Welcome to a little roundup of things I’ve been reading and doing and listening to… plus a few pictures of the scenery here.

Making Art and Making a Living by Mason Currey

It’s hard to describe what an enjoyable read this book has been, only a few chapters in. I really admire Currey’s writing… as a reader, I feel like the examples he offers are deeply researched while also being succinct. The examples he chooses offer contrasts that feel fresh and interesting. Overall, the goal, as he states it in the introduction:

I hope that these stories help readers […] at least see their own dilemmas reflected back at them, and draw strength from reading about how those who came before them kept up the effort and came through

is one I feel he meets. (His website here.)

Collage

I continue to make little collage cards, pressed on by a mission to make a hundred this year. It’s really intriguing though… I thought I could be frivolous about it, but it turns out to be far more absorbing than I expected. At first I thought I could trick myself into a carelessness. But I soon noticed that collage, despite how easy it is to do, imposes its own rules. I like how Jake Kennedy says:

Because it’s so quick and accessible, collage to me is also a great leveler. Anyone can do it - or their own version of it - and by the same token, even the best collage artists can make absolute stinkers.

And how Leslie Siegle says:

I aim to be a blank slate, not to force things, and to let that gift of connection overtake me. Some days you have it, some days it’s just experiments. Those little failures are necessary, though; they plant a seed you can go back to later.

Were it not for the fun of making something pretty from bits of paper collected from everywhere, I wouldn’t know what “not forcing things” meant. Take a failed collage for example… I was trying to tell a fairytale-like story, but the elements refused to cohere (see left side). I changed tack and made something much better for the purpose of a birthday card (see right side).

Running this little artistic experiment aligns with what Brad Neely says in his typewriter interview with Austin Kleon (May 2026):

Your mind can’t hide if you’re doing art, so know yourself as much as possible, but here’s the twist, you get to know yourself by making art. Learn by doing. Experience. First-hand experience by making art, second hand by reading and watching and listening and staying open until death.

Previous collages here.

Enjoying

The BBC and 99% Invisible podcast have teamed up to present a series titled “A History of the United States in 100 Objects” and it’s been fun listening in!
Articles of Interest recently did an episode on clothing sizes. I’m still thinking how demanding a job it is to be a fit model… something I had no idea existed!
This episode of Family Lore titled “Father Figure” was one I didn’t want to pause!
Lunch at Shirley’s (135 Osborne St.) featured this assortment of pickled vegetables and grapes. They have shelves lined with a whole assortment of preserved food and this was a nice taste! Pickling for the win!

Cooking

When we don’t know what to cook, Hetty Lui McKinnon’s “Tomato Macaroni Soup and Scrambled Egg” from her cookbook To Asia, With Love, is one of the recipes we turn to for ease and comfort.

On Friday, we topped waffles with an improvised rhubarb compote… about 10 long stalks of rhubarb, 2/3 cups of sugar, simmered 10 to 20 minutes with just a splash of water, then cooled outside and served. For fancier compote, add vanilla!