Abel Brainz Digest, Vol. 49 - May 2, 2024
49 volumes??
check out this cool stuff
cool movie stuff
I rewatched Away We Go.... It's so good. I will admit, it really hits all the quintessential late 2000's tropes of indy filmmaking, but it's still so good. At least, IMO. The cast is ridiculous. It's a really great character study too. Everything is so grounded but simultaneously outlandish. I'm building up expectations so you might be pretty 'meh' about it. Either way, I highly recommend it.
cool insight stuff
I subscribe to Austin Kleon's newsletter and he had a couple of gems in his latest. Check out Leonard Cohen on Perfectionism
Also from the newsletter, this post about creativity. It was an approach I hadn't thought about when it came to drawing because I certainly tell my kid to use all parts of the paper regardless of his vision. I'm such a dick!
cool real life applied to art stuff
Some fun and safe archery was done recently, and it brought to mind an excerpt from Wabi Sabi:
Zen teachers stress a state of mind called mushin, which could be likened to a state of total absorption in a task. This concentration helps subdue the ego so that mind and body can work in a free, natural, and uninhibited way....
In his book Zen in the Art of Archery, Eugene Herrigel tells of his efforts to try to comprehend Zen through the study of archery. For his teacher, the hitting of the target was completely irrelevant to the art he was trying to teach, as it was only a physical manifestation of a truth that the archer already knew. If the archer and the bow are in harmony and the ego takes no part in the activity, then the shot will be made in the right spirit and that is all that matters.
Improv really is being in a chaotic harmony with whomever you're performing with. That harmony with your scene partner, as well as the audience, is really what it's all about.
Let me know your thoughts! I'd also love to hear any questions you may have about your journey, or mine!
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Much love,
Abel