Recently, our neighborhood held an “art walk” where local artists and crafters could open up their homes, let people see their studios and maybe sell their work. It didn’t matter if the studio was an extra bedroom or a den, a converted garage or a tiny laundry room, wonderful work came out of them - jewelry, sea glass crafts, mosaics and art quilts, to name a few. But my favorite part of the experience was getting to chat with some of the artists and crafters.
From the person who created fun and funky mosaic tables and tiles to the person who incorporated found objects, like ripped screen from a hurricane, into her work, the excitement and passion held by everyone was inspiring. Being around people like that never fails to reignite that spark in me.
WRITING
A pretty decent draft of a longer short story is done and resting quietly. A couple of ideas are in the starting stages, which means lots of scribbled scraps of paper all over the house and messy thoughts typed up in a way that only makes sense to me.
Last month, I mentioned that my short story, Bad Candy, will be out in Inanimate Things Volume 2 on April 18th. The anthology is getting positive reviews over on Goodreads.
READING
Lisa Genova’s More or Less Maddy is definitely one of my favorite books of 2025. The blurb says - “A breathless, riveting novel about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder who rejects the stability and approval found in a traditionally “normal” life for a career in stand-up comedy.” I will absolutely attest to the breathless and riveting part of that statement!
WATCHING
TV - We finished our re-watch of The West Wing. Once again, another show with some clunky seasons in the middle, but it finished pretty strong and we enjoyed it overall. We also re-watched the first season of The Night Agent, and it was just as good as we remembered. The second season? Not so much. I’m not sure what happened there.
*****
What reignites that creative spark for you? Are there people in your life who are excited and passionate about something? Are YOU that person for others? What are you reading or watching lately?
We have a neighborhood art walk in Ann Arbor too. Congrats on your upcoming short story release!
ReplyDeleteThat was the first art walk I'd ever been to, but I hope it won't be my last. :)
DeleteThank you, Natalie!
Great about the anthology's reviews.
ReplyDeleteAn art walk sounds like a great idea.
I'm excited to see those reviews!
DeleteI like a good arts and crafts fair, but the art walk was great for the one-on-one time with the artist.
I love the idea of a neighborhood art walk! How cool!
ReplyDeleteLove The West Wing (and I agree with you on those clunky middle seasons), but haven't watched The Night Agent yet. It's on my list, though.
It was a lot of fun! And we didn't even make it to all of the places participating. Next time! :)
DeleteI definitely recommend the first season of The Night Agent!
I've been struggling with writing and revising. So far, I've managed to tell myself I only have to do about five hundred words at a time. It seems to work and I'm also using writing sprints with a ten minute timer.
ReplyDeleteI'm limping forward, but like I said, its a struggle. :-)
Anna from elements of emaginette
I'm sorry to hear of the limping and struggling! Sometimes those short bursts work wonders - you stretch that creative muscle, maybe make progress on a longer work, etc. It's similar to my Write 25 in 25 = bigger chunks of 25 minutes or smaller chunks of 2-5 minutes. Keep going! You've got this! :)
DeleteCongrats on the story coming out later this month. That sounds like a really cool neighborhood you live in.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan!
DeleteIt is cool! There's usually some kind of activity or event going on around here a lot of the time.