Tag Archives: Arts

Life begging for art.

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We have a saying around the church office that goes something like: Life begging for structure, not structure begging for life.

We use this phrase when we are facing necessary innovation, struggling to come up with structure as we see the craziness of life that comes with, well, people.

But let’s not dig too deeply into that.

The whole point is that I’m also seeing moments where life is begging for art. Where profundity sneaks up on us and can only be properly captured and properly framed through art.

Just a few weeks ago, in response to Gitz’ decline, Jen commented:  ”I dug out my old prayer book from my Anglican days, and let the most beautifully worded prayers speak the grief and longing of my heart. But I have none of my own.”

In that moment, her heart and emotions begged for art.

Moments like those–the great milemarkers of life and death and growth and memory and significance–need art. They need words and images of beauty to help the soul express what is sitting and stirring and rising inside.

I’m realizing how we, as a people of faith, in our stripped down warehouses of contemporary worship, have lost the beauty and transcendence that those true moments of worship deserve.

And our artists are awkwardly worship and wait in the corners of the sanctuaries, hoping to paint murals on the walls.

Thankfully, they are picking up their paintbrushes. Watch the beauty unfold.

My first songwriting notebook.

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I found it the other day when shuffling through a box in the garage and it was filled with good words and bad words and good ideas and bad ideas and scrap papers of anything I had near me when the muse struck but I was without this book. I scratched out notes on receipts and stickies and whatever, and then shoved them into this book.

It opened like a time capsule–dusty and delicate. And it felt familiar like the last stretch of dirt road before turning towards the house I grew up in. It felt reflective and nostalgic like watching an old home movie. It felt like me.

And, just like a time capsule, it held messages from long ago. And it told me things about my future that I’d forgotten.  And I’m not sure what I will do with these pages, but I want to do something monumental with them. I want to celebrate what they represent. And treasure it in ways more prominent and honorable than just a dusty box in our first garage.

I want to turn them into the works of art I’d always intended them to be.

Any suggestions for what I can do?

Self-Portraiting

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“There’s room for everybody on the planet to be creative and conscious if you are your own person. If you’re trying to be like somebody else, then there is isn’t.” — Tori Amos

“Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art.” — Miguel Angel Ruiz

I’m too tired to write this. But I have nothing but love for this idea and this community, so I’m going to give it a stab. Besides, it’s been floating around in my head for a few weeks, and it’s somewhere I’d like to go with y’all… I’d go alone, but it’s never as fun as with friends, right?

Well. Let’s qualify that. I’m an introvert. That statement doesn’t always work.

But, in this realm of which I dream, the destination is worth sharing with friends.

I type of self-portraiting. (I like that word. My spell-checker says it isn’t real. So.)

I’m still finding out who I am as a creative being, and right now the journey has me doing a bit of wandering. But with every new discovery, I’m learning more about myself: My medium(s) of choice (that “s” is very important), my muses and inspirations, my words, my tones, my rhythms. All of it. I’m writing less songs, but dang if the ones that fly out of me aren’t the most honest words I’ve written in a long time.

So here I am–dreaming of self-portraiting. I want to take a medium and use it to further who My Creator created me to be. See. I’m also trying to get to know Him a bit better as well, but that’s an other post for another hazy morning.

Here’s the journey. It’s actually a challenge. A challenge to, by the end of this month, do a sort of self-portrait. A capturing of the essence of self.

And I want to challenge you to do the same. I’ve been anticipating this for a while–and am excited about the photos, sketches, collages, songs, and even pies, cakes, paintings, and sculptures that might come of this.

So, but the end of the month, we will have done a Portrait of Self. And we will have shared it with me and with others in this community.

Deal?

Deal.

(If you know others who want to participate, please tell them about this. mkaythx)

Group Vid: I am ___________.

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Hola!

I recently had one of those late-night blog ideas that don’t show up in my brain nearly as often as I’d like ‘em to–match this thought with a very pivotal moment for me at Recreate last week, and we get this neat way to celebrate who we really are.

Remember the dance video from a while back? yeah. This isn’t going to be a dance video, but we will be making a group video filling in the blank about YOU, so you finish this sentence about yourself:

I am  _________.

Your answer can be anything. A picture. A video snippet. A word on a piece of paper. It can be sincere, sad, serious, smart, or some other s-word for funny. (I’m a songwriter. My mind sometimes jumps to alliteration. Sorry.) But it’s GOTTA be less than 5 seconds. mkay?

Aaaanyway, if you don’t have a video-camera, don’t get all “mandy won’t let everyone participate uggghhhhhhhh” on me. Just take a picture with you and your answer. It can be as simple as writing your phrase on a piece of paper (well-readable) and holding it up in the shot. Or you can sign the whole thing in a series of photos and I’ll take it from there.

All files (vids, images, what-have-yous) should be sent by Friday, Feb 18th to “groupvid[at]mandythompson.com” through yousendit.com. Very user-friendly site. Go ahead, check it out now.

By Friday night Feb 18th, you send me a pic, vid clip, or something completing this about YOU:  I am ________. And we’ll celebrate!

So, ok kids, that’s the plan. Go.

Are you a wanna-be, or a becomer?

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“Someone told me you have to write about 200 songs before you start getting it.”

I read this line in a fantastic article on AmericanSongwriter.com this weekend. If I wasn’t married, or detached by technology, I could’ve kissed the man that wrote it.

I’m flirting with the 200 count right now, and–trust me–I don’t share this number to brag. I share it in context: I’m still on the blind side of “getting it.” I’ve made no money and have little idea what I’m doing, but I learn more with every song I write.

As honest as I am about my amateur status, people still want to interact with me as a songwriter. I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along this journey people began emailing me for info/feedback on their own songwriting ventures. I get mp3s. I get lyrics. I get questions.

And, here’s what I would tell them if they really wanted to know:

  1. Read “Songwriting for Dummies” AND “The War of Art.” Don’t even take yourself seriously until you do.
  2. Read everything you can that comes from garyewer.wordpress.com. If his words light a fire in you, then press on. If his advice seems tiresome, don’t even bother trying to write.
  3. Learn everything about keys and chord progressions and the circle of fifths–oh, and play an instrument.
  4. Study songs. Don’t just casually listen to them on the radio. Spend at least an hour digging through the structure, lyric, plot development, melody patterns, harmonies, motifs, cadences, chord progressions, and production.
  5. THEN write a song. Re-write it. And re-write it again. Then set it down for a few weeks, until you’ve forgotten how it even goes, then pick it back up and look/listen with freshness. Then re-write it again.

But, like I said, I’d only offer that advice if they really wanted to know. Truth is, a lot of us don’t want to do the hard work… But we don’t even realize it.

There are a lot of us in this online community who are chasing dreams right now: writing books, recording demos, training for marathons, starting ministries, etc etc etc. Some of us say “I wanna be a ______.” Others say “I am becoming a ________.”

The “becomers” are the ones who have the greater shot at being.  The “wanna-be’s” are just that.

Which are you? What steps are you taking in “becoming?” Or are you still “wanna-be-ing?” Find out what the difference is between these two types, then start “becoming.”