Drawing Pictures of God (Why Ignorance is Hell/Bliss)

Today, we discuss ignorance.

Nope.

Although I do have an article about the Drumpf nightmare somewhere....
*digging around sounds*
Here it is!

But, that is not the ignorance of which I am speaking.
I am speaking of the ignorance that stems from artistry.
Something I don't talk about enough is process.
Mine specifically, other artists, maybe (though I can't exactly speak for them, just anecdotally).

I don't speak of it often because I assume (rightly or wrongly) that nobody wants to know these things.
Also, it has been ingrained in me that the work should always stand for itself.
Full stop.

"Shakespeare doesn't give talkbacks."

Was an actual quote in my undergrad classes.
But, then again...why do we have talkbacks?
Isn't it to share with audience and with the artists making the art?

So...my process/ignorance:
I'm starting writing poetry.
Check out my poetry/novel blog here. 
I have always felt completely out of my depth when it comes to rhythm, rhyme, and everything to do with poetry/songwriting.
The reason for it is because I have a very ingrained sense of authority/hierarchy in the arts.
Theatre is dancing somewhere near the bottom, whereas recognized art forms: music, opera, and writing are dancing somewhere near the top.
Those are professions that require craft and specialization.

So I am the ignorant country bumpkin, trying to create something in an art form for which I have no experience, but a whole soul filled with appreciation.

And yet!I have always prized ignorance in others.
At least when it comes to artistry.
And why?
Too often I hear students/learning artists say:

I don't know enough. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how any of this is supposed to work.

And I congratulate them.
They look at me confused, mortified even.

It is better to know nothing when it comes to art.
It is better to be ignorant when it comes to art. 

There, I said it.
Why so?

Children know nothing about art.
They simply draw.
Children know nothing about play.
They simply do.
And that makes them artists.
Unquestionably.

You can argue about the level of craft of their compositions or details, but one of the fundamental things about children as artists is they do it.
They make an impressive body of work.
My childhood portfolio is filled.
I would bet that anybody could say as much.
What about as an adult?
Is anyone nearly so prolific?

Ignorance is no bar to artistry.
In fact, I maintain that it is helpful.
And why?

Sir Ken Robinson ladies and gentlemen!
The story goes:

A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew pictures. Occasionally she would walk around the room to see each child's work. There was on little girl who hardly ever paid attention in school, but she was busy working on her drawing. "What are you drawing?" she asked the little girl was was working diligently at her desk. The girl replied, "I'm drawing a picture of God." The teacher paused and said, "But, nobody knows what God looks like." The little girl replied, "They will in a minute."

 Ignorance is not a bar to artistry.
It is about the most helpful thing in the world.
Children are ignorant and are able to draw pictures of God.
And why?
Because they do not have a preconceived notion of their limitations.
It is no stop to them or their abilities.
Adults who perceive themselves to be ignorant have a worse time of it because it does bar them and their ability to create.

For many years I have been the teacher in the joke, hopelessly afraid of writing anything.
But, I never viewed my lack of formal education as a blessing.
I have no scruples or understanding about how writing works.
I am free to make any sort of art that I can conceive.

So that is what I am currently doing.
My first novel is an experiment in long-form internal monologue.
The narrator is untrustworthy and will probably continue to be throughout the entire story.
I am no longer breaking it down into chapters, but chimes, drawing a direct narrative parallel between his experience of a year, a day, and a moment atop a hospital, but also the marriage bells.
Form influencing content and content influencing form.
I wouldn't think that that was an acceptable prose form were it not for the fact that I have never had anyone tell me not to do it.

My next novel is being written in tandem, two columns of material side by side for comparison or whatever the audience pleases.
To be fair, I have seen something similar.
Much of my prose is influenced by the work of Mark Z Danielewski.

House of Leaves is a bear to read.

And this:

Only Revolutions.

Both of these works couldn't be told in the classical novel-form.

But, they are still very much novels.

He is one of the most daring novel writers that I have ever seen.

And I want more books to be like this: experimenting with form.

Since, I haven't seen it, well, I may as well write it.

One of the best anecdotes I was told by someone I care about very deeply was:

You know how C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien got their start? They were tired of the fiction being written at the time and decided to write what they always wanted to read.

That is bad ass.
I would like a little more badassery in fiction and in art.
So ignorance and lack of formal training being no bar, let's do it!
Let us, each of us, make the art that we wish to see in the world!

Manifest Coolness From Nerd to Shining Dweeb (Wouldn't it be Cool If...)

Today, let us discuss coolness.

Let me start by saying I have never been cool.
I have never thought of myself as cool or have any idea how to be cool.
The mere fact I use the word cool should highlight my credentials.

But, I have been studying cool people for years.
And I have come down to a couple of criteria for identifying cool people

• They always seem to be happy
• They always seem to do what they want
• They always seem to somehow succeed at those things

Those basic criteria are generally what I consider to be cool/coolness.

So how do we go about becoming cool?

Well, it is tricky. 

My new belief is we are all innately cool.

But, are we the coolest?

Are we as cool as we want to be?

My contention is an emphatic YES

WE ARE AS COOL AS WE WANT TO BE.

So what does that mean?

WE ARE IN CONTROL OF HOW COOL OUR LIVES CAN BE.

I usually distill this down to a simple adage that I repeat often:
"We get the life we craft."

SO what are we crafting?
I look around and I see bills piling up, a seasonal job, not enough time in the day, and too much Netflix binges.
That isn't terribly cool.
Not like the cool kids that I know/see who go skydiving or travel the world.
That makes me frustrated.
Why do they get to do it and not me?
What makes them so freaking cool?

And therein lies the truth of it.
They aren't cooler than me.
They aren't more special than me.
They are just doing it.

Looking at the list again:

• They always seem to be happy
• They always seem to do what they want
• They always seem to somehow succeed at those things

So why are they happy?
Well they do what they want.
They always seem to succeed (for expansion on why this may be so, check out How to Write a Better Life)

Now, I am not suggesting that these cool people aren't living lives filled with tragedy and suffering just like the rest of us
(My main contention is that they are the rest of us)
But the point is that when you are living a legend, when you are living not just a cool life, but the coolest life, you get to wake up every day.
You don't drag yourself to a 9 to 5, you run to it.
And why?
Because your life becomes a training montage!
You're excited and free to go and do whatever you want.

Why the word "COOL"?
Because it works for me.
It sings to me.
I have no idea why or how, but it does.
So I run with it.

When I wake up and I think, "Wouldn't it be cool if..." I take that as a big flipping sign and run with it.
So after years I am finally:

• Writing story (novels/shorts)
• Writing poetry
• Taking film photographs
• Taking dance classes
• Running workshops
• Travelling the world
• Teaching
• Cooking

All of the things that I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if" but never thought at which I would be good.

That stops now. 

I want to be the coolest me.

And that's pretty cool.