Category: Art and Life
-
Memories and milestones
(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.) Hi, and welcome to the “John Wayne Room” of the Canyon Lodge Motel in Seligman, Arizona, “Birthplace of Route 66,” the “Mother Road” of America. Seligman (population 456) is representative of the many small towns that dot this portion of the Southwest along what used…
-
Something about that name …
(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.) “I think, therefore I am.” Descartes Given that I am setting out on a road trip this morning with Chandler to Colorado to look into some possibilities for his future, I was short on time to write the Catch this morning, but I found this…
-
What’s good about it?
(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.) I met a Millennial art teacher yesterday and he pretty much confirmed everything we know and love about Millennials … and art. Yesterday I did online church from the Laguna Sawdust Festival, an art fair that goes on every summer here in Laguna Beach. It…
-
‘For Free’
(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.) Last Sunday, Joni Mitchell appeared live at the famous Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Just the fact that she was live was pretty amazing given her long struggle to recover from a brain aneurysm. No one expected her to ever sing or play again,…
-
639-year Concert
(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.) Time is an ocean, but it ends at the shore. – Bob Dylan There is a live concert going on right now being performed at this very moment on a special organ built just for this purpose in a medieval church in Halberstadt, Germany. This…
-
Surprised by Joy
(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.) Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Psalms 150:5-6) My older son loves to play the drums. He’s played in a number of bands and contributed in a major way to their success.…
-
On the Road Again
I can hear Willie Nelson’s stringy voice as we get in the car and head north after only a day’s respite between road trips. “On the road again.” This time I’m with Chandler and we are headed to Sacramento and other destinations west as we seek out a path for his future. Our primary first…
-
LA’s own rock star
Los Angeles has its own rock star. Now I know there are a lot of rock stars this city has produced in its history, but none like this one. That’s because this one is a rock — a real rock — a 340-ton granite rock that has taken up permanent residence at the Los Angeles…
-
Purple camels and walking trees
Let’s face it, kids have it all over us adults when it comes to creativity. One of the requisites of a creative mind is the ability to see things from a fresh perspective. This is where the kids come in. Children don’t have the realistic limits on their imaginations that adults have. They can put…
-
a sacrificial poet
This is the logo for one of the open mic’s John attends. John wants to welcome any Chicago visitors to “The Catch,” and thank them for welcoming him into their community. John Shirk is a missionary to Chicago … sort of. His actual job title is “ambassador.” Missionary is a complicated word…
-
Just outside my door
I went for a short walk this morning just a little ways outside my house. I breathed in the crisp fresh air. No coronavirus there. I felt the warm sun radiate on my face contrasting with the cold air all around me, making me feel like I was standing in front of a radiator 93…
-
Painting in the dirt of our lives
Yesterday I wrote about the story of a Mexican immigrant who drives a short-haul truck route all over Los Angeles and has found a way to express his artistic nature and training in the the dirt and muck that forms on the back of his truck. Instead of washing his truck every couple weeks, he…
-
Dirty life art
Arnulfo Gonzalez is a Mexican immigrant who lives in Los Angeles. He wants to be an artist. He earned a degree in art from East Los Angeles College and attends drawing classes with his wife whenever he can. But art is not something that will support a family of four. So after trying out a…
-
Beautiful words
Shari, one of our Catch readers, commented that she is currently in a book club that is reading the book, A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline. It’s a historical novel based on the life and times of Andrew Wyeth, and especially the painting “Christina’s World” which we discussed yesterday. How great that…
-
Jocelyn’s World
My son, Christopher took this picture recently with his cell phone on a walk with Jocelyn, our granddaughter. He texted it to us in a group text along with five other pictures and it could have easily gotten lost in there, but this one immediately jumped out at me. I was mesmerized. First, the way…