“Freedom to express” strikes me as the creative person’s raison d’etre. I think of creatives as being extra close and sensitive to the ups and downs of life, requiring channels and mediums through which to express feelings, perspectives, experiences, hopefully in ways that connect with audiences. One way to visually illustrate this concept might be a painted silhouette of a person in black, with arms outstretched in a sort of “y” position, with a vast, vivid array of colors and imagery exploding outwards and upwards.
“Freedom to Explore,” then, has a couple of meanings, to me. It implies both the desire to explore new mediums through which to express oneself, as well as the need to return to sources of inspiration when the creative well runs dry. There is no meaningful art without that periodic return to source.
Lastly, “Freedom from Expectation” seems like the ultimate goal of artists, musicians, and creatives. Once your creative voice is established, hopefully you can find ways to honor that voice, no matter what, staying true to your unique perspective on life, across mediums and types of work. This could perhaps be depicted visually by that same person’s silhouette, this time filled with vivid color and imagery, breaking the shackles that hold us back.
These concepts came together for me, particularly, in the antiwar poster project we did for Brit’s class. See below:
Ok. So tonight. Let me preface by saying that I have been going through something of a moderate existential/early-to-midlife crisis following the recent death of a family member (age 30, cancer, devastating), and in this somewhat circuitous but significant way, I wound up going to a Miranda July book signing for her new book called ALL FOURS. I may have (stupidly?) invited an instructor to go with me, possibly overstepping some sort of invisible boundary but honestly, I’m in a bit of a blow-shit-up headspace so whatever. The truth is, I was incredibly glad I went alone. I sat in the front and pretty much hung on to Miranda’s every word. The moderator was very boring but Miranda’s words and ideas and vision were (and are) life-giving. She continues to push boundaries through a variety of mediums in what I consider to be important and thought-provoking and potentially-paradigm-shifting ways, especially for creatives and women (run don’t walk to acquire a copy of her new book).
The venue for this event was the Seattle Town Hall. I had never been to the Town Hall, and was pleased to discover, due to the fact that I needed to complete this overdue blog post, that it is, in fact, a nonprofit. Dedicated to fostering “an engaged community through civic, arts, and educational programs that reflect — and inspire — our region’s best impulses: creativity, empathy, and the belief that we all deserve a voice,” I was impressed by the mission of Town Hall, and by their affordable (and thereby, accessible) event pricing. But more importantly, today, I was deeply moved by the content. There are so many ways that our lives can become stagnant, inundated by the mundane, lacking connection, feeling invisible, overworked and underpaid, etc. And having a community-focused space where all voices and people have a seat at the table- this is so needed. I made an important friend at this event. We will be meeting, as a 2-person book group, to discuss the themes and ideas in this book that stuck with us, maybe try to determine how they might be applied to our individual lives.
The ability to share in the arts and the spreading of ideas in a community-centered way is crucially important. And today, if I had $25,000 cash I might consider dropping it on this organization, which impacted me deeply.
Here’s a cartoon I recently drew that I wish I had brought to hand to the author at this event. I feel like it encapsulates our shared desire to break out of the norm and dive into what people ARE REALLY THINKING at any given moment. And how much of the shame we all carry with regard to our secret thoughts and impulses and behavior and foibles and quirks doesn’t have to be so isolating. Saying this stuff out loud is liberating, and yes, funny.
I continue to think of my cousin Evan, whom I love and miss and hope I can honor through the radically honest process of giving voice to what’s underneath the veneers that we all so carefully construct- artistically, personally, and hopefully eventually, on a societal level. Evan saw through the BS to the inner weirdness and goodness in people. I hope that I may also be able to reach that point, one day. At least when it comes to looking inward. Until next time.
The Stanley 32 oz dog bowl is for dogs and their owners who live by the adage, “a rolling stone gathers no moss,” while simultaneously immersing themselves in the mossy Pacific NW wonderland, as often as possible. Similar to the style of the Yeti dog bowls, Stanley reverts to an even more classic outdoor color scheme, drawing from the original and iconic style of the green Stanely thermos we all know and love. Dogs and their owners can select matching Stanley products, or stylishly complementary colors, as they venture out into the wilderness, taking refreshment breaks along the way using these attractive yet practical and lightweight food/water containers.
All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl. All work and no play makes Ellie a dull girl.
This project was so fun. It became a little bit all-consuming (still owe you guys a couple blog posts from this time period), but I’m really happy to have had the opportunity to dip my toe into the world of filmmaking, if only in a silly form, so far. Jordan and Kaelau were very kind and fun collaborators, and our skill sets were complementary. I was grateful to them for jumping on board with the script and idea of Scruffman. I knew my brother would be in town and thought that he would be a great fit for the part, so I was excited when he agreed to do it. I was not expecting his girlfriend to volunteer for the role of the queen, but I was thrilled to get to know her through the process of making this film, and I think she wound up being perfect for the part!
I loved every aspect of it! The story conceptualization, writing the script, casting, location scouting, having fun with angles, lighting, framing of shots, and of course- many many hours of editing! My friend Emma stepped in to help out with VO, and that was an added bonus, plus opportunity to work on all aspects of editing- visual, music, VO audio- learning (through trial and error) about getting things to align and balance well. Ducking music behind VO. Anyway, the list goes on- was all around a great learning experience. And in terms of the group collaboration, great to further our skills in coordinating schedules and incorporating everyone’s input so that we could end up with something better than any of us could have pulled off, individually, generally doing our best as a team to bring the idea of Scruffman to life with the time and resources we had (limitations are really helpful when it comes to creativity, I find).
