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Nov 13

8 Comments

Anita: Gallery Demands

Hi everyone, you may remember me from the recent Breakfast interview. Miranda kindly invited me to be a contributor here and I was most excited to accept. The response to my interview was such a warm and flattering one (Thank you!) and a couple of the responses stirred some emotions in me that I felt would make an interesting subject for my first post here.

Juliet wrote: ‘I love your artwork, especially the wonderful pen and ink, watercolor drawings. They have such charm. In a society where recognition is still largely in the hands of galleries who continue to insist that one’s work be “limited to one or two styles” (quote from a recent gallery rejection), it is especially pleasing to see such a great variety of styles displayed in your work – all so well done and so pleasing to look at. Congratulations, and thank you!’

Juliet’s experience got me all fired up…
I paint with my heart and, as I do, I drift away into my very own piece of Heaven here on Earth. Style, rules, and gallery’s requirements don’t even enter my head. I paint with my changing moods, sketch through my changing days and refuse point blank to be told how to express this by anyone. If that means I remain forever a ‘poor artist’ so be it. In my opinion it would be far poorer for me to sacrifice the one area in my life where I can fly and be totally free from what the rest of the world demands of me. Sometimes we have to keep a little something just for ourselves, for me that something is art and it’s far too precious to me to be compromised by categorisation, cash or someone who believes they have the right to restrict my emotions and dreams. I guess it’s a matter of deciding what your art means to you, it’s such a personal thing.

Miranda wrote:
‘It’s a very interesting question…in the art world, an artist is expected to have a “voice” in the same way that a fiction writer should, correct? Although a writer’s voice can change dramatically from work to work. Hmmm – I need to mull this over some more.’

Miranda is so right, it is an interesting question and I mulled it over too…
My own voice changes, as I grow, as I breathe. My opinions alter as I learn. My approach differs as I discover. My emotions display themselves in a rainbow of colours. I am ever changing, learning, exploring…

A thought then:

If you held the same ‘voice’ through your entire life, would that make you colourful or stagnant…clever or ignorant?

Art, for me, is a personal adventure where I can take risks, pour my heart out, become part of a fantasy and drift. It’s the messy cupboard under the stairs in a world of order, a tardis of magic in a world of restrictions, a mirror where I appear clearer to myself each and every day and to me…
…That’s priceless!

Nov 13

6 Comments

Killer Online Resource: Write or Die

writeordieFor anyone who has ever wished for an onsite coach to keep them focused during a writing stint, your dream (or nightmare) has come true. Meet Write or Die from Dr. Wicked’s Writing Lab. You select a target word count or time duration, as well as the strictness level you desire, and begin typing in the writing box. If you stop typing — perhaps because you started surfing the web or checking Facebook — Dr. Wicked will unleash a systematic “reminder” arsenal to get you back to the page and start typing. At his most evil, Dr. Wicked will actually start erasing what you’ve written — which should certainly be a negative enough consequence that you won’t let it happen!

When you’ve reached your goal, you can copy and paste your text into a Word document, or use the program’s clipboard function.

This web application is FABULOUS. Not to mention hysterical. And great for NaNoWriMo participants who need a shot in the arm. Even Natalie Goldberg would approve, I’m sure. From the Write or Die website:

Write or Die is a web application that encourages writing by punishing the tendency to avoid writing. Start typing in the box. As long as you keep typing, you’re fine, but once you stop typing, you have a grace period of a certain number of seconds and then there are consequences….A tangible consequence is more effective than an intangible reward.

If I don’t write stories for class, I will receive scorn from my teacher and a bad grade in the class. If I don’t write my own stories I am only disappointing myself. I experience perpetual disappointment in myself so I’m kind of used to it. Add to that the fact that I simply have neither the self-discipline to write consistently on my own nor the capacity for self-deception that would enable me to create artificial deadlines. That is how Write or Die was born.

The idea is to instill in the would-be writer with a fear of not writing. We do this by employing principles taught in Introduction to Psychology. Anyone remember operant conditioning and negative reinforcement?

Negative reinforcement “strengthens a behavior because a negative condition is stopped or avoided as a consequence of the behavior.” Consequences:

  • Gentle Mode: A certain amount of time after you stop writing, a box will pop up, gently reminding you to continue writing.
  • Normal Mode: If you persistently avoid writing, you will be played a most unpleasant sound. The sound will stop if and only if you continue to write.
  • Kamikaze Mode: Keep writing or your work will unwrite itself.

These consequences will persist until your preset conditions have been met (that is, your time is up or you’ve written you wordcount goal or both).

This text box is not a word processor, it is not for editing, the way to save is to select all of the text, copy and paste into your own text editor. The idea is to separate the writing process and the editing process as much as possible.

This is aimed at anyone who wants to get writing done. It requires only that you recognize your own tendency towards self-sabotage and be willing to do something about it. If you’re sick of saccharine writing advice that no one could honestly follow and you want a real method to getting work done.

See for yourself! And thanks in advance, Dr. Wicked.