Making art is a kind of prayer.

Growing up, I was accustomed to praying before each meal and before bed, hands clasped as was the proper form. Some of it was rote and some of it was felt, but I noticed as I got a bit older that I most regularly felt the presence of the unknown while running.

I actually wrote a related song about the runners’ high for Orange Hour but it did not make it to the album. I included text for it in the accompanying album journal and am sharing the unreleased “Orpheus’ View” below.

Like running, making art is a kind of prayer. It’s an act of faith to work toward bringing to life something no one asked for, something that doesn’t generate currency valued in our society. The process of making art nurtures belief that a better world exists in another dimension and that we should work to bring it to earth now as much as possible. It’s a channel to communicate with mystery, with something divine.

Art-making as prayer occurred to me as I prepared to start working on Bossa Nova 1962/2362. I don’t know what it’s going to sound or look like, and I don’t know how I will fund the full project. But I have faith that it’ll eventually take its form and be a transformative force in my life and hopefully that of others who engage with the music.

Music producer and study buddy Dre and I kicked off the research phase this week with a field trip to the Autry Museum of the American West! I was mesmerized by the expansive Virgil Ortiz exhibition Revolt 1680/2180 at History Colorado two years ago and had been talking for months about going to see it at the Autry, here in LA. I was so excited about it that I even signed up for membership for return visits.

So imagine my surprise when Dre and I tried to continue on after watching the video installation and reading the blurb at the entrance of the exhibition and discovered that this was the entire exhibition … It was a small fraction of what Denver had on display and would have made for a very short field trip had it not been for the associated exhibition on Futurism in contemporary Indigenous art, which addressed many themes I’ve been thinking about and more. I was still happy to support the museum, and I look forward to checking out their Native Voices programming.

I’ve been feeling like Taz (from Looney Tunes), wreaking minor havoc wherever I go, and I need to ground myself by being disciplined about running and managing my time to focus on the bossa project. I hope you find time and space to do what centers you as we go into a second lunar June.

🔊 Currently listening to Bebel Gilberto’s Tanto Tempo per Dre’s recommendation for an artist seamlessly integrating bossa nova with electronics.