i was informed by Anna Kristín that today was fried chicken day at the supermarket. yes, i had to. the store was more crowded than usual, and i needed to buy more yogurt. yes, i must say, friday fried chicken is good
little things…
Author Archives: Graycloud
it’s in the small things
the remains of today, and a project
spent a long time in the school today speaking with my new friend Anna Kristín and my friend Úlfar. i met Úlfar three years ago when i first visited. it was god to reconnect. BTW Úlfar has some awesome music you can listen to here.
by the time i left the school i headed in the direction to see if any other artists were there, seeing none i walked behind the gallery and suddenly i heard it. the waves of the ocean. i headed towards them and trudging through the snow i stopped several times as they got louder and louder. the sound of them was beautiful. the sun was shinning and as i got closer and closer i noticed the black sand beach. i simply stood there for a while enjoying the sound. i will try and record them soon. i could not get to the black sand from where i was, but i have plenty of time to find a way to get myself there somehow, but i know i will come back tomorrow for more.
on my way back i crossed paths with Alice, the director of the artist residency program and she invited me to dinner along with two other artists – Fernanda and Ryan. i had a blast sharing stories with Ziggy, Alice’s husband. he is a sailor on a ship that delivers supplied to oil rigs in the north sea. quite a job. the fish Ziggy cooked was excellent and the company wonderful. Alice and Ziggy live just upstairs from me, or rather i live in the lower part of their house ;).
on another topic, i decided to pursue a local project today. there is a great tradition of Icelandic poetry, there is even a Poetry Museum. my intention is to photograph, in my own portrait style, local Icelandic poets, and record them as well during a reading. i would like to create a website, or add to the existing poetry center website so that people can see a portrait and short bio of the poet a long with hearing a recording of them reading poetry in Icelandic.
the sky was beautifully clear tonight. no northern lights that i could observe but beyond that the stars area clear here. hearing the sea and seeing the stars, what a wonderful place this is.
Flaco Jiménez and Ólafsfjörður
today was a great day to explore. most people think that because Ólafsfjörður is such a small town, that there is nothing here. that nothing is going on. well, they would be mistaken. is the pace different, than say new york city, los angeles, san francisco? certainly, you stand a very low chance of being stuck in any kind of traffic for an hour and half, and you certainly would not consider it normal. you are unlikely to find homeless on the street corner with sign asking for money. you are unlikely to be turned away at your favorite restaurant because they’re full. you are also unlikely find stray dogs, or for that matter stray people. all those things however, do not mean that nothing is going on. there is plenty.
at any time of day you can find people hard at work many of them in very creative endeavors. there are people here who maintain museums, who create folk art with lava rocks, who paint, who teach, who practice as part of the local rescue team, who are eager to show you the area. many of them may have more than one task during the day itself such as the volunteer rescue team. people are now coming from all over the world to share their creative spirit, to introspect, and to create. that is the wonder of this little town, that in such a far away place there are so many people so ready and willing to take the leap into creativity.
today i met a young man who plays the accordion. his grandfather taught him to play and he plays on the weekends at the home where his grandfather lives. he plays with his grandfather and as i saw a video of them playing together i could see the admiration in this young man’s eyes for this old man who had taught him so much. he had never heard northern mexican accordion music, so i introduced him to ‘Flaco Jiménez’. he loved it! about an hour later i saw him again and he was still listening to Flaco Jiménez, and smiling wonderfully.
which reminds me, i decided not to take pictures of people today. i wanted simply to introduce myself in the school, to be seen. to find my place. i wandered a lot, and i will likely be doing that more these days, but i also decided on a course to pursue for a photo/poetry project when i am here. we will see tomorrow if things can take better shape.
finding my place…
Mi Lugar (en Español)
caminando por las calles de este pequeño pueblo en Islandia me recuerda a las primeras veces que caminaba por Ocotlán cuando era pequeño. a veces me perdía, quizá voluntariamente, pero siempre encontraba mi lugar viendo hacia arriba. hacia las torres de las iglesias. comenzaba lentamente a reconocer los hoyos en las banquetas, las esquinas mas transitadas, y las tienditas de dulces. pronto todo comenzó a tener nombre. la casa de don Goyo, la tienda ‘El Nuevo Mundo’, la tortillería, la tienda de ‘La Rábana’, el banco nacional, la casa de mi amigo Nacho, el llano donde jugábamos, los baches de la calle Moctezuma. todos esos y mas, poco a poco fueron siendo parte de lo que ya era mi mundo.
y ahora estoy aquí, tan lejos de Ocotlán, pero recorriendo el pueblo nuevamente, buscando las torres de la iglesia, reconociendo las casa que tiene mariposas en la pared, la galería donde me encontraré con otros artistas, el único restaurant del pueblo y las horas que abre, la tienda de abarrotes, la gasolinera, el hotel, el camino a la escuela donde esta el mejor cafe de toda la region, y las flores pintadas afuera de lo que por los siguientes dos meses sera mi casa.
he encontrado mi lugar en lugares mucho mucho mas grandes que este, pero este es tan importante como los demás, quizá, por el momento, un poco más.
First Night
Had a wonderful dinner with Lára and then a quick walk around the block. it is cold, and the wind feels harsh against the skin, but it what i came for after all. the opportunity to introspect, and if you look closely, all that wind and freezing rain, makes lovely images on the surrounding mountains.
tomorrow i will visit the school to connect with a few people, enjoy some coffee, and see what the next few days hold.
on march 4th there will be a small presentation of the artists in residence this month…now to try and explain what i do…
good night
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He llegado. I have arrived.
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Finally arrived at Olafsfrjordur. getting acquainted with what will be my residence for the coming months. i need to get out and buy groceries and basic necessities. the front door is blocked by snow, so i need to get in through the back door at this point.
i am glad i brought the extra luggage with everything i thought i would need, and i am very happy i brought my wool jacket 🙂 the temperature reading may not be that bad, but there is plenty of wind.
need a quick tour of the town and arrange all my stuff.
Art and Fear
i have talked about this many times. i even spoke of it when i was last here in Iceland. Art and Fear, at least in my experience, seem to go together. i find it impossible to expose yourself as an artist without having some fear. we allow others to criticize us, and we allow it in order to grow. we allow our talent/skill to be evaluated, spoken of, seen, poked, prodded, and we do it willfully. knowing all the time that there are people who will love what we have to offer, and those who will never ‘get it’.
for those who claim they never feel any fear, maybe you are not exposing yourself enough in your art, maybe there is more of you we need to see.
as a photographer, there is always the comment ‘you must have a really nice camera’, or well my son/daughter/family member can take this picture with their phone. its not that big a deal”, or even better “photography is not really art if all you are doing is representing what everyone can see for themselves”.
but there is a difference. every photographer has a nuance, a style, an emotion they imbue into their work. something that – at least for those that ‘get it’ – makes them understand a bit more of the vision, they eyes, the heart, that the artist put into this image.
as a writer, there is also the ever-present “why am i reading this?”, “why does this matter to me?”.
there is a level of intimacy that is gained by the artist when they connect to those who view/read/feel their work. there is a connection that transcends the fear. the fear of the artist opening themselves up for criticism, and the audience’s fear of not understanding what is presented.
as artists we may become more and more immune to this fear, but it is, i believe, always there. to simply expose your work without wanting to create a connection is akin to painting your house. its your house and you will paint it whatever damn color you please, but art…is a house you build in the intimacy of your audience’s mind and heart, and you want them to accept you in that intimate spot.
Residence In Iceland 