Just curious...how many of you guys also create some other kind of art besides writing? My theory is that most writers also do some other kind of art. Just curious how true my theory is. Also, if you have a website for your other art, this would ba a great spot for shameless self-promotion.
I'm a musician as well as a writer. My current musical incarnation is as an industrial band (for those of you not familiar with the term, think of it as electronic rock or rock music meets techno). Check it out here:
I am as far away from artistic as you could possibly get. I can't draw, paint, design, sculpture or anything else you might think of. I have absolutely no talent in that direction what so ever.
I like to sing though, if that counts.
Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
I went to the London Cartoon School, so I was a cartoonist and generally did lots of art. Then I did lots of photography. Then I designed and made furniture.
Oh, I also made props for TV and films--so a fair bit of sculpture.
Now I just write...
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
Nice pictures, TaleSpinner. I especially like "London Eye 1." Very creepy.
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
I'm an award-winning dermagraphic artist and fantasy painter (147 awards to be exact), I have an award-winning poem, I play guitar melodic lead/rhythm, bass, drums, and dabble with keyboards, and I've been trained as a comic illustrator. I'm an artistic timebomb ticking away...
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
Wow, Pat. Stunning images.
I'd like to have a couple.
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
Nope, the written word is the only kind of art I ever got into. I'm not even very good playing with play-dough or scribbling with my 2-year-old!
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
I enjoy singing but no one else enjoys it so I don't think that counts. Same with paining and drawing.
Nope, writing is it.
Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
'Paining' is that something you do in a dungeon somewhere? Like tattooing?
Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :
Singing and violin playing (though like JeanneT, just for myself... even the cats leave the room!), and drawing, through again, just for myself. Still, artistic expression is artistic expression, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?
Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
I'm a trial lawyer.
Which means I spend all day figuring out how to condense a case into a story for the judge or jury.
Back before kids, I use to draw and make wreaths. Now kids, horses, work and writing take up all the hours I can stay concious.
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
Well, I've been told that "paining" is a good word for my artistic endeavors, skadder. Although it probably applies even more to my singing (and piano playing) than to my painting. LOL
Posted by Igwiz (Member # 6867) on :
I can strum some chords on a guitar and carry a decent tune. I also take pretty good pictures of flowers. My favorite subjects are bulbs.
However, my favorite artistic thing to do is blow glass. I'm not an artist at it, by any means, but I can certainly make acceptable and usable items. Like the glass I'm drinking my Diet Coke out of right now....
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
Ok, NOW I'm impressed. Not only have you had your work nicked, you do something as an artistic endeavor that is terrifying. BLOW GLASS?!!
Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :
I'm an amateur film director.
Posted by Igwiz (Member # 6867) on :
Look at it this way. Working with 1,500 degree molten glass is kinda scary at first, but at least it's predictable. If I pull it right out of the furnace, it will pour out onto a steel sheet like honey from a jar...
BUT, I can tell by the feel of it when it needs something. More heat, less heat, more air... But unless the cullet (raw glass) was bad, it's almost always going to follow the same rules. The only variable I bring to the table is whether I'm up for working within the 7 minute timeframe where it goes from molten to solid. As long as my timing and intuition are up to the game that day, I can generally make it perform the way it's supposed to.
Meanwhile, this dang writing stuff is so dad-gum objective, that it NEVER reacts the same way to the same stimulus. No editor likes the same things. Heck, the same editor likes different things today than they did yesterday.
So while the glass blowing does include such things as a 4 inch, high-pressure natural gas pipe shooting flames at full blast down onto the glass in the furnace, and a similarly fueled glory hole (yup, that's the real name) that gets up to 1,200 degrees so you can re-heat and keep working and shaping the glass, it's all predictable.
Except for the fact that eight 3-hour sessions costs $300, I'd literally live in the glass studio. And, since my daughter came along, I haven't blown at all.
At least I can write for "free," and there sure are a lot less 2nd degree burns...
Posted by gobi13x (Member # 6837) on :
I really do not have that many artistic talents outside of writing. I barely passed secondary school art class, but I do create things with chain links. I am not sure how artistic is really is, but I enjoy making things, such as armor.
Posted by SchamMan89 (Member # 5562) on :
I love theatre. I've performed at my high school, college, some community theatre, and an acting camp funded by people such as Ben Stiller and Steven Spielberg, etc...At 18, I've already performed 39 plays. Also, I was in this thing called show choir in high school. Think of a choir crossed with dance team and pageantry with both classic and contemporary songs, and you're probably pretty close. I traveled in the award-winning group Sound Vibrations to New York, Hawaii and Florida.
I've had a ton of experience in performance art, and I really do think that has helped me become a better storyteller.
~Chris
Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
quote:I'm an amateur film director.
We've all done that at some time or another..
Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :
Haha yeah, but I'm not talking about home-videos. I'm talking about feature presentations.
Posted by Lynda (Member # 3574) on :
I've always believed that people who are genuinely creative in one area are usually creative in another. My college degree is in music, and I was a professional singer for a while (contemporary Christian solo concerts, some musical theater, etc.). I've dabbled in crafts, photography (won awards and been paid for photography), etc. (the glass blowing sounds like FUN! If only I were younger . . . ah well). I won some prizes with stained glass, which was the last type of art I played with before getting into sculpting. I've been a professional sculptor for the last 11 years (self-taught, as in everything but music). You can see my work here:
I've won lots of awards and a lot of my sculptures are trophies here in the US and in Canada. Funny Cide, who won the Derby a few years ago, won one of my trophies, and since he had so many owners, I had to cast a LOT of trophies so each one could have one! YES! My kinda trophy winner! My latest bronze is a of a horse pulling a 17th-century Dutch carriage (a reproduction carriage). One bronze of that edition was used as the World Championship trophy for the Concours d'Elegace at the Friesian Extravaganza in October. I have collectors around the world. I've also written a book on sculpting for the self-taught sculptor, which has sold around the world as well. (I shipped one to Ireland last week, one to Canada today, one to England two weeks ago.) I do commissioned portraits (mostly of horses) as well as things of my own design. I also make jewelry (I need a new caster though, dang it!). Oh, and I have three bronzes living at the Kentucky Horse Park: "Harmony" is in the US Dressage Federation's Hall of Fame, "Frolic" is a USDF perpetual trophy, and "Friesian Elegance" (the carriage piece, which was a NIGHTMARE to make!) is in the FHANA (Friesian breed association) headquarters. And I still sing.
Posted by Grovekeeper (Member # 5650) on :
I used to be a renaissance faire actor, up until running a Grove took up so much of my time that I couldn't attend rehearsals any more.
When I was in the faire, I made my own clothing, out of leather. This was my outfit for the 2002 Virginia Faire (and me, in it). I made everything (clothingwise) except the hat. Doublet, chemise, sleeves, breeches, boots. And gloves, too, although they're not in that pic.
Currently I make hand-bound leather books, like this one.
I'm trying to get into carving eggshells; I have a box of goose eggs and a dental drill for that very purpose, but life seems to keep getting in the way.
-G
Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :
That leather-bound book looks pretty cool.
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
Beautiful sculpture, Lynda. In a way, I wish I were better at other arts, but on the other hand the fact that I'm not encourages me to concentrate on writing. So I guess it has its up side.
I once scupted something that looked amazingly like a blob--maybe it was actually that amorphous one we've been discussing in another thread.
[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited December 19, 2007).]
Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :
That reminds me of my pottery sculpture titled "A Bad Looking Pot."
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
Skadder, tattoos are not done in dungeons.
I do them in a sterile area, with new, sterile needles, barrier protection on everything from hands to spray bottles, and top-of-the-line hypoallergenic pigments (which are disposed of after each client), and sterile bandages. I won't get into the scrubbing and cleaning products, mopping solutions, or the hand sanitizers we use before an after each tattoo and/or glove change.
[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited December 19, 2007).]
[This message has been edited by halogen (edited December 19, 2007).]
Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :
Yeah, I dabble in a lot, expert at none.
I played the piano for years and years, and was - well, good enough for me. Better than most of the others I played with in recitals. Adequate? I enjoyed it. I have the piano now that was mine when I was younger, and I play once in a while, but it's hard to remember, and it makes me go completely mute - not sure what it is about the piano but it occupies all of the language-processing part of my brain.
I have dabbled in watercolors, and plan to try out some more again over the holidays - my son is getting a nifty art kit. We're going to play.
I did some singing (poor) and acting (eh, mediocre?) in school. Not much.
My profession, prior to staying home with the kids, was interaction design/interface design - a kind of art if you ask me.
This is a fascinating thread. I suspect the need to create is the common thread - we're all compelled to create! Even if it's temporal like singing/acting, it's still a need.
Posted by rickfisher (Member # 1214) on :
While I think it quite likely that those creative in one area tend to be creative in others as well, people should remember that creativity is not restricted to the arts. It can be applied to anything you do.
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
I agree, however, unfortunately (or fortunately) it doesn't mean we'll be GOOD in all creative endeavors. I agree that the need to create is probably a big part of the drive.
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
I've got 30 years in as a graphic designer, with the last 6 or so spent doing web design. I do some photography, although mostly for utilitarian purposes (ie, web site content), although I've had a few pictures published in the local newspaper. I used to do watercolor, until I discovered writing gave me an equal creative rush and didn't involve all that messy paint.
Posted by KPKilburn (Member # 6876) on :
Absolutely no artistic ability at all. I like to program Interactive Fiction (which I guess is still writing) and one day hope to actually make some films for which I've written scripts/shooting schedules. I enjoy creating stop motion animation and special effects, though I haven't done that in a long time.
Does homebrewing count as "edible art"? I've done quite a bit of that.
Posted by rstegman (Member # 3233) on :
Igwiz, "A glass blower who inhales gets heart burn."
A glass blower got hickups. He produced two thousand christmas bulbs before they stopped him......
AS for my art, I can paint reasonably well, I wood carve and wood turn, I was once -->||<-- close to being a professional photographer before I purchased my home. I am a Draftsman for a living. In other words, I do have a lot of art skills along with my writing.
Posted by Igwiz (Member # 6867) on :
Hey rstegman! You're right. Gotta be careful not to breathe the wrong way!!
Actually, I've been pretty lucky. I've never had anything molten or still being worked come off the pipe and land in my lap and just sit there. Happened to my good friend that I used to blow with. It just smoked right through his jeans and gave him a nasty burn before he could stand up...
I've mostly just had small burns on my hands, but even then, it's pretty easy to get a good one. When I was first starting out, I lost my focus and somehow let the base of my thumb touch a piece that I was shaping. All I heard was a little sizzle, and at first I didn't feel anything. Then the heat of it and the pain of it started to build and kept on building. I looked down and there was an inch-long brown line on my skin.
When I went to put it under cold water, the brown didn't come off because I had literally seared my skin with an instantaneous 2nd degree burn. Gotta say... That will make you dance!
I can't be the only one around here who likes to play with fire. Doesn't Lynda cast bronze? That's just as hot, although you don't have to work it hot...
Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :
"That's just as hot, although you don't have to work it hot..."
That SENTENCE was hot.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I've wandered far and wide in the written word...but, to step out of that range, it'd have to be music, 'cause I've tried my hand at a few instruments. I can usually pick up enough to play them fairly fast...but badly. And learning how to play this or that deepens my music appreciation.
Posted by Lynda (Member # 3574) on :
Thanks, Jeanne! You once sculpted a blob, heehee. I sculpt in my booth when I'm at shows, and when friends come by, I let them play with some spare clay. One friend (the lady who boards my horses over the winter - we board them so I can ride in an indoor arena, and not cleaning stalls means my hands are able to sculpt for more hours - I have carpal tunnel, managed wonderfully by my chiropractor). Anyway - this friend, every year, will sculpt a little pile of horse manure and put it in the appropriate "spot" under the horse I'm sculpting at the time, LOL! Another friend shaped a tiny horse head and put it under the horse's (then non-existant) tail, so the horse I was sculpting was "pooping a pony" in her words, LOL! (Horse people are a bit "earthy" - sorry about that! heehee) My hubby the engineer made a tiny bowl and put a ball of clay in it. It was in Super Sculpey (which can be baked in a kitchen oven) instead of the oil-based clay (plastilene) I normally used, so I baked it and put it in one of our curios here at home. He was shocked! heehee.
Yes, lgwiz, I do cast in bronze, as well as gold and silver (jewelry), but I rarely do the casting myself. I make the original in clay, then ship it to the foundry for bronze, or to a caster for jewelry (but I need a new caster!! Mine went out of business - with no notice, mind you - and they didn't return my molds, or anyone else's! There's $250-400 per mold I'll have to spend to replace them, argh.) I've cast one bronze and several silver and gold pieces myself, but I don't have the facilities to do it here, nor do I want to. I'd rather make the originals and pay experts to do the mold-making, wax-pouring and chasing, casting, metal chasing and patina work (although I have done each of these jobs myself - just not as well as folks who do it all the time!)
Bronze is cast at 1900-2600 degrees F depending on how thick or thin it's being cast (really fine things, like miniature antlers, get cast hotter). I can't remember the temperature for silver or gold. Glad I don't have to deal with those things! I did have to do the "avoid the hot bronze dance" one time when someone else who was casting had a blowout in their investment, and molten bronze was rolling across the floor (we didn't have a sand bed setup like a real foundry does). Yikes, did we run fast!!! The cooled piece was nifty-looking, though, although it wasn't what the guy had intended to cast!! :O
Posted by puppysnot (Member # 5217) on :
I have no art schooling, but I do consider myself fairly artistic. I enjoy woodwork, sculpting, painting/drawing, and music. I try to keep pictures of some of my better attempts here.
Gordon
Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
So, IB when my 40th b-day rolls around and I finally get the tatoo I want a tattoo, you're the guy to call?
Besides Skadder, why waste a perfectly good dungeon with the need to keep it sterile? Takes all the fun out of a dungeon when there are no rats.
Posted by Lynda (Member # 3574) on :
Kings_Falcon, when do you have time to lawyer, if you're on here all the time, LOL!???
Off to work on my story some more . . .
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
quote: So, IB when my 40th b-day rolls around and I finally get the tatoo I want a tattoo, you're the guy to call?
For you, k_f, I'll even squeeze you into my appointment book on short notice.
I've got to warn you, I'm not your "normal" tattoo artist.
[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited December 20, 2007).]
[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited December 20, 2007).]
Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
Hey!! I still have almost 2 years left. And my b-day is in August when I am normally up in your neck of the woods.
Those are awesome tats!!! The Taradactil skeleton is truely amazing. And who said I wanted a fluffy bunny tattoo???
Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
Lynda,
It's the week before Christmas - not a lot of people are suing right this second. Or more accurately: I'm between deadlines; (2) the client I met with yesterday who's case will eat the next 6 months of my life hasn't signed my representation letter or given me the retainer yet; (3) I just finished a big trial so my brain is mush; and (4) MOST importantly, I met my billables requirement for the year already. Also, I don't sleep much for long periods of time and then sleep for a full weekend.
Back to it. Humm, who can I sue now????
[This message has been edited by kings_falcon (edited December 20, 2007).]
Posted by Alye (Member # 5017) on :
I sketch, mostly pincel sketchs, but i have been known to do Ink and charcol.
I also like to pick locks (no ive never stolen anything). I at one time was an apprentice to a lock smith and learned all the ins and outs of locks. They arnt as hard to pick as you'd think but you can't just use a bobbie pin to do it.
Posted by Zero (Member # 3619) on :
I have to admit the glass-blowing looks like it'd be really, really cool. Even if it does sound kind of weird by name.
Posted by KStar (Member # 4968) on :
IB- I must be slow as something in your post didn't make sense, though it is the middle of the night. Are those your tattoos?
I do big dreamy oil portraits that I quite enjoy, and I'm a songwriter as well (singing and a little piano, am about to perform live with a band for the first time). Writing is my first love though.
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
Yeah, for some reason, during my first edit, I took the word "normal" out...I've since put it back in. Those are just three of the tattoos I've done. I needed something quick when that add page was built. The pic of me working is old, too. It was at a trade show where I'm usually booked up tight.
