use Robbi and me as guinea pigs in a quasi-scientific “study” of creative collaboration. Over the past six months or so, he has been subjecting us to a variety of tests and evaluations, from psychological surveys to a session with a psychotherapist to an on-site analysis of the barn by a feng shui master, all in attempting to get at the heart of what makes us tick and our collaboration work.
The first public presentation of Josh’s thinking on this front will be published on Slate next Tuesday (September 7), and additional articles will be published weekly thereafter. A series of pieces on Robbi and me will appear in the last week of September.
In the mean time, if this project interests you, please join the Creative Pairs Facebook group, which Josh hopes will be a clearinghouse for discussion about creative collaboration. Building on the writing and thinking he has been doing for the Slate series, Josh plans to write a book on this subject, and he is very interested in drawing on a wide community of ideas and perspectives as he continues his research.
Not convinced?
This is your opportunity to redeem social media by using it for communications of substance, depth, and potential for elevating human understanding!
This is your chance to rub elbows with an award-winning author!
This is your chance to find out once and for all what makes Robbi draw such unusual things! (That’s why I’m signing up, anyway).
We will have much more to say on this front in the days ahead, but we wanted to let you know about the project and encourage you to join Josh’s group. He is an incredibly thoughtful guy with a bunch of incredibly thoughtful friends, and we imagine the resulting discussion will be fascinating.
So be sure not to sign up if you’re not into that sort of thing.
I don’t know why, but I’m a sucker for things in miniature. And things en masse. And things that are ginormous. I think the operative word here is “sucker”.
But just try to tell me that this isn’t amazing:
More can be found in a Telegraph.UK article – make sure to click through the gallery. There’s some wowzali stuff in there. via WonderHowTo.com, also responsible for pointing me toward the large scale this:
As for the en masse, well, you have to check out Ik-Joong Kang.
I saw his work at the Venice Biennale in 1997 (“Throw Everything Together and Add”) and was just completely boggled at the sheer volume (and the time it represented). Lately it seems he’s been cheating by getting 50,000 South Korean Children to do his work for him).
Matthew and Alden have just set out on a run. Matthew goes running pretty much every day. The heat is enough less intense today that he decided to bring Alden along – the extra ballast (slung as she is between three well-oiled bicycle wheels with excellent suspension and action) will hopefully not undo him. As a safety precaution, he has enabled his run tracking software, a pretty cool app called Runkeeper, through his iPod.
This way, I can watch him as he progresses, and if the little blue running man icon stops moving in the middle of the road somewhere, I will know that he has either passed out from exhaustion or has stopped to talk to some of the more fetching ladies residing on the other side of the Chester River.
Either way, I’m hopping in the space van and retrieving him.
Back in 7th grade when I was reading Nineteen Eighty-Four, I never thought that it could be me. Another dream realized. Check.
I got a wonderful card/letter today from one of the people I wrote a letter two a few weeks back. Abby, currently of Mystic, CT, told me about her current life among the salt marshes, her longing for the coast of Maine, and her ongoing attempts to settle on a suitable topic for her thesis. Abby’s smart, lyrical prose was enjoyable in its own right, but the whole affair was made even better by the image on the front of the card.
I love this painting. It’s the sort of thing that I wish I could create. (I should say that, according to the back of the card, this is a painting by someone named Wolf Kahn. Maybe I should track down and see if he’d be willing to teach me a thing or two.)
Exactly one week from this moment I’ll be leaving for the Philadelphia airport to pick up my family. A week seems like relatively little in the context of a month, but it seems like so much in the context of an afternoon, which is passing so slowly today.
Being on vacation sure can be exhausting. I’ve funneled some of my newfound energy into a physical regimen of the type my body has not seen since I ran competitively my freshman year of high school. I’ve run every day this week, have had three yoga classes, and have continued to work at developing the well-sculpted pecs of my dreams using my favorite new iPhone app, 100 Pushups. I’ve always imagined that it would be a good idea to do pushups, a free, easy, self-contained workout that develops your arms, chest, and back, with residual benefit for your core. But every time before, I’d harness a new spurt of pushup motivation by doing as many as I could, aching considerably for the next few days, and then forgetting to do them again once the pain faded. This app involves an initial test: Do as many good-form pushups as you can and then follow a program outlined by the app. For example, I did 25 pushups in my first test, and the next day was told to do sets of 10, 12, 7, 7, and 10 pushups with 90 seconds rest between each. The app counts down the rest time for you, removing any mystery. After completing a workout, you rest for a few days until you feel up to it again and then do the next workout, invariably doing more than the time before. Today, only my sixth workout, I did 16, 17, 14, 14, and 20 pushups, for a total of 81, though I was struggling to finish the final set. The progress is quick and gratifying. I’m already seeing the results. I think it cost a dollar to download. Consider this my official endorsement.
But the upshot of all this exercise is that my body is tired even though my mind feels quick. I had terrible form in yoga today, completely botching all of the positions requiring core balance. Yet the exercise is spiritually energizing and replenishing, keeping my mind off of how much I’m missing my family today. Chestertown has given us the gift of cooler days this week. The high temperature has been in the low 80s, and it was only 65 when I woke up today. I am enlivened by cooler temperatures and completely depleted by the typical Chestertown summer day. I’d be happy if it never got about 72. Apparently, I should move to Sweden.
While I’m doing product placement, I would like to put an enthusiastic word in for my friend and yoga teacher Helén Sears, who teaches Vinyasa Flow Yoga out of her home, just off Cannon and Cross Streets in the Historic District. Helén is patient, kind, and a wonderful teacher. She has a way of helping you improve without making you feel like a clod, which every beginning yoga student invariably is. I’m taking my fourth and fifth classes with Helén right now, and it’s exciting to see how much better I’ve gotten in only a few months’ time. I’ve noticed that the yoga practice has helped me improve body control, balance, strength, and, dare I say, grace. I’m slightly less of a lurcher than usually am. I’m moving through the world with slightly more purpose these days, and I know it’s all because of Helén. In addition to her Flow classes, which are rigorous without being demoralizing, she teaches Bliss (a weekly movement through the Chakras, each class devoted to “opening” a different one), and Restorative (a relaxing class that moves students through a series of positions meant to improve flexibility and focus). She also offers Beginner’s Yoga classes for the interested novice. I’ve taken all of her classes, and am extremely impressed. If you live anywhere near Chestertown and have ever been curious about yoga but have never found the right situation, give Helén a try. Consider this my official endorsement.
Enough about exercise. It’s the eve of the holiday weekend, and I’m preparing for a blissful convalescence with my keyboard. This evening I’ve been working on a project I mentioned in my last post: a meditation on the time I’ve spent in Alaska as a fishing helper. It’s an interesting dynamic working with one’s spouse. Robbi and I certainly know about working together, we do it every minute of every day. But when working on books, we’re on equal footing, each one an expert, each one contributing leadership and vision. But when fishing, I am invariably in the position of novice. Robbi has been fishing for three decades. She’s a pro. She has said that it is the only context in life in which she feels that she knows exactly what she’s doing. I, on the other hand, after seven seasons, still have much to learn. On one hand, what we do is simple. On the other, we confront constantly shifting conditions: time of day, speed of tide, weather, mode of setting the nets. Decisions have to be made quickly, and with no ambiguity. Directions have to be followed for the sake of safety. For the first few years I went up to help, I had a hard time dealing with the fact that I was the amateur. I’m used to being good at everything I do. I’m used to being quickly thrust into leadership positions in whatever context I encounter. But with fishing, I have to defer, listen, and follow instructions. Coming to terms with an uneven power dynamic was one of the most difficult things I had to deal with in the early years of my relationship with Robbi. But I’ve come to find a comfort in the position of follower, supporter, cog in a complex machine beyond my ability to fully comprehend.
This acceptance of “helper” status is one of the central themes of the essay that’s emerging. But more than a psychological exploration, the piece also tells the story of how we fish, and why. There are so many eccentric characters, stories, and complex explanations of process that I’m sure I’ll have to work at economy lest the piece become an epic beyond its ability to engage the reader. That’s my present task.
Writing about Alaska as I sit here in Maryland helps me feel closer to my distant family. I looked at a map today and shuddered at how far away they are. They’re practically in Russia, as the echo of Sarah Palin reminds me. I still haven’t heard Robbi’s voice since they left. It’s hard. I miss Kato’s fuzzy head, Alden’s stern reminder that her name is “Alden” when I call her any one of the dozens of pet names that I can’t help but call her.
And so I’ll return to my writing and thus commune with my family in the only way I can right now. Evidence of their absence lies strewn about the barn. A tiny pair of shoes, a bib, an empty sippy cup. I don’t have the heart to clean up the mess. I summon their ghosts through artifacts, which are everywhere.
In conclusion, join me in sculpting sick pecs by downloading 100 Pushups. Sign up for yoga classes with Helén. And kiss your children if you can. Grab them and hug them and never let them go. They’ll be gone soon enough, whether to Alaska or college. I now know what it feels like to do without. Here are the obligatory photos.
What rascals. What knaves. Is it possible I played some role in their becoming?
See more here at Designers Couch.
Amazing paper crafted little people. Not to mention the excellent photography. Not to mention teeny tiny Elvis lips. Not to mention awesome set dressing.
Just wish we knew who actually did these. Unless “Russian Design Studio” is somebody’s actual name. In which case, I’d like to say, “Da. DA, Comrade!!”
Here’s a little list of recent things I’ve discovered that I like:
Short movie “Fard”, via Jawbone.tv – cool animation, good story. And for those of you who only like color and whiz-bang action, it’s still worth the watch:
My new roller skates:
Okay, I admit, I haven’t been anywhere other than around the living room in them, but I love them already anyway. I haven’t roller skated since I was in middle school, so if the next time you hear from me I have two broken legs and two sprained wrists, you can say, “Matthew told you so.” I got roller blades after college and have enjoyed them, but after putting these babies on realize how big and clunky and HEAVY they are. I’m very excited to try them out, but damn if it hasn’t been raining for the past two days. Too bad the closest roller derby club is in Baltimore…
Okay, totally lame product placement, but PopChips are DEELICIOUS. And they pretend to be healthy, too. I’m not sure I believe this, but I will happily eat them till the cows come home anyway. I will also spread the love here, though I’ll stop short of writing them fan letters (going against the family grain – Dad has a pretty regular correspondence with the folks at Stoneyfield Farms about how great he thinks their yogurt is, but how they could do X or Y better). I just looked at their website, though, and am distressed to hear that I have anything in common with Kim Kardashian.
I mean, look how pretty it is. Not to mention how good it smells (chamomile honey). The real problem is that it looks like candy to me, which makes me want to eat it every time I see it. Trust me, it doesn’t taste nearly as good as it looks or smells (though, in its defense, it actually doesn’t taste as bad as it could).
And finally, Restorative Yoga with Helén. Holy crap, if you want to feel completely refreshed in just one hour without taking any drugs or eating any ice cream, this is it. Matthew and I returned from a two-day jaunt to Virginia to visit with family and came back harried and exhausted (I don’t blame the family, I blame the shenanigans involved in the return, which included finding the car that mom and dad left in short-term parking at the airport for us to get since they’ve left for Alaska, which we actually found, huzzah!) only to remember that we had signed up for yoga at 7:30 (we got back at 7:22). We threw the kids into the pie safe and ran over and evidently looked so bad that Helén took one look at us and said “Restorative!”. We did it and it was awesome. I felt like I could move mountains after it was over. Or, at least, walk home, which I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do on our way over there.
So there you have it. Things I’ve been fond of lately.
2010 Small Press Expo - One of the top alternative press events on the east coast, with over 450 exhibitors. Come see! On 09/11/2010, which is in 2 days and 06:42 hours.
AWP 2011 - The Association of Writers & Writing Programs is holding its conference in DC this year. We'll be there too. On 02/02/2011, which is in 146 days and 06:42 hours.
