Niki Chanel

Hello again NaNoWriMoers ~

This year I thought I would add a list of some of the music that gives me mental images of what I’m writing, with links so you can join in the fun, if you like. These are YouTube suggestions, and many have their own directions. For me, the common thread is the unseen ‘other(s)’. I can see things in my head fairly clearly, but I don’t always stay on task, so other artists visuals of spirits, memories, or wraiths, are my muses. Thanks, guys! When you’re ready to back to NaNoWriMo.org just tap this link.

2020 has had so many scary things happening, if one wrote about it (and we had not lived through it), readers would not believe it was true. That’s what is so great about fiction; you can make it seem bizarre while you are really telling others the story of your life… without divulging and thing personal because it’s FICTION! So don’t be surprised that some of these tracks are somber, melancholiac, or dark. However, there are bright spots, too, just remember, these are coming from YouTube so there are the occasional ads. This first batch are rather electronic:

• Kasbo – “Making of a Paracosm”  (54:45)
• Kollectiv Turmstrasse – “Tristesse”  (9:10)
• Kent - “Då Som Nu För Alltid”  (2:53)
• Dwig – “Orange Evening”  (7:15)
• RÜFÜS DU SOL – “Innerbloom”  (9:38)
• Klaus Schulze – “Sequencer”  (24:54)
• Psy Chamber – “Space Odyssey – Psybient, Psychill, Trance music mix  (1:03:56)
• Bliss – “Wish You Were Here”  (5:45)
• Lorn – “Acid Rain”  (2:52)
• Satin Jackets – “You Make Me Feel Good (Deep Mix)”  (8:46)
• CloZee – “Neon Jungle (Lane 8 Remix)”  (4:09)

Then there’a the basic tunes with vocals:

• Taylor Smith – “Cardigan”  (4:34)
• Illium – “Nightlight”  (3:41)
• Finneas  – “I’m in Love Without You”  (3:25)
• Alice Chater – “Two of Us”  (4:34)
• Babygirl – “Overbored”  (3:30)

I’ll have more for you later, but I gotta get back to writing… thanks for stopping by.

Originally posted 2020-11-08 23:14:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

When things go wrong, I resort to art.

I know this about myself, so there’s no need to report me to the Strict People – it’s nothing new. Like many other ‘Artistics’ we are taught by parents and teachers to be like the mainstream, take a deep breath and conform, but that just doesn’t work for me. Artists can only take so much before they need to be creative.

“Or what?” you ask.

1931 movie poster of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

That’s a complicated question, possibly without an answer.  But let’s analyze it; the left side of the human brain can do the math, but for all its accuracy a staircase is a series of equidistant, linearly connected, perpendicular lines on a two dimensional plane. Right-brainer’s live in the world of sweeping spiral staircases festooned with rococo carvings dug deeply into old oak banisters. Me? I am a right-brainer and have been known to burst out into song and sketches, or simply choke on the verbatim list of details in front of an audience awaiting facts. I really do try to maintain an even strain, to be as expected, but I leak art. What would happen if I simply embraced it? You know, the age old go-with-the-flow?

Oh no, no, no; that would just be silly.

But seriously, artists are accused of being the frivolous among us – the goofballs and cuckoo-heads. Yet every medium we absorb is art: our first books, toys, clothing, eating utensils and food are all made of artistic fancifulness, like those bright orange, smiling crunchy fish that would disintegrate if put into water. In middle school we discover computer games, smartphones, blockbuster movies and F a s h i o n! We become more aware in high-school and beyond – billboards, car designs, home decor, architecture, more movies and TV, TV, TV. Everywhere you look there is art, or at least the result of it. So why do I feel ashamed for my artistic pursuits?

The little devil on my shoulder wants to know how come I think things are going badly. After all I’ve been learning code, good, wholesome left-brainer computer code. Stinker; he knows damn well I’m stumped with a programming problem. Ah! A linear-minded pursuit. No wonder! I was too close to the unhappiness to see it. I’ve been following the straight line too long.

“Now what?” you ask.

Now, draw, glue, cut, paint. Design, carve, melt, solder. Take a break, pet the cat and watch Dr. House videos – watch as he get ah-ha’s. It might be contagious. If that lil devil whispers “If you go back to the left-brain project, I’ll help you solve your puzzle”, then maybe we’ve been Dr. Jekyll too long and it’s Hyde’s turn. Artists: do art!

OK… I’ve got an art journal and coloured pencils in my lap, Dr. House is on pause, the cat’s within reach – I’m goin’ in. Don’t wait up.

That’s what.

Originally posted 2012-09-09 01:13:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter