2/4/2023 #98

Susan Schultz, Claire Kelly, Nikau Hinden, Nanea Lum, Ciclovia, Aryalynx, Project P-Noise, Spring Rain, MUFASA & Tismé, Hip-Hop 4 Hope.

HERE & NOW

As mentioned previously, Eulipion Outpost is being published once a month (first Saturdays) until I get through this work period, which will last through end of April.

The “Carless” Saga Continues . . .

Some parts of being carless are difficult to get used to, like the loss of that privileged feeling of whizzing by in a car (that I’m driving) on a road to a chosen destination—just on a whim—and not having to deal with what’s on the street. Owning a car puts you at a remove from street level, from the ground.

Without a car, weather (and the climate in general) becomes a more urgent topic of speculation and discussion. I’ve stopped thinking of cold weather as simply something to avoid and, on rare occasions, I now consider chilly weather to be, um, “bracing.” Typical spoiled Californian, I guess.

Next week, I will be taking public transportation to pick up a sheaf of taxi vouchers for seniors—for when I really need to have a car. Thanks to my friend, Kathleen, for the tip. And thank you, MST! (Monterey-Salinas Transit). It’ll be good to have that option.

ART & CULTURE LINKS

On social media, I find that I’m always one of what seems like only a handful of people making nondigital art. Hopefully this newsletter will remind you that art can be about making things with your hands (if you have that capability) and using your human/animal senses. Although you may be looking at this through a screen, I hope it tempts you to pick up a piece of paper and draw, get out for a walk, touch the materials of this earth, and remember that you have a body.

• Walking can be documented in many ways: through journal writing, poetry, photography, drawings (think of urban sketches), field recordings, and perhaps music. I’ve been enjoying Susan Schultz’s walks with her dog Lilith, as documented through photos in social media. Like her experimental poems, her camera lens always seems to focus on odd, sometimes disturbing, yet intriguing details. Now, her observations on these walks have been published, and I’m looking forward to reading the book. In “Lit Mutt Test,” Chris McKinney reviews Susan Schultz’s Lilith Walks (available through BlazeVOX).

• Claire Kelly, glass artist, takes us through the extremely delicate and potentially dangerous process of shaping blown glass art using ancient Venetian techniques. At this scale, the process requires a lot of cooperation and a good sense of timing.

• Nikau Hindin, an artist/cloth maker of Tāmaki Makaurau (west coast of Auckland), makes cloth from the aute plant for her star charts:

• Based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, artist Nanea Lum shows us how to work with the movement of light and shadow in “Drawing Shadows, Catching Light”:

• Ciclovia Salinas is a cool event, especially when you’re carless! Also, I love how it subverts the dominant infrastructure-is-for-cars paradigm. The article, by Claudia Meléndez Salinas, appeared in Voices of Monterey Bay. Ciclovia events also take place in nearby King City, Gonzales, and Soledad.

• One of the most satisfying things about linocut is that feeling of paring away the rubbery surface of the board around a drawing and feeling something emerge. Video and art by Aryalynx.

SOUNDINGS

Four locations in the Philippines:

• Project P-Noise, Manila (Yak Films):

• Thirty minutes of Spring rain in the Philippines:

• MUFASA in Navotas, Philippines (Yak Films), music "Parasol" by Tismé:

• MUFASA (see above) was part of the Hip-Hip 4 Hope Kids Block Party:

The next issue will appear on the first Saturday (evening) of March.

My website: jeanvengua.com

My other newsletter: CommonwealthCafe (next issue will appear later this month).