Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Zen of Messy


This is my studio. I was compelled to "confess" my space after seeing Elizabeth Blake's oh-so-Zen-space on the Chinook whatyacallit.


Whenever I hear about Zen this and Zen that I usually look down at my shoes. "Isn't there a place for me?" I mutter. I mean, do we all have to be so calm? And neat?


What can I say? I like interesting things. I collect...treasures.


For instance, this pile is a collection of actual U.F.O.'s that landed in my studio. That's right, you heard me. And some day they will show up in a book.


And this pic shows one of the models that I often make to "get me into a new world". Consider this: if Buddha was going to write a book about a T-Rex, he might just make a model of one out of papier maché. And he might have piles around his studio, maybe...


When the grand kids come to my studio, I simply do what any Godfather, I mean grandfather, would do. No, I don't make them kiss my ring! But they do have to pay homage to my almost real T-Rex with real teeth. It builds character for them to confront their fears.


One thing they all insist on is "riding" up the antique dentist chair. Up, past the trees, the clouds, the stars and planets. Way up there.


Hey look, some stones. That is pretty Zenny, right?

14 comments:

Karin Corbin said...

I did pick up sea shells by the sea shore this morning, tiny pairs of wings for little fantasy creatures that I will never get around to making other than in my meditations.

How much easier it is to spend the time meditating instead of making. So there all you neat-niks I am not fooled even one little bit by your superior cleanliness habits. I can manage to drag out 5 dozen tools to create an object a few square inches in size. Muses never clean up the mess, that job is only done by desperate characters.

steven said...

richard - i am very suspicious of orderly tidy artists. they exist as you know, but there's something i can't quite put into words that makes me wonder about them. i love messy. now there's sloppy and there's messy. sloppy is in the "whatever" realm that also has perennial grumps, and persnickety machines all of whom live sloppy existences. messy is the outwards expression of a thinking mind. open to the creative energy that floats willy nilly freely 'round our none existent heads!!!! the greatest post richard!!! steven

Martha Brockenbrough said...

This is so amazing! And Richard, I am a natural slob. I'd like to be neat and tidy and organized, but I have these ideas, see...and I'd much rather muck around with them than with a cleaning rag.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Craig Orback said...

Sweet looking studio! Although that dentist chair is kinda freaking me out!

Susi Watson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Richard Jesse Watson said...

Karin, you are right on! Muses don't even own brooms, vacuum cleaners, or watches for that matter.

Steven, you've said it. So I'll say it too, I love messy. There! Now where are those papers? I know they are here somewhere...

Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Martha. You have every right to have a modicum of messy in your world. After all you are juggling a virtual galaxy. I also wish I was neat, tidy, and well organized. But my mind can't quite imagine what that would be like...hmmm...

Thanks, Craig. I do free dental work. Actually, I worked with a guy from Brooklyn, who pulled out his own teeth, when they bugged him. Pliers. No joke.

Anonymous said...

Does the moose have a name? The T rex is awesome! I love how his bottom jaw has spaces for his teeth

I like things to be ordered - I usually can't start working unless everything is in it's place. But then again, essay writing doesn't require the same amount of imagination or creativity as art.

Molly/Cece said...

I love your studio. I have a space slightly larger than a closet. I have a ufo you can to add to your collection. I read this book called Simplexity and got rather convinced that people who have tons of ideas and even more half started projects have more opportunity to be successful than people who take other approaches. It's that willingness to make mistakes that will foster innovation and ultimately success. Your studio seems to scream, "I gotta lot of stuff going on." I think you have created simplexity there in your office. A mess cannot produce fruitful works.

storyqueen said...

I love your space!! Mine is a TV tray behind the couch....lame-o, but right in the middle of everything, which shouldn't work, but it does.

Shelley

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Yes, Kitty, the moose's name is Big Sir. It belonged to a friend of my folks, who was a hunter. He shot the moose in Alaska, then mounted Moosie's poor head on his wall at his house in Big Sur, California. When the hunter died, they were going to throw away the huge furry head. I could not let that happen. So I rescued him. Thanks for noticing the T-Rex's orthodontia. I actually do agree that there should be a place for everything and everything in its place. Trouble starts, though when there's no place for something weird...

Molly, I love the word, Simplexity. It makes me think of the phrase, "Less is more". But then I get confused. If less is more that they are equal. So then more is also more. And we are back where we started.

Shelley, I love T.V. trays. I used to have a favorite one which I set up to eat pot pies while I watched Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, and then Alfred Hitchcock on Friday nights. This was back before they signed the Magna Carta.

Anonymous said...

I read a quote on a fridge magnet once that said:

Dull women have immaculate houses.

By deduction, I am therefore the least dull person I know.

:-) Amy Watson

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Hi sweet Amy! Fridge magnets are the next big thing. They should go digital. They could speak to us. We could speak to each other through our fridge magnets. "Hey! Amy! Whatya cookin?" "Say, Ben, shouldn't you wash those dishes? hmmm?" I don't know about your house being immaculate, that's kind of a trick question...but I do know that you are a gem. xoxo

Elaine Asaidali said...

How did I miss the dentist chair at your studio tour?!! Those poor grandkids. Scarred for life.

Now about those “treasures,” Said has many UFO-like treasures in the garage. I’m waiting for them to take flight. Anytime now. Anytime, please.

Great post!

Richard Jesse Watson said...

Elaine, we probably had the chair scooted out of the way to accommodate the crowded studio. It is so tricky and sometimes a fine line between what is a treasure and what is bonafide rubbish.