DRAWINGS
Various sketches of some house ideas. Drawn as usual on an iPad with Procreate app. There are few things that I enjoy more than coming up with ideas for small houses.
Here are also a few interior images from an ongoing renovation of a small house that I am working on in Haugesund, Norway. At the moment we are testing out various material options, at the same time as we deal with the typical feedback from the municipality! These renders are made from a 3d-model that I export from Rhino to Blender. Blender is one of my favourite 3d-tools at the moment. With relatively simple settings in the Cycles engine, it is possible to produce results like this (even with simple photo textures).
READING
This week I finished reading «East of Eden» by John Steinbeck (1952). All in all, it was a solid book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The story was slightly less dramatic than expected, compared with my other favourite family saga novels («Independent People» by Halldór Laxness and my all-time favourite «Growth of the Soil» by Knut Hamsun come to mind). Steinbeck considered this novel to be his greatest work, and it was intended to express many of his ideas about morality and the choices that one has available between good and evil actions. I interpret it also as a story about a group of good-natured dudes that have to go at life alone, day in and day out without the support of wives or the framework of meaning that could previously be found in a traditional family. As a single dad, Adam Trask did what he could. These circumstances must have been quite unusual in the time period in which the book is set (approximately 1880-1920). The characters were wonderfully quirky. Samuel Hamilton’s character reminded me very much of Geissler from «Growth of the Soil», and Lee also offers an interesting contrast. Of course I can recommend this book.
This one passage about the nature of a creative existence was especially memorable. It perfectly describes why I personally believe the individual to be of primary importance in both society and nature. Much of one’s creative potential can only be realized in relationships with others, but I believe that the best possible society and world will always be one in which there are a lot of free thinkers that are allowed to develop and express their unique perspectives and experiences to everyone’s eventual benefit.
Next up on my list is another book that I randomly came across that seems to be of a similar spirit: «Seize the Day» by Saul Bellow.
REFLECTIONS
In life, you need to make decisions confidently and keep moving forward no matter what. When you are young, you are often asked: «What do you want to do with your life?» «I don’t know», many will say. You are in such a case uncertain. You have to be certain about what you want to do.
Especially as a man, you need to be sure of yourself and hold a sense of agency that provides you with the belief that you can wake up every day, go out into the world and make something awesome happen. This is not to say that you will never feel insecure, nor that it is a reprehensible thing when it inevitably happens. It is unavoidable to succumb to the doubt occasionally, and the bad days offer useful contrast. It is not to say either that you at any given time have to have a specific idea of exactly what you want to do. Part of the fun of existing is that it is always possible to discover new likes and dislikes. It is rather necessary to cultivate a more overarching sense of confidence in your endless ability to change and adapt, and keep the momentum going towards your vision of the experiences that you desire.
Such a way of being does not entail arrogance. Arrogance is a low emotional state that is often borne from insecurity and refusal to accept all sides of reality, and when one is arrogant one becomes easily deterred by failed outcomes (even if the failure actually has nothing to do with one personally, which it rarely does). It is also seldom that arrogance leads to any really good results when one is really put to the test. Genuine, honest confidence on the other hand arises naturally from a solid, irrefutable competence in something. Everything about one’s circumstances is constantly changing and constantly evolving. Competence begins to appear after continual investments have been made in the actions, character, skill, taste and style that constitute an individual personality, often over a long period of time. Exactly what these investments are will always in themselves change, and it is impossible to have them all at once. The fact that different people construct different personalities is one of the things that makes the world (and other people in it) endlessly interesting to explore.
Competence is not achieved in a day, and its construction and evolution is a lifelong project. Every day is an opportunity to add a new element to a personality, no matter how small. The moments of failure end up being just as important to the overall structure as the moments of success. There is a certain glory to be found in agency and self-transformation, regardless of the outcomes that one experiences in any given moment.
MUSIC
I like this song «White Delorean» by Russian band «Sirotkin». I have no reason for recommending this song other than that is is pleasant to listen to in the background! I first came across it when I heard it as part of the soundtrack to the series «Peace! Love! Chewing Gum!» (Мир! Дружба! Жвачка!), which follows a group of young friends as they come of age in a time just after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This song seems to fit perfectly into a peaceful moment from such a period of time. Even though I was very young, I miss the 90s.
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