Welcome to Take Your Time! I’m so glad you’re here. You’ve probably heard the phrase, good things take time? I love this phrase, it’s optimistic, hopeful, and zen all at the same time. In essence, I think it’s about patience and balance. As a visual artist, it’s how I’ve come to think about my art. Like I may have an idea, and if I’m lucky I’ll be able to jot the idea down quickly enough to not forget later, but may not act on it till much later when something intuitive forces me to put my pencil to paper. That intuition told me to keep that idea and hold it for a better time, almost like I was telling myself “Take your time with it.”
Time is one of those concepts where the more you try to understand it, the less you realize you know. There’s like human time that dictates all of our lives, and how we spend our days. Some days feel slow, other days fast. The weekends seem to fly by, and the weekday crawls by. Zooming out from the drudgery of human existence, think about how long the universe and even our planet have been around, and how humans are just a blip on that scale. But some physicists believe time might not exist at all (I won’t even begin to try and explain this), but I included an article below about it. Thinking about this can get quite overwhelming and confusing. Which brings me back to the point of this newsletter. Whether we are moving through time, or it moves through us, or there’s no time at all, take your time with the things you love. Spend it, savor it, waste it, save it, whatever you like, but make sure to take all that you need. Take time now and you’ll prepare something to give later (if now and later even exist).
Related readings:
Illustration
The illustration for this edition of the newsletter is my tennis racket. I played tennis in my teens, if I’m remembering correctly around junior high is when I started. I hated it at the time. This tennis racket was given to me by an amazing instructor I had when I was in high school. Her name started with an A. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with her and I learned a lot about tennis. The reason this was on my mind is, because I started up tennis lessons again and was reunited with this racket I hadn’t held for probably almost 20 years. It’s been such a joy to return to tennis, it has felt like riding a bike after dusting off and cleaning the bike. When I was playing with this particular racket recently, I felt like I had pulled the sword out of the stone or like the wand had found me, or like how Bo-Katan knew inherently how to use the Darksaber. It felt really good and natural to be using that tennis racket again. The grip tape was worn where I had held it previously and my hands went right back into that position.
Inspiration
I picked up this book Let’s See at a really cute shop called tac-tile mountain. I’ve heard of Dayanita Singh before and of course felt a natural affinity to her since I don’t meet, or let alone know anyone with the same name. I love this book because you are flipping from moment to moment. From experience to experience. From one time to another time in life. Many of the people in those photos may be much older now or may not be around at all.
Ideas
Jenny Odell Interview I love this pod called Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso! His interviews are curious, thoughtful, compassionate, and gentle. On the subject of time, I highly recommend this interview with writer and artist Jenny Odell. They talk about time, how social media affects our relationship with time, and the systemic social inequities that shape our relationships with time. I actually might give this one another listen!
Artists who created the most profound work in their later years I went to a lovely lecture with Richard Lacayo about some of the great artists creating some of their best and most profound works in their later years. Artists like Monet, Goya, and Matisse. I’ve felt lucky to see some of these works in person. Namely, Goya’s Black Paintings I once experienced at the Prado Museum in Madrid have left a lasting impression on me. Lacayo talked about how these artists kept painting, drawing, exploring, learning, and kept pushing their crafts right up until the end. And even after they had created these works, they wouldn’t be appreciated for some time.
Ending Quote
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” —The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Way to go boop!!!