Bobby Rock

The Bobby Rock Newsletter #97 (3-22-23) - The Process, The Practice, and The Progress!

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My Friends - 

Good to be back with you guys for another edition! As always, thanks for giving a few minutes of your time to scope the most recent offerings. Let’s jump right in...

In This Issue:

• The Process, The Practice, and The Progress!: It’s all about the process of our practice if we want to make progress. Let’s take a closer look at a unique artist and a prolific writer to get to the bottom of this one…
  
  
• The Parable of the Old Car: What’s your true value… and are you getting/giving it in your present situation? We got some helpful wisdom here, kids.
  
  
• A Picture’s Worth…: A playful pic from Milan… and the real beauty of black sox.

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Ground trans with the Lita Ford gang from our last outing…

Back at it this weekend (with Warrant on both bills):

Friday, Mar 24th

Black Bear Casino

Carlton, MN 

Saturday, Mar 25th

Treasure Island Resort & Casino

Welch, MN 

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The Process, The Practice, and The Progress!

"Process saves us from the poverty of our intentions.”

-Elizabeth King

Elizabeth King is a fascinating sculptor/artist, although her intricate and unusual work defies any real labeling. I like to call it "robotic, mannequin-like realism in quasi-sculpture form." However, I’m sure the description on her website does it better justice:

Elizabeth King combines figurative sculpture with stop-frame animation in works that blur the boundary between actual and virtual object. Intimate in scale and made to solicit close looking, her work reflects her interest in the history of the puppet, the automaton, the medical model, and literature’s host of legends in which the artificial figure comes to life. She asks, “What is the figure in sculpture now? The representation of the body and its life: can I absorb the news from biotechnology and cognitive science but keep art’s ancient pact with theater?”

But don’t let all of this sophisticated “art-speak" deter you from a bigger takeaway here: 

While I no doubt admire King's work, I am especially drawn to her process. She spends an absolutely insane amount of hours on her various pieces, with unparalleled attention to detail. If anyone ever embodied the idea of engaging daily process of one's work, regardless of the whims of our good intentions, it is Elizabeth King.

After all, most everyone has good intentions about being mega-productive with their work and “getting it done." But without a concrete process that we can engage in—whether we feel like it or not—those intentions will evaporate like steam from a tea kettle before we know it.

The opening quote not only leads off author Seth Godin’s recent book, The Practice, but is also credited by him as being somewhat of an impetus for him writing the book, to begin with.

The Practice is built around the idea that our daily practice, or process, stems from a decision we made about who we are and what we do. As Seth has said (paraphrasing), “Runners get up every day and run, writers get up every day and write. There is no negotiation about this. We already “had that meeting;” our decision has already been made. So it’s not a question of if, but when.” (BTW, The Practice is a killer read!)

All of which leads us back to the question of daily process. Regarding your life’s work, whatever that might be: What is your daily process? What are the steps as you might describe them to a sixth-grader? And, are they all replicable enough that you could simply walk through the steps of your process, with little thought, even on days when you don’t feel like it? The ability to define and deliver on this is what Seth might say separates the pros from the amateurs.

For an intimate look at King’s process, concept, and highly-original art, be sure and scope out the excellent 60-minute documentary, Double Take: The Art of Elizabeth King. (I caught it on Yumi, but I think it might be on Amazon Prime, as well.) Fascinating shit, and really inspiring.

Which leads us to...

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Here’s an old parable that’s been around for a minute, but still serves as a solemn reminder for all of us. I recently revisited a version of it in therapist/counselor/coach/author extraordinaire, Catherine Cardinal’s, newsletter, and thought it was worth sharing with you guys. (Thanks, Catherine!)

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Your True Value

A father said to his son, "You have graduated with honors! Here is a car I bought for you many years ago. It is pretty old now, but before I give it to you, take it to the used car lot downtown and tell them I want to sell it.  See how much they offer you for it.”

The son went to the used car lot, returned to his father, and said, “They offered me $1,000 because they said it looks pretty worn-out.

The father said, “Okay, now take it to the pawn shop and see what they’ll give you for it.” The boy went to the pawn shop, returned to his father, and said, “The pawn shop offered only $100 because it is an old beat-up car that needs a lot of work.

Finally, the father asked his son to go to a classic car collector’s club and show it to them. The son drove it over to the club, returned, and told his father, “Wow! Some people in the club offered $100,000 for it because it's a Mustang Boss 302: an iconic car that is sought after by many collectors!”

Then the father said to his son: "I wanted you to understand that you are not worth much if you are not in the right place. So, in life, if you find yourself in a situation where you are not properly valued or appreciated—do not get angry. It simply means you are in the wrong place. 

Don't stay in a place where no one sees your true value.

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Although I read this several weeks back, it really resonated with me this week for a few different reasons, one of which was Elizabeth King. She is a big-baller in the art world, showing her work at exhibitions and installations for an audience that understands her genius and is willing to compensate her fairly. But imagine if she would’ve somehow stumbled into a path where her work was only displayed at simple arts and crafts flea market-type environments. This obviously would not have been the right audience or platform for her work, and even if she was able to sell a few pieces, it would not be for nearly what she can earn in an environment that truly values what she does. 

The real tragedy of this kind of "geographical disconnect” is twofold: 1) We can easily misconstrue and internalize this sense of devaluation and think that we and/or our work has little value; and 2) There is a metaphorical “hole in the ozone” of the place where we should be thriving (but are not), as our true audience and collaborators are deprived of our gifts. 

So… in the alternative, it might be helpful to imagine, consider, or even brainstorm where the optimal audience, employer, or promoter of your trip might be. Perhaps you are already there.

If not... please get there! The world is waiting...

PS. One other honorable mention on the subject would be Julia Cameron’s excellent book, The Vein of Gold. 

Probably best known for her classic book The Artist’s Way, I always loved this one, as well, as it delves into the unique value of our individual gifts and how to discover them. Scope it!

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A Picture’s Worth…

From the Instagram files: here’s a lighthearted pic I posted as a joke some three years ago… but that continues to make the rounds. (Must be the black socks!) Here’s the pic and original text for your amusement or bemusement… whichever feels right:

A playful moment backstage in Milan the other night: My first priority after every show is to peel off all of my wet clothes… minus the socks, of course, so I can protect my feet from the nasty-ass backstage floors. (And always black socks, because I understand women really love those!)

So on rare occasion when full-size towels are not available (to dry off and cover up), I must adapt, overcome, and improvise… this time, with a fan-made banner. 

#livinthemotherfuckindream

Pic by Patrick Kennison

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Thanks again, everybody. Connect next week!

Until then,

BR

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