Burst Reach #49: Sit by my fire

Hello my name is Brett, welcome to Burst Reach

(yeah we’re still watching Jackass, sorry not sorry)

How is it already August? How has 2026 flown by so fast? What have I even accomplished this year? I just noticed last week that I have gray hair developing, at least on one side of my head, but it’s only noticeable (to me) in the restroom mirror at my day job, of all the damn places. I don’t know what to make of that, but in some ways it’s a relief. Like oh, I don’t have to keep acting younger than I am, especially since it’s getting harder to feel like it.

I say that but also last month at a friend’s birthday pool party, myself and another slightly older friend kept taking turns going down the waterslide in various ways like, well, jackasses. We learned that laying on your back head first is the most exhilarating way to do it. Add a beach ball to the mix and your impact at the bottom really changes. Nobody else really joined us.

Anyways.

Two weeks ago was the poorly named Twin Peaks Figure Drawing session I hosted at my favorite local bar Elderbrew. Apart from an obnoxious attendee or two, it was a delight. The vibes were immaculate and it was such a wonderful place to draw. I brought a log as a prop and the bar owner had a golden shovel, one of the models brought a coffee cup and the other brought a RR diner apron. I hope we get to do it again sometime.

This past Saturday was a birthday bash for Groovy Grovers. The weather was a bit uncooperative, but I stuck it out and managed to make a little money and spend time with friends.

And September 4th is the next Sketchy Soiree at Adoration Studio!

This will be the third Sketchy Soiree and…sixth? Figure drawing session I’ve put on this year. I’m really enjoying collaborating with different places, working with new models, and getting to meet new people. A couple friends bragged on me at the Twin Peaks session after it was over, saying how good I am at making it fun and setting a good vibe, and I felt really bashful about it at the moment, but I’m kind of proud of it too. I’ve said it here before probably, as well as in other places, but figure drawing is my favorite art practice, and it really feels like a communal experience, and I just want to share my love and that experience with others. A room full of people making art together, regardless of skill level, with good music does a lot of good for my soul.

I do still miss hosting in my own home, especially since we can’t do nudes at any of the places we’ve been doing these new sessions at, but it’s still so fun and fulfilling. My heart is always full afterwards. And I’ve come to this decision that, while my ongoing mystery nerve affliction persists and I can hardly dance anymore myself, I can still keep at least one foot in that world by working with dancers as models as much as I can.

I did spend all day Saturday after the Twin Peaks session dead tired and didn’t leave the house. That’s okay too though. I need more days like that lately.

I’m reading poetry again and trying to get back to work on my own attempt at the medium, with the goal still being to release a zine collection later this year (Johnson City Zine Fest is October 17th!!) and maybe attempting an open mic if I can do it without exploding from anxiety. I got to read some of my own poems alone in the woods to the trees last month and they didn’t sound half bad, so…there’s potential there!

I’m also working on new, personal paintings that are planned to mostly be nudes in various, mostly outdoor settings. It’s slow going, but it is happening. This one is actually about the experience of talking alone to the trees, telling them things you’re afraid to tell anyone else, and letting them absorb your words and anxieties:

Okay, that’s enough for now. I’ll leave you with this new print I debuted this past Saturday, a digital painting called Come Sit By My Fire, named after a Melissa Auf der Maur song:

Take care.