Tired of blogger's interface and unbalanced customizability, I'm packing up shop and moving to WordPress! There I'll be posting to a schedule, as well as regular posts, which will guarantee a much more dynamic blog that updates at least four times a week. Monster, art, and fantasy enthusiasts should be particularly pleased by my choices of feature!
The first Monster Monday is going live tonight! Head on over to A Distinguished Bird and check it out!
8.09.2010
7.07.2010
The real news
The beginning of May, Evan and I had a joint opening at SOVA on H street, in DC. We called it "Third knock on the door". The theme was folklore and storytelling.
A close and talented friend of ours had had her own show there earlier this year, and we met the owner through her. It's a great place to show. The owner is a great guy, the venue gets a lot of traffic, and is overall a varied and interesting looking space.
Artists reading this: SOVA's always looking for new blood. Try contacting them, get some art up! It was an amazing opening, one I hope to replicate in the future.
The show's still up, and probably will be for a few weeks yet.
Illustration:
'Firebird with cherries'
8"x10" Watercolour and sepia ink
May 2010
7.06.2010
I should've known this would happen
Another long blogging drought, precipitated in part by this little trouble-maker:
Yup, that's Cinnamonopteryx, that kitten I was talking about in the last post. He's been taking up a lot of time and attention, in part due to the "Awww, I want to play with him!" factor, and also in part due to the "I've never owned a pet mammal before and I had no idea how much more work they are than snakes and birds". He's adorable, he's tenacious, he's friendly and cuddly and purrs like mad when you get close to him. He's also struck up a friendly rivalry with our roommate's cat This causes him to tear about the house at odd times in the morning, poop in our roommate's litter box, and tackle our roommate's cat with vigor.
This last is more hilarious than annoying, really, considering that Shadow weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 17 pounds, and Cinnamon was last weighed at 7 1/2.
This last is more hilarious than annoying, really, considering that Shadow weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 17 pounds, and Cinnamon was last weighed at 7 1/2.
3.04.2010
A few impending things...
These next few months are going to be pretty exciting for me. The next issue of Steampunk Magazine is coming out soon (with two of my illustrations in it)!And I've managed to nab the job of illustrating the cover of Crossed Genres' July edition, themed 'Lies'. I am so excited about this. Cover art is something I've been wanting to do, and Crossed Genres happens to be a truly excellent publication that I really respect, both for its past art and literary content, and also for its imaginative method of running.
My biannual graphic design contract is edging closer, which will mean a lot less dealing with grump customers and a lot more feeling like I'm actually in my depth.
Illustration:
'Basking in Lamplight'
3" x 5" Watercolour and graphite, sketch
February 2010
2.16.2010
A catalogue of recent personal events.
This has been a pretty crazy month for those of us living on the mid East coast. The Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia area is used to experiencing, at most, perhaps a handful of days each year in which snow of in any volume touches the ground. Much more common, particularly in VA, are ice-overs-- ice up to an inch thick covering everything in a glittering shell, making even walking treacherous and causing tree limbs to crack with a sound like gunshots. Even this never lasts long, and rarely bought us more than a 2-hour delay from school.This year has been record-breaking, dumping impassible amounts of snow in December, and then twice in the same week in February. Following two years in a row of unusually wet summers and an early fall, it's getting pretty obvious that global climate change is really moving in on us. The accompanying photo is of the Annapolis harbor, filled with ice floes. Ice floes in the Chesapeake bay, folks.
There was a week and a half where I didn't go to work at all, each time I was scheduled being either in the middle of a Blizzard or directly after. I did get rather a bit accomplished, however. I completed two illustrations for the next issue of Steampunk Magazine, one for an interview with the marvelous band Sunday Driver, and another for an article on Steampunk belly dancing.
I also joined the artistic team for the delightfully progressive cyperpunk litzine The Future Fire, which I cannot wait to make work for. Good stuff, all.
And then! I finally bought up my domain name again, having broken off with godaddy over its abyssmal regard for privacy (handing out my info to shady web design firms and hosts) and terrible ads (sexist hogwash, of course). So I have it again, and my professional portfolio is sitting upon it! Thank to deviantArt, and their webtools for lazy artists.
And more than that, I have designed and ordered myself some business cards! Adorable, mini business cards from zazzle. They will be awesome, and I will finally be able to hand out my info with as much ease as Evan does. Excitement.
And so I have been up to things, oh yes. Art and writing, too.
Posting of some of these things in the near future.
1.21.2010
Recommended reading
I read a lot, probably far too much (if my gradeschool English teachers are to be believed). Since I've been working at a bookstore, in particular, the temptation to read is pretty constant-- and the little intermediary cracks of time during work do present themselves so seductively.
Here are just a few titles that I consider the best of what I've read in the past couple of months, accompanied by a very brief synopsis that will hopefully prove both sufficient and intriguing. Enjoy, good reader, enjoy.
Illustration: 'DolPhinnaeus'. Ink on Bristol.
1.08.2010
A solid wall
Sometimes, it's just so much easier to write to an audience. Even if it's just a theoretical audience, as on a blog like this.
I've been working on trying to knock out a decent word count every day. This is hard. Very hard. I second guess myself constantly. I have little training as a writer, and I fear I'm doing everything incorrectly, missing some mystical rule of grammar or pacing that I need classes, workshops, or other writers in order to learn.
I know that in order to succeed as a writer, I need to write a great deal. Finish many, many stories and send them away to many, many places to even have a slim hope for acceptance.
Often, it's easier to just ignore this need to work on writing, and just draw. Obviously, this is important too. I'm far from perfect as an illustrator, and I need to work hard and build up my portfolio. But I know when I'm using it to hide from my writing as well.
I have quite a few finished illustrations, but almost no finished, polished, ready to send stories. I know that I need to take the advice of Cory Doctorow (et al.) and just set aside a concrete period of time each day during which to do it. Every day. Without fail. Or, if failing, at least set a word count to achieve before allowing myself sleep.
So.
Why am I having so much difficulty doing either?
I keep telling myself that a different setting will help. And maybe it will. I think wistfully if the days when I was fully unemployed (and still got nothing done during the day). I don't think anything will help more than just sitting down and forcing myself to get to it, but I balk. I know fewer of the rules of writing. I fear rejection in writing more, because I've yet to find any sort of acceptance in it. Will it be easier once I do? Or will I worry about having produced a fluke, something I'll never live up to again?
I think of joining a writer's group, but then balk. I'm never the most social of people anyway, and the thought of reading my work for the sake of critique in a group is intimidating. Also, I've been unsuccessful in finding local writer's groups that cater to my perticular interests and are also still accepting members.
I think about sharing my work online, but then I worry too much about the possibility of theft and plagiarism.
And thus I've written yet another blog entry about having difficulty making work, and without actually posting anything of artist substance or interest.
I've been working on trying to knock out a decent word count every day. This is hard. Very hard. I second guess myself constantly. I have little training as a writer, and I fear I'm doing everything incorrectly, missing some mystical rule of grammar or pacing that I need classes, workshops, or other writers in order to learn.
I know that in order to succeed as a writer, I need to write a great deal. Finish many, many stories and send them away to many, many places to even have a slim hope for acceptance.
Often, it's easier to just ignore this need to work on writing, and just draw. Obviously, this is important too. I'm far from perfect as an illustrator, and I need to work hard and build up my portfolio. But I know when I'm using it to hide from my writing as well.
I have quite a few finished illustrations, but almost no finished, polished, ready to send stories. I know that I need to take the advice of Cory Doctorow (et al.) and just set aside a concrete period of time each day during which to do it. Every day. Without fail. Or, if failing, at least set a word count to achieve before allowing myself sleep.
So.
Why am I having so much difficulty doing either?
I keep telling myself that a different setting will help. And maybe it will. I think wistfully if the days when I was fully unemployed (and still got nothing done during the day). I don't think anything will help more than just sitting down and forcing myself to get to it, but I balk. I know fewer of the rules of writing. I fear rejection in writing more, because I've yet to find any sort of acceptance in it. Will it be easier once I do? Or will I worry about having produced a fluke, something I'll never live up to again?
I think of joining a writer's group, but then balk. I'm never the most social of people anyway, and the thought of reading my work for the sake of critique in a group is intimidating. Also, I've been unsuccessful in finding local writer's groups that cater to my perticular interests and are also still accepting members.
I think about sharing my work online, but then I worry too much about the possibility of theft and plagiarism.
And thus I've written yet another blog entry about having difficulty making work, and without actually posting anything of artist substance or interest.
12.30.2009
Roadtrip
We spent Monday driving to Pittsburgh and back. To pick up a letterpress.
Evan had been searching all over the internet for one, his interest mostly academic. He bemoaned their sudden steep rise in popularity, which had more than tripled their standard asking price over the past few years. He browsed and inquired and researched. And then, last Saturday, he accidentally purchased one.
He confronted me with the news when he picked me up from work on Saturday night. He'd made a low bid on a 5 x 8" press of decent quality on eBay, and had been shocked to receive the email notifying him that he had won. It needed some cleaning, some new springs, and the rollers needed to be recoated, but otherwise is was in good condition. We just had to drive to Pittsburgh to pick it up (that, or pay to ship a 126-pound press. Driving was much cheaper).
This thing is amazing. We drove nearly ten hours straight (roundtrip) to pick it up. Everything West of the Appalachians was encompassed in a blizzard both ways, so that when we returned home our car was caked and streaked in salt. But we made it, picking up the press from a quiet Pennsylvanian man in his Ford pickup, who waited patiently for us in the snow.
Now it sits behind me. We haven't gotten down to cleaning it yet, we have a lot of lemon juice and vinegar to acquire for that. But it will come. And we have our own press.
Books, bookplates, business cards... One of the first projects I plan to tackle is to finally design and print my own deck of cards, something I've been meaning to do for years now. Expect updates on press process, as well as art updates of my progress. I've been lax in uploading art here lately, I know. I do most of my internet-ing on my Eee PC now, and most of my art-ing on my Mac--meaning that I need to get considerably less lazy to get things up here.
My DeviantArt account has been getting rather more love.
Evan had been searching all over the internet for one, his interest mostly academic. He bemoaned their sudden steep rise in popularity, which had more than tripled their standard asking price over the past few years. He browsed and inquired and researched. And then, last Saturday, he accidentally purchased one.
He confronted me with the news when he picked me up from work on Saturday night. He'd made a low bid on a 5 x 8" press of decent quality on eBay, and had been shocked to receive the email notifying him that he had won. It needed some cleaning, some new springs, and the rollers needed to be recoated, but otherwise is was in good condition. We just had to drive to Pittsburgh to pick it up (that, or pay to ship a 126-pound press. Driving was much cheaper).
This thing is amazing. We drove nearly ten hours straight (roundtrip) to pick it up. Everything West of the Appalachians was encompassed in a blizzard both ways, so that when we returned home our car was caked and streaked in salt. But we made it, picking up the press from a quiet Pennsylvanian man in his Ford pickup, who waited patiently for us in the snow.
Now it sits behind me. We haven't gotten down to cleaning it yet, we have a lot of lemon juice and vinegar to acquire for that. But it will come. And we have our own press.
Books, bookplates, business cards... One of the first projects I plan to tackle is to finally design and print my own deck of cards, something I've been meaning to do for years now. Expect updates on press process, as well as art updates of my progress. I've been lax in uploading art here lately, I know. I do most of my internet-ing on my Eee PC now, and most of my art-ing on my Mac--meaning that I need to get considerably less lazy to get things up here.
My DeviantArt account has been getting rather more love.
12.19.2009
Minutia
With the overwhelming retail workload of late, I've had little time for anything else. I arrive home from work exhausted, drained, often demoralized, and want little else but to divert myself via the contents of a novel or a video game. Art and writing have been creaking along at sub-glacial speeds. Email and twitter are ignored. Blogs go unread.
So I have little of real interest to share here, except a journaling of some of the more diverting occurrences of the past week.
A photograph of a mug, taken in Hessler St., Cleveland, with my phone. Several years old. I was trying to pick up the delicate traceries of the spider-webs, though the lighting on the mug itself ended up being the more fascinating aspect.
Posting it because I feel it's appropriate.
So I have little of real interest to share here, except a journaling of some of the more diverting occurrences of the past week.
Posting it because I feel it's appropriate.
11.17.2009
A troublesome customer (how it should have gone).
I glanced up at the clock on the monitor. It was fifteen minutes into my break, and I still had filing to do behind the register before I could take off. My replacement had arrived on time, but the constant stream of customers had kept me pinned behind the desk. Now the line had dwindled to three people, two of them apparently a couple. I finished helping the customer in front of me, then turned to the other cashier.
"My break started 15 minutes ago, so I'm going to take off now. Do you think you can handle this on your own?" She smiled and nodded at me. "Awesome. Where was that binder? I have a donation sticker."
"Wait a minute," Interjected the next customer in line, an elderly woman standing with her husband, two slim volumes balanced upon her palms. "I have to wait now because she wants to take a break?" She turned to her husband, the look on her face self-righteous affront.
"I'm sorry, but I've been here a long time..." I began.
"She's been here a long time! As if I haven't!" The customer in front of her seemed to be nearly finished with her business, but I called for backup anyway.
"Look, I've called backup. Someone else should be here shortly. But I really can't help you, I need to go. And I think you need to calm down and be a little more considerate of others." I took down the donation binder that my coworker had indicated, and began recording the sale.
"I'm the customer!" She was close to yelling now, and I was having difficulty maintaining a smile-- I'm sure it looked strained.
"Yes? And?"
"Your customer service is awful! I can't believe you treat people this way!" She turned back to her husband, who had taken to throwing sarcastic jibes at me between her outbursts. "Can you believe this? She must really not like this job!"
The implied threat is what did it for me. I returned the binder to the shelf, and approached the register. My coworker was trying to mollify the irrate woman, telling her that I had called for backup.
"Well, she didn't tell me that!" Was the customer's huffed response.
"I see that I've been wrong," I said calmly. "I didn't realize how much more important your schedule was than mine. It's true that I'm rather behind on taking my medication, but since your time is so valuable I can put that off a little longer. Surely nothing bad will happen."
"Well, finally!" The customer trounced over to the counter, angrily dumping her books in front of the scanner. I keyed my employee code into the register, then leaned across the counter to for her purchase. As soon as she was in range, I twitched the specialized muscle in the corner of my eye, causing the vessel there to burst.
Jets of blood shot from my eyes, hitting the customer squarely in the face. She began screaming and stumbling backwards, flailing into other customers, who were backing away themselves. With a quick thumb's-up to my grinning coworker, I clutched my hands to my still-bleeding eyes and staggered out from behind the register. Headed up the escalator and towards the breakroom, I made sure to mutter "Oh gods, oh gods..." whenever a customer approached, for effect.
Only three people stopped me to request directions, making it the most effective aversionary tactic I have yet devised.
"My break started 15 minutes ago, so I'm going to take off now. Do you think you can handle this on your own?" She smiled and nodded at me. "Awesome. Where was that binder? I have a donation sticker."
"Wait a minute," Interjected the next customer in line, an elderly woman standing with her husband, two slim volumes balanced upon her palms. "I have to wait now because she wants to take a break?" She turned to her husband, the look on her face self-righteous affront.
"I'm sorry, but I've been here a long time..." I began.
"She's been here a long time! As if I haven't!" The customer in front of her seemed to be nearly finished with her business, but I called for backup anyway.
"Look, I've called backup. Someone else should be here shortly. But I really can't help you, I need to go. And I think you need to calm down and be a little more considerate of others." I took down the donation binder that my coworker had indicated, and began recording the sale.
"I'm the customer!" She was close to yelling now, and I was having difficulty maintaining a smile-- I'm sure it looked strained.
"Yes? And?"
"Your customer service is awful! I can't believe you treat people this way!" She turned back to her husband, who had taken to throwing sarcastic jibes at me between her outbursts. "Can you believe this? She must really not like this job!"
The implied threat is what did it for me. I returned the binder to the shelf, and approached the register. My coworker was trying to mollify the irrate woman, telling her that I had called for backup.
"Well, she didn't tell me that!" Was the customer's huffed response.
"I see that I've been wrong," I said calmly. "I didn't realize how much more important your schedule was than mine. It's true that I'm rather behind on taking my medication, but since your time is so valuable I can put that off a little longer. Surely nothing bad will happen."
"Well, finally!" The customer trounced over to the counter, angrily dumping her books in front of the scanner. I keyed my employee code into the register, then leaned across the counter to for her purchase. As soon as she was in range, I twitched the specialized muscle in the corner of my eye, causing the vessel there to burst.
Jets of blood shot from my eyes, hitting the customer squarely in the face. She began screaming and stumbling backwards, flailing into other customers, who were backing away themselves. With a quick thumb's-up to my grinning coworker, I clutched my hands to my still-bleeding eyes and staggered out from behind the register. Headed up the escalator and towards the breakroom, I made sure to mutter "Oh gods, oh gods..." whenever a customer approached, for effect.
Only three people stopped me to request directions, making it the most effective aversionary tactic I have yet devised.
11.06.2009
Employment
So I have a job again. A seasonal position as a bookseller for Borders, which is obviously not ideal, but certainly better than nothing. After Office Depot, I had forsworn ever working retail again... though tough times obviously call for doing things you'd rather not.
But at least it's a book store, and so far everyone I've met there has been really nice (and in some cases, quite pleasingly zany :) ). Being out of Reston and dealing in products rather than services, I think this is going to end up being 50x less stressful than OD was, as well. Despite this being the holiday season. Let's hope time proves me right.
The other advantage of this job is that it dovetails really nicely with my biannual graphic design contract, which happens every early spring and late summer. If they like me well enough at Borders, perhaps I can keep swinging back and forth between the two jobs (working summer and holiday seasonal) until something more permanent comes along. Sure, Borders only pays about 1/3 of what ASET does... but it's more than 0, and admittedly the majority of my entertainment spending goes towards books anyhow. Getting a consistent 33% off of those purchases will be amazing.
In the meantime, I keep drawing and writing. Submitting to magazines and contests. Further successes will, of course, be reported here. :)
But at least it's a book store, and so far everyone I've met there has been really nice (and in some cases, quite pleasingly zany :) ). Being out of Reston and dealing in products rather than services, I think this is going to end up being 50x less stressful than OD was, as well. Despite this being the holiday season. Let's hope time proves me right.
The other advantage of this job is that it dovetails really nicely with my biannual graphic design contract, which happens every early spring and late summer. If they like me well enough at Borders, perhaps I can keep swinging back and forth between the two jobs (working summer and holiday seasonal) until something more permanent comes along. Sure, Borders only pays about 1/3 of what ASET does... but it's more than 0, and admittedly the majority of my entertainment spending goes towards books anyhow. Getting a consistent 33% off of those purchases will be amazing.
In the meantime, I keep drawing and writing. Submitting to magazines and contests. Further successes will, of course, be reported here. :)
10.26.2009
Happy Hallowe'en, GUD-monster style!
| "Be careful your clockwork doesn't run down." monster: You're the robot from Darby Larson's Electroencephalography in Issue 1. You were built by Dean's family to help around the house, but it seems you don't take orders too well. You do take other things, though. Like hearts. What GUD Monster are you? Find out at GUD Magazine! |  |
I have spent the past week working on the illustrations for this quiz. I ended up pouring in more time than I had intended, but the cause (promoting GUD Magazine) is good, and I really enjoyed doing it! Sometimes, it's incredibly nice having inspiration placed in front of you. :)
I encourage you to take the quiz. It's quick, amusing, and links you to both my art, and some excellent writing. The monsters are also quite strange and creepy (not your usual Hallowe'en fare, these!)
There are also ten different possible outcomes, so you might want to take it more than once. ;)
10.13.2009
Where the writing goes.
For anyone who has been following my blog for a long, long time, there might be some recollection of my having once posted snippets of short fiction on here as well. I stopped doing that a while ago, frightened by the prospect of having my work stolen (something that is easier to do, and more difficult to prove with words than it is with imargery). But I have no ceased writing! Since finishing my six thesis books, I have continued to write short ficiton for myself.
Emboldened by my recent visibility on GUD Magazine's blog, I am beginning to submit some of them to contests and literary magazines.
First up is Nanoism's December five-part twitter serial contest. I'm posting about it here for three reasons!
a.) So that you know about this magazine, because it's awesome and because there is a chance I might be in it!
b.) Because, as an incentive, they allow you to submit two different stories if you mention the contest!
And
c.) This is a nifty contest, and a really cool little magazine, and you should submit! Yes you! Whoever you are, send them something and make it good! They make it very simple to do so.
The deadline is October 31st, and winners will be published in December.
Second, I am also submitting to Fantasy Magazine's Halloween flash fiction contest. Flash fiction is good for me. It forces me to be succint, to have an entire story arc in mind when I begin, and to actually finish the thing. 1,000 words is also a pretty good goal for a single day of writing.
This contest is particularly good because the premise requires that a graphic be paired with the story, as the inspiration, and I can make my own. Thus, it gives me a possible venue for showing my art as well: two-for-one!
The deadline is October 16th, so get to work!
Emboldened by my recent visibility on GUD Magazine's blog, I am beginning to submit some of them to contests and literary magazines.
First up is Nanoism's December five-part twitter serial contest. I'm posting about it here for three reasons!
a.) So that you know about this magazine, because it's awesome and because there is a chance I might be in it!
b.) Because, as an incentive, they allow you to submit two different stories if you mention the contest!
And
c.) This is a nifty contest, and a really cool little magazine, and you should submit! Yes you! Whoever you are, send them something and make it good! They make it very simple to do so.
The deadline is October 31st, and winners will be published in December.
Second, I am also submitting to Fantasy Magazine's Halloween flash fiction contest. Flash fiction is good for me. It forces me to be succint, to have an entire story arc in mind when I begin, and to actually finish the thing. 1,000 words is also a pretty good goal for a single day of writing.
This contest is particularly good because the premise requires that a graphic be paired with the story, as the inspiration, and I can make my own. Thus, it gives me a possible venue for showing my art as well: two-for-one!
The deadline is October 16th, so get to work!
10.12.2009
Blogging!
So I just wrote a guest post for GUD Magazine's blog! It's on the topic of banned books, and is a belated post in recognition of the ALA's 'Banned books week' several weeks ago. Check it out!
And while you're there, be sure to take a look around the site. GUD's an excellent literary magazine, and the freebies there alone are enough to be worth your while. Plus, they've recently gotten a whole slew of honorable mentions from 'The Year's best horror'. I have three of their issues, and I've been enormously impressed by everything I've seen an read of them. They have some great editors, and a lot of diversity in what they publish. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
And while you're there, be sure to take a look around the site. GUD's an excellent literary magazine, and the freebies there alone are enough to be worth your while. Plus, they've recently gotten a whole slew of honorable mentions from 'The Year's best horror'. I have three of their issues, and I've been enormously impressed by everything I've seen an read of them. They have some great editors, and a lot of diversity in what they publish. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.
10.10.2009
My brain is getting in the way of thinking.
I have difficulty working with music or sound around me. Or rather, I have difficulty conceptualizing... once a sketch is down and I'm onto the grunt work of rendering, I can listen to anything. This is something I am just realizing.
Despite five years of art college, it took until now for me to recognize this pattern in myself. I honestly thought that the reason I tended to do most of my work in silence was because I was too lazy to turn on music, or an audio book until I was several hours deep into a project. I also though that the reason that I didn't like spending time in the noisy Print studio at school was because I am antisocial.
It took until I was living with Evan full-time, working in the same studio space as him for the problem to truly surface. He loves music, and works best with his MP3 collection, a podcast, or an internet radio station playing in the background. He does a lot of insanely tedious work for a graphic design firm, so he seriously needs it.
I know why this is, too. I have Asperger's Syndrome (as I've probably mentioned before) and tend to automatically visualize everything. If there is a music track playing, my mind is working to visually map that song, with colour, imagery, and geometric shapes. If someone's speaking, my mind is creating a tableau based on whatever they're talking about, overlaid with a running transcript written in a pleasing serif font. This ties in with the synesthesia so common in us Aspies, apparrently. Also, sometimes I just hallucinate stuff, for no other good reason! My brain does not like to think that I am lonely.
The net effect of this sort of all of this? I become almost blind when there's too much sound going on around me. I'm seeing what I'm hearing, and I'm finding it almost impossible to focus on whatever is in front of me. So even if I'm doing fine, inking and listening to music, someone talking to me over that can make my entire workspace go invisible.
I love working in coffee shops, because they remove me from the constant temptation of internet time-wastage, while also getting me out of the house. This is where I write best. Unless it is too loud there. This is highly frustrating.
The best solution I can think of is to find myself a quiet, private place to get started on my work in. Where that is, I have no clue, as I live in a townhouse with no backyard to speak of. Anyone else out there with similar issues, and perhaps suggestions?
Despite five years of art college, it took until now for me to recognize this pattern in myself. I honestly thought that the reason I tended to do most of my work in silence was because I was too lazy to turn on music, or an audio book until I was several hours deep into a project. I also though that the reason that I didn't like spending time in the noisy Print studio at school was because I am antisocial.
It took until I was living with Evan full-time, working in the same studio space as him for the problem to truly surface. He loves music, and works best with his MP3 collection, a podcast, or an internet radio station playing in the background. He does a lot of insanely tedious work for a graphic design firm, so he seriously needs it.
I know why this is, too. I have Asperger's Syndrome (as I've probably mentioned before) and tend to automatically visualize everything. If there is a music track playing, my mind is working to visually map that song, with colour, imagery, and geometric shapes. If someone's speaking, my mind is creating a tableau based on whatever they're talking about, overlaid with a running transcript written in a pleasing serif font. This ties in with the synesthesia so common in us Aspies, apparrently. Also, sometimes I just hallucinate stuff, for no other good reason! My brain does not like to think that I am lonely.
The net effect of this sort of all of this? I become almost blind when there's too much sound going on around me. I'm seeing what I'm hearing, and I'm finding it almost impossible to focus on whatever is in front of me. So even if I'm doing fine, inking and listening to music, someone talking to me over that can make my entire workspace go invisible.
I love working in coffee shops, because they remove me from the constant temptation of internet time-wastage, while also getting me out of the house. This is where I write best. Unless it is too loud there. This is highly frustrating.
The best solution I can think of is to find myself a quiet, private place to get started on my work in. Where that is, I have no clue, as I live in a townhouse with no backyard to speak of. Anyone else out there with similar issues, and perhaps suggestions?
10.01.2009
SOZD*!
Today is 'Support Our 'Zines Day'! Something I was informed of upon waking this morning, by an incredibly exuberant Eimhin. He, not the procrastinator that I am, has already posted a wonderful and comprehensive list of 'zines-of-amazingness on his own blog, which I recommend that you peruse. But there really is no possible way to over emphasize the importance of literary magazines, both in purveying excellent literature (and visual art, comics, and poetry...) and in promoting artists, burgeoning and established alike. So take a spin about these bizarre and marvelous publications, and if you can afford it, show them some love.
GUD Magazine
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
Crossed Genres
McSweeney's
Weird Tales
Leading Edge
Brain Harvest
Electric Velocipede
Sybil's Garage
Tin House
Flash Fiction Online
The Cafe Irreal
Fantasy Magazine
Strange Horizons
ClarkesWorld
Shimmer
Steampunk Magazine
If there are any others I have missed, or simply have not heard of, please tell me about them in the comments! There are few things as satisfying as discovering a good new source of fiction.
I listen to not nearly so many Podcasts as Evan, but I am a generally huge fan of the readings over at Telltale Weekly. Alex Wilson's voice and inflection are perfect for these readings, and his content selection is excellent. It was through Telltale that I first found out about Kelly Link, actually (you must listen to 'The Girl Detective' as read on the site) which has, of course, led to all sorts of fascinating developments in my life.
*SOZD still sounds to me like a state of drunkenness.
Somewhere between dameschwipschen and completely toasted. Probably not the ideal state for reading, but to each one's own. Go for it.
GUD Magazine
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
Crossed Genres
McSweeney's
Weird Tales
Leading Edge
Brain Harvest
Electric Velocipede
Sybil's Garage
Tin House
Flash Fiction Online
The Cafe Irreal
Fantasy Magazine
Strange Horizons
ClarkesWorld
Shimmer
Steampunk Magazine
If there are any others I have missed, or simply have not heard of, please tell me about them in the comments! There are few things as satisfying as discovering a good new source of fiction.
I listen to not nearly so many Podcasts as Evan, but I am a generally huge fan of the readings over at Telltale Weekly. Alex Wilson's voice and inflection are perfect for these readings, and his content selection is excellent. It was through Telltale that I first found out about Kelly Link, actually (you must listen to 'The Girl Detective' as read on the site) which has, of course, led to all sorts of fascinating developments in my life.
*SOZD still sounds to me like a state of drunkenness.
Somewhere between dameschwipschen and completely toasted. Probably not the ideal state for reading, but to each one's own. Go for it.
9.27.2009
Random pet peeve
This may strike you as strange, but one of my biggest language-related pet peeves is the misuse of the word 'cannibalism'.
Cannibalism is the devouring of the flesh of one creature by another member of its same species.
Anthropophagy is the devouring of human flesh, by any creature.
So a chicken that eats another chicken is a cannibal; but a chicken that eats a human is anthropophagus.
There, important English-language lesson of the day. Use this knowledge well.
Cannibalism is the devouring of the flesh of one creature by another member of its same species.
Anthropophagy is the devouring of human flesh, by any creature.
So a chicken that eats another chicken is a cannibal; but a chicken that eats a human is anthropophagus.
There, important English-language lesson of the day. Use this knowledge well.
9.21.2009
All that talk of not having any art done...
A larger version, as always, can be seen on my DeviantArt page.
Graphite. 5 1/2" x 8"
9.18.2009
On the misappropriation of 'masculine' and 'feminine'.
Still struggling with my artwork and creative motivation. In the meantime, I've decided to write about something that has bothered me since I was just a wee childling. That is...gender, and how it's characterised!
As a child, I was what is commonly referred to as a "tomboy". I liked dinosaurs and dragons, hiking and getting muddy, running about and playing outside. I hated dresses, and as of 3rd grade began refusing to wear them entirely. I would not wear pink, make-up and purses held no fascination for me.
For a long time, people thought this meant that I did not want to be a girl. Hell, even I was convinced of that for a while. But what has come more and more apparent to me over time is that being a girl is never what bothered me. It was (and is) the false set of roles and restrictions that are handed to every child upon determination of their biological sex at birth. Restrictions that are, inarguably, a lot more restrictive to the development of individuality in girls than they are to boys.
As a child, I was what is commonly referred to as a "tomboy". I liked dinosaurs and dragons, hiking and getting muddy, running about and playing outside. I hated dresses, and as of 3rd grade began refusing to wear them entirely. I would not wear pink, make-up and purses held no fascination for me.
For a long time, people thought this meant that I did not want to be a girl. Hell, even I was convinced of that for a while. But what has come more and more apparent to me over time is that being a girl is never what bothered me. It was (and is) the false set of roles and restrictions that are handed to every child upon determination of their biological sex at birth. Restrictions that are, inarguably, a lot more restrictive to the development of individuality in girls than they are to boys.
9.14.2009
Duck, lest ye run afoul of the steam shooting out of my ears.
Sometimes, even well intentioned people can be very, very insenstive. It usually comes when someone questions or challenges their priviledge in a situation where they don't perceive that they have it. I've been guilty of this in the past myself. Today, though, I'm going to ran about somone else. Someone who's very near and dear to me, but who can still be a complete jerk at times.
Exactly one month ago today, Melissa McEwan over at Shakesville wrote this post, about how we, as women, often have to make the decision between protesting when someone makes a sexist (or downright misogynistic) statement and potentially ruining the evening for that person, or "swallowing shit" and only ruining it for ourselves. I had an evening like that not long ago, where I decided to just swallow the shit and deal with it.
Exactly one month ago today, Melissa McEwan over at Shakesville wrote this post, about how we, as women, often have to make the decision between protesting when someone makes a sexist (or downright misogynistic) statement and potentially ruining the evening for that person, or "swallowing shit" and only ruining it for ourselves. I had an evening like that not long ago, where I decided to just swallow the shit and deal with it.
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