2 posts tagged “blogging”

the last few days, i've been writing like mad. everything i see, everything i read is just sparking off ideas left, right and centre. i've been working through a document explaining search engine optimisation for a couple of clients who don't have a web background, so they understand how to frame their content, and really enjoying it. and i keep starting big meaty blog posts... and then getting bogged down in my own verbosity and stopping, and starting again anew. i guess it's been a while since i've really written anything of consequence that required real live logical thought. so maybe i should keep this post to the one paragraph. just to prove i can :-)

well, i've had two days back at work and am steeling myself for the 6.15 awaking tomorrow once again. the new job is going well, and is interesting and i'm learning loads too, although friday was a bit stressful (mostly being new and not being able to find anyone who could confirm that i was working from the right design when the code was supposed to go to the client by c.o.b. friday) and overall by the end of the two days i was left with a cottage-cheese brain which lasted all the way through yesterday (resulting in a disgraceful lie-in followed by the consecutive watching of ghandi, robin hood: prince of theives, and mrs brown without really noticing the day drift by). fortunately by this afternoon it had solidifed somewhat into a state resembling cream cheese (still soft, but somewhat less lumpy and runny) and i was able to consider the not inconsiderable problem of how on earth do i maintain my artistic momentum in the face of such mental and physical exhaustion.

i'm really pleased with how far i've come over the last few months of my sabbatical. in spite of all the interruptions and crises, i've managed to complete my set of two-part inventions, explored a new direction in writing the satie song arrangement for america (which the commissioner likes so much he's suggested i do another two), written a psalm for satb choir and the first two songs of a group set to the short poems of walt whitman. and more importantly, i've got myself back to a point where, given alertness and appropriate quiet time, i can write for a couple of hours or so without too much trouble. the problem of course, is finding the alertness and appropriate quiet time. with 1 1/2 hours commute each way every day, having to get up so early and correspondingly go to bed before i really want to, i'm left with very little time to myself. and the cottage-cheese brain doesn't help.

so i have turned to my trusty friend, guilt, for help.

a couple of weeks ago i came across an online project being run by the tate, national gallery, v&a, sir john soanes museum and a bunch of other institutions which is ultimately aimed at helping people to make the most of the various museums' extensive digitised collections, in particular in inspiring and helping people to make their own art. the project is called creative journeys and they were looking for an assortment of artists to volunteer for the pilot. basically, we roam around the online collections, reading and viewing and blogging anything we find intriguing or influential on our own artwork - whatever that may be. so i signed up with the view that as i'd committed myself to the project, it should help me to push through my mental fug and actually do something.

today i had an idea which is based on the same premise and with the same goal, but at a smaller level. i've launched a new blog called one creative thing which i will be using to track the creative things i do every day - sometimes it'll just be one thing, sometimes a few, but hopefully by keeping this up, i'll be making myself focus on doing at least one thing either with or for my creativity every day. of course, one hopes that every day will be a litany of amazing compositional progress, but i know myself better than to expect that. instead, i plan to record anything creative or which encourages me to think creatively or to play in some creative way, be that baking a batch of muffins, booking concert tickets, borrowing a book of poetry from the library, sketching passengers on the train, working on my satie and dada article or buying origami paper.

so why on earth post this online?, i hear you cry. and i guess that's a good question. it's not like i expect anyone will actually read it ever, far less comment on it, but it holds me accountable in a way that a list in a notebook on my desk does not - it's visible to the world, so there's always the chance that someone is reading, and if there's that chance, then i have a responsibility to keep it up. plus, if anyone should stumble over it and think it's a good idea that they could gain from themselves, then that would be awesome.

now i need to go and book tickets for tuesday night's prom, lay out clothes for tomorrow and get everything ready for the morning. heigh ho!