Dublin Arts Council 'Flow' Event

Last Saturday I ventured out to a new event being held at the Dublin Arts Council called ‘Flow.’ I heard about it from a postcard we received in the mail, but had discarded it since we were going to be out of town. However, a change of events meant I was able to attend, so I eagerly headed out to check out this Wellness event. I was most interested in the Typewriter Rodeo, but also Suminagashi (the art of Japanese paper marbling). Here’s a description of the event from the DAC website:

The second event in Dublin Arts Council’s Art & Wellness Discovery Series will occur on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the historic Dublin Arts Center, 7125 Riverside Drive in Dublin. Dublin Arts Center’s rolling landscape and sweeping views of the Scioto River inspire the event’s theme of “flow.” Components of the ‘flow’ experience are designed to promote immersion, focus and enjoyment while connecting members of the community in creative exploration.

During the Flow event, guests will be able to immerse themselves in visual art, sound and movement activities designed to promote calmness, deep enjoyment and a balanced feeling of well-being and tranquility.

During the entire event
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

• Creation of custom poems on vintage typewriters by Typewriter Rodeo of Austin, Texas
• Instruction by Sue Andrews in Suminagashi, the art of Japanese paper marbling
• Samples from the Seed to Serve Smoothie Bike
• Playing Through street piano

Typewriter Rodeo

https://typewriterrodeo.com/

After speaking to one of the volunteers, I quickly found my way to the room where the pair of typewriter poets were located. Each was sitting in front of a small vintage typewriter (the laptops of their day). Jodi was using a blue Imperial British typewriter she inherited from her mother-in-law; Hence, it had a pound symbol on it, which I thought was cool. I kind of want one now. However, the Remington Sean was using had a much nicer sound, so I was impressed by that.

Jodi told me they’ve been doing this for about six years ever since attending an event in their native Austin, TX. Due to the popularity of making up poems for people and then typing them on a vintage typewriter, they’ve continued this business venture. She told me someone was walking by and happened to ask, ‘what is this, some kind of typewriter rodeo?’ and the name kind of stuck.

I told her it reminded me of the scene in “Before Sunrise” when American traveler, Jessie meets Celine, a young Parisian, and they spend the night wandering the streets of Vienna. At one point they meet a street busker who offers to make up a poem for them on the spot. If they like it, they can make a donation, or not. Not surprisingly Celine was far more impressed with the results than cynical Jessie, but I think they still gave the busker a few quid.

I also asked Jodie whether or not they had ever seen ‘California Typewriter,’ a documentary that streams on Amazon.com all about the fading world of vintage typewriters, which features Tom Hanks in one of the longer segments. Apparently Hanks is a typewriter enthusiast who has been known to occasionally send a typewriter to a serious fan. Not only has Jodie seen the documentary, she actually received a fan letter from Hanks of which she let me see a copy of. She even wrote me a poem about it.

Hanks also wrote Uncommon Type, which contains a short story about a young lady who buys a typewriter at a garage sale only to discover it’s practically considered a toy by the owner of a vintage typewriter repair shop. If I remember correctly he convinces her to buy a more respectable model. The description of the sound the typewriter makes is spot on as Hanks definitely knows the difference between the cadence each model makes.

After buying their book and placing my poems inside for safe keeping, I walked to the rear patio where I tried my hand at Suminigashi, which is the Japanese art of paper marbling. Although the kind of ink and oil may differ, I believe the oil we used was from an oxen or something. The ink was some sort of black ink. I was told to dip a brush into each vat of oil and ink, wipe it off a little so none would drip off, then alternate dipping just the tip of each brush into the center of a shallow tray of water. Each time you dip the brush into the water you get a ring, much like what you might see on the ring of tree, or the contour lines on a topographic map.

It was suggested you could either let the wind form the direction of the rings or you could gently blow on the water. I did a little of both. When you’re satisfied with the results, you dip a piece of paper into the water, and then remove it once the ink has imprinted on it. They placed my print between some newspapers to let it dry, so I walked around to see what else was going on while I waited.

I tried a couple smoothie samples that were whipped up in a blender powered by pedal power (which, funnily enough, is how Ed Begley Jr., the ultimate environmentalist, makes his toast every morning).

I also tried to play a couple tunes on the piano.

Have a great week everyone!