Dispatches from Mt. Caz

What does it mean to be an amateur? Albert, Christina, and Aranea discuss how, contrary to popular opinion, an amateur mindset is great and how approaching things with the passion and curiosity of a beginner can lead to wonderful things.NOTES:Beginner's MindEtymology of AmateurLynda BarryThe full 'Jack of All Trades' idiomHOSTS:Albert Kong, Christina Tran, Aranea PushMUSIC:"Global Tech" from Purple Planet Music

This week, an experiment: an audio essay from Christina for you whenever you may be feeling adrift in your creative process.FOOTNOTESThis audio essay is adapted from the essay “Get Back in the River” by Christina Tran, as part of her Dear Beloved projectOngoingness by Sarah MangusoMagic Lessons podcast with Elizabeth Gilbert and guest (playwright and actor) Sarah JonesMaking Your Life As An Artist book + workbookSpecial thanks to the folks who lent their voices to this week's experiment:Alisha 王 SavsonAlbert KongChris DurninGiulio Leon FloresKate StevensKendra SimsMUSIC CREDITS"Thought Bubble" by Lee Rosevere"Cloudloop" by Lee Rosevere"Plasticity" by blue dot sessions"Systematic" by Lee Rosevere"Fading Liftoff" by Brian PoucherPRODUCED AND EDITED BYChristina Tran

In this episode, Christina, Aranea, and artist-in-residence Lulu look for anything to help us when we are feeling adrift in our creative process. HOSTSAranea Push, Christina Tran, and Lulu Cheng NOTES"Hey everyone! Did you know that Aranea has a Patreon?? Please go and support her there!" ;)"We’ve discussed this before (in episode 7): Sharing is an inherent part of creating something…it’s about having a conversation with someone else and making a connection."Jenny Odell's How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy (or her EYEO talk that initially inspired the book)Follow Lulu on twitter "because of that product management article she wrote a few years ago" (lol)No seriously, subscribe to Lulu's newsletter.Read about the stranger quotient in The Art of Gathering by Priya ParkerRGB house, where they host events like Reading in Robes, Poetry Nap, and Everyone Stands UpChristina's essay about the Neofuturists, and how the format belongs to everyone. (Kurt Chiang's "onion article headline" after Too Much Light ended.) (Some neofuturist plays by Amy Langer.) (Go see a show if you're in NY, SF, or Chicago!) MUSICDispatches by Kaori Sato EDITED BYChristina Tran 

We're taking a biannual break during December to recharge. We'll be back in January with new episodes! In the meantime check out our  Dispatches Field Guide for episodes that explore what Mt Caz is all about as well as some of our favorites!Happy Holidays!MUSICOpen Road by Purple Planet MusicEdited by:Aranea Push

In this episode, four non-masters question the conundrum of power, equity, and education through stores over tea.We share stories of our best learner selves, our worst teaching failures, and what draws us to learning and teaching (inside and outside traditional institutions of education). HOSTSAlisha Savson, Aranea Push, Christina Tran, and Jen Hernandez NOTESMaria Popova’s Brainpickings, an "archive of her becoming"Paolo Freire's "banking" concept of education, from Pedagogy of the OppressedThe Great British Bake Off learning modelCollege Hill in Corvallis, OREditors' note: Couldn't find a good link about interdisciplinary studies, but it made me think of Evergreen College in Olympia, WA where you create your own majorBrightworks in San Francisco, CAUnschoolingEmpty House Art Lab DIY artist retreatFreedom SchoolsPopular Education (aka participatory education) MUSICDispatches by Kaori Sato Edited by:Christina Tran

In this episode, Christina, Donna, and Kaori talk about making art for healing purposes. How does art help process trauma? How do you deal with twists and turns in the healing journey? What are the risks or fears in sharing our art when we're using our artistic practice to process trauma? What does all this have to do with poop?Alt episode title: I SHALL BE GENTLE! Hosts:Donna Chan, Kaori Sato, Christina Tran Notes:Solo Performance Workshop (Martha Rydberg)Donna's performancesKaori's Instagram Music:"Fading Liftoff" by Brian Poucher Edited by:Christina Tran

In this episode, Albert, Christina and Aranea discuss the idea of abundance. We talk about specific examples that opened our eyes to the comfort that comes when we live with enough. We also discuss the difficulties that arise as practicing abundance requires us to be vulnerable and interdependent. Also, Aranea never learns how to say plenitude...Hosts:Albert Kong, Christina Tran, Aranea PushNotes:USDAC's Guide to Honoring Native LandChristina's Billfold article: Tracking Abundance in Our Grocery BudgetLewis Hyde's The GiftDavid Graeber's many booksMusic:"Greel Praree" by Nathan Nolte as sQriEdited by:Aranea Push

In this episode Aranea, Albert and Christina do a debrief of the Public Domain Variety Show, a recent event hosted at Mt. Caz. We share what we've learned from amateur event production and we discuss how a small group can deal with things like energy, scale as well as teaching newbies like Aranea how to run an event. Hosts: Aranea Push, Albert Kong, Christina Tran Notes: Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers and Changemakers Felix Revolts 1920s History in Oregon Check out photos from the event! Music: Off Again On Again Blues - Frank Westphal and His Orchesta (now in the public domain!) Edited by: Aranea Push

"We need more friends who will say, Trust me: I’m going to send you to a random place." In this episode, Aranea, Albert, Christina, and visiting artist Danielle Baskin talk about the value of random encounters and pranks in the creative process -- with surprise guest Dori! Hosts: Aranea Push, Albert Kong, Christina Tran, Danielle Baskin Notes: Danielle Baskin, for more info about Oracle Open World, LineCon, Branded Fruit, Giant Cover Letter, and more Dialup Max Hawkins, including his random Spotify playlist and Off Bot app Ways of Hearing by Damon Krukowski (the one we reference is episode 5 on power) Justice Yeldham (h/t Corvallis Experiments in Noise) Yes Men Music: Roofing Song by Don Ohman Edited by: Christina Tran

Our July artist-in-residence was poet Will Rogers. We sat down to discuss the themes from his book Seeking & Finding, Holding on / Letting Go and it led us to discuss things like art, permission, social justice and finding the joy in everyday things even when it's difficult to do so. Hosts: Albert Kong, Christina Tran, Aranea Push, Will Rogers Notes: Adrienne Maree Brown - Pleasure Activism Naomi Shihab Nye - Gate A4 (We say A10 in the podcast - woops!) Music: Fading Liftoff by Brian Poucher Edited by: Aranea Push

Our June artist-in-residence at Mt Caz was Matteo Uguzzoni, an architect and designer of real-life games and pervasive street games. It was the perfect opportunity to chat about a question that's been on our minds: "Is it real?" and "Does it matter?" In this episode, Aranea, Albert, Christina, and Matteo sit down for a conversation about the ethics of sharing information when creating fictional realities, and the responsibilities that designers have to their audiences. We discuss alternate reality games (ARGs), pervasive games, secret societies, breaking the law, and that Firefly quote: "It's about believing in something and letting that belief be real enough to change your life." Hosts: Albert Kong, Aranea Push, Christina Tran, Matteo Uguzzoni Check out Matteo's work with Urban Games Factory, and his podcast about immersive theater, real-life games, and everything in between called the Playcast. Notes: Improv Everywhere's "Best Gig Ever" Wander Society by Keri Smith Wanderer’s Union Lea Redmond creates wonder-filled objects including Lively Matter Critical City Upload sf0, ingress, & pokemon go [ARG around Cloverfield movie](ARG around Cloverfield movie) Enchanted Forest, the site of all that HexMet talk Sleep No More, immersive theater in NY LARP and consent culture Creating a culture of trust through safety LARP mechanics Music: "not tired enugh" by Nathan Nolte as sQri Edited by: Christina Tran

Hop into the lil roleplay bag with us. In this episode, Laura, Brian, Albert, Michael, and Aranea discuss the spectrum of roleplaying games and the creativity involved in playing and designing them. (Pardon the odd audio quality of parts of this episode. We lost one of the mic's audiofiles. You can pretend that the echoey bit during the last portion are because we are recording in a submarine ~u~n~d~e~r~w~a~t~e~r.~) Question of the Week: What is your best idea for an underwater roleplaying game? Send ideas and games to mountcaz@gmail.com! Hosts: Albert Kong, Michael Kranz, Laura McCaughey, Brian Poucher, Aranea Push Notes: some of the games mentioned in this episode: dungeons & dragons dread fate blades in the dark pathfinder quiet year by avery alder steve jackson’s gurps (generic universal roleplaying system) fiasco by jason morningstar still life by wendy gorman, david hertz, and Heather silsbee pop by alex roberts Music: "ralapeg" by Nathan Nolte as sQri Edited by: Christina Tran

In this episode Nathan, Albert, Christina and Aranea talk about the "I did a thing!" feeling. That feeling of satisfaction that comes from sharing a thing in person. Is it necessary to create art? What kind of projects give you that feeling? Question of the Week: Does your process, creative or otherwise, lend itself to that "I did a thing!" feeling. Why not or why? We'd love to see your answers! Tape them to your fridge and send us a picture at mountcaz@gmail.com Hosts: Albert Kong, Christina Tran, Nathan Nolte, Aranea Push Notes: The photography of Vivian Maier was unknown and unpublished during her lifetime. The photos were discovered later and gained critical acclaim. Music: "Inpultse" by Nathan Nolte as sQri Edited by: Aranea Push

In this episode Brian, Albert, Aranea and artist-in-residence Ahran discuss motivations. What's the difference between motivation and inspiration? Where can inspiration come from? Is the legitimacy you manifest for yourself enough? Question of the Week: How does motivation without inspiration work for you? Do you need the spark of inspiration to create? We'd love to hear your answers! mountcaz@gmail.com Hosts: Albert Kong, Brian Poucher, Aranea Push, Ahran Lee Notes: Nina Katchadourian's Seat Assignment Project Albert's Poetic Twitter Music: "Oceanbound" by Brian Poucher Edited by: Aranea Push

Links: Watch Meow Wolf: Origin Story online Nina Simone on an artist’s duty (It is our duty to suggest you turn off “autoplay” on youtube videos) Meow Wolf DIY Fund Corvallis Experiments in Noise Featuring: Chris Durnin Christina Tran Albert Kong Music: “Spacewalk” by SQRIations Edited by: Albert Kong

In this episode, Aranea, Christina, and artist-in-residence Ahran discuss their creative processes. We talk about the growing pains of building new processes around our values — such as listening to our bodies, believing in our work, sharing our work in ways that foreground connection, and making art for non-monetary purposes. We also open the windows and let in the birdsong. Question of the week: How has your process evolved and what were the challenges during those transitional periods? Hosts: Aranea Push, Christina Tran, Ahran Lee Edited by: Christina Tran Music: "Bird Music" by alexander blu Notes: Ali Wong's Baby Cobra comedy special Amanda Palmer on the creative process of collecting and connecting dots, and her interview+set on World Café A Place of Her Own, an arts based healing and transformation series of workshops culminating in an art exhibition for women, run by Cynthia Tom and Maggie Yee Alison Bechdel's meticulous process, and her large-form drawings, and more she made on a long scroll A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter by Nikki Giovanni

In episode 3, Alisha, Aranea, Albert, Christina, and Mt Caz artist-in-residence Alex Roberts discuss the rhythms of life and escaping the cult of productivity. Are we 'abel' to accept our natural rhythms of being, what are the ways in which we can disrupt our unhealthy rhythms, and how can community support us throughout our journeys? Question of the week: How can we build rhythms into our lives that allow for spontaneity and openness? Email responses to mountcaz@gmail.com (and cc helloalexroberts@gmail.com). Hosts: Albert Kong, Alisha Wang Savson, Aranea Push, Christina Tran, Alex Roberts Edited by: Christina Tran Music: "Word L" by Sqriations Notes: Alex's podcast Backstory includes an episode with special guest and award-winning game designer Albert Kong Jessica Abel on margin; on hard lessons learned; on time tracking in the Creative Focus Workshop Brenda Ueland on moodling time Jenny Odell on "How to Do Nothing" Christina's morning intention is a variation of one described by Tosha Silver in Outrageous Openness (h/t Yumi Sakugawa) John Mulaney on doing nothing "Roses" by Mary Oliver Residencies mentioned in this episode: Mt Caz's AIR and ACA residency Oregon Imagines conference Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block

In this episode, Albert, Aranea, Alisha, and Christina talk about the origins of the name 'Dispatches from Mt. Caz' and the power of language to manifest realities. Question of the week: What is a time you found language for something you previously didn't have before? Email responses to mountcaz@gmail.com Hosts: Albert Kong, Alisha Wang Savson, Aranea Push, Christina Tran Music: "Fading Liftoff" by Brian Poucher Notes: Etymology of Hickey Bar (sort of) Elizabeth Gilbert on Distinguishing Between Hobbies, Jobs, Careers, and Vocation Equality vs. Equity Example Functional Fixedness Austin "Klingon" Kleon's Tweet Award Winning Game We-Ness by Albert Kong Albert's Interview on Back Story about We-Ness

In our introductory episode, we introduce ourselves and Mt. Caz. We discuss making stuff for the sake of making stuff, the catalyzing energy of creative community, and the seasons of an artist's life. Question of the week: What season speaks to you most and why? Hosts: Albert Kong, Alisha Wang Savson, Aranea Push, Christina Tran Music: “Tample” by Nathan Nolte as Sqri Notes: USDAC's Culture/Shift conference Austin "Klingon" Kleon "Impermanence is Beautiful" a zine by Aranea Push Japan's 72 microseasons Jen Hernandez writing about Proxy Art (editor's note: misattributed in episode to the wrong Jen artist! Sorry, Jen's!) Your Boss app by Danielle Baskin