hiatus

As you've doubtless noticed, my commitment to the blog in most of 2007 has been, umm, variable shall we say. This is due mostly to the best of reasons - too busy enjoying myself to write anything.

It is also true that our life in London has been in a state of flux for the last six months or so; in those circumstances I find it very hard to devote the mental energies towards creative output. Writing, photography, they've all been starved a little recently. Everything's fine - DonJuanna is fine - we've just been wrestling with the ups and downs of living here and I need a certain calm to write comfortably.

(Who said writing should be comfortable, right? There's a whole aside here that I've wondered about often, how I think one mark of an artist is to be in a state of mental or physical discomfort, transcend it and still be able to write, or paint, or photograph, or whatever it happens to be. It can illuminate that state and help us all understand or empathise with it. For instance, I look at photographers observing intense moments, notably war or press photographers. In those circumstances I wouldn't have the presence of mind to put my own specific feelings aside and just keep taking pictures. Instead I'm the observer, open-mouthed and cowering on the edges of frame thinking later "I wish I'd taken a picture of that". Conclusion, I am not the artist I would like to be, perhaps one day.)

I can see the calm approaching, but it's not here yet. Rather than just let the blog languish I decided to say something and put it on hiatus for the rest of 2007. I will post something at the start of 2008, and go from there.

Many thanks,

Juan-Luis