Work of Art Wednesday

Yes, I forgot about Work of Art Wednesday. My bad. I’ve been so focused on writing and cosplay that it completely slipped my  mind.

Here is another one of my pieces that is available for sale:

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Sorry for the bad photo, but it’s an 11″x14″ and my scanner isn’t that big. If you are interested, comment here or message me on whichever social media site you see this on. 🙂

Tomorrow: Probably more writing and/or cosplay-related stuff. Because I am a woman obsessed.

The Tale of the Tape

Just measured myself for the skirt I’m self-drafting for my next cosplay. Ouch. The numbers burn.

I can still, as the illustrious Tim Gunn says, “make it work,” but I have to rethink my approach. It will be tougher to get “right.” Unless I can lose weight.

Then again, if I lose too much weight I run the risk of the skirt being too big in the end. If I choose one of my alternate approaches, it could be taken in. It would be difficult to do for someone with my (lack of) skill, but possible.

Yeah. I think I’ll do that. Make it so I can take it in if I manage to lose weight. If.

The Write Stuff?

I mentioned before about the Cosplay Closet Essentials posts I’ve started writing for Talk Nerdy With Us. So far the results have been positive, but how long will that last?

As an artist, I’m plagued with insecurity. Is this painting any good? Is the cosplay I’m sewing going to turn out? Will my novel get published?

Will people like the articles I wrote?

Don’t get me wrong; I love the interviews. I love doing most of the work myself: approaching the cosplayers for an interview, writing up the questions, editing and posting the articles for review. It makes me feel good when I’m able to organize something myself. But is that something good enough?

Artists, at times, can be fragile creatures. We put our souls into our drawings and our paintings, our sculptures and our clothing, our poetry and our prose. Think of Harry Potter: every piece of art that is created from the artist’s muse is like a horcrux. Souls torn into a million pieces, each one weakening the artist a little yet making the artist strong enough to live forever.

Some people might say that an interview isn’t the kind of writing that can be considered “art.” I disagree. I put just as much of myself into an interview as I put into a detailed drawing or my latest cosplay. I don’t just phone it in–except for phone interviews. I guess technically I phone those in. But that’s beside the point.

These Cosplay Closet Essentials posts are my horcruxes, just as are my paintings, drawings, and stories. So think about that the next time you read an article that you don’t agree with.

You could be dissing a part of someone’s soul.

To dream or not to dream

I have decided that, entertaining though they may be at times, having ultra vivid dreams sucks.

There are some nights when I wake up from one of these dreams and I can’t go back to sleep. Not necessarily because said dream was a bad dream per se, but because the dream felt so real that it’s unnerving. I just don’t want to go back to sleep and experience that again.

Perhaps that’s part of the reason I feel so tired all the time. I don’t get proper rest even on a night when I sleep “well.” How can you feel rested when you’ve just lived an entire day in twenty minutes? The mere concept is exhausting.

Some people say you should write down your dreams and use them as story fodder, but who wants to read a story about going shopping for Christmas decorations after a half day at work? Sure, I could turn it into some kind of quirky tale where everything goes wrong. Or maybe an inspirational story.

Or maybe I need to go back to bed.

NaNo, NaNo

It’s almost time for National Novel Writing Month. Though I’ve been terrified to participate in the past, I’m going to give it a shot this year.

You’re supposed to start with a blank slate (i.e. no words written until November starts), but I’m going to start with a work in progress and just only count the words I add from my initial word count. Can I get 50k words written in a month? We shall see.

I’m usually half planner-half pantser. (Yes, that’s a writing term; writing by the seat of your pants.) I plan the general storyline, but I let the story evolve as I go. With my first manuscript, I kinda sorta knew how it was going to end, but one character showed up out of nowhere to help out. I was surprised by it, and it was my story! Lol

Given that this is my first time participating, I am of course apprehensive, but I’m also stubborn and determined. So there’s a good chance I can get this done.

Can I win? Most likely not, because I don’t think I’d be eligible with the story already being in progress before the challenge starts. Do I care if I win? Most definitely not, because I’m doing this to get a draft out & practice writing faster and longer.

Well, off to get ready for the “real” job. I doubt I’ll ever make enough money writing to do it full time, but it sure feels good to have confidence that I will be published some day and see my book in a store.

Slow Rider

Okay, so my pace was not the fastest…still, I managed to get in half an hour on the exercise bike in my apartment complex’s “gym.” I took a friend’s advice (she’s majoring in kinesiology–I think that’s the word–so she knows much more than I do about proper exercise) & set the resistance to kinda medium. It felt good to get that workout in, even though it wasn’t much.

I had been considering going on pre-dawn walks in the neighborhood, but my husband was concerned for my safety so he got a key to the gym from the apartment management. I guess they don’t give keys out to all the residents because they had problems with people stealing stuff, but he paid the refundable deposit & got me the key so I can go work out in relative safety. Just a short walk to the exercise room, and the door locks behind me.

This, I hope, was just the first of many days exercising in the mornings. I want to make this a daily thing. I can’t keep being unhealthy. I already eat things that are horrible for my body (is it my fault that patients and coworkers keep bringing cookies, brownies, and doughnuts to the office?), but I’m trying to change that. It’s slow going, because I don’t have the best impulse control when it comes to food. I’m a picky eater, but the things I pick are loaded with sugar and/or carbs.

I’ll lose this extra weight some day. It may be slow going, but at least I’m going.

Jumping the proverbial gun

I started sewing the corset panels together this morning. Why do this when I don’t have all the materials to complete it, you might ask. Well, it’s simple: if I didn’t start it, I was going to chicken out and possibly buy a cheap, pre-made corset and just sew the fabric I want on top of the corset, which would look weird. So I started what I can do, and will finish once I have the boning, casings, and binding purchased.

Next up: the skirt. This will be probably as much of a challenge as the corset, as I will be self-drafting most likely. I want to make a sort of fishtail/mermaid skirt, with the exploding TARDIS fabric for the train. I need to decide for sure, though, because it will be tough to figure out how to keep the train from getting stepped on at Comicon. There’s the option of putting a small loop on the inside to pick up the train while I walk, but that might look silly. Then again, who cares if I look silly? It’s my cosplay, my fun.

That’s the great thing about cosplay: the fun. It may take hours, days, weeks, months of work (more like months for me, because I’m taking my time & because I have Attention Deficit Artistic Disorder (not a real medical condition, but it should be)–but in the end, it’s about having fun with costumes. I mean, it is COStume PLAY, after all.

It’s too bad I haven’t ordered the boning/casings yet, because I would love to be able to get this done before Halloween, or at least before the next nearby convention. I think that Tucson Comic-con is in November–maybe I’ll try to be done by then.

Of course, next month is #NaNoWriMo. So I’ll be preoccupied with getting as much writing in as possible. We’ll see.

Fit to be tied

I started on the corset for my TARDIS cosplay last night. It is intimidating, because I’ve never made a corset before and thus have no idea what I’m doing…but when does that stop me? Lol Managed to cut the fabric pieces I need and get some of them basted together (For those who don’t know, corsets, for the most part, need multiple layers to be sturdy. I’ve heard of corsets that had only one layer, but I would not attempt that on my own. Anywho, it involves cutting out several of the same piece and sewing/basting them together before putting the actual pieces together.)

This is a big undertaking for me, but I’m going in with a positive mindset that, if I follow the directions carefully, I can do it.

The tricky parts are yet to come. I have to buy the correct boning, get some kind of boning tape/casings, get grommets and laces, correctly put on the grommets, and put the whole shebang together. Lots to do, but if I think about it one step at a time it’s less nerve-wracking. I know there will be some flaws (translation: a lot of them) like puckering, bunching, and possible fit issues, but I’ll get it done. I’m too stubborn not to.

Sadly, though, it’s almost time to head off to work. *Sigh* The things we do to pay for the things we love to do lol

Fandoms: Like minds or hive mind?

Since becoming more active on Twitter last year, I noticed something: people in fandoms (fans who are fanatics in the truest sense of the word) seem to identify themselves by their fandom. There are countless usernames and Twitter handles referencing various fandoms, Supernatural fans often have a username that includes the show title, theme song, or cast, Doctor Who fans have usernames dedicated to the show or referring to quotes or moments from their favorite episode. It makes me wonder…at what point does the fan lose himself/herself in the fandom? When does one’s love of a TV show, book, movie, or musician become part of their basic identity?

When I started on Twitter, I had no need for a fancy username or handle. I just used my first and middle initial and my last name. Simple, and more importantly, wholly me. Sure, I may have a profile photo that indicates my love of Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, or any other geeky thing, but that’s just a part of me. I’m also an author, a painter, a sculptor, a poet, a journalist….How can one fandom convey all of that?

Sure, my name alone doesn’t indicate much about me, but it’s me. I mold my name to become me through my tweets, favorites, and retweets. I tweet about TV shows that I like, about things I’m doing throughout my day, about the spectacular and the mundane. I put me into every 140 characters. Sometimes it’s fandom-related–more often it’s not. So what makes someone decide to dedicate an entire profile to their favorite entertainment?

There’s fanfiction. There’s head canon. There’s fan art, fan groups…legions of fans. Rabid, hungry, relentless fans. And there’s no stopping them.

Fandoms can merge, split, and even war with other fandoms. Ever heard of the battle royale between the Supernatural fandom and the Justin Bieber fandom? Or how about Twihards versus Potterheads? And no fandom mention would be complete without the ultimate trifecta fandom, Superwholock. Confused yet? Don’t worry. Head on down to Twitter, or Tumblr, or even a little bit of Facebook. They’re there, proclaiming their devotion at the top of their, well, keyboards.

Maybe it’s just that the things I’m a fan of don’t always stay the same. I once was a staunch supporter of the X-Men, until their movies became increasingly terrible and the comics changed storylines so often I couldn’t keep up. Do I still love the X-Men that I read in the past? Sure, but I probably won’t be buying new comics or merchandise any time soon, and Blink will probably never be part of any username or email address of mine again. I was a part of the fandom, but I moved on.

Or maybe it’s because I’m a part of so many different fandoms. I can’t very well limit myself to one or another. They’re all a part of me. How do I choose?

So I wonder, why limit who you are to what you’re a fan of? You may love DC comics more than life itself…but is that it? Does WonderWoman4Life have to be who you are? Why can’t you be JaneRDoe or JoeQPublic? Sure, there’s the issue of Internet safety and anonymity–possibly the reason for more fandom-related usernames on Twitter and Tumblr than on Facebook–but what’s so wrong with being you?

Then I wonder: what’s so wrong with loving something so much that it becomes a part of your identity? My coworkers and friends will forever associate me with my love of Doctor Who, even though they themselves might not be fans of the show, so I might as well change my username to HelloSweetie or MelodyPond. Will I love Doctor Who forever? I’m not sure, but it will be a part of who I am until I’m old and grey and can’t remember what it is I like. I’m a Whovian at heart, but I don’t consider myself so ensconced in the world that I have to create fanfic of my favorite characters or change my screen name to “ElevenIsNumberOne.” Does that mean I’m not a “true” fan? Not really.

Now, I’m not knocking fandoms. I’m just trying to understand the mindset. Every individual is so much more than their favorite book or TV show or sports team. Why make your entire social media presence about that one thing? When does being a fan just mean loving something wholeheartedly, and when does it begin to take over your identity?

If I were more scientific-minded and less lazy, I might do a study of sorts. Follow people with “normal” usernames and people with fandom names, compare the postings of the two, try to determine at what point the fandom assimilates the fan. Is it just a phase for most of them, or will there be little old folks in nursing homes who know nothing but the Sherlock episodes that they’ve memorized after countless hours of binge watching?

But I’m not scientific-minded and I’m quite lazy, so the study will remain a pondering for now. I’m just an average Joe with silly questions in my head.

Killin’ it…serial style

My third submission of an original concept post to #TalkNerdyWithUs was a hit! My editors liked it, my interviewees had fun, and, since I mentioned that it would be a series of posts, I got introduced to another person to interview for the next installment.

I’m enjoying coming out of my shell more and initiating more posts. I like that I can have an idea, roll with it, and watch it actually pan out. With any luck, this will be a weekly event.

As far as my own personal writing goes, that has stalled, but I’m not currently worried about it. There will be more. Just as there will be more art, more sculpting, more cosplay. I won’t let my creative well run dry. I’m just getting started….