turn it around

Sometimes reversing your thinking can help creativity. I just posted a free write on my “just notions” blog (this blog is now closed. See May 26th post on this blog for reprint) that begins with the phrase, “Climbing up from my soul”. So often we search for the soul with in, so in this moment I imaged the soul as something I was in and needed or wanted to come out from. Perhaps we are in the soul instead of the soul being in us. This will allow me to write or create from a different perspective.

Instead of writing about the things you see, be the things you see and write about them looking at you. It’s also fun to think and then write totally out of your character. Try it you don’t have to share it with the world but it will stretch you.
I reached one of the walls of my soul today
It was in a state of decay
The lines on the fungus spoke to me
Of how long it would be
Before I could break through
“Not long now!”
“Soon it will crumble”
“Then you can push through”
I tapped the wood
Still firm
I would wait
For the fungus
To do more damage
Before I push
---------

The work of decay is complicated.
It seems to me like fungus would get a lot more done
If it paid a little more attention to the work
And spent a little less time on appearance.
Pretty don’t get’er done.
Jeff Not Me

Out of Control

I can see
Then see again
and still not see
I can want to see
and not
I can not want to
and find it before me
but I still might not
take it in
once more?
Okay, I am out of control now, yes I have a problem. I have started another blog. I was just checking out another blogging site to see if it was any different to use and it took off. On this new site I am trying to not work so hard at being clear. I work very hard here at "Notions of Moments" to make myself as clear as possible. On this new site called "Just Notions" I am trying to just put down the things that rumble through my head during the day. So far it has just been one thought at a time but that might change. On this new site I will write in a single line style somehow making it easier to jump thoughts if I want to. The key at this new location is randomness. Every thing on the site is being written as it is being posted. This is kind of like performance blogging. I'm just throwing stuff out, we'll see how it lands.
Hope you like it or hate it. What ever, feel it!Sorry I ended this blog "just notions" on May 19th and made it part of this blog. I have a lot to say but not a lot of time to compose it. It's all here and may or may not be clear!

Jeff some place else

New Song

Everything

The rain to come
And the sun to shine
The branches on the ground
That shows me how to die
How many seasons
Have I reached for the sky?
Through the upstairs window
I hear my child cry
Every sky that looks down
On every Child waking up
Knows the seasons hold secrets
That they long to give up

Everything, everything, everything
Everything, everything, everything
Belongs with me

The bee in the hive
And the ant in the dirt
With my place in this order
I am a long way from first
I am worn by the rain
And moved by the surf
I will run from the cold
And from the heat I’ll know thirst
For every creature that seeks
And every soul that is found
There are cries in the forest
That have no audible sound

Everything, everything, everything
Everything, everything, everything
Belongs with me

There are Children in graves
And women in chains
Men behind bars
And souls without names
And how many gods
To thee we implore
Now my pockets are full
What is my life for?
Every hammer coming down
Sets a nail or seals a fiat
There are still answers in the wind
It is never to late

Everything, everything, everything
Everything, everything, everything
Belongs with me

-------------------------

New song, but it's been bouncing around in my note books for years. Songs are like children. You hold them close as long as you can, but at some point you've got to push them out the door. This one might get pushed out at the coffeehouse tomorrow.
I'll try and record it and post it on this blog, we'll see.
The Photo on this post is a collage of about 45 Photos from my living. It is also called Everything
Jeff singing

Here's a website of everything http://everything2.com/
To hear some of my songs http://www.myspace.com/jeffreykimseycarroll

Morning Walk Thought

My thoughts after an early morning walk, remembering early mornings in trees.


I am walking
It is early
The sun is at the tops of the trees
They are lit
Turning on
With every step I take
And corner I turn
The light expands
Downward

I know this place
As a boy
Up early on a Saturday
The branches well worn
Almost polished
That place knew me
The tree strong enough
The boy light enough
I could reach the canopy
And pulling back a branch
And the light would greet me

I am content on the ground now
Waiting in the cool shadow
Not always in a hurry
To get into the light
Into the day
The trees like the early start
The boy did too
The man will walk
Warming slowly
Waiting for the light
To make its way down



Now I need to give this a name.
Jeff on the ground

Okay, I did My Google search for "Light on tree tops" and found a musical artist or group called "Treetops". They are out of the United Kingdom. All the music sounds like it was made up in trees, or it at least sounds like what I hear when I'm in trees. Open your mind now and trip out now http://www.myspace.com/treetopsmusic

Nothing

Sometimes I shoot images to find nothing

or nowhere.

I am trying to catch a place

without a moment.

I like the emptiness,

places where it feels like

from my perspective anyway

nothing has ever happened,

or the moment is waiting

just out of sight

to occur.

I don't know why

I do this.

If I had that knowledge

I probably wouldn't bother

doing it.

The activity is exploration.
the images in this case are data

for me and me only

unless you find something in them

that speaks to you

you can take from it

what you will.

I am using the media

to achieve some understanding

of my perception of moments

and how they evolve

and run their course.

If I could make this clearer

I would.

For now I am just sharing with you

one of the things I do.

If I keep practicing this

one day

I might be able to make sense of it.

Until then

know I'm out there photographing nothing.

Someone's got to do it.

Or maybe not?

Don't wait for understanding to act, trust what you feel and do it!

Jeff for the moment

This website might be helpful, or maybe not. http://www.nothing.net/index.html

Ready for Launch

Well here it is almost ready to go.

Space, the final frontier
These are the voyages of the Star Ship Nursery School
Its five year mission (it's only 5 years because after that you go to elementary school) to seek out new life and new civilizations (that would be worms and beetles that live under the wood chips)and to boldly go (when the teacher gives you permission to) where no one has gone before (the only place on a this nursery school playground where no one has gone before would be to climb to the top of the rocket and hang from the support board, some one will do it!).










Here's a cool set of travel posters to planets in our solar system.
http://www.baekdal.com/design/art/rocketship-tours/
In 1966 this is what I thought the year 2001 would look like. What happened?

Jeff spaced-out

Building a Sacred Place

Yes that's me, I've spent the past week working on a rocket ship on a nursery school playground. Really, it's what I do. I'll post a picture next week when it's done.

I am a very fortunate woodworker. I have had many opportunities to create devices or spaces for play. Building places for children to play is a sacred activity, because you are creating sacred space. Play is a powerful artistic and spiritual activity although we as a culture do not always give it that respect. Most of the time we are throwing around phrases like “stop playing around” or “ we need to stop playing and get to work”. As I learned back in my days as an educator, play is the work of children and if they are denied this developmental activity it can effect development of imagination and physical, mental and emotional strength. Play also helps children to over come fears, and develop confidence. Play is powerful stuff.

Like artists children use play to reflect life. Their play allows them to over and over again play out the situations and emotions that make up their real lives. Now I’m talking of imaginary play not games of competition or chance. In imaginary play children act out the roles of adults in their lives or characters they have read about or seen on TV. They are acting out domestic roles, jobs they see grownups doing, or they might fight against injustice or even monsters of all kinds. It is an activity that has to happen in order for the child to gather the confidence to work with others, share, and self-advocate.

So as I build a space I constantly imagine the movement of children through it. These imaginary children tell me when to sand a contact surface raise or lower work spaces or when to make something totally silly or to keep it simple. I have been fortunate to be present when real children enter a space I had a hand in making and see their minds light up as they see what’s before them. That’s an amazing feeling that you have created something that gives a sense or moment of wonder to someone. It's so cool to be able to make life fun!

Jeff 3 2 1 blast off

Here's a great article on play from Scholastic http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=10175

If you want to see more of the spaces I've built check out the link http://www.jkcwood.com/Exhibits.html