One of my pieces recently accepted is now online.
I had a great experience working with the editors at The Other Journal; they made a lot of suggestions that I think improved the piece.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Art appreciation
I’ve been thinking a lot about art lately. Things like, What compels someone to create art? What point is an artist trying to get across? What’s it like to live as an artist? I’m thinking of art in the strict visual sense.
I’ve had an idea for an essay or even longer piece brewing in my head for quite some time. I can’t quite explain it yet, because I really have no idea what it’s about. But it has to do with visual art and the compulsion to create. I think writers would have a wealth of stories if they looked closely at artists and tried to imagine why they created what they did. Artists are crazy, interesting, creative people. Of course they make for good stories!
This idea has really taken hold of me in the past couple of weeks, and I cannot explain why it has suddenly “popped up.” It’s a “shiny new object,” as writer friend Kristin Dodge-Narjes says. That could be part of it. My memoir is hanging out there, an essay is hanging out there, another essay is hanging out there. And none is completed. I’m terrible at following through, impatient when it comes to revising. But I love creating something new. In my mind, something new has unlimited potential. It can go anywhere. However, the major attraction is that it HAS NOT YET FAILED. Other pieces of writing become frustrating at times, rejected by editors, agents, publishers. It can be discouraging. But that piece still brewing hasn’t been shot down yet, making it much more “shiny” and appealing.
Still, there seems to be something grabbing me by the figurative shoulders and telling me to pursue this piece on art. I can’t shake it, nor do I want to. I’m trying to quiet my mind and determine the path I must take.
I’m trying to read as many essays on art as possible. Not criticism, not analysis, but simply essays. It’s been a little difficult finding something so specific, but I have some leads. Right now I’m reading THE ACCIDENTAL MASTERPIECE by Michael Kimmelman, the NYTimes art critic. I’m reading it slowly to let it all sink in. So far, it’s been insightful and I find myself underlining many passages.
I’ve ordered John Updike’s book of art essays called STILL LOOKING. I’m really excited to dig into that. I didn’t realize he had a book of art essays until I started browsing around on Amazon. “An Oil on Canvas” appears in the book I use for comp class, and I think it’s a great model to emulate.
I guess you could always say I’ve had a strong art appreciation, but it’s not something I often honor and acknowledge. Sometimes I feel that one needs to be an “artist” in order to fully appreciate it, claim it, write about it. But it’s time to get over that.
I’m honoring my “inner artist” today by tagging along on a Bethany field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Museum, and the Basilica of St. Mary. I’m so excited! It’s hard to carve out time to go to those places, and a bus trip is a wonderful excuse. I should be doing work (lots of it!), but it feels great to say “F--- it” for one day.
I’ve had an idea for an essay or even longer piece brewing in my head for quite some time. I can’t quite explain it yet, because I really have no idea what it’s about. But it has to do with visual art and the compulsion to create. I think writers would have a wealth of stories if they looked closely at artists and tried to imagine why they created what they did. Artists are crazy, interesting, creative people. Of course they make for good stories!
This idea has really taken hold of me in the past couple of weeks, and I cannot explain why it has suddenly “popped up.” It’s a “shiny new object,” as writer friend Kristin Dodge-Narjes says. That could be part of it. My memoir is hanging out there, an essay is hanging out there, another essay is hanging out there. And none is completed. I’m terrible at following through, impatient when it comes to revising. But I love creating something new. In my mind, something new has unlimited potential. It can go anywhere. However, the major attraction is that it HAS NOT YET FAILED. Other pieces of writing become frustrating at times, rejected by editors, agents, publishers. It can be discouraging. But that piece still brewing hasn’t been shot down yet, making it much more “shiny” and appealing.
Still, there seems to be something grabbing me by the figurative shoulders and telling me to pursue this piece on art. I can’t shake it, nor do I want to. I’m trying to quiet my mind and determine the path I must take.
I’m trying to read as many essays on art as possible. Not criticism, not analysis, but simply essays. It’s been a little difficult finding something so specific, but I have some leads. Right now I’m reading THE ACCIDENTAL MASTERPIECE by Michael Kimmelman, the NYTimes art critic. I’m reading it slowly to let it all sink in. So far, it’s been insightful and I find myself underlining many passages.
I’ve ordered John Updike’s book of art essays called STILL LOOKING. I’m really excited to dig into that. I didn’t realize he had a book of art essays until I started browsing around on Amazon. “An Oil on Canvas” appears in the book I use for comp class, and I think it’s a great model to emulate.
I guess you could always say I’ve had a strong art appreciation, but it’s not something I often honor and acknowledge. Sometimes I feel that one needs to be an “artist” in order to fully appreciate it, claim it, write about it. But it’s time to get over that.
I’m honoring my “inner artist” today by tagging along on a Bethany field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Museum, and the Basilica of St. Mary. I’m so excited! It’s hard to carve out time to go to those places, and a bus trip is a wonderful excuse. I should be doing work (lots of it!), but it feels great to say “F--- it” for one day.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
All a-Twitter
It took well over a year, but I finally see the value (and fun) of Twitter. I signed up long ago and left it be. Just another thing to check. And I didn't quite "get it." I found myself frustrated over what I saw as "user-unfriendliness" (and still do, actually).
But the tide turned in California. I'm not cool, so I have just a regular cell phone, not a Web-browsing gadget. So all I had was my phone during the long, wet, cold days on the road waiting for the cyclists. But Twitter could keep me updated as to where the cyclists were and what was going on. I loved it!
I got a kick out of getting updates from Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel. Yes, the updates are going out to about a zillion other people, but it indeed is them at the other end.
I like the search functionality of Twitter. I'm going to try to use it to get sources for a book on identity theft I'm doing for Marshall Cavendish. If that works, that will make my day.
In browsing agent blogs, I just heard about #queryfail. Hilarious! What a wonderful idea.
I'm at http://twitter.com/rachael18.
But the tide turned in California. I'm not cool, so I have just a regular cell phone, not a Web-browsing gadget. So all I had was my phone during the long, wet, cold days on the road waiting for the cyclists. But Twitter could keep me updated as to where the cyclists were and what was going on. I loved it!
I got a kick out of getting updates from Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel. Yes, the updates are going out to about a zillion other people, but it indeed is them at the other end.
I like the search functionality of Twitter. I'm going to try to use it to get sources for a book on identity theft I'm doing for Marshall Cavendish. If that works, that will make my day.
In browsing agent blogs, I just heard about #queryfail. Hilarious! What a wonderful idea.
I'm at http://twitter.com/rachael18.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
