Partially Obstructed View

                                  Partially Obstructed View
                                  David Atwood. March 2012
                                  Watercolour on paper 19 X 15cm



By far the best feature of my dirty little studio is the view. From my fifth floor windows I can see an amazing view of Nagasaki harbor and and the 330 meter high Mount Inasa across the water. Down below are/ were a series of long, narrow, one story warehouses left over from when port was for unloading cargo rather than cruise ship passengers. Recently two of the buildings were torn down leaving a considerably large empty lot. Now my concern is what will be built in their place. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a parking lot, which is more often than not, what becomes of empty spaces around here. Nagasaki can always use more parking and from a landowner's point of view, it's a minimal investment for a guaranteed return.

However, there has been a mini-boom of large condo buildings going up recently. If that's the case, it will certainly be well over 5 stories thus stealing my view from me. When I first came here almost ten years ago, the water front was a wasteland. You would barely guess that you were living on the ocean as you couldn't even walk along the seaside with out a great deal of effort. But since then a museum, huge park, several upscale condos, and a boardwalk have been built and people are more interested in enjoying the harbor rather than just treating as a place of industry (ship building) and commerce (fishing). A large condo building would make sense in that spot, unfortunately for me.

The one good thing is that they seem to be preparing whatever they are going to do (buildings generally have no basements here so you don't get the telltale giant hole that precedes all buildings back home) slightly off to the right so that only half my view will be spoiled. I've never wished so hard for a new parking lot.

Make Due

The perfect conditions don't exist. Waiting for them to manifest has long been my go to excuse for procrastination. I just need this one more thing, a better night's sleep, to get over this cold, more time, etc. I guess part of it is trying to mitigate the likelihood of failure or more accurately putting off the inevitability of failure. Failing tends to reinforce the huge, unspoken, number one fear: maybe I'm actually not very good at this and I never will be. But it also precludes success.

I think I have finally accepted that doing things is the only way to get good at doing things. All the planning, preparing, contemplating, scheming is not going to get it done. Over the last year I've slowly produced some work (a lot, really) that I'm relatively happy with. Who would've thought that a consistent, sustained effort was the path to good results? Well, why not? I've tried everything else.

As to wether I'm actually any good at what I'm dedicating my time and effort to, that is yet to be determined. I do know that I am a lot happier when being creative than when I'm not. Teaching is not going to fill that need ever. It usually falls some where between an insult and something that is at least easily forgotten when five o'clock rolls around.

Now if I can just apply this new found "work ethic" to writing, learning Japanese, learning to drive, making music, exercising… sigh.

Million Dollar Idea #179

Hot Dog / Cold Dog

Everyone: Hey, Dave! Tell us what we should like/dislike, please!

Me: OK

Hot Dog 
Haw-lin

A "mood wall" is something a lot of designers and artists maintain in some form or another. It's just a collection of interesting photos, objects, or whatever has caught their eye and been stuck on a wall. They either draw direct inspiration from them or just use them to work out a general mood they are hoping to convey in a work or a series of works. I have always had something like this in my studio just as a reminder of what has been exciting me aesthetically.

I found a website created by a couple of guys who decided to have their "mood wall" on the internet for all to see. They definitely have a specific aesthetic view point and the photos fall into a few different categories: design/art, clothes/fashion, interesting looking people, quarries/rock formations, and naked ladies. The last one makes the site unsuitable to be viewed at work.

It's updated regularly and is a good way to pass some time and treat your eyes without any words to get in the way. There's no information on any of the photos (although I do occasionally find photos that have been plucked from other websites I frequent) and this adds to the allure. Purely visual.

http://haw-lin.com/

Cold Dog

Dust / Sand

Once in a while, usually in spring, the winds whip across Mongolia and Northern China stirring up the dessert sands. The sand is then caught up in the prevailing eastwardly winds and eventually drifts across Japan. This week we had a rare fall visit from a cloud of super-fine dust which, once inhaled, is as unpleasant as you imagine it would be.

Add to that, there is heavy construction going on where I work. They are tearing down concrete walls and rebuilding more earthquake-resistant ones. A good idea since we had a big earthquake a few years back, but it has filled the air with pulverized concrete dust. Not to mention the futility of holding a conversation class over the sound of jackhammers.

Add to that, I have had a string of colds that have turned into bronchitis this year.

Add to that, multiple other daily airborne attackers I face as a weakling nerd.

Bad times for my respiratory system.