These are dry times. Summer slips away faster than you can catch it – a dime down the drain. The sky hangs damp and icy today. Across the globe, powerful little men toy with the world’s future like it’s a game of chicken. Hurricanes have ravaged large parts of our earth. Families will suffer the effects for years to come. Terrorists won’t let London sleep.
This planet can get so ugly. So broken. So disordered. So many of our mirrors are shattered.
There is order in beauty. A divine order, I believe, but whatever your theology you can feel it. The affirmation of disparate parts falling into place.
Jennifer Berkenbosch’s Cultivar matters because the world needs beauty today. We need to be reminded that there is goodness. There is a solid bed beneath this wild river.
Driving this afternoon I hit a moment of clarity head on. It dawns on me. Mastering the Art of living is hard, but simple. In fact, like all good formulas, it's a 3 step process on infinite repeat.
Live well. Pay attention. Share the good.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
I've been challenged by good friend Edward Van Vliet to join him in NaPoWriMo. We are writing a new poem every day for April - Poetry Month.
I took this one with great trepidation, but so far, I'm happy with the results. It's amazing what will speak when you give it voice.
I've written 7 poems so far, and you can find them all on my personal website at davevonbieker.com/blog
Part of the joy of posting things raw is the feedback I have received. It's making me a better writer. Taking comments into consideration on yesterday's poem, here is a rewrite, which I'm only posting here for now.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
I am always surprised when people are given permission.
When we ask people to speak and we open our ears, they say the most amazing things. When we give a platform, we discover latent talents. When we listen first, we hear what we've been missing.
It's Saturday night. I am hosting at Open Mic at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse. This is no ordinary open mic. There is brittle discomfort. An palpable air of sorrow. Smiles must push through tension. One of our community died last week. I imagine that when I share this news, many are hearing it for the first time.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Life is full of trade-offs. So is art.
Last week I was reminded of a choice I’ve made. When it comes to this blog, I’ve chosen quantity over quality.
Don’t get me wrong. The heart of every post, I believe, has real value. I’m saying what I intend to say and usually saying it well. I am proud of this living document. Just don’t read too closely.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Grace and I are working with Mark to hang Life2, the new exhibit at The Bleeding Heart Art Space. The task is common–deciding what to hang where, and what to leave out. Our space is not large and we want each image to have the impact it deserves. The variables of this decision are a lot more complicated this time around.
Life2 is a show full of stories. True stories. Stories still being written. Stories with twists. Uncertain stories. Each photo represents a life being lived. A person who was in prison, but is now experiencing their second chance. All of the fear and doubt and judgement and shame that come with that. All of the hope for the past to stay the past.
But some pasts are just so strong.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Is this call to ‘more' a call to freedom?
What if we already have what we want?
I’m not saying I do, but is that even a possibility? To have all one wants? To not always be moving towards the next desire?
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
So I shovel all three walks. And it takes about 13 minutes. And I leave before 9 AM on my way to the Bleeding Heart Art Space to write a new #ArtScene13 post for this weekend. Only I don’t write that post. I write this one.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
When I decided to start a podcast this year I didn’t know much. I’d never recorded interviews with people. That’s the part that scared me. Still does. Having the right questions. Knowing how to steer a conversation and when to take my hands off the wheel.
I had no idea how much I was about to learn, sitting across the table from other creatives.
I’m just 4 artists in, but here, in no particular order, are some of the best lessons so far.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
I am sitting on the wet, icy road with a tire jack in my hands, looking for the spot under my car that will bear the weight. I am about to change my tire for the first time, forced into this by necessity. I am 34 years old and I have no idea what I’m doing. But I’m doing it anyways. I have just become an adult.
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
Sometimes those of us who create for a living stop to question the value of what we are giving our lives to. Especially if we want to make the world a better place. Especially if I want to pour myself out for faith, hope and love. Especially when I encounter injustice. In the face of all this brokenness, isn’t there more we could do?
But artist, keep making. It is more than ‘just art’. To make art is just
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
