Labor Day Reflections

Work and creativity are inextricably related. If your job drains you, then you don't have the energy to pursue creative projects that excite you. By "creative project," I mean everything from making art to planting a garden - whatever it is that makes you light up inside.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -Howard Thurman

We only live once, folks. It may sound hyperbolic, but think about what you want it to say on your tombstone, and ask yourself if your life is on track to get you there. If not, ask yourself, what's holding you back?

If you're feeling stuck - check out the Creative Liberty blog for tips about developing creative momentum. I also highly recommend picking up a copy of The Artist's Way, the book that, no exaggeration, changed my life.

Improvapalooza 2008

When: Saturday 8.30 from 5PM-12AM (doors open at 4:30)
Where: Source | 1835 14 St NW
How much: $10 at the door
Why: BECAUSE YOU WILL LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF

More info

Petey Greene (and Other Creative People from DC History)

Last night I watched Talk to Me, the 2007 film starring Don Cheadle as famed DC radio personality Petey Greene. For those who don't know (and I didn't, before last night), Greene was an ex-convict-turned-radio-star (and, later, TV star) celebrated for his unique voice and uncanny ability to connect with DC's black community.

Nerd that I am, I couldn't help but think what an amazing blogger Greene would have been. A unique voice, community resonance - isn't this the stuff of great bloggers in 2008?

I was also impressed with his apparent disinterest in stardom beyond his initial niche. His manager, Dewey Hughes, saw his name in lights, but Petey wanted to talk to his people, on his station - period. This deep connection to local community is something today's media personalities are discovering as though it's something new, with "hyperlocal" coverage one of the latest trends newsrooms are trying to master.

I'm guilty, too, of forgetting to look to history for precedent. I often approach this blog as though the idea of a creative activity in DC is something new, when in fact, as this movie reminded me, the city has long been home to creative souls seeking outlets for expression. Many of us know about U Street's heydey as "the black Broadway," and DC as the birthplace of Go-Go music, and as a hub of the hardcore punk scene in the early 80s. But Talk to Me also showed a history of comedy in the city (Greene performed stand-up in addition to his radio show, somewhere on 14th Street). What other gems can we unearth from DC's cultural past? And what lessons we can we learn about making today's creative community flourish? As Petey would have said: "talk to me."

See also:

• Quick history: Duke Ellington's Washington
  
• A Washington City Paper interview with Greene's biographer
• The official Petey Greene website, with bio
• And, the famous "How to Eat a Watermelon" segment from Greene's TV show:
  

Roundup: Stuff to Do This Week

Hey party people -

I don't know about you, but I've often wished for a service that aggregated the "weekly picks" from various local media outlets: DCist, City Paper, Washington Post, Washingtonian...plus a few lesser-known sources, for good measure. That way, I could review all the lists in one place, and decide what sounded best.

Well, without further ado - I hereby present such a roundup. Please let me know if it's helpful - if so, I'll make this a weekly feature.

The Roundup (+updated Wed. 8/27):

• +Calling all wonks! Convention-Watching Parties Around Town from washingtonian.com
  
• Free and Easy Events from washingtonpost.com
  
• Weekly Music Agenda from DCist
• This Week in Hip-Hop from DCist
• +This Week in Jazz from DCist
  
• Weekly Nightlife Picks from washingtonian.com
• +Nightlife Agenda from washingtonpost.com
  
• City Lights: This Week's Best from Washington City Paper (will update Wednesday)
  

Want specialized advice? Join the Got Plans? chat with the washingtonpost.com's Going out Gurus on Thursday at 1pm.

My personal faves, from across all lists:

• Today: Hip-hop artist Janelle Monae at Iota (details)
  
• Wednesday: How to avoid the rat race, at Olsson's (details)
  
• Thursday: Pop culture chat at Bourbon (details)
• Friday: It's alive! Living sculpture, at Project 4 (details)
• *Saturday: Improvapalooza! at the new Source Theater(details)
• Sunday: Prince vs Madonna vs Michael Jackon, with DJ Dredd, at Black Cat (details)

(*=not on anyone's list - yet! - but it should be)

Let me know what you think of this roundup. What are other go-to sources for weekly picks?

Interview with Artist and Bike Messenger Ian Lorson

This post was written by Kate Barrett, who you'll remember from her guest-blogging stint here back in July, when she wrote about Heavy Metal Parking Lot, King of Porn and mining your dreams for ideas.

Bike messengers are part of that great flood of moving parts that pulses through a city's streets: cars, buses, commuters, tourists, and so forth. And from their unique vantage point, messengers tend to experience a city as few others do.

As a bike messenger in DC for several years, Ian Lorson turned his experiences into art. He studied sculpture in graduate school at Ohio University, and his paintings pack a tactile, visceral punch. Much of his art is layered with fine details (some pieces take years to complete) that weave found and everyday objects, maps, even pieces of his bike. The result is a distinct and personal view of the city; here is a picture of a piece of his titled, "Attempt at Protection II":

(View a gallery of Lorson's map paintings on Flickr.)

I asked Ian what he’d do if he were a desk monkey like me stuck in the office all day; he shrugged his shoulders, and said he’d probably make art about being a monkey stuck in the office all day.

Ian recently moved to Charlottesville, VA, but before he left town, he showed me some of his art and talked about leaving a job and a city that he loves. What follows is an edited transcript of our email exchange.

What inspires your work?

It's hard to look at the motivations I get to work as "inspiration," which conjures up images of the "inspirational" aisle at book stores, greeting cards, and John Tesh radio shows. I definitely have moments where something happens, and a layer or wrinkle of my city, or life, or species is revealed. ..The underlying aspect of these events usually concerns geography and our place in it, or relationships between people in general.

Can you describe how your life as a courier feeds into your work?

Being a courier affects the content of my work because of the constant focus it requires on where I am, the space between other things in the environment and myself. The often raw nature of being exposed to the city and its inhabitants, and the natural environment itself, gives plenty of food for thought. Riding a bike the way couriers often do produces opposing feelings of jealousy, awe, admiration, and anger, frustration, or sometimes violence in those people who observe us at work. People frequently express these feelings in a variety of ways, which is always thought provoking. Spending so much time on my bike has influenced me to use bike parts in my art, as well as the maps of my locations, and objects I find or am given throughout my day.

What inspired the “Attempt at Protection” series?

Attempt at Protection I came about because I'd decided that I wanted to bolt wire cages to a panel, with most of the cages being tied at the base and the others (the central set) being tied down over their bubbles. Before making a distinction between these groups, I was simply working with interesting or aesthetic materials. But by separating them, it made me think about groups of people, who they are related to, marriage, birth, abortion, divorce, and how those things change our families and lives. So the composition had started before I knew where I was going with it, or what it was about to me.

"The composition started before I knew where I was going with it, or what it was about to me."

On the other hand, Attempt at Protection II had its idea before it had its form. My friend had commented that her father had seen me riding around town on his way to a bookstore, and that I looked "the same". Hearing this, I felt observed, surveilled, powerless, immature. An odd reaction since I was working a job I liked, I was finally completely independent, and he had no control over my movements. I wanted to know so badly where he had seen me exactly, to regain a measure of control, to limit the contamination of his gaze to one area of town, but she didn't remember. So I sat down with my map, found the 9 bookstores in the area I deliver in, and found I could fit those maps onto 5 panels while keeping the images a decent size.

Knowing that the cages would reappear in this work, I began thinking of them less as people and their histories, and more as individual versions of myself. Each bubble trying to keep out this man's view of me, and by extension anyone's view who judges me. Of course that's impossible, so the bubbles are crusty, faulted, and incomplete. There is more than one cage per panel, as if by being in more than one place at a time (a courier's aspiration in some ways), I'll make enough money to "count" to those people, or just be too fast too see, or be able to avoid the power of their gaze, or win their admiration with my talent for avoiding collisions.

"Experiences my courier friends and I have had, or seen: getting hit, being high, and seeing a business man jump into traffic to avoid having a homeless man vomit on him..."

The panels have layered writing on them about experiences my courier friends and I have had or seen: getting hit, being high, seeing a business man jump into traffic to avoid having a homeless man vomit on him. All these experiences play in my mind as I ride through town, mental YouTube activated by my location...but they grew quiet till I "escaped" the gaze of my friend's father.

What will you miss about DC?

I will miss the size of this place, how flat it is, the Metro, big climbing gyms, and hearing so many languages in a day.

---

Got questions for Ian? Email him at loopwhispers@yahoo.com - or, share your thoughts about his work using the comments feature below. Do you recognize the DC you know in his paintings? If you were making a map of the city in the "Lorson style," what kinds of emblematic objects would you include?

Bagel Sandwich, Week 4

(Back after a one-week hiatus, caused by going out to brunch instead of following our typical Sunday ritual. I know - the nerve, right?!)


To make up for last week's lapse, I also present an alternate, aerial view:


Note the inclusion of a side dish with this week's sandwich: hash, made with red and blue potatoes from Bull Run Farm (we're shareholders, and pick up our bounty from a spot in Dupont Circle each week, June through October).

'Just discovering the Bagel Sandwich series? Welcome, friend. Check out the last installment, cleverly titled, "Bagel Sandwich, Week 3" - or find out how it all began.

And while we're on the topic of bagels:

poll by twiigs.com

Beware All Those Who Dare Criticize My Dog

The setting: The Mount Pleasant Farmer's Market, earlier today. Cosmo the Dog and I are browsing the stalls.

(Important background information: Cosmo is passionate for produce. Baby carrots are like crack for him, and he gets just as excited about a piece of tomato or green pepper that falls to the kitchen floor as he does about a Milk-Bone.)

We approach a stall where the farmer has set out a small trash can filled with people's discarded watermelon rinds, pieces of bruised peaches and nectarines, and so forth. Cosmo proceeds to begin eating from the trash can.

Fellow shopper (making a face to express his disdain - but avoiding eye contact, as he touches peaches): Well that's very strange

Me (I have zero tolerance for passive-aggression, or for Cosmo-haters): What's strange?

Fellow shopper: (no response)

Me: It's a trash can. He likes fruit.

Fellow shopper: Well, it's strange.

Me : It's not strange.

(Cosmo and I exit the stall dramatically.)

Creative DC Community Seeks PR and Urban Design Geniuses

This week has been a veritable creativity orgasm! Last night I attended a cocktail hour at Left Bank hosted by Pink Line Project and CoolTown Beta Communities, designed to help self-described "creatives" meet and build working relationships. I learned about the event through CreativesDC (not to be confused with this site, Creative DC - est. 2006 :)), which is turning out to be a pretty dynamic platform for spurring creative activity in the city.

Here's Jordan, me, and a guy we met there, Pol Klein -- we chatted with him about bringing more mixed-use spaces to DC, how jobs can suck people dry, and the situation in Georgia, among other things!

I also met:

• Phillipa Hughes from Pink Link Project, fellow creative evangelist and the event's hostess (the photos in this post are hers);
  
  
• George Charles Koch, who helps run Artomatic, and blogs about "the creative economy";
  
  
• Peter from albus cavus, a multi-city artists' collective that creates public art;
  
  
• A Hollywood expatriat named Stryk (pronounced "Strike");
  
  
• And a local composer, pianist and educator named Thomas, who shared some of the interdisciplinary project ideas brewing in his mind at the moment (experience some of his past projects on his website, Arabesque Rising).

As you can see - a stimulating mix of people and ideas! And, apparently, magic:


Many of us at the event reflected on how puzzling it is that with so many people passionate about participating in, and evangelizing, the city's creative community -- there is still the widespread perception that DC isn't a creative place; this is, of course, a recurring conversation on this blog (for example, see last week's post, "Does DC have a strong art community?" - be sure to read the comments).

My conclusion: I wish we could hire a PR firm whose only job was to sell the city of DC to its own residents...and, an urban design genius to make more areas of the city feel creatively stimulating.

My other conclusion - on a more practical level - is that as part of the upcoming redesign I have planned for Creative DC, I need to find a way to aggregate the huge volume of information I now receive about creative happenings city-wide. I'll probably create a page that simply aggregates a bunch of RSS feeds. If "RSS" is Greek to you, don't worry -- just stay tuned! (And, for now, you can check out my "creativedc" bookmarks on del.icio.us.)

(By the way, links of the week coming soon -- there are a lot of them! Like I said: a creativity orgasm...)

For your consideration

"You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life. This is not an easy struggle. Indeed, it may be the most difficult task in the world, for opening the door to your own life is, in the end, more difficult than opening the doors to the mysteries of the universe."
-Daisaku Ikeda

Hey! I Heard Bryan Scary Before He Was (Sort of) Famous!

It's true! Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears are playing at the Black Cat on Friday. I've seen them there once before, but before their first DC show, I saw them play at a place called Pianos in NYC's Lower East Side. Check out my appropriately-titled "Pianos and Scaryville" post from March '07 , where I described them as "intensely original, with balls-out flair and flourish."

Other descriptions of the band:

"...insanely creative songs that would sound like the result of a jam session featuring ELO, Queen, Yes, and a bunch of other bands no one's listening to nowadays."
- Jordan, over at Wired for Music

"... a Brookyn-based wunderkind who's quickly building a name for himself due to his intricate and orchestral brand of indie-pop. Do I hear a little ELO in there? Yes, I do. But a little ELO never hurt anyone, now did it?"
-Black Cat website

"Queen/ELO/Bowie disciples"
-DCist

Understand, the reason for my delight in having heard of them back in '07 is that I never know about bands before they become big (or, well, bigger). So I'm feeling pretty cool right now. Prit-ty cool.

(The reason I had the early scoop in this case is a long and involved story that Jordan does a good job of narrating.)

More:

• The band's MySpace page and official site
• DCist's music picks for this week
• The history of the Black Cat

Spam Art

So I decided to turn my email spam into art.

Here's how it happened: one day, a few weeks back, as I was deleting the contents of my spam folder, a subject line caught my eye: "Woman found with bottle in vagina." Wha? Could it be? I instantly cut-and-pasted the headline into an instant message to a friend, and we shared an electronic giggle. Then I spied another: "Boy eats cats daily!!!" I sent it to my brother-in-law, an appreciator of all things weird. "Wouldn't it be great," I mused, "to have a spam exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum" (a place we both love). "Not a bad idea, actually," he replied.

Later that day, I was driving home from an appointment in Bethesda, and on a whim, decided to pull over and poke around Bruce's Variety Store. Mind you, I hadn't shopped there...ever; but on this day, I felt it calling, and browse it I did. As I wandered through the aisles filled with housewares, glitter glue and a hodge-podge of miscellaneous doo-dads, I saw a needlepoint kit, and that's when inspiration struck: I would create old-fashioned looking needlepoints of spam messages. The irony would be rich and appreciated by hipsters across the land.

Alas, my dreams died when I realized that I did not, in fact, know how to do needlepoint; nor was I interested in learning for the sake of this project. This was, undeniably, a setback.

But fate was on hand that day, and plan B quickly took shape. I saw small wooden boards, reminding me of the signs my niece and nephew have hanging on their bedroom doors. Aha! I would make spam signs -- cheerful, colorful spam signs. I bought paint, sequins and other necessaries, and proceeded to check-out, a tacky vision crystallizing in my mind.

A few evenings later, I found myself home alone, and after fortifying myself with leftover Indian food, I set about creating my little masterpieces.

That was a few weeks ago. I've yet to drill the holes and attach the colored string to make them hangable, but I felt it was time to share them with you nonetheless, gentle reader.

Enjoy.


Want more?

• View more of my spam art on Flickr
  
  
• Since I mentioned American Visionary Arts Museum - if you're interested in visionary, or outsider, art, you can also check out Art Enables, right here in DC (they're having a big sale this Saturday - get the details here). Off the Map is also a great site about outsider artists who create "backyard paradises" (the site has a fun feature that lets you make your own backyard paradise)
  
  
• Since I mentioned my brother-in-law - I should also mention that he's an artist, and avid art collector, himself. Check out his art.
  

Does DC Have a Strong Art Community?

First things first: why isn't there more political art in DC?

So asks Richard Layman over at Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space, in a post inspired by my writeup of Make DC Weird. He hits a number of interesting points, and his post inspired several provocative comments - I highly encourage you to check out (and join) the discussion.

One commenter, Reid, argues that there isn't as much of an art community in DC as one would expect for a city of its size. My knee-jerk reaction is to disagree - I am, after all, a cheerleader for the city's artists, and for its residents who may not self-identify as artists, but who are, nonetheless, creative.

But when I put down the pom-poms, I'm forced to admit that lots of creative people do not an art community make. Can I really argue that DC has a strong art community? And then, a flood of questions:

• What constitutes a strong art community? ...and, to be considered 'strong,' does it have to be...um...visible? Does it need to be part of how most people living in DC think of the city? Does it need to be apparent to the attentive visitor?
  
  
• And then, I wonder - does DC have a more visible creative community than art community? Do our entrepreneurs and bloggers ("creatives") have a higher profile than our artists?
  
  
• And finally - to what extent are DC's physical attributes and real estate realities the reason more people don't think of it as an "artsy" town? Layman addresses these factors:
  

  Part of it has to do with the lack of creative spaces, cheap places to rent, to be able to explore (also known as the point Jane Jacobs made about the need for "a large stock of old buildings" to be present in Great Cities--paid off, with low rents and running costs, to seed innovation) and do things cheaply.
  

What do you think?

Creative DC Links of the Week, Volume 3

Photo courtesy of the lovely Letty - no, it's not in DC, but Letty is, so there.

..Now that I've gotten the petulance out of my system, I can calmly explain that Letty took this photo in Amarillo, Texas, where Stanley Marsh erected it - along with lots of other public art.

Public art, you say? Add a project to this national map of public art. While you're at it,

• Read one book this year.
  
• Make art en route to lunch.
  
• Feast on Summer in DC (candied habenero margaritas & caramel cashew ice cream, oh my!)
  
• Chill with local laptop composer Yoko K., aka Aphrodizia

Go forth and enjoy.

See also:

• Last week's links
  
• My del.icio.us links
  
• The first Google search result for "links" (oddly enough, an organization located in DC)
  

Bagel Sandwich, Week 3

The series continues:


From Jordan, a brief artist's statement: "In Soviet Russia, sandwich eats you."

Materials:

• Salt bagel, sharp cheddar cheese and lox from So's Your Mom
  
• Free-range egg from South Mountain Creamery (we get milk, eggs, bread and the occasional steak delivered from them - I forgot milk could taste this good)
  
• Red onion and Spike salt substitute from Yes! Organic Market
  
• Bacon from Mt. Pleasant Farmer's Market (forgetting the name of the farm)
• Basil from our friends Toni and Ed's backyard
  

Feeling nostalgic? See last week's sandwich.

Make DC Weird

Make DC Weird is a project that DC officemates Susannah Wells and Effie Kapsalis recently launched after Kapsalis visited Austin, Texas, home of the Keep Austin Weird movement. Their mission: to call attention to the parts of DC life that thwart its conservative reputation, from burlesque dancers to roller derbies and drag races, as well as local businesses trying to make their mark.

I was an instant fan; after all, Creative DC is also about showcasing parts of DC life that aren't part of the town's mainstream image. I reached out to Wells and Kapsalis via email to ask about Make DC Weird's origins and aims; an edited transcript of our e-conversation follows.

How did you come up with the idea for Make DC Weird?

SW: The concept for Make DC Weird originated one morning at work. Effie had just returned from a conference in Austin, Texas -- where the "well of weird" hath runneth over -- and she was feeling energized. I grew up in the Southwest, and both my mother and step-mother are Texas Exes, so I am ever-so-familiar with the popular catchphrase, Keep Austin Weird, and yearned for DC to surprise me. I immediately shared her enthusiasm for a movement!

We began concocting grandiose ideas for how we could apply this concept to Washington, DC -- already an amazing city that just needs its "weirdness" unearthed.

After bouncing around some ideas, "Make DC Weird" hit us like a ton of bricks.

Is it weird in here, or is it just me?
-Stephen Wright

How did you go from concept to implementation?

SW: Our first step was to make tshirts, to help get the word out...something we could don around town in the hopes that people stop us and ask questions (by the way, it works!).

Our second step was to create the Facebook group, which is open to anyone, not just District residents. The group is meant to inspire and generate a conversation: members posting links, discussions, posting pictures and videos, comments; in essence, spreading the word. It's an easy, inexpensive way to gather the like-minded (albeit, in a virtual space), build appreciation for the city, and enrich the community of the weird.

You mention that you're not from the area. What brought you to DC? What were your expectations of the city when you arrived?

SW: I came to DC for a job. I knew only one person here -- but you only really need one other person to help rustle up trouble.

EK: I went to grad school in Philly and started doing some freelance exhibition design in DC. I had two good friends living here, so I thought, What the heck? Oh yeah, and there was a boy.

What were your first impressions of DC? Have they changed over the years? If so, how?

SW: First thoughts: what a beautiful, humbling city! Then: suit, suit, suit, pearls, suit, suit... I lived in NYC for a brief stint, and I half hoped DC would be similar -- boy, was I wrong. Not bad, just different.

It took approximately a year to establish my "urban family" and settle in. As you well know, DC attracts some amazing people, and once you meet a few you can jive with, you're off to have adventures. One of the great things about DC is how much you can do for free!

After living here for four years, I have a better idea of where I can go to shake things up and get loose with it.

EK: I moved here the week of former president Reagan's funeral and walked down to see it on the mall. I was amazed that these kinds of things were going to be part of my daily life. I still am amazed by all of that. I don't like the amount of security everywhere you go, and I work on the Mall, so I encounter a lot of it daily. It's more a culture of fear here then most places I've been. However, it's a city full of passionate people, whether they're passionate about politics, a cause, art...That passion is energizing.

Where's your will to be weird?
-Jim Morrison

Do you consider yourselves "weird"? How do you think of "weird" versus "creative"?

SW: If I had a nickel for every time someone called me weird...! (As a kid), I purchased a keychain that read, "I'm not weird, I'm gifted." I began to take (being called weird) as a compliment. I wore "fashionable" polyester suits to school at the age of 15. Being able to laugh at myself helps. It's quite liberating, really. You should try it! For me, "weird" is a state of mind, a desire for liberation, where boldness is the norm.

I think "creative" is synonymous with "weird". "Weird" can also be synonymous with (the not so good) "crazy". Hmm...maybe I'm crazy?

EK: I've been weird in different ways since I was born. It all started with the avocado and tomato sandwiches my mom packed me for lunch...I don't look as weird as I used to. I like to let everyone define weird for themselves. For me, weirdness also has an element of creativity. Susannah is clearly weirder than I am.

SW: Thanks for that, Effie.


If you were giving out "weird awards," who might some of the winners be?

SW: To be clear, I wouldn't dare define "weird" for everyone - it can have a very personal meaning and interpretation. What immediately comes to mind is the Palace of Wonders. Aren't they like the epitome of weird?

Fortunately, I have friends that are involved in the city, who give me the inside scoop... Elements Beta Community has a great mission. Conner Contemporary represents some remarkable young talent. Kostume Karaoke every other Wednesday at Solly's -- we need to encourage people to host more wacky events like this! Hoopla Traders is a boutique with a nice philosophy -- fair trade, environmentally conscious, and support of local artisans.

EK: I think Palace of Wonders is weird, not necessarily because of the acts that perform there, but the people that gather there who are are a parade of weirdness themselves. It's like the weird oasis. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens gets my unexpected weird award with the huge garden of lotus flowers smack dab in the middle of northeast DC.

Weird to me is all the brave, local businesses that are doing their own thing and trying to make a go of it - Captain Levy's, on the way south end of Barrack's Row beyond the viaduct, serves North Carolina bbq, sweet tea, and coconut cake and the owner is a sweet guy [editor's note: Captain Levy's is apparently so weird that there's no other information about it online for me to link to]. SOVA DC, a newer coffeehouse on H st. NE that, aside from having great coffee, pastries, and wine, hosts a banjo band and storytelling gatherings.

There's Yoga House Studio, a Petworth yoga studio which hosts Kundalini yoga meditations and chanting on the full and new moons. Wacky, trippy times there. Or On the Fly DC eco food carts; they partner with local businesses and serve healthy, yummy goodness. They are now at the Hirshhorn Museum!

Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of ''the rat race'' is not yet final.
-Hunter S. Thompson

I'm impressed that you took this beyond a brainstorm in your office. Any advice for people who have creative ideas, but have a hard time getting started?

SW: You can expend very little effort to feel a lot accomplished. Sometimes it takes gumption to express a thought aloud, but you may be pleasantly surprised by how many people are thinking the same thing. Be bold. (Come on in, the water's fine!)

EK: There are so many easy web tools that allow you to get the word out, like Flickr and Facebook. Pick something you're excited about and start simple!

Ok, start simple... stay simple, too? What's next for Make DC Weird?

SW: One day, we aspire to organize casual Make DC Weird events around the city -- sport our tees and roll out en masse to Screen on the Green or impromptu yoga in the park or neighborhood fundraisers.

We're excited to see how it evolves. Introducing interested parties to the hidden treasures of DC, while encouraging people be bold, so there's is never a shortage for the hungry -- that's our pie in the sky.

---

What would you nominate as the weirdest place, group or event in DC? What other websites showcase the weird side of the city? Share your picks and links using the comment feature below.

The Creative Life is Like Spinning a Web

Last week was a rollercoaster ride. This week's metaphor: a spider web, an image that eased into my consciousness this week thanks to the writing and photography of kthread. A spider web: beautiful, delicate, precarious, with savagery inside it, yes, but savagery born of a survival instinct, not of malice.

The beauty of this week lay in how it made me aware of the vibrant web of creative people I've come to know in this town: I ran into Ana, whom I met only recently, when she invited me to speak at her "creativity soiree"; then Kimberly, my friend who introduced me to yoga and The Artist's Way (two essential tools for my creative survival); then Laura, my wonderful solo performance teacher, and her friend, David, a filmmaker (keep your eyes peeled for a screening of his very interesting-sounding doc on Jewish basketball, "The First Basket"); then Johnny, crazy Johnny Boucher from high school, and I say "crazy" with great affection...

...and, I rejoined Twitter this week, ready to re-engage on my terms with that virtual community; and on Twitter, and through email, friends sent me creative morsels, from photos of Letty's recent trip to her Texan home (which is full of the wonderful public art of Stanley Marsh); to Katie's tip about a new local gallery, Civilian Art Projects, home to exhibits of rock posters and ziploc art; to Aaron's link to a wonderful article about making space in your life to create.

I feel so enriched by the web of people who surround me, and energized by their creativity. And as far as the "savagery" I refer to above - it was my own savagery, in an argument with a friend, and his, which we're on our way to mending...and while I wish very much I could erase the experience, I also see how it reminds me of the precariousness of our relationships, and the patience they require -- like the patience of a spider spinning its web.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Creativity: Daily Practice, or Fevered State?

I just came across the poem, "So You Want to be a Writer?" by Charles Bukowski - I love the urgency of this language:

"unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don't do it."

I also love how the poem ends:

"when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was."

The intensity of the experience he's describing reminds me of his Beat buddy, Kerouac, who famously wrote:

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

And yet, as much as this intensity appeals to me - as much as it speaks to me, on some visceral level - I have to reject the notion that there's no point writing (let alone living) unless it's at this highest of pitches.

Writing is a practice: you show up on the page, every day, and are thankful for whatever comes. When I was younger, I only wrote when I was in a very particular inspired state - and I still treasure those moments. But I don't wait for them to appear, like magic - I call for them, every time I put pen to paper.

It's less dramatic, or romantic, but I believe it's the truth.

...and you?

Creative DC Links of the Week, Volume 2

My friend Tim took this photo on the Santa Cruz boardwalk, in Californee, and it has nothing to do with Creative DC, but by God, it is a fun photo, and I wanted to share it.

Links of the week, for your perusing pleasure:

• Check out the new Make DC Weird group on Facebook, "a response to the buttoned-up reputation that DC has and yes, let’s admit, it can be." Stay tuned for an interview with the creative women behind this project, right here on Creative DC. (See also: my musings, and readers' comments, on whether DC is weird, after my trip to Austin in March.)
  
  
• "The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn" (which I initially read as "...Why We Love a Good Yam"), from - and this is where it gets really interesting - Scientific American. (Interested in storytelling? Check out local storytelling love fest Speakeasy DC!)
  
  
• Inspirational news from the Crescent City Art Project in New Orleans - a testament to the power of art to create change in communities. DC is such a hub for the non-profit community...how can activists and artists come together? (And what parternships are already in place? Let me know!)

Still want more? Check out my Creative DC bookmarks on del.icio.us (for those of you who aren't webheads: del.icio.us.com is a site where you can share bookmarked websites and articles). If you're on del.icio.us, too, join my network!

See also: last week's Creative DC links.

Meeting Girls Rock! DC and Policy Brand

This weekend, as I was browsing the Dog Days of Summer sidewalk sales along 14th Street, I met two groups that I thought would be of interest to Creative DC readers:

• Girls Rock! DC, a new organizaton that runs a rock-and-roll day camp for DC area girls; the inaugural session begins later this week. Mark your calendars: camp culminates with performances by the girls on Saturday, August 16 at the 9:30 Club, in the afternoon (I'll post the exact time when I learn it).
  
  
• Policy Brand, a just-launched company that aspires to provide a range of creative services (including tshirt design) for businesses in the U Street/14th Street area.Yes, that mission description is a bit vague, but they won me over with the clever and well-designed tshirts they were selling off a card table - in the clever category, they had a shirt that played off the "Virginia is for lovers" design, but read, "Virginia is for commuters." Zing!
  
  ...Since sly hipster shirts are a dime a dozen these days, I'm most excited by the promise I saw in the really attractive designs of the other shirts, which emphasized striking visuals over ironic text; you can get a sense of the aesthetic by looking at the artwork by Policy founder, Billy Colbert, above, titled King of Pop.
  
  I asked Billy to keep me posted on Policy's activities, and hope to have more concrete info to share in the weeks and months ahead.

These are the people in your neighborhood...

What other emerging groups and artists should I be writing about? Drop me a line!