temporary art

DAY 13

When I went to La Paz, I also purchased a new set of dry erase markers to use with my various dry erase boards. Each marker has its own eraser at the tip of it. Today I cleaned the house and moved my office space from the bodega to the living room so that we could put the rest of our stuff into our bodega. I created a little nook for myself with bookshelves, desk, dry erase board, art supplies  inside our vintage coleman icebox. The wooden cubby box I bought at the segunda the other day stacked above the coleman. I tried to put my markers out of sight from Emilio, who has a keen eye for new things in the house. Especially a brand new set of markers! But sure enough, even though they were out of his reach, he somehow found his way to them while my back was turned. I told him they were mine (sometimes we actually fight over toys!) but he could use them as long as he was gentle with them. Lucas suggested we get out my largest dry erase board (the one I use when I teach workshops) and draw on the floor. Emilio loved drawing with the markers on the large smooth board. But what he loved even more was erasing! He was careful to erase every single mark. We came up with a game where I would draw something, and he would guess what it was in a funny, round about way: Him talking to himself: “Is it a rug? no, it’s not a rug. Is it a car? No it’s not a car. Is it a pig? Yes, it is a pig!” He had such fun getting to erase anything I drew. It was hard for me at first, but then I realized it was a great feeling to let go of my ego. (We feel attached to objects (even art objects) because we identify with them--they are a part of us.) We have another similar game where I build something with bristle blocks and he gets to destroy it. The one rule is he has to wait until I’m done making it before he can smash it apart. With this game as well, it was hard at first for me to watch him destroy something I had made. But I got used to it, after all, and now I find the game invigorating. After all, destruction is a part of the creative cycle.

Tonight, like last night, I was at a loss for what to write about. I felt I have been too heady lately, and I wanted to get into an art process. Lucas suggested I bring out the dry erase board again. So I propped the board on my bed, put some headphones on, listened to music (a mix including: Chopin and Ratatat) and drew using 4 of the 6 markers in about 20 minutes. This is what I made:

It was very fun to draw with dry erase markers with expressiveness. (I also love office art. Art done with office supplies, or art done at work. I have a growing series of projects on this theme.) And then, I knew it was time to erase it. But of course I photographed it too. And then I erased it. I hesitated for a moment, and then I erased. Again, the same exhilaration.