Tag: creativity
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On Cooking and Living Sensually
I spend a great deal of time on this blog contemplating the nature of femininity, generally, the varied expressions of our erotic nature, and what it takes for us to transform ourselves into works of art. I spend a great deal less time talking about things I just…like. Because I do have some enjoyable hobbies […]
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On Sensual Living
“And just as music traverses walls, so sensuality traverses the body and reaches up to ecstasy.” – Anaïs Nin As I began composing my thoughts for this post, “sensual living” seemed like the most appropriate term for organizing the topics I planned to discuss here. But, in truth, I could have easily swapped “sensual” for […]
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On Being a Work of Art
“Art is the proper task of life.” – Nietzsche Having just returned stateside from a week-long vacation during which I did remarkably little writing—and no blogging—my brain isteeming with ideas. For the last three days, I have been seized by a frenzied urgency to get something out. And yet, I couldn’t place my finger on […]
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On the Eroticism of Everyday Life
It may be said that our erotic lives are comprised of the many expressions of our sexual imagination, or, put differently, that eroticism is sexuality transformed by the imagination, sublimated and refined for social consumption. I don’t think that definition is wrong. In fact, I think it’s pretty much right, however incomplete. When we think […]
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Flinch.
For as long as I can remember, my relationship to my creative endeavors has been marked by a strong desire to recoil. This is especially true of writing projects, past and present, and very well may include this blog post, which I might never look at again after I hit “Publish” (although, truthfully, this type […]
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On Taste
When I think of what it means to “have taste,” my mind immediately conjures images of outward refinement: a shirking of excess, an elevated coolness, and a curtailing of expression, culminating in just the perfect amount of artistic and intellectual snobbery to satisfy one’s professional and social circles. I don’t particularly like that my mind […]
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On Choosing Your Mentors
Several years ago, when I was applying for graduate school admissions, I visited a former English professor asking for a letter of recommendation. We had a nice meeting, and during our chat, he made a remark about his students that was puzzling enough, to me, to have made an indelible impression: “All of the English […]
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For the Experimenter in All of Us
It is true that the majority of wisdom is gleaned from experience. It is also true that experience is the bitterest of all teachers. But, for those of us who can’t shake the urge to continually experiment with new ideas—to take them out into the world and “test them out” or “try them on for […]
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On the Art of Entertaining
I think of myself as a maker of experiences. The most satisfying of all creative enterprises for me, acts of writing and design included, are those tailored toward giving. Those that represent a fecundity of mind and spirit and that are crafted for the express purpose of giving others a unique and memorable experience. You […]
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Finding the Challenge
I cherish those moments in which I have the final say over how I occupy my time. (Which of us, honestly, doesn’t?) I have been that way for as long as I can remember, and the biggest reason I have for wanting to control my time has to do with boredom—and my attempts to stave […]
The Used Life 