Welcome to Monday Mix Tape, in which I pretend I'm Ira Glass. You know, I choose a theme and share with you several variations on the theme from the worlds of art, faith and culture. To keep up the fun little facade of making a weekly mix tape, I label each of these finds as "track 1". "track 2" and so on (and just like the stack of mixtapes you've got hidden in a box in your attic, you never know when you might see some love song from Journey or Lionel Richie show up here).
This week I'm doing some fall cleaning. Advent is in the air...can you feel it? Or maybe it feels like Thanksgiving to you? What -- you say Christmas? Yikes! Either way I'm feeling like I've got piles of stuff drowning out my house, my desk, my inbox and, most definitely, my head. In the spirit of making room for the coming season, this week's mix tape is all about cleaning out my draft folders, my link lists, my to-blog-about-someday files. Hope you enjoy!
track 1: visual art
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| seed meditation 5, resin, texas laurel seeds on panel, 8x8 Mayme Kratz via oh, what a world, what a world |
I love, love, love this work. If I could, I'd buy it and hang it in my living room. Or bedroom. I didn't even realize it was made of Texas laurel seeds until today when I'm adding the photo here. Gorgeous. Also, it makes me think of this artist and this artist. You see the resemblance too?
Utter loveliness all around.
track 2: music
I'm really enjoying the new release, Gather & Build: A Collection, from old favorite Jars of Clay. I haven't quite figured out in this new era of music distribution how these guys sustain themselves with free music downloads so tip 'em well, will you? (for what it's worth, I may be in love with "Closer"; it just makes me happy!)
track 3: poetry
The cure for writer's block (via T.S. Poetry Press)
is laundry.Cram both arms with dirty clothes and
stuff them in the washer.
Brim the detergent, vinegar, bleach, if you dare.
Sit back down.
Write a bit more.
In thirty minutes or an hour, the dinger will ding.
Heap the wet mess into the dryer,
but wait.
The dryer is already packed because you forgot
to fold the last load. Divest the dryer.
Fold the clean clothes, arranging them into piles:
one for him, with you beside him (where you always are),
one for the son, one for the daughter —
the closest they will ever be is these towering piles
of bras, boxers, T-shirts, jeans, uniforms.
Now the dryer is void. Fill it.
Sit down again.
Write.
When the dinger dings, ignore it.
Write on.
Forget to clear the dryer.
— Megan Willome, blogs at Sabbath Says
I am suffering a nasty bout of writer's block for the Advent devotional journal Christ Church is putting together. I'm going to try channeling Megan's tips here and see what happens. Worst case is my laundry pile will go away, right?
track 4: creative spaces & places
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| City Museum, St. Louis Read this fun post from a museum appreciator at the Cardus blog. |
track 5: links
- House of Fifty (ideas for inspired living): I've just developed a crush on this online magazine. Also, don't miss their super fun free playlist!
- just little things: A blog my daughter shared with me; simple reminders for gratitude in even the tiniest glimpses of grace we receive each day.
Linking today:
