I've been trying to avoid the internet the past few days.
To occupy my time away from the interwebs, I've been reading Patti Smith's " Just Kids."
Let me tell you, this book makes me want to sell everything I own, time travel, and move to New York.
I'm about half way through and I am enjoying this book so much.
The book is mostly
about her, 
and her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, in New York, in the 60's and 70's. She moves to New York, from New Jersey, when she is only 20, and has no where to stay, and doesn't really know anyone to stay with. She's got some guts that I truly admire.The most inspiring, and amazing, thing is how they managed to make it through such hard financial times on such a low income. She doesn't deny worrying about money, but it wasn't something they focused on. She mentions how happy she was that they were free, and that was all that really mattered.
They wrote, drew, made art, and met some incredibly talented, and famous, people. Yeah, there were a lot of drugs involved (although Patti does not do any) , and some extremely hard times, but reading about New York in that era is so exciting.
This book is making me seriously consider my work. Where it fits in, the direction I'm going, the direction I want to be going. It also makes me want to read more biographies on other artists and musicians. I'm finding that it is helpful to read what other creative people experience, how it effects their work, and how they deal with things motivation.
She talks about a time in her life where she thinks about her own art, where she wants to go, how unhappy she is with it, and how she hits a wall. Patti says, "When you hit a wall, kick through it." That quote resonated with me and I will remember it forever.
