Article = Art + Miracle
I’ve been at a loss how to brand myself as a maker of digital stuffs, so I’m not going to do it.1
And I’ve also been at a loss how to refer to the little pieces– like this one – that make up this body of work (mommess2), so I’ve been alternating between terms like “post,” “essay,” “piece,” “work” and “article,” though none of these terms is quite right. There are so many dimensions happening here, including the oddbit coding and footnoting. All mindful.
I think art is that which is created, or collaged, or extrapolated then expanded from something that begins inside the artist: maybe a spark of bother, or a wave of wonder.
Art may also include references in style, tone, or even samples of creative works that have come before. And hopefully, if the artist wants to make quality work, they do just that: lean into the inspiration they receive from the masters, but not copy them.
But what should one call the discrete pieces of a larger, messy, still wriggling-with-life-and-continual-edits body of work?
Article = Art + Miracle
The word article already refers to a written work, a discrete item or object, or a part of our Constitution. Here, I’m adding onto the word, expanding its conceptual territory. That is, while an article describes a bit of “stuff,’ it always contains within it the mystery of creation too. Without the maker of the thing, for instance, the work wouldn’t also have the benefit of having brushed up against millions of stimuli every single day. Without the makers of things wondering about conceptions they hold in their minds, and trying to make sense of them, there would be no published final piece: simply no article.
So, today, I’ll think of this term as ART + MIRACLE. Which is a term of endearment for me made of two other terms of endearment. An article is something that is complete, that comes through the inside, draws from the outside, and gets crafted by us into a complete little thing by a person to share with their community.
I hope you enjoy the article.
FOOTNOTES
- Heck, why would I brand myself, I don’t even have a tattoo. A terrible ‘Dad’ joke, I know, but also true. ↩︎
- What is inside this collective work is also:
• A random reading generator for folks who want a light splash of insight like drawing a tarot card.
• My external memories in the form of stories.
• Learnings I hope my children will like to read one day (they are 1000% disinterested now, and probably won’t care until I’m dead, but isn’t that the way of it?)
• My quirky takes on culture, politics, and creativity.
• Tributes to people I care about.
• Political calls to action with collateral to help you resist the Republican Administration’s ill-faced coup
• Visual art, awareness prompts, and loads of wildly unnecessary formatting.
• A bit o’ rebellious fight against convention. Oh yes and silly pop culture references. ↩︎
