writing prompt:what is true about you that would make your 8-year-old self cry?

welcome to the start of a new series–this one is DIRECTLY inspired by 7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Life Purpose { over on mark manson dot net }. the entire article is incredibly thought provoking and out of the ordinary, usually self-help type questions all end up sounding the same: what do you dream of? if money wasn’t an option, what would you do? etc etc etc. so, i’m starting by answering his question number 2: what is true about you today that would make your 8-year-old self cry?

random acts of kindness

as i was waiting in a lobby today, i decided to flip through the various magazines stacked on the table beside me, instead of my usual phone/internet time. as i was about to pick up psychology today { yes, i’m a nerd, thank you kindly. } my eye was drawn to about half a dozen, colourful, little squares scattered about the table. some said believe, the others said be happy–both had subscript that read pop open here –> .

i was intrigued { sort of like alice in wonderland, coaxed to either eat or drink me }.

i picked up a be happy, since the message spoke more to me, but before i opened it, i turned it over…there was a HAND-WRITTEN MESSAGE: “I hope you’re happy, but it’s okay if you’re not…your time will come. Have faith :)”  i teared up a bit. it was exactly what i needed to be told. it’s okay to not be happy.  i can be at peace with that because my time will come.

i finally opened the tiny card, and typed inside was this: “Begin doing what you want to do now… We only have this moment sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake. Marie Beynon Ray”

utterly beautiful.

these little random acts of kindness, left behind by a stranger.

i investigated once i got home, and found these little gems { ThoughtFulls }.  as cheesy as it sounds, i sort of want to “pay it forward”- i’m tempted to get a pack of love life, be happy, dream, & hope so i too can leave secret, random acts of kindness behind for others to discover.

branded: becoming my own “brand”

about a month ago, i went to PAX { for those not in on the “lingo”, PAX is the Penny Arcade Expo, a huge west-coast celebration of all things nerdy, focused predominantly on video gaming }. in the weeks leading up to the big event, i began watching STRIP SEARCH –an internet reality/competition show about web-comic artists produced by Penny Arcade. the main thing i took away from the show { besides how insanely talented all the artists were } was that in order to succeed –as an artist– is you have have HAVE to create an internet presence/ become your own brand.  from blogging, to tweeting, to having an e-shop, to posting on social media sites, the only way to gather a following and maintain that following, is to be on all these sites and to update regularly.

fast forward to PAX. while i was mainly there for the experience, i managed to sit in on several of the panels pertaining to topics i was interested in. while the subjects widely varied { from geek crafts, to LGBTQIA, etc. geek issues }, they all touched AGAIN on the importance of: 1. having an internet presence 2. updating DAILY, even if it’s is something small and insignificant and 3. developing { for lack of a better word} BRAND recognition— link your social media sites to each other, make sure they use similar fonts/colours, tie your “look” together so you present a well-rounded “BRAND”.

and here’s the kicker….if you want to succeed…in pretty much anything, in this digital world, you absolutely HAVE to do all this. or you will fail.

is this really what the world has come to? that the quality of your work/what you produce doesn’t matter/can’t speak for itself…but instead, covering your tech-bases will get you ahead in life??? is this something i must resign myself to? how does one even begin to “brand” oneself to create a coherent package? a unified front? i feel like this is easy to do for a business, but much much harder for an individual…

 

any suggestions?

works i have made

 

“time is a fickle mistress”

the art form i create the most, hands down, are collages. there is something oddly satisfying about take images out of the original context and manipulating them into something gloriously new & surreal. the above image is not the finished piece {i haven’t unpacked that from one of the many moving boxes yet} but i still find the “layout” copy compelling enough to share.  it is a composite of 6 separate pieces all, i believe, which came from national geographic.  below is an image i created close to 5 years ago–a composite of 7 individual pieces.  what i find absolutely fascinating is that, despite the years that separate them, there is quite a lot of similar iconography incorporated: the woods {at night}, images of light in the darkness {either as a star field, or as tangible light sources}, goddesses, a voyeur indirectly engaging the audience {the person behind the wheel in the top image, the giant eye below}.  the only icon missing {that i often use in my painting or sketches} is the raven/crow. make of this what you will, but to me, i feel as if these are pieces that speak to liminal dream space. to worlds we can only enter via sleep or our imaginations.