Time and Temperature

Author-artist Zelda Leah Gatuskin explores the nature of time, human perception, and the social forms we establish to manage our inner and outer realities in this creative non-fiction journal. An introductory section describes her motivation and process. The writings which follow range from impressionistic, stream-of-consciousness styles to more linear works, interspersed with poetry, doodles, collages, and parts of dreams.

Gatuskin first published this thought-provoking collection of art, poetry and prose in a limited artist''s edition in 2003 by producing a few dozen copies in her studio. It was converted to this trade paperback edition in 2009. Like her earlier collection, the highly praised Ancestral Notes: A Family Dream Journal, Time and Temperature is a journey of self-discovery in which Gatuskin addresses a wide range of subjects with compassion, humor, honesty and creativity. The "big questions" she tackled when she began this work in the 1990s are forever with us, and perhaps even more timely as the years go by. In the author''s own words, writing about her process: "My thoughts then, as now, were concerned with the pace and complexity of modern life, humankind''s relationship to nature, what we believe and why and if it''s true. Time-and-Temperature is my shorthand for the deep human need to measure, to pinpoint, to fix ourselves in an inherently fluid reality. Are we getting it right? Might we stop a moment to think and observe? Is this even possible amidst the daily barrage of pop-culture ad-speak, political rhetoric, and our mass media''s insane blend of pacification and fear-mongering?"

Gatuskin''s sincere questions, serious ideas, unusual art, and liberating wordplay will inspire and guide readers as they contemplate their own observations, assumptions and beliefs about life, work, art and society.

From the book: "When we notice where our vocabulary comes from, and where our thoughts come from, and where our fears come from, our likes and dislikes, we can begin to contemplate change."