Keepsake (Compass), Elizabeth Ziman’s fourth record, began when her landlord was considering jacking up the rent and she had to move across the street into a tiny apartment, far away from her recording gear and the baby grand piano on which she loved to write. Or it began when she started keeping a dream journal, writing down snippets of visions in the middle of the night, or first thing in the morning on awakening. Or it began when she started leafing through old journals and diaries, little half-finished snatches of lyrics and couplets and freewriting, and tried to see if she could shape them through to some kind of completion. Well, who’s to say where anything begins or ends? But for Ziman, who records as Elizabeth And The Catapult, Keepsake was definitely a milestone record—the end of one thing, and the beginning of something else. Ziman will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njbYDlIguDw
Ziman: In this documentary, endlessly patient British artist Andy Goldsworthy creates beautiful, quirky art using nothing but natural materials. Using everything from leaves to rocks, from ice to twigs, all of his meticulously built structures are eventually swept away by tides on the beach or melted in the sun. I love that the impermanence and erosion of the pieces are as much a part of the presentation as the creation of them. Watching Andy spend such time and care making a sculpture out of tiny icicles, only to watch the whole thing then fall to pieces, is a testament to Goldsworthy’s passion for the artistic process. I myself will never have that kind of patience, as I can barely get through an entire yoga class, but I most certainly look up to those who do. Also check out his awesome book, A Collaboration With Nature.
