Chris Schwaar

Category: Writing

  • Chain of Events

    Last week, my car was hit on the street in the middle of the night and totaled. Now going through the insurance process and the tedium of car-buying, I keep thinking about chains of events, and the affects of our actions. I wonder who hit my car, and what they had been doing that night.…

  • Author Talk with Austin Kleon

    A couple days ago, I had the opportunity to watch a conversation between Austin Kleon and Jessica Abel live. Here are some of my key take-aways from what Kleon had to say: “I’m a student who never went back to school.” “The only way I can [write] these books is ask what I’m trying to…

  • Finding the Purpose

    Upon reading a recent post where I discussed pens and an old friend from high school, my sister Lauren pointed out her wish for a broader why? in the writing. “As it stands,” she said, “it’s warm and innocent and beautiful.” Stop it, I’m blushing. “But if I had a wish,” she went went on,…

  • Pens with Powell

    It’s a practice that begin in 9th or 10th grade. After seeing the old notebooks of my dad, in his neat, printed handwriting. That very day, I ditched my mechanical pencils and my sloppy, middle school handwriting. It took some getting used to. with lots of accidental lowercase letters and flipping my pen around to…

  • Quantity Masks Crudity

    Even crude work becomes impressive in high enough quantity. Like Jason Polan’s Every Person in New York. Pretty much anything becomes impressive or beautiful to us humans in high enough quantity. LEGO clone troopers. Layers of paint. Words repeated a 100,000 times in a row. Sometimes, if you find yourself struggling to create a singular…

  • Monday the 16th

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  • The Distraction Quandary

    Tom Sachs, a New York-based sculptor, gave a interesting TED talk on creativity and standards. In it, he said: “Authenticity also demands endurance. Do it for a long time – whatever it is. Two years, it’s just an interest. Do something for five years, and it’s a hobby. Do something for 20 years, and you…

  • Sunday the 14th

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  • Sharing Paint

    I was toddling around the living room tonight, having closed my laptop for the sake of my eyes not melting out of their sockets, when I heard a cheer from the open window. My street is full of bars and restaurants, and as spring has started to emerge, the weekends have gotten louder and louder.…

  • Friday the 12th

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