Christy English

Art and the Self

Friday, January 13th, 2012 | Random Thoughts, The Writer's Path, The Writing Life | No Comments

I was fortunate enough to see an exhibit on Rembrandt, and one of the most fascinating pieces for me was the self-portrait of an older Rembrandt. Painted after his work had gone out of style, after his clients had left for new fads and other kinds of art, Rembrandt was still painting for himself. I suppose all artists ultimately create for themselves. When we sit down to write, or paint, or sculpt, in the end, we work alone in a room with no one standing by to love it or to hate it. At least at first, we work alone, for ourselves alone. Only later do editors, critics, readers, and art dealers come in to tell us if what we’ve done is good or not. Basically, whether or not they like it.

But in the beginning, in its purest form, the only critic we need is our own vision, our own eye. Without that, we have nothing. As we work to make our art for the consumption of others, we must remember that our art has to be for us, too.

Rembrandt had no idea that his work would last, that four hundred years later, I would stand in front of it,  inspired by it. He sat alone in a room with his canvas and a mirror, and painted his own face, for himself. And it is one of the best works he ever did. I wonder if he knew that, too, even as he did it. Perhaps the best work we do, the purest art, is the art we make for ourselves.

Tags: Art, Light, The Writer's Path, The Writing Life

Following the Stream of Thought

Friday, December 23rd, 2011 | Random Thoughts, The Writing Life | 3 Comments

Where do the streams of our work lead us? Where do they come from, and where are they going?

These are truly random questions, drawn from the myriad of random thoughts that are flowing through my mind today. They are questions without answers, as all the best questions are.

I do not know where my work comes from, or where it is taking me. That is part of the joy of the journey: not knowing. Always following the stream of consciousness that leads to the next story, to the next character, to the next world that has yet to be born.

I love following that stream. I have been doing it all my life, during all the years when I wrote only for myself and my Muse. Now that I write novels for others to read, I  do it still. There is music in the stream that leads me onward. I can’t see where the stream will end, if it ever will. I follow it through dark forests, through deserts where the stream dries to a trickle.  I follow the stream of my thoughts, the stream that runs through my life, knowing that I will find the next character along its banks. Another world to enter, another life, another story to tell.

Tags: Writers, Writing

Old Books in Front Street

Monday, December 5th, 2011 | Independent Bookstores, Random Thoughts | No Comments

http://oldbooksonfrontst.com/node/695

Old Books on Front Street is one of Wilmington, NC’s  independent booksellers. It has been around for thirty years,  and yesterday we celebrated its birthday with cake and a fabulous band. Folks drifted in with their children and their dogs to browse the books and to take in the warm charm of the haven that Gwenyfar and the Rohler family have created for books, poets, novelists and readers. With the dawn of the digital age, it is lovely to see a thriving home for books and those who love them.

Happy Birthday Old Books on Front Street…Here’s to another thirty years.

Tags: Indie Booksellers, Old Books on Front Street

Why Do We Write?

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 | Gratitude, Random Thoughts, The Writing Life | 7 Comments

Photo Credit

San Miguel de Escalada

http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/Spain/Camino_de_Santiago/Camino.htm

Why do we write?

To find the shadow of ourselves in the faces of our characters.

To explore times where we have never been, places that we will never see.

To discover what is lost, to heal what is broken.

To walk the road to Santiago, to begin a quest, to see the face of God.

There are other reasons, as many as there are visible stars in the sky.

But for today, these reasons are enough.

Retreats and the Fourth Draft

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011 | Random Thoughts, The Writing Life, Writer Retreats | 2 Comments

Sometimes in the midst of a major re-write, it can be a real blessing to step away from life as I know it and go on a writer’s retreat. Of course, the opportunity for this is pretty rare. Often writing has to happen in tandem with the rest of life, and that is how it should be. But sometimes, every once in a blue moon, a major revision ( or opportunity to make the book better) comes alongside the opportunity to go away for a long weekend and do nothing but write. I was fortunate enough for that to happen for me this week, and I give thanks to the Muse and all the writing gods. Sometimes a plan comes together, and it is a beautiful thing. Now, if I can just make the book even better with draft five…

Tags: The Writing Life, Writer Retreats, Writing