Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creativity. Show all posts

A Year Ahead; A Year Behind

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

If you haven't already done so, I highly encourage you to check out the "Our Greatest Resource" issue just released at Project As[I]Am. It features love letters, poetry, visual and audio art about the world we want to create. You can also hear our editors speak on the issue in our audio letter -- edited and hosted by me!

A quote I saw on the wall of a 5th grade classroom - "It's about progress, not perfection" in a loopy calligraphy script.

It was my 25th birthday yesterday and I had a bad cold (of course). It turned my brain foggy at work; it was a relief when finally I got to my three days off and could sleep in.


In my last post, I talked about creative drought. Somehow, while I was in the middle of it, a few public readings fell into my lap. I performed at Subdrift (a South Asian open mic that has come to Seattle) and read a piece of the novel draft for the first time in a public forum. It was fairly low stakes since it was an open mic, but the positive feedback really enlivened me. I read another draft piece as part of the QTPOC Artists of Color (volume 2!) book launch reading last night.

There's an effect called response-shift bias that I've learned while doing evaluation work. People come into a training feeling relatively confident that they know the material, but by the end they realize how much they don't know. So they rate themselves as having less knowledge than when they walked in the door. That's the place that I've gotten to in my research -- I've been anxious to begin new parts of the draft because it feels like there's a wealth more to do. What kind of bats would be in that tree? What is the archetypal trickster animal in that region? Where can I put in this detail without disrupting the flow? Elena Rose (who also read last night and co-edited the volume), described this process as "cat-vacuuming"-- when you're looking for more things to do to put off the actual project.

The past several years I've spent hopping from thing to thing, collecting experiences and research and deciding where to focus my energies. Years of discovery. I feel like this year, however, is one of depth rather than breadth. Not to say that discovery is over forever, but for now my desires have shifted away from acquiring a bunch of new skills to tunneling deep into the behind-the-scenes work. You may not see me a lot this year -- I'll be poking around at a few invisible behemoths, trying to see how big they are by feel -- but I'm sure that you'll hear a great deal about how it's all going. For now, I'm going back to my ginger tea and ruminating.

Travel for Writers: 5 Ways

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Yet another list today, but this one a little more on the how-to side; having recently done a bit of travel, I feel it is mandatory to put up a post on the best ways to travel for a writer, from hyperlocal (really really hyperlocal) to global, travel can be just what you need to recharge your creative energy. Rather than continuing to sound like an infomercial, I present you with five ways to travel and their best practices:

Build with your ideas.
 

Note-taking and Nested Inspiration

Wednesday, March 21, 2012


Yesterday, I mentioned that one method of celebrating the day-to-day is to take notes. This advice was first introduced to me by Anne Lamott in her book Bird by Bird. The first time I read it, the message didn't necessarily sink in - what was I going to do with the mountain of notecards/notebooks/computer files that held my random thoughts? Surely not all of them would become full-fledged stories. At that time, I was concerned mostly with the goal of writing rather than the process. In a way, this was a metaphor for how I treated my life at the time.

It's hard to unlearn goal-seeking. It's also not something that should fully get taken away from your life. But one of the side effects of revisiting this mentality has been for me to realize: not every action must produce an intended goal.

And, with this in mind, I revisited the notes.

30/365 Project

Tuesday, January 3, 2012


I talked a bit on Monday about beginnings (and endings). About how there are a lot of them in this life to take note of, that we don't often choose to see. I was thinking about how I could make that concept concrete in my own life this year, starting at the generally accepted level of every day.

This year, I am going to embark on an experiment that I've been trying to get moving ever since... well, forever. Especially since watching this video that I posted quite some time ago on my Tumblr. I want to be creative for 30 minutes every day in a variety of ways, related to any project or no project at all. Devoting that little amount of time will be a small gift to myself each day this year.

The Bucket List and the Work Boots

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Yesterday was the first day of classes at Columbia, which ushered in the fruitful chaos that is the fall semester here at college. Though I've been here for a week to work on Well Woman topics and generally ease myself back into New York-style living, the beginning of classes was wonderful. Sitting down with a bunch of strangers in order to explore a new and interesting (or required) topic is still exciting to me. Alas, I am a student at heart.

But another thought dawns on me whenever I sit down in one of our classrooms. I picture myself in the trenches of stats homework, putting on my size 8 work boots and wielding my pencil like a musket, spending hours in the morning and night trying to finish… The work is all consuming. And thus, I had to start thinking of how I would shift my mentality towards fun and creative pursuits.


So, I came up with a deceptively simple solution: a bucket list.

5 Ways to Find Balance in Productivity

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

What are some pairs that don't go well together? Creativity and exams. Productivity and busy work. Deadlines and relaxation.

Yet these same pairs come together all too often in the life of anyone who has a job or attends school and still wants to channel creative pursuits. Putting these pairs together is like assembling furniture with directions in another language: stressful and in need of some clever planning to maneuver through. During the academic year, I am a part-time employee and a full-time student, so I know this feeling all too well: I am constantly asking myself "when will I be able to create again?"

I haven't figured out a foolproof strategy yet, nor do I get to all of the creative projects I would like to had I not decided to be a full-time/part-time anything, but I would like to impart some of the ways that I balance these two halves of my life. Take a moment to assemble some ideas with me about personal vs. school/work productivity.


Writing Live: Nuyorican Poet's Cafe and The Moth

Monday, May 16, 2011


Last week, I had the fabulous opportunity to attend not one, but two literary events in NYC: The Nuyorican Poet's Cafe Friday night slam and The Moth's StorySlam at the Brooklyn Museum. After getting a healthy dose of Snoop Dogg, I took a 180 degree turn in my live entertainment consumption. And, to put it mildly, it was amazing.

As writers everywhere know, most of the time our work will not be read aloud. We will not be asked to come on television or the radio and act out our pieces - nor would most of us want to. The boundary between spoken and written word is not often crossed: we are writers or speakers, but there is an inherent challenge in being both. In these two spaces, however, so many people proved that they could bridge the divide with fantastic results. And - equally amazing - they attracted major crowds! Although it is often said that literature is dying and the printed word is on its way out, you wouldn't know it from the audience at both slams. And that's essentially what I wanted to get before I left for summer - an energizing reminder that writers were and still are appreciated for their work, which is not just for themselves, but for all those listeners and readers out there that appreciate them too. Here is a brief recap of both events and their impact on me.

DIY Interlude: Please Stand By

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I am at an impasse.

I have come to love the broadsheets that I have created for the collage project so much that I feel it would almost be better to leave them as is (as opposed to cutting them up into all sorts of cool shapes), although that was not my original intention for the project. What's a crafter to do?

I believe that this "stuck-ness" is another part of my process that gets downplayed when looking at the finished project. In the midst of things, I will spend countless hours thinking about how to do something that will end up taking about two hours total. Brainstorming and setting those thoughts aside to gestate for a little while is ultimately an integral piece of the whole creativity pie.

So, fair readers, I entreat you to help me out. Check out the last DIY Interlude post and tell me: how would you like to see these pieces end up? Cut into shapes? Left as is? Something completely different? Let me know!*

*And, if I don't get any comments, it'll just be one big surprise!

Take a look at the rest of this collage process in steps one, two, four and five.
You can also check out some more posts featuring my photography.

Academics and Creativity

Monday, April 4, 2011

It is time for me to tackle the double-edged sword that has been affecting me all of my college life thus far: the complicated relationship between my creative and academic minds.

I have devoted myself to academics, which is a major privilege and portion of my daily life. I am lucky enough to be able to learn about such diverse topics as medical anthropology and American literature after 1945. I get to choose based on my interests rather than a rigid course requirements list - a benefit allowed to humanities majors that I take full advantage of. Yet sometimes I get restless.
It is mostly inexplicable, like the desire to pick up materials I haven't touched in a while and put them immediately back down. "Where are you going with that?" I hear the voice in my head say, "You know you have a fifteen page paper due next week." And then I pack away whatever creative impulse I may have had in order to read more source material.
In these instances, I feel as if my academic priorities foreclose upon my creative ones. While I get a proliferation of ideas from all the new things that I'm learning, transferring those ideas into creative expression is put on hold in favor of doing the academic work necessary for that moment. On certain days, it feels like I've left half of myself in the bottom of a drawer or up on a shelf. Waiting is the most common state I am in.

But, while it seem that the marriage of my two minds is an uncomfortable one, I still believe it's a necessary union.
The beauty of putting these two together is most accessible when I am in a writing or drawing course. I get feedback on my otherwise solitary efforts and am encouraged to go ahead with more. I am allowed a space to roll out new material and talk about it. The experience breathes new life into the dusty corners of my creative brain, letting me enter again into a balmy equilibrium.
It is obviously harder to come by when I am taking completely reading courses and am lodged in books, but I value those experiences too. The writer's greatest pastime is to read, of course.

In short, I am torn about how to feel in academia as a creative person. so I am turning it over to anyone who finds themselves wanting to create in an academic setting: does academia stifle or liberate you? Do you feel like there is room for both the creative and academic states of mind? Are there ways they can combine or do you keep them totally separate? Let me know in your comments.

You may also be interested in reading my opinion piece Single Sex Education for Women and Girls.
You can also take a look at my writing.

Snow Day!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

This was the first blizzard of the year and Barnard didn't close until the afternoon. When everything else was closed early in the morning. Ugh! But once they did close, I was thankful because I got to get all my work done and now I am no longer panicking as I am wont to do.
It was really beautiful, the outdoors today. I woke up in a lethargy and went to work in the mail room where there was - consequently - no mail! The mailmen don't work according to their credo (through hail or sleet or driving snow, etc) anymore... it was snowing and their doors were firmly shut.
You know, there is something peculiar to me or maybe to college. I get overwhelmed and burnt out sometimes, while still enjoying what I'm working on. Maybe that's the good thing about reading challenging books and exciting novels - at the same time, there is a lot of reading to be done! I know that I've said it before, but whenever I feel backed up, I start to get worried (even, sometimes, when I'm right on track!) I just can't imagine putting things off for very long...
Anyway, that's what got me to scheduling. Every time I get overwhelmed, I make a schedule and a to-do list. Therefore, I now have a plan!

Enough of those idle simple thoughts. Now on to the good stuff.
I have been contemplating, through my lists, how to go about getting a summer internship. I wasn't thinking about it a lot before, but then I had this dream. This dream that I was in a video game that I designed (yes, I know that sounds lame, but hang in there with me). The dream made me realize that there are people who aren't programmers working on video games. Why I did not realize this before, I do not know. But it just so happens that by digging around the internet, there are A LOT of indie game studios in Seattle. And that's where I'll be for summer. So if I can land an internship there, I can start looking into how to contract write the storylines for video games. How cool is that?!
And after that, I started to think big. Plans leading to more plans and more and more again, I guess. I started thinking about where I want to do my study abroad. I have always wanted to use my French skills, but I just thought I would end up in France. But with their new laws concerning the burqa, I have been none too happy with the country's conduct. So I started thinking of other francophone countries and up comes... Morocco! Yes, and we do have a program that is related to Morocco. So, therefore, my plans for junior year are going to be involved with trying to go to that North African country for a duration of time. Huzzah! Life plans!
So, those are the two big notions I have been thinking about lately. Aside from that, there is short story and biography writing to do, papers to be written, books to be read, clothes to be worn and shed... all of these works that coalesce into my fabulous life.

Enjoy the beautiful snow everyone, and an early Happy Valentine's Day too!

Oh, how things change. Read more about my ever-changing college experiences.

Speaking with Myself

Monday, June 8, 2009


In the last week or so, I have decided.
Yes, decisions were made. Big and small, long-term and short-term... but all in the name of rejuvenating my motivation. And, thankfully, it seems to be coming back (yippee!). So let's see what some of them are...

1. Junk food detox - currently, I am on day 3 of this; no junk food for a week in order to reset my eating habits. Willpower! Must... be strong...
2. Journaling - I realized, recently, that I don't need to pour out all my problems onto other people when I can have a relatively simple fix by writing it down. So, I have begun daily autopsies of my current state. Not for this blog, but my private journal (something I haven't done since 7th or 8th grade - imagine that!)
3. Note-taking & writing - writing has been sooo far away from me lately. Like, lightyears. After going to Write-o-Rama this weekend and re-awakening my love of writing down crazy random things and making zines (which are just perfect for miniature thoughts, haha), I realized I cannot just put down writing until I go to college. It's something to be done in the here and now! And, it is something to post up on this blog.
4. Bursting of stage fright - I took the opportunity to do some performance work at Write-o-Rama; needless to say, I'm out of practice. But, I believe that, after bursting my stage fright bubble with my grad speech, I have to memorize, internalize, and personalize it before I can find it acceptable. The nervousness is because I haven't worked with it yet. I haven't molded it into what I want it to be. So, that's my next step.
5. Stuff to do! - I made another, much longer, list of things to do. And it includes biking with my dad, cooking something daily, and a lot of other projects that will occupy me with the act of doing something. My biggest realization? Start now. I have been putting off many of these items because of petty reasons ("It's not summer..." "There are other things to do right now...") but what does it matter if I finish this book next Wednesday or in August? There are always new things to start later.
6. Explore Washington - belatedly, I want to explore my home state. With my boyfriend, with my friends, we will pass through the memories and create new ones before I go. (Come to think of it, it sounds fairly dreary when I say it that way...)
7. Returning to old passions - perhaps the most important on this list, I have decided to return to moments that I love but have chosen not to do. Writing is one, yoga is a big second. Then there are just other things that I haven't even thought about doing but know I want to - like knitting a project other than the squares, photography, making a collage, and re-learning how to Photoshop. All very important things that I seem to have let quaver along the way.

Time and time again, I have these realizations. Most of this list is hopeful in nature; I haven't yet done everything but definitely will work on it. I want to re-establish who I am and do stuff for me. School has taken that away from me, but it's not the only culprit. I have definitely let my steadfastness slide with the final weeks of school trickling down...

Countdown: 8 days left.
See you at the finish line!

I am grateful for...
This sentence: "I have sent you nothing but angels," said by God in the story
The Little Soul and the Sun, which my yoga teacher suggested when I asked her about how to control anger. You should read it; it can be found here: The Little Soul and the Sun

Check out some more posts featuring my photography.

ScrapBag

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

I found the pattern that I made up for this really simple bag and I thought I'd put it up so as to showcase a very simple and very cool book bag. Enjoy!

ScrapBag
Materials:
Use 3 balls of worsted weight yarn (any colors as long as they look harmonious) and size 4 US circular needles (2).
Instructions:
- Make a sl knot out of each yarn and put on needle in order shown below
- CO 120 sts in color pattern
- Join in the round
- K using the chart below for each row
- Make 14 reps of the 3 rows or K until 12” long
- Split sts to 2 needles and Kitchener st closed
Finishing:
- Make 2 I-cords for handles using all 3 colors at once until each is 18” long
- Pin handles 2" down from the top edge of bag
- Sew handles to bag and weave in all ends
O M X
M X O
X O M
or
X M O
O X M
M O X
Key:
X = medium color
O = lightest color
M = darkest color

Check out some more knitting that I've done, in particular this amazing skirt project!

So...

Sunday, May 4, 2008

So I've been extensively prolific in the last few days. Either the vomit of ranting out ideas has shoveled its way up my throat and through my fingertips or I'm just tearing down the 'pretty, sugar & spice' girl that people seem to want from me. Both are extremely satisfying.
I'm realizing that I use recurring words or ways to get out of things in my stories/poems/writing. When I can't think of anything at all, I will insert the word 'soft' or 'separate' or 'belief'. To get out of nearly any situation, I use a doorbell. I have yet to figure out what this means.
I've been trying to raise poems out of the muck of my half-breed drawing poems where the words curl around violent shapes and don't have a clear beginning or end. It's kind of fun, but also challenging. Because I am such a noob that I use the words 'soft' and 'separate' about every other damned sentence. So here it goes, a poem created out of a half-baked one which I hope may one day turn into a slam which I can then bring to the stage. Grr. Now it makes this seem all important.

Time.
Time to retract. Restate. Rebuild.
It's no longer a matter of justice - only politics. Only progress.
Move forward, ask questions later;
Were you ready? To move on to the next philosophy?
An open-book policy only drags you down,
Words are drowned out by the constant hum of the printed page -
The textbook expectations of your mass-produced mindset,
Words. Are. The. Meaning.
Words were the meaning...
Are you ready to go yet? Are you ready now?
We pride ourselves on that ideal which separates man from monkeys.
Think now, do later,
But I can't absorb your soft prayers to foot soaks and anti-bacterial sprays,
Think. Think about what you're doing to yourself;
Cover me up with the plastic remnants,
And shower me with this mantra in order to heal.
Words Are The Meaning. Words Are The Meaning.
Where are your suppressions?
To be human is all about suppression.
Rebirth. Direction.
Take a position. Take a stand.
Overexpose the soft sentiment for a brief glimpse at clarity:
Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of something intensely real.
Words were the meaning; now actions count as currency.
Clamor for the bleeding earth, bio-diesel, safer products, richer soil, hair extensions, tofu lunches...
Then, when all is said and done,
Quiet,
Can you hear your slow heart beating?
That steady swirl of black ink in your veins?
Words are the meaning.
There are places for your empty pause.
My heart is not one of them.