Negative Capability

Lingering in the unknown

“Reflect” from my #2024Postcard Project.

I’ve got a bit of January ennui–I’m not ready to call it 2024 ennui with the year still young. I’m settling into my daily #2024postcardproject, three weeks of paper cutting every day. I’ve taken on another year-long challenge, this one to feed my writing, The Stafford Challenge. The goal is to write a poem a day. I’m a titch uncertain about my ability to do this, which is always the feeling that tells me I’m onto something I should try. And there are some stitching projects demanding attention. But. I haven’t quite found a groove. 

Here’s the thing I have to remember: I don’t need a groove. What I do need is to keep spending little pockets of time on my creative life. To aim to consume art and entertainment that spark my brain. To gather in person or online with friends who encourage and challenge me to find the raw and the rich in my work. To linger with negative capability and not run away from it. 

And linger I will do. My co-teacher Joyce Hayden and I are launching the online version of “Reveling in Uncertainty: Embodying Negative Capability” on Monday, February 5, 6-7:30 p.m. We first taught this class at the 2023 Massachusetts Poetry Festival, and what fun we all had. Negative Capability, a term coined by the poet John Keats, refers to the ability to embrace uncertainty, doubt, and ambiguity without succumbing to the pressure of searching for immediate resolutions. It's about dwelling in the "mysteries, uncertainties, and doubts" and finding inspiration within the unknown.

Some days require more effort than others, yet I continue to find ways to settle into my uncertainty–what’s the point? I ask myself often (maybe you do, too?) as I write or draw or stitch or cut paper. Sure, my own amusement. And. Something more? I like to think so. 

If you’d like to explore Negative Capability in your own life, I hope you’ll join me and Joyce. I can’t wait to teach this workshop again, and I would love to see you there. 

Link List:

Books I’m reading: 

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I’m about halfway through and want to quit my job so I can stay home and read (jk, I’d call in sick not quit. I need to work.). 

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. This is my before-bed book. Still dipping into it each night. 

What I’m Watching:

The question is, what should I be watching? I finished Fargo Season 5 and have that satisfied-after-a-good-meal feeling. I’ll take recommendations, but for now, I’m sans a show and feeling okay about it. 

What I’m Eating

This New York Times Cauliflower Shawarma recipe with this flatbread from A Beautiful Mess

Not eating yet, but I intend to soon: King Arthur’s recipe of the year chocolate chip cookies. 

I made these scones, and I’ll make them again (with a titch less salt next time). 

Courses and Workshops Exciting Me. Maybe You, Too!

The Queen Robe Project. Sarahbeth Larrimore talks about loving our bodies as they are like no one else I know. And her aesthetic whirls in my head like a beautiful breeze–dreamy, romantic, beautiful. 

Deluxe Hand Sew a Shirt. Cal Patch is a terrific teacher. I love to hand sew, and I can’t wait to stitch a shirt with her this winter. 

Golmu with Youngmin Lee at Tatter. I adore Younmin’s teaching–she’s patient and clear and understands her craft so fully. Tatter is one of my favorite online venues for workshops. They bring such interesting teachers and projects to those of us who can’t get to Brooklyn easily. 

Creative Prompt:

I’ve been exploring tea bag art lately. Next time you have a cup of tea, save the tea bag after it has steeped (if you’re a loose tea aficionado, suffer through one tea bag-made cuppa, will you?), dry it, empty out the tea leaves, and then use the tea bag to make a piece of art: try watercolors, a pencil, your favorite pen, a needle and thread–and make some marks. They don’t have to be representational. They can be lines, circles, doodles. Try working without a plan and see what happens.

Thanks for reading this!

Peace,

Beverly