Category: Creativity

Creating something every day for 365 days

Task Avoidance: Artist Trading Cards

Posted on by Dale

I am trying to sketch a visualization of William Blake’s Inn nearly every day, but what that means is that I’ve been staring at a collection of raw materials on my drafting table every day, and today I was forced—forced, I tell you—to create an Artist Trading Card [ATC].

Here’s the main idea, from a post I wrote several years ago.  (tl;dr: 2-½ x 3-½ cards, decorated and labeled, then traded or given away.)

I doodled with some a couple of years ago:

These were labeled as Destructive Series; there were more, but I’ve given them away.  The concept for these was to splash out some kind of Abortive Attempt onto the card, then “destroy” the image by blanking part of it out with glued-on paper.  (The third one turned out so nicely that I didn’t destroy it.)

Today I started a series called Indeterminate Objects:

So, a great way to waste a half hour while avoiding work on Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy—or greatest way to waste a half hour while avoiding work on Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy?

Lichtenbergianism: Building the online empire

Posted on by Dale

Back to work.

When last we looked in on Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy, I was reading through The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published [EGGYBP] and working on all the advice contained therein.  Chapter 2 deals with one’s online presence and how to capitalize on that.

Okay, I’ve read the chapter a couple of times and I have to admit I’m kind of stuck in a little mental eddy.  I know what they’re talking about, of course, and I’ve seen all of the strategies and platforms in action, but where I’m stuck is figuring out how best to proceed.

There are a couple of stumbling blocks.  The first is deciding on who I want to be in this endeavor.  I already have this blog, and accounts with Twitter, Tumblr, Imgr, and Instagram, not that I use them (because I don’t have to.)

But I think it’s wise—and smart—to split Dale Lyles from Lichtenbergianism.  I can post my liberal rants or muse on the aspects of ritual in the 3 Old Men or post my music and William Blake’s Inn sketches—but that’s muddying the waters when it comes to attracting a “permission base” to Lichtenbergianism.  Anyone who heads to the intertubes looking for Lichtenbergianism ought to be able to be immersed in it.

That means a separate website/internet presence based completely on the book and any services/goods I might be offering.  (What, you don’t want to buy a Lichtenbergian brand Waste Book? Or a Cras melior est hoodie?)

So there’s the first stumbling block.  Do I want to go to the trouble of establishing lichtenbergianism.com and @TheLichtenbergian and all that before anyone shows any interest in the book, or do I need to do that in order to attract interest in the book?  Ugh.  Around and around I go.

The second stumbling block is the incredible amount of time/work it takes to establish that permission base of online followers.  I’m going to be posting about the different strategies in Chapter 2, but a lot of them deal with joining one’s online community.

Who, exactly, is that?  I work in a vacuum here in Newnan, and of course that’s my own fault for not looking for my “community” online, but which community is that?  Writers?  Painters?  Gardeners?  Efficiency experts? Creativity gurus?  All of the above?

Thinking that I have to spend hours a day checking on these communities and establishing a presence there just gives me the fantods.

Oh well.  Excelsior.

WBI: 04/20/2016

Posted on by Dale

More imagery of what my song cycle William Blake’s Inn might look like if some enterprising theatre company decided to stage it:

I’m thinking that at their first appearance, the Tiger and the King of Cats should probably be in their puppet avatar.  The denizens of the Inn would move forward, perhaps; at any rate, they would “come to life.”

Musicallyspeakingwise, this is from 0:30–1:00.

 

Ghosts

Posted on by Dale

Very few alive have seen this:

It is the dot matrix (!) printout of the young adult novel I wrote back in the 1980s as part of my master’s degree in media education.  It was the Adolescent Lit course, and the final project was either read and review 70 of the things or to write one yourself.  Hmph, I thought to myself, if S. E. Hinton can do it, I can do it.

So every Sunday, sitting in the choir at First Baptist, I outlined a chapter during the sermon then typed it up during the week.  Before I knew it, I had a novel.  Odd.

It’s called Twelfth Night, New Day, and it is a completely unremarkable piece of work.  It’s about a bunch of teenagers in a community theatre group—if you can imagine such a thing—and every character in it was based on the kids in my company at the time, all of whom are pushing 50 if not already past it at this point. (The plot was a poor thing but mine own.)

I had a good time writing it, and I even started a sequel, but if the truth be told I am not a fiction writer.  I don’t think I even have a copy of that one, which was called I Love You in Earnest.

Anyway, I needed space in the filing cabinet for this year’s tax documents, and when I discovered that I actually had two complete copies of this it was easy enough to decide to ditch one of them.

Yes, I’ve flipped through it.  No, it’s not worth dragging out and revising, I don’t think.  And no, I didn’t find a copy of the suppressed Chapter 13.

WBI: 04/14/16

Posted on by Dale

I’ve done another 5–10 seconds of visualization for William Blake’s Inn, hereinafter known as WBI.

 

no large version

So, yes, the stars are puppets, in the sense that they are held aloft by performers.  There are probably stationary stars in the backdrop, but these are mobile.  You’ll see why tomorrow.

Again, the music:

The event pictured above is from 0:10–0:15, approximately.

William Blake’s Inn: What might it look like?

Posted on by Dale

So yesterday, in my ongoing efforts to do absolutely no work on Lichtenbergianism: procrastination as a creative strategy or any of my three musical compositions, I started a new project, an ABORTIVE ATTEMPTS notebook attempting to visualize what a staged production of William Blake’s Inn might look like.[1]

Using the ungodly amount of art supplies I have on hand, I just began with the Prelude, and before I knew it I had the first whole five seconds sketched.  That means I now have o.2% of the entire work visualized. UNSTOPPABLE, that’s what I am.

Anyway, here it is:

 

—click to embiggen—

Where it says “appear,” imagine “twinkle on.”

And here’s the music: mp3  Remember, it’s just the first five seconds—only 37 and a half minutes to go!

—————

[1] And remember, if you are looking for a charming, expensive piece to do for a world premiere, I am contactable.

Totems

Posted on by Dale

Before we left for our trip last week, we paid a visit to Richard’s Variety Store in Midtown/Monroe Drive.  Richard’s is one of those places that create a strain in a relationship if, for example, one’s lovely first wife had never disclosed that she knew of this chamber of wonders.  One might accuse the other of holding out on him.

It’s a magical place, kind of a Woolworths for the hipster/hippie crowd, and if you haven’t been, go.

Here’s what I bought (among other things):

Yes, that is Icarus, the hero of Seven Dreams of Falling, coming eventually to an opera house near you.  He’s to remind me that I do have a major theatrical work to compose.  Which I’m not doing right now, because I’m writing this blog post to avoid finishing my tax returns.

If I were to link this to Lichtenbergianism, it would fall into RITUAL, as an object which represents a project or a goal and serves to remind me that it will be a beautiful thing—once I finish it.