THE NUMBER OF things I do to reduce distractions in my life is borderline comical. I use the Freedom app to block email on my phone until noon, otherwise I get sucked into a vortex of "breaking" news headlines, newsletters, solicitations for money, courses I might want to take, and updates from stores I can't afford. (I get on average probably two to three personal emails a day, which I LOVE, btw, but they are never urgent. Plus I can always check email on my laptop.) I used another app, One Sec, to break my Instagram habit (it worked almost too well; I sometimes forget Instagram even exists). If I'm writing, I don't even listen to music—I might get sucked into a song.
But one thing I can't block out is Spring. Spring is popping off right now, and all I want to do is be outside, walking around admiring the flowering trees or digging in the dirt. Never mind that I seem to develop a new allergy every day to whatever is blooming out there. I still want to be outside.
So I spent the first several hours of today doing those very things: walking around the neighborhood, admiring all the flowering trees, and digging in the dirt. (So. Many. Weeds.) Was it productive? No, unless you count the weeds I eliminated. But was it satisfying? Oh, yes.
I've been working on a series of comics about having ADHD and having a child with ADHD. Here are the first and second comics. Michaela helped with this one. Actually, she more than helped. It's really her creation. She wrote it and sketched the thumbnail version. I wanted to just use that, but she asked me to draw it. She did draw herself in the first panel, and added lettering to the seventh panel. As you might imagine, when two people with ADHD collaborate, especially when it is a mother and daughter, things can get nutty. I would love to know what you think about this one. First and most importantly: does it even make sense???
Three Things That Kept Me Going This Week
O'Grady will turn ninety in September of this year but I'll be damned if she doesn't seem at least half, maybe even a quarter of her age. I saw her show with Kate G., who was in town for the Expo. The main event was a series of self-portraits of O'Grady suited up in medieval armor. There may be something a little pathetic about an old man donning armor (like the White Knight in Alice in Wonderland), but O'Grady came across as the indomitable warrior she is.
Over the weekend we went to the Barely Fair, which is just like a conventional art fair, except that the galleries show work in booths that are only 20 x 20 inches. Dollhouse size in other words, and perfect for kids, though we were informed that the fair is definitely not meant for kids. Harumph. Anyway, the standout was a (regular person size) pop-up exhibition of Thomas Kong's collages, arranged in a space set up to resemble a convenience store. Kong, who was 73 when he died last year, owned Kim's Corner Food, which he decorated with his jaunty compositions. Soon after being embraced by the art community, Kong collaborated with several local artists and opened a project space in his store's stock room. My guess is that we will soon be seeing a lot more of Kong's work—or at least I hope we will.
- SPRINGTIME! Though whoops, maybe not quite yet. That's the lake effect for you, folks.
Thank you for reading Mushroom Head! I'll be taking a break next week to get ready for Passover. I'll be back on May 3rd.
Happy Bicycle Day to all who celebrate!
And, um, happy 4/20, though you definitely will not see me celebrating.
Baci,
Claire