It'd be a normal scene of any woman's work station, if it wasn't for the oddities splayed everywhere: the 3DS with Animal Crossing: New Leaf pushed into the slot, a stack of books on activism and sexuality, a pile of notecards half as tall as the large soda cup, groups of duct tape, a few books for pottery, classes, and personal notes on a shelf nearby. It reflects the inside of the woman's mind, filled with thoughts about novels, characters, and - strangely enough - an elusive lamp shaped like an anglerfish.
The woman surely doesn't notice anybody watching, especially with her large sweatshirt pulled up to her neck and dwarfing her curled-up form. Her body shivers; her hands, abused by the dry cold, crack at the seams. Outside, a warm day waits, yet she doesn't look to it. Her eyes are riveted on the screen.
In front of her, a post is opened. A new world awaits.
***
I find that the hardest thing about starting blogs, at least, is figuring out how to explain yourself. How to "introduce" yourself to the world. But this isn't my first go-around, and in some spaces, I'm not particularly unknown. Whether this is a good thing or not is up for debate.
But regardless, I am a writer, and I am a potter, and I am a reader and a gamer and a creator. But above all, I am an academic-artist, and it's not hard to grab my interest - just say "Nikola Tesla", "gay rights", or even "that show that got renewed recently with the four guys and the host - I think it was called Whose Line?" - and you've got it. My eyes will light up; my whole world, for just a moment, will shut down. And I'll grab you and demand, "Tell me more about this wonderful world!"
If you give me a glimpse into a world, I will take that glimpse and rip it open into a window. Don't worry - I've framed things before.
***
So I'm an artist, and I'm an academic, and I have a Wild-Eyed Muse . . . but why would I want to start a blog with just those things to go off of?
Because of a little book called Show Your Work!
In one of my school classes, this book was recommended to me. The teacher was aware that I had read Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist and suggested this, seeing as it had come out so recently. How had I missed that! I immediately went and ordered it, and I've already read through it one time and started my second read-through yesterday.
So what the heck is this book about?! Self-promotion, in a weird sort of way! The easiest way to self-promote these days is via the Internet, Kleon suggests in a roundabout way, and social networking is useful for doing it. Of course, all of that is paraphrased, and I certainly can't describe it better than the man himself. Go ahead, check out his page - and while you're at it, check out his tour dates too, since he's doing tours through May! (I wish I could go, but alas! No form of transport, nor time.) And for those of you who like it enough to want to buy it, here's the Amazon link.
All of that leads up to this: I'm here to show MY work, put out some of my projects, get some feedback. Of course, I want to do this while being as entertaining as possible, as well as updating as frequently as I can. Better to put everything out there than keep it in my head! As a result, Wild-Eyed Muse is my canvas, and I'm ready to splatter it with my mediums!
I hope everyone is ready - I know I am!
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