Nothing

“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

There is no such thing as nothing. Even an empty room teems with atoms too small for the eye to detect, but they are there. There is no moment when one is not surrounded by more particles and invisible life than could be counted in a day or a week or a year. Inside every one of us exists a universe of microscopic life sustaining us, at times harming us, growing and changing even as we, too, grow and change.

Caroline Cox is in the studio beginning work on several pieces at once which is her typical way of working. Her work lately has been drawing which is something of a departure. These works are large, rendered in pen and ink and quite gestural. The drawings are fast and improvised. Other current pieces are curvilinear works suspended in space and utilizing optical effects. To hear more about this, as well as Caroline Cox’s other work, listen to the complete interview.

Matthew D. Garcia is occupied most recently at residency for a year in Tuscon, Arizona. His work there centers around The Desertification Cook Book, an artist book with recipes (not all for eating) designed to speak to how to live beautifully in the desert. Garcia began this project several years ago and intends to use his residency period to push it to completion. To hear more about this work and other projects, including the Desert Art Lab, listen to the complete interview.

A Few Words to Keep in your Pocket:

Emptiness is nothing more than perception. Even the blankest spaces are truly full.

Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android please click here. All weekly essay pieces in a shareable format are here. The full archive of interviews here.

Books to Read

What are you reading? Add your titles to our reading list here. Caroline Cox is reading Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel and Reality is not What it Seems by Carlo Rovelli. Matthew D. Garcia is reading Eating the Landscape by Enrique Salmon.

Artists who have found their sealegs are invited to apply for Sail Britain Residency on the Ocean. This is an opportunity to sail aboard a boat off the west coast of Scotland, to explore the ocean, coastline, ecology and communities. The next ship sets sail in April 2020. To learn more, visit the website. Deadline is Decemeber 4.

Deadlines

Weekly Edited Grant and Residency Deadlines – review the list here.

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Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius and Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.