Waves

Sometimes when I go to an art gallery it challenges me to see everything differently. I start paying attention to things around me in the gallery. I notice all the spaces between the art work. Everything starts to look like art - even the light switches, the floor boards and the window frames. I leave the art gallery and everything around me looks different. The world is suddenly brighter, bolder, more detailed.

I went to glorious exhibition last week when I visited my brother in Cambridge. The artist, Maggie Hambling, had created the most wonderful paintings inspired by the north sea. She had captured these huge, powerful waves at the moment between rising up and crashing down. They made me giddy and as I traveled home everything I saw reminded me of the waves.

Eavesdropping

I am nosy. If I were being nice, I would say that I am curious, observant or that I pay attention. But really I know it is nosiness that makes me listen in to conversations on the bus or in a cafe. That's why I was so delighted when I read about the Bugged project. They understand that eavedropping is part of being a writer and have organised a creative happening to celebrate.

Between the 1st July and 15th August, they want everyone to try eavesdropping and then create a piece of writing inspired by what they overhear. The Bugged team will feature the best writing on their website and publish an anthology. 

I love the idea that during the project there will be people everywhere listening in to conversations. I will definitely be joining in and maybe someone will overhear something I say and write about it.

Have you ever written anything based on something you have overheard?

Handmade Writer E-Course - Summer Session

After a wonderfully received first session, the Handmade Writer e-course is
returning for a six week summer session. This is a perfect chance to spend
your summer daydreaming and writing. You will be encouraged to take a 

playful approach to creative writing as you are challenged to explore your 

life and the world around you. You will find a unique creative community 

and get individual critical feedback on your writing.

The Handmade Writer e-course will help you gather together material from
every source imaginable. You will learn about the craft of writing and how
to sew these fragments together to build your own pieces of creative writing.
The e-course has been inspired by the strength of craft communities as well
as the impulse to transform everyday finds into something amazing.

I am a author and experienced workshop leader and will be your tutor during
the six week e-course. I will set you a writing project at the beginning of
each week send you twice weekly creative challenges and keep you supplied
with enough creative stimulus to keep your imagination buzzing. I will read
every word you write and give you critical feedback on all your work, including
suggestions on how to develop your writing further.

The summer e-course begins on Monday 28th June and costs £60/ $87 (based
on current exchange rates.) Enrollment is open now. Places are limited to
make sure everyone gets individual attention.

For more details and to enroll on the e-course go here.

I have had some lovely feedback on the last session of the Handmade Writer 

e-course. You can read it here.

Snapshots

I found a wonderful photograph album recently. It's full of  dozens of little photographs documenting the lives of a group of friends. They looks so happy as they pose on the beach, feed the ducks in the duck pond and dig the land. I wonder what happened to them after these snapshots were taken. I'm sure they have stories to tell, stories of a whole lifetime. This album of snapshots is like a little window into their world, a glimpse into life in 1940s Britain. As I turn the pages of the album, I look in and imagine what it would be like to be part of that world.

Where do you look to find ideas for your writing?

Inspired Image

You can find out why this photograph inspires me at Things We Make. Thanks Amy for asking me to take part.

I Learned ... I am going to be published in Japan

I just learned that my first book 'DIY: The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture' is going to be published in Japan by Blues Interaction. I am very excited about this. I can't wait to see my words translated into Japanese, a language I can't speak.

Do-It-Together

 

I am such a big fan of do-it-yourself culture. I love it when people create something on their own terms just because they can't find what they are looking for anywhere else. I get giddy about zines, independently released music and blogs and all that good stuff. I admire people who write, make art and play music just because they want to, without worrying whether it is perfect and polished or how much money it will make them.

I have always had a strong sense of community. I am lucky to be surrounded by people who take action just because they want to see things get done. My friends can do anything and they do. They play music, curate art shows, start clubs, run cafes, take photographs, draw, sew and write. They build, make and do and inspire me to try and do the same.

A few years ago, I wrote a book about do-it-yourself culture. It was a wonderful experience to research and write about how people find new ways to create and distribute, away from traditionally commercial routes.

Recently, I was asked to write a piece for a Canadian art journal about how I felt about Do-It-Yourself culture. I wrote that, instead of just doing-it-ourselves, we should do-it-together. Together we are tougher, stronger, braver and infinitely more creative. I believe in that.