Em, you've got me thinking about moments. Because that, to me, is the key to your last post: at every moment. We don't live our lives in sweeping arcs or themes - we live them right here and now, one choice at a time. And we never know if this choice will be our last.
(Everyone feeling cheerful now? Good.)
It's enormously tempting to think in arcs and themes. That's why there's all that allegory in the world. It's also why my characters often talk too much.
When I like a movie, I tend to think, "Well, that was a satisfying elucidation of the necessary relationship between love and sacrifice." Or words to that effect. But when I love a movie, it's because I was grabbed by "the part where…" The moment. (For any Joss Whedon fans out there, I have two words: "My turn.") And I want to do that for somebody else.
Fortunately, I married a photographer. He doesn't have pages of dialogue to get the effect he wants. He has the snap of a shutter. And, just as important, he has the chance to edit. To crop. To put it in black and white. To frame. But he's still working with just one moment.
Watching him do that is endlessly fascinating. It brings into focus (heh, heh) the central question that I should be asking as a screenwriter: What am I looking at right now?
He makes me see.
So let's learn from each other. What does your particular art do best? What does it capture, and how?
That is a most excellent and thought-provoking question! The art that seems to be particularly mine is manipulating yarn, whether it be for a garment or a blanket, in crochet or knit, for myself or for another. And I would have to say what my art does best is perform some one of the Corporal Works of Mercy, mostly clothing the naked. Okay, so I haven't actually wound up giving a blanket or a skirt to somebody completely devoid of clothing, but I've given even small things like hats and mittens and scarves and blankets and throws to people who need them. And there's a great ability to pass on something or tear it down and rework it. Yes, I can recycle my art! But I think what my art does best is provide comfort while providing cover.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I think you've also hit on another universal aspect of art: it's personal, one soul to another, crafted by someone for someone. I think that's most obvious with an art like yours, where you wind up with a tangible piece of clothing, but it's a good reminder to all of us that we should be thinking about the person we want to affect, and what they need. Thank you!
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