Temporary Community
A few weeks back, during a brutal cold snap, the water around the Lower Harbor ore dock froze to a point where it was safe to walk on. Or safe enough, at least. Having grown up on Lake Superior, I know that her ice is never to be given full trust, but there were enough people out there that I took a stroll myself. I marveled at the cathedral-like interior of the ore dock, and enjoyed walking around little rocky outcroppings and old wood pilings that are normally only accessible via flotation, but what struck me the most was the people. Dozens and dozens of people wandering about, enjoying the beautiful day, shoveling snow off of ad hoc ice rinks - there was even a group that had hauled a grill and coolers out. It struck me that this is community, people gathering in this temporary third space, getting along, helping each other in slippery spots. The temporal nature of it is what made it so special, just a few days later someone fell through and everyone was told to stay off the ice. In warmer months, you'll be fined or at least warned if you're caught wandering around the ore dock. But for a few days this February, those rules, as well as our inhibitions and differences, were suspended.
Ink on Paper
I got to print some really rad business cards for a client of a friend of mine. Really love her design work! I don't do a whole lot of photopolymer printing, so it was fun break from typesetting.
More progress made on the True Power is Kind print. A whole lot went into it, which I'll be making a separate post about.
On the Bench
This past week was National Sauna Week! I caught 3 of the sessions, and look forward to watching the rest once they're posted. One of the sessions talked about the importance of the backyard neighborhood sauna. Inviting people into the heat, into the löyly. We don't need a commercial community sauna for that, we can start with what we have. I've really been taking that message to heart.
Upcoming Events
Still in the quiet period, at this point the first up is Pride Fest!
Other Rambles
A couple months ago I finished the Wheel of Time books. No easy feat, it took me 2 an a half years! But worth it. Since then, Brandon Sanderson (who finished the series after Robert Jordan's passing), has been coming up in my feed with some regularity, and I really appreciated this talk he gave about how, in the age of rapid AI transformation, we are the art. The actual "thing" that gets produced is just the receipt of the process we went through to make it. Worth a watch.
See you out there,
PB