Burst Reach #44
can't let the ice stop us now, can we?
Hello hello. It is cold and nasty and I’ve had to work my dumb retail job through it because people like shopping even when the roads are freezing and power lines are dropping and they nearly fall and bust their asses walking across the parking lot with a toddler in their arms.
Sorry, I’m a little angry.
Speaking of being angry, let’s get this out of the way:
Solidarity to everyone fighting these fascists in Minnesota and other parts of the country and fuck anyone who supports this atrocious administration or anything it does.
Here’s a reminder that the Pouncepunk Art Challenge co-hosted by Richard Graves and myself on Instagram kicks off THIS WEEKEND. I’ve got three pieces completed ahead of time (Patreon subscribers will have seen them already) and the next is coming along after being redrawn multiple times. Not bad considering everything else going on.
Here’s a fun announcement: Embodied Art Dance will be returning for another life drawing workshop at the Bristol Public Library next month!
This is hopefully the first of many figure drawing events I’ll be facilitating locally, encouraging folks to come out and make art together.
I mentioned some goals for 2026, and one of them was to get a better understanding of poetry. I’ve read four poetry books so far, now on my fifth and with a sixth lined up. I now have this outrageous idea of writing some poems myself and making a zine. We’ll see! A friend requested I share what I write here, but um, I just have some rough drafts so far.
I don’t think I quite get it yet, but I can feel it, and there’s something I like about the brevity of it (a subject I really want to dig into later). I dunno, it feels like it’s making me…better in some ways that I can’t grasp quite yet. And so is the gym! January isn’t even over yet and I already feel so much better than I have for most of last year, despite also feeling like I’ve been on the verge of a cold for weeks! It’s weird? Having more energy again, not needing to rely on caffeine as much as I was, it’s making a difference so much more quickly than I expected. It’ll take longer to notice any real physical changes, but that’s fine, I’m not as concerned about that as much as just how it makes me feel to go exercise and spend some time in massage chairs and a sci-fi tube that blasts my naked body with red light while a floor panel vibrates under my feet…I’ve gotten into the red light therapy machine, what can I say? Just gotta stay consistent with it all.
Oh: my first major event will be ETSU-Con, March 7th and 8th at ETSU in Johnson City! I’ll be working on new stuff for that once I’m finished with my Pouncepunk work!
For the most part, I feel like I’m getting to where I should be. We’ll see if I can truly get there and for how long I can stay there. I started a new sketchbook at the tail end of December and had to make sure I set my intentions should I lose my way.
(I added a David Lynch quote some time after scanning: “FEEL THIS FROM THE DEPTH OF YOUR FUCKING SOUL”)
I feel like there were so many other things I wanted to write about, but I can’t think of them right now. So I guess we’ll just leave it at that for now.
Talk to you soon. Stay warm, look after yourselves and each other. Make some art if you can!