Comincio

Running
9:45 am
8.52 miles 1:07:43 (7:57 per mile)

A strong run from the center to Villa Pamphili and back. Lots of people around. The air was pretty clear and I felt better than usual.

I've had a productive few weeks in the studio, beginning with some small scale paintings. When I say small, I mean approximately 7 x 7" for the diminutive wood panels I've made, although I'm easing into some things which are a little larger. Piano, piano, as they say.

It's been a real delight after the imbalance of last year, when I foolishly allowed other aspects of life and work (i.e.: teaching, adjustments to changes in my personal life and so forth) to gain too much of my attention and steer the ship.

While I've explored other iconography and have enjoyed the possibilities, I'm currently mulling over some ideas about the ego while trying to arrive at subject matter which interests me. Volcanoes—viscerally, formally, conceptually and narratively—are great fodder. I even like the sound of the word. The idea came to me while I was walking near the Ara Pacis one day. I happened on one of those cheap little stands selling all sorts of junk and noticed an old engraving of Vesuvio, smoldering on the horizon over Pompeii. Later, at the Italian Quadriennale, I saw an interesting film about the spector of Vesuvio as it looms large over Neopolitan life.

I'm thinking about a trip to Napoli and environs to check it out.