As OctPoWriMo approaches, I have found myself completely overwhelmed with the assignments for my studio art classes. I'm currently taking classes in watercolors, glass fusing, computer graphics, art history, and jewelry making. If that weren't enough, I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity I could to grow as an artist, so I also enrolled in a creative writing class.
But why am I telling you all of this? I am learning more each day just how much one art bleeds over into another. In glass fusing, I needed a clean line drawing for a pattern, so I applied my computer graphics lessons to clean up a drawing in Illustrator. In art history, we were shown how the Sistene Chapel ceiling is organized. What I saw in that little graphic was a nice geometric pattern for a glass fusing project. In watercolors, we're currently working with resists and masking. Same thing is happening in glass as we work on designs for sandblasting.
So what does any of this have to do with creative writing or, specifically, OctPoWriMo? Every single experience each day is challenging how I see, hear, and understand the medium that we use for our art - WORDS. Some of the vocabulary that has been prevalent in my own experiences recently are
- masking
- resist
- glazing
- fire
- fiber
- wash
- gradient
Can you see how the vocabulary from your own life can generate interesting ways of combining words?
In computer graphics, we've been asked to design a shampoo bottle. I'm toying with the idea of a ginger-scented shampoo for Gingers (redheads, just in case the term is unfamiliar to you!) I want to call the product RED, but I don't know what the shape of the bottle is yet. I am asking myself the question, "What shape is red?"
To prepare for OctPoWriMo, I want to encourage to you keep a journal of words. Just a simple list of words. And ask weird questions like "what shape is red?" or "what does the number 7 smell like?: or "what color is the sound of breaking glass?"
Keep playing with words!
Amy McGrath
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