Spent last Monday & Tuesday sailing with my nutshell to the heart of Stockholm & back again to these outskirts -- took twelve hours only and I was quite exhausted afterwards. The rest of the week was slightly athletic too because of good friends and the fine weather, and the painter wishes that one could write blogs monthly instead of weekly so that one could do any progress worth writing about. -- It’s not possible. You must write frequently if you're to have frequent readers. -- But works of art are made on another timescale. Rome wasn’t built in one day. Rome is a work of art. Now imagine the Roman centurion ordered to blog about this slow process:
Day 54. Today, we started to build the Coliseum.
Day 55. We’re still building on the Coliseum.
Day 56. Rome is beginning to look fine now.
Day 57. No progress today as we had a meeting about the slow progress. The Emperor wanted to know why Rome wasn’t built in one day.
Day 58. Coliseum, and some bits on the Forum Romanum that we forgot earlier.
Day 59. Coliseum.
Day 60. Coliseum.
Day 61. Today I’ll be thrown to the lions because people don’t read this blog anymore.
Day 62. ************
Yum. As our centurion found out, the modern rhythm of blogs and digital impatience is out of synch with Art and Artists. I deliberately say that it’s the rest of the world that’s out of synch (and possible out of tune, too). In everything electronic, there’s something tiny and ticking and tearing and shearing; pulsating our lives away. One wants these little watches to melt, until Time flows freely as melting camembert from dawn to dusk, divided by Light and Seasons rather than cracking up into minutes, seconds and impossible plans.
Day 64. Hello. I am the new webmaster, taking over from poor Septimus.
Day 65. Coliseum, Coliseum, Coliseum.
When all progress is measured, no true progress can be done. I feel that it’s about time to get proper lives and times back. I feel that it’s time… to feed the lions. I hope that I am tasty.