Archive for the ‘On being creative’ Category
Art-A-Whirl 2012
For 17 years, I’ve been seeing the “Art-A-Whirl” signs around Northeast Minneapolis. And although I’ve ducked into a couple of artists’ studios over the years, I’d never fully partaken of the Art-A-Whirl experience. But this year I had a vested interest: I recently had the pleasure of rewriting the parent organization’s website. And through my […]
Filed under: Friends and family, Minnesota, On being creative, On this day in history, Photography | 8 Comments
Tags: Art-A-Whirl, NE Minneapolis, Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, Susan Wagner Ginter, Tim Monsters
I haven’t posted anything since October 12—the longest hiatus in HeatherBlog’s brief history. So I don’t blame some of my readers (and more than a few friends) for wondering whether I’m still alive. The good news: Yes, I’m very much alive. The bad? I’m also very, very tired. Yesterday morning I shipped off a manuscript […]
Filed under: Attempted humor, Friends and family, On being creative, Psychology, Writing | 17 Comments
Tags: Germany, Italy, Mark Twain, Mark Twain quotes, Paris, rumors of my death, writing
Guitar lessons—and life lessons
Think of the single thing you absolutely most love doing. Now imagine being told that an incurable disease will prevent you from doing that thing—ever again. That’s exactly what happened to Billy McLaughlin. I met Billy in passing some 20 years ago, when his career was just taking off. He used to play in downtown […]
Filed under: Minnesota, Music, On being creative, Psychology | 4 Comments
MIA for two hours
I used to spend entire days at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts when I was a freelancer. Not only did the museum offer free Wi-Fi, it was also usually quiet as a tomb. Plus, there was something so inspiring about gazing at those priceless paintings as I looked for just the right word. So this […]
Filed under: Minnesota, On being creative, Photography, Psychology, Writing | 5 Comments
Tags: André Kertész, Chuck Close, MIA, Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Yesterday I noted with dismay that it had taken fewer than 12 hours for my pal Chank’s newest mural to be defaced by taggers. Tagging is pathetic. The ultimate form of mindless self-involvement, it consists simply of painting one’s name or initials ad nauseam on the sides of trains and buildings. Tagging litters our urban […]
Filed under: Minnesota, On being creative, Paris, Photography, Psychology, Travel, Typography | 10 Comments
Tags: Banksy, Chank Diesel, Exit Through the Gift Shop, graffiti, Paris graffiti, postaday2011, Shepard Fairey
Need inspiration? Take a walk!
The other day I wrote about how I’ve been lacking inspiration, and about my friend Mo’s advice: Take a walk. I’m so glad I took his suggestion to heart! In one of life’s strange coincidences, Mo’s advice led me to meet a font designer whose work I’ve admired for ages. Among American graphic designers, Chank […]
Filed under: Friends and family, Minnesota, On being creative, Paris, Psychology | 3 Comments
Tags: Chank, Chank Diesel, fonts, postaday2011
Keep calm and carry on
“I’m totally lacking in inspiration,” I wrote to my friend Mo yesterday afternoon. “I don’t feel like taking photographs … I’m thinking of quitting my blog … je n’ai rien à dire.” My phone was ringing within 10 minutes. It was Mo, calling me all the way from Paris to do a creative-crisis intervention. Never […]
Filed under: Friends and family, On being creative, Paris, Photography, Psychology, Writing | 12 Comments
Tags: carry on, creative inspiration, Photography, postaday2011, writing
Lorem ipsum dolor si amet?
One of my favorite things about working with graphic designers is that—from a design standpoint—my copy is inconsequential. In fact, my designer friends would just as soon paste in some “Greek” as they would my carefully crafted prose. Never mind that the Greeked-in copy is actually Latin. Look at a rough layout, and more often […]
Filed under: Attempted humor, How to ..., On being creative, Typography, Writing | 8 Comments
Tags: Bacon Ipsum, Dr. Who, dummy copy, Gangsta Ipsum, graphic design, Greek, Latin, layout, Monty Python, postaday2011, Star Wars, Tuna Ipsum, writing
I knew something was up yesterday morning, when I opened my email. [HeatherBlog] SmittenKitten liked your post (Star Wars meets Toy Story) [HeatherBlog] Eep liked your post (A Paris reprieve. Today’s topic? Bras.) [HeatherBlog] Eep subscribed to your blog [HeatherBlog] Farkasplex liked your post (Star Wars meets Toy Story) [HeatherBlog] Comment: “Just fling me over the […]
Filed under: Attempted humor, Friends and family, Minnesota, On being creative, Paris, Photography, Psychology, Travel, Writing | 10 Comments
Tags: Freshly Pressed, postaday2011, WordPress, writing
