art
Artistic, musical, creative, and entertaining topics in Journal's workplace sphere.
Stitch with Mik
When I was little I use to take a needle and thread and stitch things together to make blankets, pillows, and little toys, these didn't always come out great because I was young and didn't really know what I was doing but I remember how much fun taking that needle and thread and just sitting there for a whole day pulling the thread in and out was. At that time I didn't know what embroidering was and years later I still didn't, I found embroidering during this pandemic when everyone was stuck at home finding hobbies to do to keep them sane, I found embroidery.
By Mikaela Gillett5 years ago in Journal
Threading the Needle
Ahhh, where to even start on this story. Growing up – I seemed to be the only one in the family who had zero interest in learning how to sew or knit. Based on the occasional crafts you had to make in school, it also seemed that I had zero talents on that front, so maybe it was for the best. At the age of 20, I was about to move to Ireland for six months, and my mother thought that teaching me how to knit socks would be a perfect bonding experience before I took off… after three attempts, where she had twice pulled it apart and exclaimed that she had never seen any socks that ugly, I decided my career as a knitter was far behind me. And it still is!
By Catharina E Santasilia5 years ago in Journal
The Art of the Written Word
There are two things I absolutely love about the idea of art. The first being it embodies the principle of speaking profoundly and in volume. Art can say what men cannot in regular speech. The second thing I love about art is that it takes on many forms. Art is not confined to the canvas or the stone block; music, literature, dance are just a few examples of the omnipresence of art. I personally choose the written word as my medium, using Microsoft Word as my canvas, my mind as the palette, and my hands as the brush. The process in of itself is an adventure. Specifically, fleshing out and breathing life into a parallel reality---all composed in a word document!
By Donovan Graham5 years ago in Journal
I Am What I Am
I don't know about inner peace, but there's an inner "piece" that seems to be missing anytime I go too long without utilizing my creative outlets. Yes, that's outlet(s), plural; for I am a Creative Arts Specialist by trade. That's how I brand myself anyhow. It saves a lot of time explaining what it is I do.
By Ryan Barbin aka “Dirt”5 years ago in Journal
A Jay Gatsby Dream
The printed word has flowed through my blood since I first understood its meaning. I would read them; I would write them. Then, during an eleventh grade honors English course, I stumbled over a project that would provide years of self-care. Though there were many reasons to be enamored by The Great Gatsby, the encounter with a certain owl-eyed man was one that inspired my own journey of building a library. Since I was first exposed to this scene, the owl-eyed man’s proclamations regarding the books’ authenticity has remained in my mind always.
By B. M. Valdez5 years ago in Journal
Stitching Beauty Out of Ashes
In the pale light of the morning, I force myself out of bed. Every Monday to Friday I dress myself through pure acceptance of fate. This is my reality from 8am to 5pm. A quick breakfast or perhaps a toast to take, I race to the certain uncertainty of another work day at stake. Tick…Tock…every second counts in the morning rush hour. Rushing to eat, rushing through traffic, rushing up the stairs or perhaps rushing to the elevator if I got lucky that day. Always performing under time pressure, the clock ticking and managing my actions every second of the way.
By Stephanie Alvarez5 years ago in Journal
The Art of Knitting. First Place in Threading the Needle Challenge.
Magic, that’s what it is. When I pick up my knitting needles that is the key to unlocking the sorcerer in me and different places of my own creation. The trick is in the yarn, that is the location. The colors, textures, intertwining into one as my needles lock them into place, any place I desire. The knitting needles are a portal to a different realm, a completely different reality.
By Shams Bahadly5 years ago in Journal
Catharsis
“What do you want to keep drawing for?” my father would bark in his gruff and slightly nasal voice, “Real men don't draw. We're going to get you into Football, or Basketball. If you don't want to play sports, we're gonna get you into something physically active. When I was your age, I would….” He would continue. I would usually zone out at this point, staring at him with this vague disinterest that stoked the flames of his emasculating rage. To him, boys should only be drawn to sports, cars, and women. My artistic interests flew in the face of everything he stood for, and it soon became my escape in those formative years. Those words he barked at me are still knocking around inside my head, and they come to me at the worst times.
By Noah Servilican5 years ago in Journal
Nonsense
The thing is, I need to stop being afraid of failure. That is really what it is. I can't even begin writing because I'm so concerned with wanting it to sound perfect and curated. To be so eloquent and articulated becomes the goal over simply writing. It's this obsessive idea of perfection. Striving beyond myself before I have even really come to know myself. Building an identity rather than just being. Fixating on the external while trying to force and coerce the internal. That is the formula for fake in any creative endeavor. As soon as I begin trying from that place, there is only one result. Self-deceit and self-defeat. I suppose that is two. Anyways, I am going to fail a lot. I need to. There is no other way to any sort of success. Whether self-proclaimed or recognized. I need to get down to the nitty gritty, and sound terrible. I need to sound like I don't have a single clue about what I am talking about because I don't. I need to expose my naivete and false optimism in order to get to what is real. That is the formula. So if I am not ready to do that, and I am more concerned with taking the safe and tailored road, then I am in the wrong place. I have thought myself into the wrong goals. The life I idealize for myself is not going to happen. Trial and error baby; that is the game we play here in life. I can sit back and listen to podcasts and read books and watch interviews all I want, there is plenty of value there. But if I go no further to integrate my own experience and take my own chances there will not be much further to go. I need to be ready and willing to be bent and broken. I need to allow myself to drone on and on and on and more than likely bore the shit out of anyone who reads it to find some clarity. Because, it's not about who is reading it. If that's what I am hung up on, then again, I am not here for the right reasons. It doesn't matter if it is a gift to the world, it needs to be a gift to my own soul. That is the place I must write from if it is going to have any true value in my life. That is certainly not to mean that I cannot endeavor to go whichever direction I want with it. Perhaps I will end up writing a best-selling novel. Perhaps I will write eloquent articles that elucidate my intended points with sharpness. Perhaps I will go on tours and get on stages to speak and make an impact. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. There is no guarantee. There doesn't need to be. If I am solely focused on those outcomes, then it all becomes hollow. I become hollow. Thus my writing becomes hollow, or the complete lack thereof becomes apparent. It almost happened this morning... But alas, I am still here. Of course, rambling on in any given direction but perhaps that is the path! Allowing complete disorder and chaos to take the charge before I decide what to do with it. For, is not the word potential just a fancier term for chaos and disorder? No matter, it's what I do with it. Rambling seems to be my forte, so I suppose I'll just ramble away without shame or guilt for some time now until I can figure out what's really there.
By Andrew Jake5 years ago in Journal
