Creativity

Good stuff coming – especially if you’re a creative-type. Watch the horizon.

So it looks like we havn’t been doing a whole lot on here lately, heck, i was the last post, last month. so i’m going to try and keep this afloat.

I was thinking of creative things are done everyday and i realized that one of the most creative things you can do everyday is eat! So if you guys don’t mind, i think i’ll start talking more about food. Maybe interview people that i know who cook really well, about the way they do things or what drove them to excel in their cooking, etc…

I also think that it may be beneficial to “review” places to eat here in town. maybe places that you haven’t been to, or that i enjoy frequenting but have never seen you in, but should.

so let me know what you think, and i’ll go from there….

also , if you have any ideas for the next RC event, please feel free to let us know in the comments, or send us an e mail sharing your ideas!

i thought i love you

was waiting for you to

tell me what to do.

it was just

i hate you

i think

of  only myself.

the lights of the carnival

in their orange, yellow and blue

bath your smile

your embrace.

your radiance,

never out done,

envelops the fruit of

our labors.

The beautiful times

were in the darkness.

swallowed in neon

drowning our voices

into screams

over rhythms

tasting of

gin and lime

barley and water

and the perfume of your

skin

thick in my lungs.

you grab for my denim

i slide my hand under

the hem of your shirt along

the small of your back

taut and toned.

you lean your ear to

my lips gently

they meet.

i love this band!

they have never recorded this song.

it’s so much fun to be

watching.

Come dance with me!

Join me in the experience.

Come out of the shadows.

Join me in the light!

Come in to your own!

They will love you for you!

I can not.

come back with me.

at the beginning of a new day

we lay down

to rest.

i can not hold you

you can not be held.

I can not fulfill  the promises

i did not try hard enough to fulfill.

in the dawn

you walk away again, the

sun casting long shadows

into my eyes.

dew on the grass, and the blue birds

tell me your silhouette,

is all i get

to keep.

so i purchased the Wilco (band) movie: Ashes of American Flags (concert film) and we were thinking about watching it on monday night around 6 pm.

leave me a note in the comments section with your e-mail address and i’ll get back to you…

should be fun, it’s a great film!

Something struck me as a great opportunity while meeting with the Reedley Creative group the other day on the Mayday Mayday get together at the Fresh Start Cafe, I was struck by the company that surrounded us all and wondered if there was something more that we were all not willing to outright acknowledge. We met to talk about our art and share something with the other artists, it amazed me how much of the shared art was religious in it’s portrayal or interpretation to the receiver and I wanted to acknowledge that before it was too late.

As artists of many sorts we are all called to our craft for one reason or another, and my thinking is that as a group we are also are called together to challenge each other in ways that can benefit our artistic abilities. Additionally with so many different views on the world we can build each other up in Christ. Artists are often drawn to allow ourselves to partake in the spirit of victimization and negativity to help us in the creation of our art, and while our own oppression as artists may help us create art that speaks to the oppression of others I would like to lay out this challenge. Lets find ways to honor Christ and express our Salvation through our art, not to say that we can’t face challenges or express them just that I would like to see those things not be the sole object of our creations.

Each time we get together is an opportunity to minister to each other in a multitude of ways, maybe through a time of prayer, or maybe through opportunities of affirmation. Lets commit ourselves to look beyond our oppression and allow the spirit of God to come through our works, not necessarily in the “oh how wonderful God is” sorts of ways unless that is the way that you truely feel through the creation of the piece. Through allowing Christ into our work and into our time together we allow ourselves to be a witness to others for Christs sake.

While the above mentioned idea is something that I feel could come through the group I look forward to other people’s feedback, interpretation and affirmation.

Thanks for the opportunites to share and discuss.

This is one of those posts that is merely passing on something that originated elsewhere.

I was shown this excerpt from a video interview with Ira Glass, host of National Public Radio’s This American Life, and found it tremendously helpful and encouraging as a creative person. Nick McIntyre also found it helpful, and Andrew Shinn apparently liked it enough to show it to both of us in the first place. So here’s the secret video, shared for the benefit of all of Reedley Creative…

Opens in new window
On Good Taste

so, i don’t know where you are but you are really missing out! we are in the middle of the “MAY DAY, MAY DAY DINNER WITH REEDLEY CREATIVE!” event with a dirty dozen of the valley’s creative greats.

Apparently, Mr. Shinn’s last name is Old English and means; “small wooded glen,” and Mr. Boriack’s last name is Czech and used to be Borjack but was changed when is family came through Ellis Island.

Oh, Hi Andrew’s grandma!

Nick McIntyre has enough peddles for all of us…

i think this is going to run for a while, but it looks like we’re gonna lose Mr. Oberg because he has to go back to work.

some things happened to night that were not only awesome but super spiritually edifying, like the super random song lyrics that were given to a Mrs. Garza that happened to be the lyrics to the song that was sung at her sister’s funeral, that the giver could not have ever known about, or the “One Good Day” gift certificate that was exactly what the recipient needed.

Hey, you should have been here, but whatevs. Come to the next one, you owe it to yourself!

Okay, Creative-ites, listen up:  Our May Day dinner with Reedley Creative will take place at Fresh Start Cafe.  Here’s a map:

View Larger Map

In case you’ve forgotten already (or don’t care to look down the page), here are the details: www.reedleycreative.com/?p=92.  In short, you have to bring something you’ve made to give away.  It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t even have to be that cool.  It just has to be something – you’ve – made.  (But people will like you more if you bring something cool, so keep that in mind if you care.)

See you May 1!

(Also, thanks to the geniuses at Monkeyraft Studios, Mike Cantu Industries, and Shinn Photography for the new header graphic on the site.  At least one of us risked serious burning to make that happen!)

Here are the rules: Edible, touchable, viewable, foldable.  Come to dinner May 1 with Reedley Creative at 6 pm.  Bring something that fits one (or more) of the aforementioned categories.  It has to be something you’ve made, and it has to be something you’re willing to give away.  Location is TBD, but we’ll try to keep the cost reasonable.  We’ll all go out to dinner together, talk about and exchange the stuff we’ve made, and generally have a good time.  There’s been talk of a musical jam session somewhere nearby following dinner.  I think that sounds cool.

So mark your calendar for May 1 at 6 pm, and watch Facebook for the event invite.  If you haven’t gotten one in a few days, message me on Facebook and we’ll try to get your invited.

Dirty secrets first: I stole and adapted this concept from Dave Thomas, a prominent person presently playing with Pragmatic Programmers. But he stole and adapted from elsewhere, so I’ll follow his lead. Dave writes about the concept of Code Katas, saying this:

How do you get to be a great musician? It helps to know the theory, and to understand the mechanics of your instrument. It helps to have talent. But ultimately, greatness comes practicing; applying the theory over and over again, using feedback to get better every time.

He goes on to discuss how people learn in Karate.  They perform katas, which are rote memorized run-throughs of a scripted movement.  The idea is to train your muscle memory so that you react the right way instinctively when you, ahem, need your mad ninja skills.  So what Dave adapted from karate to programming, I’m adapting to the creative arts.  Sure, creative types like you and me depend on trying new things, but a lot of creative production work is rote performance, too.  Here’s a sample from my work day:

“Shift + Command + N makes a new layer.  L selects the lasso tool. Command + J jumps the selection to a new layer.  Command click on the new layer to reselect, then Shift + Command + I inverts your selection.”

Boring, right?  But it’s damned useful when you need to know it.  And when I go through those steps, even in my head, I can feel a rhythm to it.  It’s like a kata for me.  When I’m producing, I can run through those steps with my fingers.  My brain barely engages.  That leaves me bandwidth to deal with the creative side of the work, the object or the aesthetic.  I can wonder whether red or darker red will work this time, instead of trying to make the mechanics come together.  It’s my equivalent of a ninja skill, if you will.

Shooting photos is the same for me.  I run through checklists instincitvely.  “ISO – check.  White balance – check.  Light direction – check.  Aperture needed – check.  Shutter speed – check.  Composition – check.  Subject – Wait, no, the subject looks goofy.”  If I was caught up with white balance – if I didn’t know that stuff cold – I’d never get around to thinking about my goofy-looking subject.  I’d never be able to consider that I have a human in front of the camera – someone who’s worried about how they look or waiting for some direction from me.

So whatever yoour creative work is, I encourage you to find some katas to practice.  Make a routine to run through, and do it half-speed, three-quarter speed, full speed.  Get your muscles used to the work so your brain can move to higher-order thinking.  Get some rhythm and enjoy the results.