Heya folks,
Welcome back to another edition of Sharing Notes!
Art is not life
Writing about your life is good, but living your life is better. Plus it gives you something to write about. 😉 Like I wrote you last week, our creative output hinges a lot on our creative input, and that means enjoying life as best you can. In the words of Sister Corita Kent, "Be happy whenever you can manage it." And Paul Simon says, "Sometimes you have to be very tenacious, and sometimes you have to give yourself a break." Julia Cameron calls these breaks "artist dates"—or assigned play. I like to call them little sabbaticals.
Do the work but stay out of the results
Again, related to last week's message about worry over inspiration and talent, you've also got to stop worrying about results. According to Robert Farrar Capon, "No artist can work simply for the results; he must also like the work of getting them." Laurie Anderson says, "None of us know what will happen. Don't spend time worrying about it. Make the most beautiful thing you can." Lauren Groff says writer's block is sometimes "fear of imperfection, which can be combatted by a writer carefully training herself to let her work be messy and impermanent." Take on the spirit of Mr. Rogers who said, "It feels good to have made something"—anything.
Notes on my fav free EQ plugin
My favorite free EQ plugin, SlickEQ, has been around for years, but I continue to rediscover new things about it every now and again. This plugin, with four different EQ models and five different saturation stages, is my go-to for quickly bringing out the character of my tracks. I recently added more to my notes on it here, if you'd like a little guidance on how to use it (note that some features are only available in the paid version, though most of the functionality can be had for free).
Meme moment
- Parrot and owl on a park swing.
- Cat holding down and four-on-the-floor drum groove.
- Deer scoring a goal and then celebrating.
Peace,
Arend