Friday, April 20, 2007
Inspiration
Something dawned on me recently that quite surprised me. Before I get to that, I'd like to talk about inspiration. As an artist and writer, I take inspiration from many, many things. Science, the woo-woo mysteries of life, birds, flowers, children, historical events, small human behaviors, technology, the interesting juxtaposition of words and the sounds of words, and, of course, the creations of others, be they books, art, movies and music. I'm never sure how all of these things will come together, or what the result will be. My latest realization came to me while listening to a U2 CD. As I was listening, the music translated into images in my mind. This has happened before with U2 music. It has also happened with the music of Duran Duran and Ultravox. The result is that I'm inspired to create visual art with the songs of U2 et. al. The surprise about this is that I've been listening to the music of Dave Matthews Band a lot these past couple of years and it makes me want to write stories. It wasn't until I re-listened to U2 that I saw the difference. U2's music doesn't have the story-writing effect on me, not in the least. U2 inspires visual art, DMB inspires literary art. I don't know why this is, but there it is.
So, now, what inspires you to fits of creativity? Feel free to be more specific than I was. (Science, sheesh! That about covers everything, doesn't it?)
So, now, what inspires you to fits of creativity? Feel free to be more specific than I was. (Science, sheesh! That about covers everything, doesn't it?)
Labels: album art, children, creativity, dave matthews band, duran duran, inspiration, music, rocket science, technology, u2, ultravox, writing
Friday, November 10, 2006
Kids These Days
I'm going to sound like a grousey old person for a moment.
My youngest son came to me the other day - bored. Ho hum. He wants something interesting to do. He's tired of being entertained with the computer, the TV, the video game consoles. This is a kid who's fascinated with all sorts of stuff - Japanese culture, Norse myths, Green Day, just to name a few, so it's rather odd to hear that he's bored. I told him he needs a hobby and started running through the things I used to do as a kid, back in the "good old days," when we didn't have so much electronic distraction. My electronic distractions were record & cassette players, radio & TV. I was a teenager when MTV came on the air. I listened to Duran Duran (Duran-squared for die-hard fans) and Ultravox incessently.
Even with this incessant listening, I had time to draw, read, learn embroidery (not very well--ripping up the instruction book didn't help), teach myself how to make a marionette, read, crochet, plot astrology charts, read, take part in afterschool theater, go bike riding, hang with friends, make and collect bookmarks, and read. I messed with making "old" paper using tea bags and coffee grounds in the upstairs shower. I even burned the edges to give the paper a more distressed look. Then I used a sheet to write a poem in my fanciest handwriting. (I still have blank sheets of this paper, plus the one with the poem, which is called "The Tree Stands Alone.")
It dawned on me as I was relaying the story about making paper to my son that maybe he doesn't have enough hands-on, physical hobbies. There's something very satisfying about interacting with items in a physical way. How many kids these days, through their constant interaction with electronica, are missing this? How many will figure out that this is a fabulous solution for that doppy-headed feeling electronica induces? It's about balance.
I imagine that adults used to say that "kids these days" phrase about me and my cohorts when we were kids, so I'm sure kids these days will figure things out in their own time. But, we adults needn't be lax, either. We should be doing our part to introduce our children to a variety of activities - whatever it is we think they might be missing. I, for one, will be showing my son that old paper. I've also discovered an old calligraphy pen and some ink that he might like to experiment with. Maybe he can make that leather-bound book he so desires to have and overcome that boredom.
My youngest son came to me the other day - bored. Ho hum. He wants something interesting to do. He's tired of being entertained with the computer, the TV, the video game consoles. This is a kid who's fascinated with all sorts of stuff - Japanese culture, Norse myths, Green Day, just to name a few, so it's rather odd to hear that he's bored. I told him he needs a hobby and started running through the things I used to do as a kid, back in the "good old days," when we didn't have so much electronic distraction. My electronic distractions were record & cassette players, radio & TV. I was a teenager when MTV came on the air. I listened to Duran Duran (Duran-squared for die-hard fans) and Ultravox incessently.
Even with this incessant listening, I had time to draw, read, learn embroidery (not very well--ripping up the instruction book didn't help), teach myself how to make a marionette, read, crochet, plot astrology charts, read, take part in afterschool theater, go bike riding, hang with friends, make and collect bookmarks, and read. I messed with making "old" paper using tea bags and coffee grounds in the upstairs shower. I even burned the edges to give the paper a more distressed look. Then I used a sheet to write a poem in my fanciest handwriting. (I still have blank sheets of this paper, plus the one with the poem, which is called "The Tree Stands Alone.")
It dawned on me as I was relaying the story about making paper to my son that maybe he doesn't have enough hands-on, physical hobbies. There's something very satisfying about interacting with items in a physical way. How many kids these days, through their constant interaction with electronica, are missing this? How many will figure out that this is a fabulous solution for that doppy-headed feeling electronica induces? It's about balance.
I imagine that adults used to say that "kids these days" phrase about me and my cohorts when we were kids, so I'm sure kids these days will figure things out in their own time. But, we adults needn't be lax, either. We should be doing our part to introduce our children to a variety of activities - whatever it is we think they might be missing. I, for one, will be showing my son that old paper. I've also discovered an old calligraphy pen and some ink that he might like to experiment with. Maybe he can make that leather-bound book he so desires to have and overcome that boredom.
Labels: astrology, boredom, duran duran, green day, hobbies, kids, poetry, ultravox
Friday, October 20, 2006
Playing Favorites
I feel compelled to explain the Seth Godin jag I've been on lately. Whenever I'm impressed with a writer, an artist, a band or musician, I tend to snarfle down whatever I can find by said creative person. I've not gone off my rocker or slipped into some obsessive ga-ga world that I can't get out of, although that's the way it might appear to those living outside my cranium. When my aesthetic has been tickled, I binge with delight until the intensity wears off. And, it WILL wear off. The length of the binge depends upon how much material the artiste has created and how varied that material is. In the past, I've binged on Duran Duran, Ultravox, Enya, Neil Gaiman, Carol Bly, Christopher Moore, U2, Peter Mayer, Queen, INXS, Matchbox 20, Conversations with God, self-help books, Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, unsolved mysteries, Alfred Hitchcock short stories, quilting, beading, ABBA, homeopathy, Depeche Mode, Dave Matthews Band, Moby, marketing, feng shui, astrology . . . the list goes on (and I see that I've also binged on topics, as well as artistes). Once the intensity of my interest subsides, I fast, sometimes deliberately avoiding said artiste or topic for a time. It's at this time that my brain seems to be deciding what I'm going to incorporate into my quirky worldview, and what I'm going to discard as pure bunk or clutter. However, the fondness for past favorites never goes away. When I return to one of them, my thrill returns, but not in its original technicolor splash. Instead, a soft pearlescent affection overcomes me.
Seth, too, shall pass.
Seth, too, shall pass.
Labels: astrology, creativity, dmb, duran duran, moby, music, seth godin, ultravox
Monday, September 25, 2006
FtTP - Ultravox + Madonna
Ultravox was one of my favorite bands in high school. I've also been quite fond of Madonna through her various incarnations. (It's fun to see what she'll come up with next.) However, I never would've thought to put the two together. Thankfully, someone else did. I was searching for Ultravox on YouTube yesterday and found this dandy video: Madonna vs. Ultravox-Love in Vienna. It's a fascinating splice of Madonna's Substitute for Love and Ultravox's Vienna. It was posted by the avatar Avestan. I can only assume that Avestan is the one with the creative mash-up skills. Very cool.
Labels: frankensteining the talent pool, FtTP, madonna, ultravox, youtube
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Life of the Mind, Life of the Body
Most of us have heard of the phrase "life of the mind," usually used as a positive reference to someone who leads a life with lots of mental work. I love mental work and do a ton of it. However, if I do too much in one sitting, my head starts feeling doppy. When I look up from my mental work or step away from it, I feel as though I'm living in a half-dimension. My vision is blurry. I've been away and it's hard to come back to the real world.
But, oh! That real world is so critical to the mental world. I've found that it's just as important to live a life of the body as well as a life of the mind. Now, some might think the phrase "life of the body" seems akin to living a life of the flesh, as though I'm promoting prostitution or something. Regardless of your thoughts on THAT topic, we don't tend to give a lot of credence to our physical selves until they fall into a disease state. Then we realize how critical our physical selves are to our mental selves. In fact, too much mental work, which I've been indulging in lately, tends to make my physical self ill. It's as though my body is screaming for attention. And it is. Rest, outright snoozing and engaging in physical labor all make me feel better and recharge my creative energies.
When I behaving sanely, I always intersperse my writing time (major mental work) with something physical. It feels a little crazy to admit this, but I like to take dance breaks. Sometimes I even warm up for writing by dancing first. It gets the wiggles out and settles my mind.
Songs I use to warm up:
Queen: Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy & A Kind of Magic
Michael Buble: Fever
Ultravox: Vienna
ABBA: Take your pick of songs
Belly: All of these are from the album Star -Feed the Tree & Slow Dog & Gepetto (This last one will really get your blood moving)
Once in a while I'll throw in some Gwen Stefani or Madonna.
Now, if people could see my dancing, they'd probably laugh at me. Tough cookies. As long as I do it alone, what's the problem? It's just me and God and God doesn't care how I look.
But, oh! That real world is so critical to the mental world. I've found that it's just as important to live a life of the body as well as a life of the mind. Now, some might think the phrase "life of the body" seems akin to living a life of the flesh, as though I'm promoting prostitution or something. Regardless of your thoughts on THAT topic, we don't tend to give a lot of credence to our physical selves until they fall into a disease state. Then we realize how critical our physical selves are to our mental selves. In fact, too much mental work, which I've been indulging in lately, tends to make my physical self ill. It's as though my body is screaming for attention. And it is. Rest, outright snoozing and engaging in physical labor all make me feel better and recharge my creative energies.
When I behaving sanely, I always intersperse my writing time (major mental work) with something physical. It feels a little crazy to admit this, but I like to take dance breaks. Sometimes I even warm up for writing by dancing first. It gets the wiggles out and settles my mind.
Songs I use to warm up:
Queen: Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy & A Kind of Magic
Michael Buble: Fever
Ultravox: Vienna
ABBA: Take your pick of songs
Belly: All of these are from the album Star -Feed the Tree & Slow Dog & Gepetto (This last one will really get your blood moving)
Once in a while I'll throw in some Gwen Stefani or Madonna.
Now, if people could see my dancing, they'd probably laugh at me. Tough cookies. As long as I do it alone, what's the problem? It's just me and God and God doesn't care how I look.
Labels: body, dancing, god, gwen stefani, madonna, michael buble, mind, music, physical, ultravox, writing
