Behind the curtain

I love this quote by Ira Glass, one of my favorite writers/producers. School starts back up this week, and I want to start all of my first lectures with his quote. This being creative gig is not easy. There are many days when you feel like a failure because your work isn't at the right level yet, or it's not getting the reaction/attention you had hoped for. No one said it was easy, and if they did, they were lying. It's hard everyday, some more than others. But when it's good, when you actually make what you've been visualizing in your head, when you surprise yourself with how right it is, those days make up for it all.

I needed this reminder today, as we get into crunch time for the Tool & Tack event, and I am spending so much time promoting and what feels like less time actually making; those kind of days are frustrating. My summer/fall has been insane with events, and looking back I have no clue how I did it. It's not totally over, but after Tool & Tack, I get a bit of a breather, as I am not doing any holiday shows. Not doing a holiday show is a scary thought for a maker. But, I have bigger plans in the works that need attention and care (including myself), so I am taking a risk and saying, "no". Scratch another one off my new year's resolutions!

Letter Challenge: Week One

This last week my students and I were talking about the incessant need to have a screen in front of us at all time, checking facebook, twitter, rss feeds, and the like. The quiet time to sit and think has been replaced with apps and constant updates that hit us at lightening speeds. When does our brain slow down anymore? It doesn't. In line with some new year's resolutions, I am trying to find ways to make myself slow down.

This week I'm taking a no-Facebook challenge. I have a love/hate relationship with facebook. It can be fun at times, but often it's just distracting and feels hollow. Who are all these friends? Most are old acquaintances from various periods in my life. Facebook helps me keep in touch, but it's such a distant kind of "touch" that it rings hollow most of the time. I use it more for promoting our businesses, which is extremely helpful, yes, but that's about it. I recently starting writing letters again (remember those?) and I find that nothing beats a letter in the mailbox. Well, maybe a beautiful flower arrangement, but letters come damn close. I have saved nearly every letter I've ever received (several large boxes worth), so I can attest to their power.

Letters, however, take time, so we use shortcuts instead. But if you add up all the time spent using shortcuts (facebook wall posts, messages, twitter @mentions, gowalla/foursquare check ins), couldn't you just sit down and write a short card to the few people you really want to stay connected to? I think so. I am going to try and do just that.  I have several friends who are excellent penpals and I owe them some return mail.

The Challenge: This week I am keeping myself off facebook and will be writing letters & cards instead. 

Dear Readers, 

Does anyone else out there want to join in and pledge a facebook-free week, replaced with honest-to-God pen-to-paper correspondence instead? Leave a comment and let me know if you want to join in. We can all use a social media break.