Musings – Compulsive Creation

Summer Break

Summer’s in full swing and your bloggers here (that’s Claire and Jessie) are taking a break to bask in the sun, travel, and also just be super stupid busy. There may be some sporadic posts, but our normal Tuesday and Saturday posts will not be happening. We’ll return in a few weeks all fresh and revitalized.Continue reading “Summer Break”

Keep that Creative Fire Burning!

This week I attended a free event at one of my favorite shops in the whole wide world: Two Hands Paperie. This local Boulder store specializes in stationary and pens, but they offer a huge range of art-making classes and products to salivate over. The event I went to featured an artist named Cynthia Morris,Continue reading “Keep that Creative Fire Burning!”

#quitting

I started learning a new piece, which I am going to tell y’all all about next week. BUT FIRST, I needed to lay the Sonatina to rest. My prediction that I would be completely over that song by now proved very, very accurate. I am no longer playing it for my recital. In fact, IContinue reading “#quitting”

Must Watch: Your Lie In April

I am obsessed with ‘Your Lie in April.’ It is based on the manga of the same name. It is about Kousei, a piano prodigy, who loses his ability to hear his own playing after his mom dies. His mother was his piano teacher and super abusive, so his trauma is hella linked to theContinue reading “Must Watch: Your Lie In April”

A Bit of an Update

Over the past little while the following three things have developed increased importance in my life. I. The metronome function on my keyboard A metronome is a device or app that clicks/ticks/dings/talks at a regular interval so that a musician can maintain a consistent tempo. It sounds like this. I have started practicing with aContinue reading “A Bit of an Update”

The In-Between Paintings

In addition to my projects that make it on this blog there are many little in-between paintings that are more experimental. Often, I end up dissatisfied with the end result, but these paintings are the explorations that allow me to improve and create the pieces that I’m most proud of. They’re the necessary test studies,Continue reading “The In-Between Paintings”

#RANT

I was talking to some friends and someone asked me why, at the age of 30, I started taking theory lessons. And my first thought was “Bitch, because I want to!” BUT since this is a person who I like a lot and she didn’t meant anything by it, I toned down the hostility andContinue reading “#RANT”

Composition Frustrations and Goal

I have been taking theory and composition classes for about a month and some change. I talked about the theory aspect of my lessons here. Anyway, the composition part is what I am most jazzed about, but it is SO HARD because music is a language that I only kind of know. So, for me,Continue reading “Composition Frustrations and Goal”

Seattle Art Museum Musings

I was in Seattle last week and spent an afternoon in the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). This was the first time I’d visited an art museum in at least a decade. Let me be upfront: the art world often confuses and intimidates me. While I can ruminate forever on definitions of creativity, the word “art” isContinue reading “Seattle Art Museum Musings”

That time law ruined my creative flow…

So, in the shenanigan that is my life, work has taken over completely. Though the next couple months will provide me with ample opportunity to grow professionally (e.g. my first trial . . . in front of a judge . . . in an actual courtroom . . . with an actual client . .Continue reading “That time law ruined my creative flow…”