There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.
~ Alan Cohen
I had a grand plan of talking about sketchbooks and goals and what-not as we transition into 2024. However… Instead I’m going to recommend not taking this week so seriously. (Perhaps next week we can chat about goals and the importance of sketchbooking.) Maybe you’re still working and not exactly taking it easy. That doesn’t mean you can’t make time for the little things that you enjoy. In that spirit, I’m going to take this opportunity to share some of my backlog of links that I think you might enjoy. So the things below might be kind of random!
- This week’s artist is – David Ambarzumjan– His Brushstrokes in Time series bring together large, rough brushstrokes with intricate landscapes — it’s a stimulating combination. To see even more, check out his website or instagram!
- Regarding holiday hours the this weekend – we’re going to be open our regular hours and closed our regular weekend. So we’ll be closed (Sunday) New Year’s Eve and (Monday) New Year’s Day.
- The above means that our last day open this year will be Saturday – which just so happens to be the 5th Saturday of the month. So we’re wrapping up the year with a Customer Appreciation Day! Do you have your bag ready?
- David Alfaro Siqueiros would have been 127 on Friday!
- What does the term vellum mean?
- Thomas Cole’s reaction to photography (which he overlapped by less than 10 years).
- Yo-Yo Ma plays Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in the Great Smoky Mountains.
- This timelapse video is of a massive Lego build of The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
- These little ceramic ghosts will outlive us. “If you treat them respectfully, they will haunt you forever.”
- Here’s behind-the-scenes of how Lego develops new sets.
- Literally shrinking a Bob Ross painting.
Fun Fact: The largest canvas painting ever created was made by Emad Salehi in 2022, measuring 9.652 square meters (which is 2.39 acres).- 60 day perpetual stew.
- Japan’s fruit-shaped bus stops.
- Stotbart’s overview of painting methods.
- Never let an engineer play with a train set (especially an unlimited one!)
- Famous paintings turned sculpturally abstract with wood blocks.
- The best photos of the Milky Way for 2023.
- The best illusions of the year.
- Troxler’s Fading is an optical illusion.
- The food photographer of the year for 2023.
- Here are 10 rules of being human.
- On December 9th, Halley’s Comet reached it’s furthest point from the sun. It’ll be back in our neighborhood in 2061.
- Christmas tree drop-off and recycling is running through the 31st.
- There’s still a Slow Bluegrass Jam at the General Palmer on Tuesday from 5:30-7:30, in case you’re a beginner/intermediate acoustic music player looking to play more. This weekly jam is welcoming to all players, with a focus on slower tempo improvisation solos and chord changes. If you can play the I, IV and V chords in G, D and A then you know enough to play at this jam!
- There are classes/workshops/projects available at the Dancing Spirit Center for the Arts, Let’s Letter Together, the Scrapbook Nook, Create Art and Tea, Durango Sustainable Goods the 4 Corners Gem and Mineral Club, Seed Studio, and the Durango Arts Center. There are a lot more things happening that I don’t include – so if you’re ever looking for something to do, start at WhatsHappeningDurango.com.
- Just in case you want to be more proactive than I’m feeling right now – we have plenty of journals and sketchbooks you can use to start off the new year. We also have books with suggestions ways to play with different art supplies, what, and how to draw. Of course, we also have the art supplies themselves. If all of that is too much, we’ve got some grab-and-go “bullet journal” kits with everything you need to start journaling!
At least find some of the little things that you enjoy. That could be a special beverage (I’m drinking a version of mulled elderberry juice as I type this), a favorite activity, or just taking an opportunity to snuggle up to a good book. Whatever it happens to be for you, take the time to recharge. That helps us be the best version of ourselves – and the world needs the best you it can get!
Matthew & the Art Supply House crew