ART, NUNS, AND ATTENTIONAL STRENGTH

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

Listen and Learn: I'm weird about audio books. For as much as I love podcasts, audiobooks just don't do it for me. But I've been in moving chaos the last two weeks and whilst drowning in logistically-forward days, I've been listening to an oldie but goodie business book: TRACTION. If you're running a business of any kind, it has such good frameworks for you, for your leadership, for foundation building. I've had it on 1.5x while moving boxes and drowning in sweat. The last time I read this book I was 26 years old and about to head off to Bali for a year. My have times changed completely but also not at all, ha!

What I've been writing: Sunday was an 8 hour writing day and wow, do I love to write. I mean probably stating the obvious?? haha but sometimes it's good to come back to your roots and remember why and how you got here. I have a major deadline of getting sample material finished for A Queen with No Court, my Olympics volleyball story about Jackie Silva. And it requires proving I can do some compelling sportswriting. I've never done high-narrative sportswriting before, so I a) have no idea if I CAN b) am trying c) love this exercise in something new. I've sent the pages to my galpals to see what they think, but haven't heard. So gals, if you're reading this, read me!!

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history.

The TikTok Nuns Have Everyone in a Chokehold

I mean who is already following these women and listening to their podcast? Because I'm their newest fan. When I was younger, giving the neighbors a strip tease from my childhood bedroom windows, my aunt told my mom I was either going to be a nun or a stripper. And I support that duality, at once both tuned in to something spiritual but also DGAF about subscribing to patriarchal systems like religion. So the window into these women, their opinions, their POV is the kind of content i need in my life.

Perspective: In memory of David Hockney, and the case for humanity as the moat around the machines

David Hockney, one of the most influential British artists of the last century, died last month and worked until the very end. A lovely friend in my life, one of the more brilliant leaders I've ever met, Tina Sharkey, wrote this lovely piece about him and her stories WITH him – she turned it into a meaningful reflection on the felt things, the wisdom that's earned rather than downloaded, the stuff Hockney did that no machine can counterfeit. “Humanity is the moat around the machines,” she says. It's a eulogy that doubles as a manifesto for staying human, and i really, really enjoyed it.

MotherF8Cker: Becoming a single mom and compulsive dating

“I wanted to feel a man’s desire and to be reminded that I was a sexual being, not just a mother of a toddler.“ Emily Ratajkowski can write. And in this piece for the Cut, she does some very readable writing about the duality of desire and motherhood. Of performing and being performed upon. It was interesting and raw and worth a read.

I thought I was good at being seen, by yours truly!

I wrote this one after a real come-to-terms with what it means to be actively posting on all social media platforms again. There have been some hiccups with visibility, for me. There've also been some great insights in breaking through my blocks. I did some free writing on what it means to build back this attentional strength, and how I got there/here in the first place. If you're feeling your way through similar discomforts with posting online to build you business, your voice, your art, your craft, this one is for you!

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

We have a symbol for our commitment to our romantic partners: a ring. But why don't we have that for our best friendships?? I've been thinking about this (a lot) after one of the most magical Savannah mornings I've had in a very long time. Me and my bestie visited the workshop of one of our favorite artists, Katherine Sandoz, to kick off the creative process of getting friendship paintings done – as in, a scene that is created in two canvases, that live a part, but are meant to one day hang together. Think half-my-heart BFF necklace from middle school, all grown up. As we were talking about our friendship, our time in Savannah, our love of Katherine's work – I was so in awe not only of my friend but also of this amazing wizard of an artist (Katherine) who was there to guide and interpret and reflect back what we didn't even realize we were saying. It was all so beautiful, and reminded me, however cheesy, that the point isn't really the art. It's the process of the art. The story of the art. The meaning of the art. The makers of the art. That's what this art is for, and maybe what all art is for?

Woman on xoxo