everything feeds process

My Creative Acts

I haven’t done very good tracking this week, so this is all from memory. The beginning of the week seems so far away.

• Edited a portion of The Many Lives of Inez Wick (Wednesday)
• Took pictures on my new phone, using different settings in the Retro Camera application, while waiting for the bus. (Thursday)
• Read writer’s group packets (Friday)
• Attended my writer’s group (Saturday)

What’s Inspired Me This Week

• My new phone, especially using the Retro Camera and Vignette applications
• Dave Bonta’s series of poems that focus on plants, especially this one
• The Academy Award nominations, because now I know what movies I still need to see before the end of February (like The King’s Speech).
• Jeannine’s paper quilt, because it’s so pretty
• The Communicatrix’s thoughts on her self-imposed sabbatical
• Old Sloanie’s Tumblr post, which feels a bit like a poetry postcard  to me.

On My Bookshelf

I’m reading two books currently: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown and White Night by Jim Butcher.  I’m really enjoying the Brene Brown book, but it’s hitting a bit close to home, so I have to alternate it with something a bit more light and fluffy.

My Creative Acts

• Discovered the new “Edit with Picnik” feature on Picasa and played with photo editing (Monday)
• Assembled a poem packet for my visit to Aaron’s Literature class (Monday)
• Took a birthday self-portrait (or 8) and processed them on Picnik (so addictive) (Monday)
• Wrote down notes for my poetry talk in Aaron’s class (Tuesday)
• Played more with photo editing on Picnik (Tuesday)
• Gave two talks about Blameless Mouth to Aaron’s Literature Classes (Thursday)

What’s Inspired Me This Week

• Can I say Picnik is incredibly awesome? Even for the free version, there are some really nice photo editing and processing options and it is a bit more user friendly than Photoshop or Photoshop-like applications, at least for noobs like me.
• I love the Intersections photo swap that Julochka is hosting on moments of perfect clarity. She double exposed a roll of film with Shokoofeh, so the pictures were shot in Copenhagen and Tehran, respectively. The photos are gorgeous!
• Beth, who does a ton of jumping photos, has some really excellent sandy/beachy jumping photos here. I love that she keeps recreating these jumping shots with different people.
• Deb Scott has some gorgeous small stones, which she matches with photography to make mini-postcards.

On My Bookshelf

This week, I’m working through Scary Stuff by Sharon Fiffer. I’m reading the series accidentally backwards, because I misread her author’s website. Oh well.

My Creative Acts

This has been a rough week. I had so much to do at work that I haven’t really been focusing on my creative life. However, I still was able to do a few creative projects, between the madness, including:

• Helping Aaron navigate the Lulu system, as his “publisher” (Tuesday and Wednesday)
• Update my cover art for Blameless Mouth, since it didn’t fit their Global Distribution requirements (Friday). Special thanks to artist Susan Sieber for her revision – she is such a great person to work with!

My hope is that next week will be easier, work-wise, so that I can get back on track. I would like to resume my 750 words (which have really gone by the wayside), my small stones, and start writing a series of poems that have been burbling in the back of my mind.

What’s Inspired Me This Week

• The invitation on A River of Stones to pick up the stones again, if you’ve felt like you’ve failed.
• Caroline Hagood’s insightful discussion of the Kanye West video “Monster”
• Beth’s pictures of a fourteen year-old dog frolicking in the sea and how age doesn’t hold her back. (My birthday is on Monday, so aging is on my mind.)
• Amanda Palmer’s Map of Tasmania video. Although not particularly work safe, it’s hilarious and over-the-top.

On My Bookshelf

I returned to trash reading and picked up Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher, because I need more trips to faerie fortresses in my life. Maybe this is why I’m not writing so frequently?

My Creative Acts

• Took a photograph to go along with a small stone (Sunday)
• Made a list of venues to query for a new reading, since the original venue I was going to use closed unexpectedly (Monday)
• Edited my husband’s preface for The Many Lives of Inez Wick, his forthcoming book of short stories. (Thursday)
• Ordered an ISBN number and started the LCCN process for The Many Lives of Inez Wick (Saturday)

What’s Inspired Me This Week

• This small stone, by Deb of Stoney Moss
• James Brush’s chapbook, a gnarled oak, available free online at his micropoetry blog of the same name
• The small stone form, in general. I like the compactness of the moment, the pressure to distill it. I like the exactitude of the process.  I like that I can finish it in 5 to 10 minutes, typically, and refine it when I post it later.
• The Ruins of Detroit, a photo essay by Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre, which is a heartbreaking look at the destroyed grandeur of Detroit’s buildings.
• The return of Voix de Michele’s Pardon My French – go see it if you’re in the Twin Cities!
• This poem by Caroline Hagood.
• This comic by K. Beaton. (Ideal for grown-up Nancy Drew lovers, such as myself.)

On My Bookshelf

• I finished Dead Beat early in the week and ordered the next book in the series from the library.
• I tried starting Food Matters by Mark Bittman, but I’m just not feeling it. I’ve read too much in this vein of thought and I feel like I know the data and have implemented the solutions into my life.

For 2011, I am going to track a few things every Sunday. They will be the creative acts I have accomplished, the things in the world that are inspiring me, and the books I’m reading. I’m hoping that this tracking will help me collect more information about my creative process in 2011.

My Creative Acts

I started late this week, since New Year’s Day was yesterday.

• Yesterday, I purchased a brand new journal, with the hopes of creating a cover this week, and filling it with poetry throughout the year.
• I have begun dreaming up ideas for the cover of the journal.
• I also bought a cute little planner for six bucks, so I can track my poetry writing and creative act progress.
• I wrote my first small stone of January.

What’s Inspired Me This Week

• Jason Webley and Sxip Shirey singing “Days With You”
• Using the Spell With Flickr site to make my “Create” mosaic for my word for 2011 – It took me forever to find it again online, but I am sure glad that I did.
• Speaking of which, I’m playing along with Ali Edwards’ One Little Word for the third year in a row.
• My husband’s year in review post
• The start of A River of Stones and the River of Stones feed in general

On My Bookshelf

Embarrassing but true: I am reading Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. I am addicted to this cheesy, noir-inspired series.