The wonder of lunch at Kikugawa

This past Sunday afternoon I went out to lunch with a friend from church at Kikugawa, a Japanese restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis. I've walked and driven by it many times on my way to the Wilde Roast Cafe (one of my favorite restaurants) next door. Every time I've seen the paper lanterns softly glowing in the windows, I've made a mental note to stop in there...sometime. I just don't like going out to eat by myself, especially if it's a new place, because it's a lot more fun to share that experience with someone else. If it's a good meal, you have that shared joy of discovering a new treasured place to eat. If it's bad, you have someone to commiserate with and laugh about it later. Anyways, it's been at the back of my mind to go there for a while.

I loved it, and not just because the food was delicious. I will admit I am easily pleased, so it doesn't take much to make me happy. And I've also never eaten at a Japanese restaurant before. But from the tasty udon to the view to the quiet music, it was kind of magical. It may sound silly, but it felt like I stepped into a Miyazaki movie.

Maybe the more jaded of you might think I'm far too juvenile, to find enjoyment in things like the banners hanging over the entrance of the restaurant and the classical Japanese music softly playing in the background. It was just after noon when we got there, so there really weren't too many other people there. A couple was seated several tables away, and there was a small group further inside celebrating someone's birthday, but that was about it. My friend and I just talked and looked out over the river, the occasional jogger going by, actually managing to eat most of our food with chopsticks. It was the best kind of solitude, if that makes sense.

I don't know, I find something fantastical about experiences like this. I tend to see magic and wonder in the so called "little things." I just get a lot of joy from something as simple as sharing a tasty meal with good company. I enjoy mountaintops and sweeping vistas just as much as the next person, but there's a quiet thrill in discovering new places right near where I live. Things like finally checking out a new store that I've been driving by every day for the past two months to discover they have very cute and affordable clothes; or taking a different route home just to see what's down a different street; just shaking myself out of my routine and forcing myself to look at the world around me with fresh eyes.

I like to think of it as being a tourist in my own city. When you're from out of town, everything is exciting and worth investigating. "What's that place? Why is that big sign there? What's over here? Let's go down these steps or walk across this bridge." It's easy to drive by something all the time and just not see it anymore. Or telling yourself, "Oh, I'll get there someday sometime, just not today."

If I see something interesting and I don't really have anything on my agenda, I'll stop, just to say I checked it out. The worst that could happen is that it's not really that neat, but it only took five minutes or whatever out of my day--no big loss. However, if it's awesome, then I have a discovery to share! That's how I found my favorite places to get chai tea, the perfect sandwich, good quality shoes, excellent bread, and now Japanese food: I took the time to explore simply because it's fun and you never know what you might discover.

The Gunnar Collective

I was invited just last night to check out an art opening this evening in Northeast Minneapolis. I was especially excited to go, because it's the inaugural show by the Gunnar Collective.
What is that, you may ask? Well, I went to Northwestern College in Roseville, MN, graduating in December 2008. The artists who showed their work tonight were a few years behind me. The name of the group comes from something that is scrawled high up on one of the walls in the main studio: "A. Gunnar." Apparently, a student from about 10 years back wanted to leave a lasting mark on the art department before he graduated. Now he's got an artists' collective named after him!
These students started getting together and doing critiques on Wednesdays last year, and wanted to push themselves out of the college "bubble." One thing led to another, and someone's basement has now been transformed into a gallery space! Tonight was great, because, if there's one thing you learn in the art department at Northwestern, it's how to present your art really well and throw a great opening (meaning, have good food and fun conversations).

The art on display ranged in subject matter and media but felt very cohesive overall when viewed as a whole. My favorite pieces were a series of four photos of parking spaces by Jason Wynia. Sounds kind of boring to describe them, but they were quite ephemeral and haunting. Snow outlines the empty black space where the car was, tire tracks cutting through the emptiness, footprints the only human presence. I've seen my share of urban photography (decayed buildings, smoke stacks, city skylines, etc, etc ad nauseam), but this is something I haven't seen before. It felt very fresh to me and wasn't trying to be too precocious. I wouldn't mind having one of those on my wall.

I also liked the performance pieces, which can be quite tricky to pull off. You have to find that delicate balance between accessibility, getting your idea across but not so heavy handed that viewers feel like the artist is talking down to them or being so esoteric that the audience gets turned off.
The first piece was birds made from snow by Hannah Lagoon. They were scattered around the gallery and slowly melting. As the basement is fairly old, the floor sloped at interesting angles, so the water was pooling in bunches here and there. I don't think some people even realized that it was a piece, as I saw a few visitors standing in the puddles.
The other performance was far more jarring and discomforting. Ever seen the movie Donnie Darko? Remember Frank?

This freaked the crap out of me when I saw that movie

Take the creepy down just a couple notches, subtract some clothing, add mud, and you get the monster rocking in the corner. I was too chicken to poke him or interact at all, but I think that was the point. It definitely lived up to its title: "Unsettled." I don't know where Rachel Moretto came up with the idea for that, but it totally made the show in my opinion. You're walking along, like, "Oh, some minimalist watercolor paintings....black and white photos....sculpture on the floor.....Gah! What is that and why is it looking at me? Wow, this basement suddenly feels a lot smaller....Okay, it can go away now."
It added a nice note of discord, that without it the show would have been good but not so memorable. Everything else then took on a bit of that off-ness, and I looked at the rest of the work again, made aware of what might lie beneath the surface, focusing on the meanings more than I did on my first look through.

Overall, I was really impressed with the Gunnar Collective's first outing. There were a few pieces I was pretty ambivalent about, but when I consider that some of the artists are still in college, I at least could see the beginnings of their artistic explorations. I'm interested to see what these artists will be making five years down the road. They're making a good start.

(And don't think I'm some sort of art savant--they had cards with a map of the space with all the titles and artists listed)

Art Submissions

Today, I have already submitted work twice in response to calls for art posted on MN Artists. It's pretty tedious and time consuming, but that's how I get my art shown. The thing is, no two submission processes are the same. Each one requires you to label, arrange, re-size, and write about the work in completely different ways. This one requires a full artist resume, that one wants a one page summary, another does't want any supporting documents. And if you don't follow the directions exactly, down to the most minute detail, they'll just throw your submission out. They don't have time for artists who can't bother following directions. If you don't submit work exactly as asked, it also reflects poorly on how serious you take being an artist. It also depends on what kind of call for art you're responding to. Colleges, art galleries, and contests tend to have very specific, detailed instructions, whereas a coffee shop or restaurant just wants to keep it simple so their time isn't getting wasted.

I have gotten a number of shows so far by physically handing a CD, burned with images of my art and contact info, to a proprietor of a space. But that's like cold calling someone for a job--sometimes you get a bite, but most of the time you get nothing. It pays to be prepared though: I had work at Beloved for six months last year; I didn't even know they had a gallery space before I walked in the door. I was there for a tattoo consultation that day, but because I had a CD on hand, they saw my art right away and I came across as someone who is serious about being an artist. There's nothing worse than telling someone you make art and not having any way to show them some work when they ask. People are more likely to look at the art if there's a tangible thing to put in their hands, rather than trying to remember a random website later that was written down on a scrap of paper.

Today is the first time in a while that I've sat down and seriously focused on submitting work. Since November last year, I'd totally slacked off in this. I don't why, but I lost all my motivation and drive to respond to any art calls. I let a lot of good opportunities pass me by, not feeling like taking the time (maybe an hour at most for submission, which really isn't that much). I stopped being really proactive about leaving my art CDs at places. I haven't made much art this winter either. In 2010 through the beginning of 2011, I made over 100 different pieces. Since the end of last summer, I've completed maybe 15 paintings, and only this past month gotten serious about finally deploying the rest of the Doily Ninjas. It's just been within the last month that I've gotten back into some serious art making. I don't know what threw me off my game so much either. I just didn't feel the push that I normally do. I'm usually pretty good about using my time effectively and consistently working on art making...but up until this month, I'd been so uninspired. I'm just tired. And not particularly in a physical way, it's more in a mental way. Physically I always struggle with low energy reserves due to my health issues, but that never stopped me in the past. I've learned to manage and work around my fatigue if I really want to get something done.

I don't know, maybe it's just a seasonal funk. I'm trying to not let my emotions get the best of me and get back on track to get my work out there.

Like here!

Faithfulness

This morning at church, my pastor was continuing a series on generosity. The main Bible passage that he was expounding on was Luke 12: 35-48 (which I will share here so you don't have to look it up on Google):

"Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour your do not expect.

Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?" And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find doing so when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

I normally don't feel the need to recap sermons from church and blog about them, but something from the message really stuck out to me today. I know it's a lot of verses to think about at once, but you need to know the context for the one that spoke to me. The gist of this whole passage is that Jesus is talking about the faithfulness of those who say they follow him. He is the master, I am the steward. Jesus mentions four kinds of servants: the first is faithful and responsible; the second one acts like there is no master and believes that what he has been put in charge of is his, dominating others and being a glutton, living only for instant gratification; the third servant knows what the master wants and just doesn't do it; the fourth doesn't know the master's will and does wrong. Each receives an appropriate reward or consequence for their behavior.

(As an aside, it's not religious behavior, going through the motions just to get the cookie or gold star that I'm writing about here. Jesus never mentions that. As my pastor pointed out, Jesus is talking about faithfulness. What the servants know of the master and how they respond is the point. We are saved by faith not empty works. I can't do anything to save myself or make God love me more. I want to be a faithful servant not because doing so will get me into Heaven, but because I'm already loved and my behavior overflows from a thankful and joyful heart.)

The verse I highlighted is the one that won't get out of my mind. It's very sobering, and reminds me that talk is cheap and easy. Action is much harder and requires following through on what I say I believe. The outright hedonism of the second servant is easy to condemn and the punishment is just--I know that I'm not my own master, and that God has entrusted me with many resources that I need to manage wisely. So I'm not the fourth servant either--I know God's will (in this area at least). So that means I'm either the faithful steward...or the defiant one. Do I know what God wants and desires for me to do and carry it out faithfully, even when it's hard....or do I just give Jesus the middle finger and go about my own business, knowing full well that it's not what I really should be doing? I'm still a Christian, redeemed by Jesus, saved from Hell....but when I get to Heaven, I really don't want to hear, "You could have done so much more with what I gave you." Or even worse, "Why were you so faithless?"

Sitting in church, I was very convicted with the realization that I'm the I-know-but-I-don't-care servant. I say I love Jesus and go to church and read my Bible and blah blah blah. I can have all the Bible knowledge in the world, but it doesn't mean squat if I'm not doing anything about it. Theology doesn't mean anything if it's only filling my head and not my heart. If my day-to-day behavior isn't reflecting what I say I believe, then I don't really believe what I say. And you can quote me on that. (Especially if it's right after I've just done something blatantly wrong; it's good for me to eat humble pie, particularly if it's my own words coming back at me.)

In talking about faithfulness in generosity, people tend to think of money first and foremost. It's easy to write a check and feel like I've contributed to something. I can say I'm pretty generous with my monetary resources--I regularly give funds to missionaries, charitable organizations, my church, to those in need. It really doesn't take that much effort. There is more to generosity than that. Money, sure. But what about giving of my talents? Okay, volunteering, teaching, sharing my art knowledge. Yeah, it takes a little bit of effort. Now what about giving my time? Not just volunteering, actively doing something I choose, but building friendships, deep relationships, giving of myself, sacrificing comfort and ease to be face-to-face with someone else and being real. Sacrificing "me time." Oooh, now that's a lot harder. It's easy to do something without engaging my heart.

But God calls me to love. And love is many things: patient, kind, not envious or boastful, not arrogant or rude, not always insisting that things go my way, not irritable or resentful, not rejoicing when things go wrong for others. Love endures through trial and perseveres, not giving up simply because it's not convenient or a little too much work. (paraphrasing 1 Corinthians 13:4-7) Damn. Being a follower of Jesus is hard.

I know what's what. So the question is what am I going to do with that knowledge? Faithfulness...or defiance?

The Elephant Room Round 2: Quote Dump

Okay, so I said I would write individual posts for each quote that I wrote down from The Elephant Room....but, to be honest, I'm tired of writing about it and want to blog about other things. So I'm going to dump all the rest of the quotes into this post and be done with it. Here you go:

In reference to "doing church," T.D. Jakes said, "We keep trying to formalize that which isn't a formula."  People can get so hung up on the order and ritual of how to do a church service that they lose focus of what's important. It doesn't matter whether the offering is collected before or after the sermon. Worship can be accompanied by an organ or an electric guitar. There's not one "right" way to do church. I think God was smart to not say in the Bible how the first Christians conducted their services. The message always stays the same, but the mode of communicating it needs to adapt to speak to the culture. Mark Driscoll posed a poignant question: "If people meet Jesus, is there a wrong way to do that?" He also reminded the naysayers and nitpickers that "it's easier to be a critic than a pastor."

In a discussing leaders failing in the church, James MacDonald pointed out, "Fifty percent of leadership is self-management." As leaders, there is more at stake if one should fall, so there needs to be accountability sought out and submitted to. No man is an island. And those who fail are at fault and must take responsibility for their actions. But as T.D. Jakes noted, "We have not been taught to scream [ask for help]." Pastors and ministry leaders think they have to be perfect, as if to admit weakness were to be a failure....when all you're admitting to is that you're human! As I've written about before, I find that mindset ridiculous. Crawford Lorritts said, "Your identity is not your ministry." Any Christian's order of priorities (especially those in leadership) needs to be God first and foremost, followed by family, then your work (ministry related or not). He also pointed out that those who are owning up to failure must have the right heart behind the confession: "If they're concerned about their reputation, they're not repentant." But many leaders are afraid to admit their failures, because they worry about unforgiveness or retribution from those in their churches. As Mark Driscoll has stated before, "Hard words create soft people, soft words create hard people." If people are hearing the truth of the Bible--justice and mercy, that sin needs to be truly repented of and dealt with and forgiven--and seeing that faith lived out in their leaders, they will follow that path as well. Christians don't need to be perfect people, we need to be repentant people! We need to extend grace and hold people accountable. We must not enable sin, but we also don't want to make those who have failed afraid to repentant.

Loving communication within the church is so needed right now. Civility in our country and churches has been lost, and we all suffer for it. We demonize and shun those we don't agree with, turning it into a game of Us vs. Them. T.D. Jakes called that out: "We've got to learn to talk to each other, or we're going to die." The church doesn't need more division and strife. We've got to draw together and remember that we serve the same Jesus. Satan loves when Christians despise one another, because his work is already done. Jakes gave a good reminder, "If the leaders are loving the people will be as well." We can't let our preferences become our prejudices. Jack Graham encouraged reaching outside of our comfort zone and building friendships, "When I know you, I can love you." Some of the best and longest lasting relationships can be found in the most unexpected places. Crawford Lorritts shared wise advice he was given as a young man, "Don't let anybody tell you who your friends can be!"

And that last quote was my favorite for the day.

Grad school a no go (for now)

I got an e-mail the other day informing me I wasn't accepted into the graduate program at the University of MN. I'm a bit bummed out, but not too surprised. I know they got over 100 applications...for 8 spots. That's about 1 person accepted per discipline area. So, no grad school this year, but I'm trying to figure out what I should do next.

I like my job, but it's not a career track job for me. I'm itching lately to do....something, I don't know what. I just know I can't lose my drive and settle into a rut. If I don't push out of my comfort zone, I'll just stay there and not do anything of worth with myself. I'm just trying to figure out what I should do! I do know that I want to take another vacation this year. I hadn't taken a major one in three years until my road trip with my sisters last summer. Elisabeth is a lot happier when she's had some time off to relax and see the world.

The funny thing is, when I was younger I thought I'd have my life all figured out by the time I was 22....I'm going to be 25 in March, and I still don't know what I'm going to be when I grow up. I just assumed I'd be married and have kids by now. Apparently, God's plan is a little different than mine!

I'm trying to enjoy each day as it comes my way, but also plan for my future. I want to enjoy the present and be smart about the road ahead. I just don't know what my next step should be right now. Hey, God, how about some flaming letters on the wall telling me what to do? That'd be nice.

Doily Ninjas Deploy!

It's funny--I started this blog to talk about my art, and I think I've written all of two posts so far on that subject. I guess I like to create art more than write about it. Well, I'm going to rectify that mistake and try to share more about my art and what I get up to as an artist.

This past Sunday, I scattered a handful of Doily Ninjas around Minneapolis. Thankfully, I'm friends with a great photographer, Lois Babatz, so she documented where I left them all. She got some beautiful shots of the city and my ninjas. Here's a few of my favorites:

#68 near W Lake St in Uptown Minneapolis

#22 on the Sculpture Garden bridge in Minneapolis

#77 on Main St NE in NE Minneapolis

#85 leaning against a power line pole in North Minneapolis

at Washington and Dowling in North Minneapolis

If you come across one of my Doily Ninjas and take it home with you, I'd love to see a picture of where it winds up. You can send me an e-mail: elisabeth.preble@gmail.com