Stuff About Making Stuff and Stuff I Made
This website is all about creativity and my personal experiences with it. My posts cover a wide range of subjects in that area. Those include things I’ve created (like music and photos), people and works that inspire me, and why I think creativity is important. I’ll also share challenges faced and solutions found.
The way I see it, creativity is every bit as much about what goes in as what comes out. It’s synthesized from experience. In that sense, everything is relevant, so you won’t see much editing in terms of subject matter. Some posts have a plain and obvious connection to the topic of creativity. Others may seem like a bit of a stretch. The aim is to share things which support, oppose, and result from my effort to live the most creative life possible.
A Little Bit About Me
The best times of my life are spent making something. That usually means music, images, or words. It can also mean smart-ass remarks, food, Halloween props, and solutions to all kinds of problems.
I’ve been making music of some kind or another forever. The early days included drum kits made of buckets and pots, a second hand electric organ, an acoustic guitar found in a dumpster (that was a glorious day), and an old shortwave radio. Throw in a tape recorder and a brief stint on the trombone and you have my formative years as a musician.
I got an electric bass at age sixteen and became obsessed with it. After that came lessons, bands, and all the rest. Bass is still my main instrument but I also mess around with guitar, percussion, keyboards and whatever else I can get. Lately, I make a lot of music with computers and synths, indulging a love for electronica, ambient, and the music of horror film.
Writing is something I’ve done almost as long as music: poetry (a lot of it bad), short stories, and that kind of stuff. I’ve earned some recognition for my writing in the past and it’s part of my day job now, but my relationship with writing has been a little strained. As a result, I have a tendency to balk at anything bigger than a few pages. Someday I may actually write that novel that everyone seems to think they have in them, but I often have trouble finishing things. I am working on that and will probably share some of the process here.
I also love visual arts and design. I scratch that itch with digital photography, messing around with Illustrator and Photoshop, and by constantly tweaking the design of this site.