Quote: “There’s no correlation between creativity and equipment ownership.”*
I already knew this. Move forth. Create. Preaching to myself, not you.
*”Ignore Everyone“ by Hugh MacLeod.
How do we choose to live our art? June 16, 2009
It’s easier to say we love art, than it is to create art. I have a fabulous camera, and live in a city that is dripping with photo opportunities. I mean it – I walk to work, I run in the morning, I see such pictures that postcards are made of… what’s the problem? I see them when I am oriented on another goal. I take the snapshot in my mind. No end result.
I just got the book, “Ignore Everybody” by Hugh MacLeod. Halfway through. He’s already ribbed me for everything I am doing. Put in the time. Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem like the “next big thing”, do your art. I have a week off work right now, but I am spending it with family visiting in town. I’ve noticed how easy it is to “go with the flow” by default rather than planning and giving yourself the best opportunities. Is it an excuse? No one reads this blog. I am writing this as a self accountability thing. What can I do with this week?
Do your art May 5, 2009
I love the slogan from Hugh Macleod - “Create or die.” So simple, but so hard for me to live up to. The art of life, that’s my blog. I am best at art when I have clear stretches of time to do art, like taking a few months off to go to Paris. But what about when you go back to work?
When you start a new job there is the inevitable exhaustion from trying to get up to speed, learn names, culture, and processes… and then you try to apply the information. How long can I use this excuse for not doing my own art? It’s been 3 months and I love my new job and my new company and all the opportunities. Gosh – I’m almost envious of myself working on video games at Lucasfilm! I just need to figure out how to slip a little creative time for me.
Ada Lovelace Day: Inspiring Women in Technology March 23, 2009
Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology. To learn more, go here.
To celebrate Ada Lovelace Day I signed up to write a post about a woman I find inspiring in technology. I signed up a couple of months ago, thinking that the right person would turn up under my nose… but sadly I’ve been drawing a blank. The two women who came to mind were Carly Fiorina (former HP CEO) and Ada Biron (the woman who coined the phrase “debug” and thus “computer bug” in the software industry). Too obvious. I woke this morning to see that people were already blogging and knew I had to come to a fast decision.
I thought about how I started in technology, way back in Vancouver, studying “Multimedia” at the Vancouver Film School in 1998. The class was about 4 women and 22 men as I recall. That ratio has followed me since then, except when I ran my own company. And then I recalled the one place that I had the opportunity to meet other women in technology – a fairly new association called Wired Woman. It was started by Emma Payne. It opened a whole world of other chicks like me, trying to hold credibility in technology without having to resort to behaving like the boys. I was a member for several years. The group was a great positive reinforcement, a mirror to hold up and help me feel good about what I was trying to do.
Emma (along with several other women whose names escape me right now) really pioneered the group. Her vision for the society was so large that she put a strong infrastructure into place so that when she moved on, the group was already self supporting. I heard Emma talk at meetings, but only talked to her directly a few times. Emma, you are a woman whose actions have had a significant impact on others around you. I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you for creating a forum for me and so many other women to come together. Happy Ada Lovelace Day.
P.S. Who was Ada?
Ada Lovelace was one of the world’s first computer programmers, and one of the first people to see computers as more than just a machine for doing sums. She wrote programmes for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, a general-purpose computing machine, despite the fact that it was never built. She also wrote the very first description of a computer and of software.
Life is sweet February 11, 2009
I don’t know what I want to write. There were bushfires back home. There were towns wiped out. There were people trapped in their cars, driving to escape who got encapsulated by a fireball and reduced to cinders. There was one town (Marysville) with a population of 500… where 100 people died. I’m talking about my home state of Victoria, Australia.
It makes you feel sad, mad, and helpless. And (the stupid Pollyanna in me) makes you remember that life is sweet. Without going into too much detail, my mum died when I was 14, my dad died when I was 31, both through terminal illnesses. In between these dates, my cousin died when he was 14 through a tragic accidental accident; and several other members from my family died.
Enya is the usual music played at our family funerals, so I am not keen on her out of the funeral context. We always cremate. I’ve scattered a few ashes. Whew. So being a “silver lining person,” what do you do with this?
Life is sweet. We have to plan for the future. We have to live in the present. We have to find a balance between these. We should always tell people that we love them (family and friends) or that we appreciate what they do and their talents (co-workers).
Living for the present (in case tomorrow doesn’t come) doesn’t mean we should quit our jobs and spend our savings. But it does mean we should think about our lives and make sure we are living to our values. I have worked through the insane crunch at the expense of other parts of my life. And I have chosen not to crunch; increasing the enrichment of my life and relationships. The book “The Dip” by Seth Godin is a good one to read. I requested it at the library and when I picked it up… it was so short and I was not working at the time… that I read it in a couple of hours sitting at the library and returned it right away. Only stick it out if the crunch supports your principals and personal goals. If not, walk away. I’ve done both. Both are worthwhile.
This post doesn’t fit into any of my art/photography/gaming categories… ok, maybe gaming. Thank you for letting me vent.
