Thursday, November 10, 2011

I was Affirmed against my will!











11-10-11



I'm taking a Humanities course for my pre-req's, and as a part of a warm-up for our test, we were supposed to tell a little bit about what we think about creativity/art/imagination and what it means to us. I was starting to share that I possess no imagination whatsoever, when all of a sudden people started speaking up for me. "On the first day of class, we were supposed to make name tags by tearing up pieces of paper, and he made an origami frog." "He's shared some very interesting stuff in class."

I wasn't trolling for compliments, but it was nice to hear. What I wanted to convey was that I don't really have much of what is considered classical "artistic talent." I can't really picture anyone's face in my mind, even people I've known all my life. Also, my stick figures are crooked, and my handwriting is atrocious. No hope for painting for me. :)
While I took piano for 6 years growing up, I had to memorize each piece before playing it, unlike my sisters, who could just look at a hymn, see that it was in the key of B minor, and play it perfectly for church.

However, I do have some talents in writing, and definitely am talented in video games and video game economics. I'm comfortable admitting my shortcomings, instead of trying to mask or cover them up. I'd rather concentrate on what I do have talent for instead.

We also learned there are two definitions for Artists. The narrow sense is that they are professional artists who get paid for what they do. The broader view is that we are all artists, living creatively each day. As long as you put all of yourself into what you're doing, you're creating art.

You can create art by having a beautiful tackle, preparing a tasty meal, or having such a connection to a game that it becomes an extension of your own body. I'm reminded of seeing an arena match between my Rogue partner (Vicious geared) against a Blood DK who was Conquest geared. They were both so familiar with their classes that it went on for 30 minutes before the Blood DK finally won. I'm sure the DK's partner was bored outta his mind, but I was fascinated. Having so many alts means that often I forget some of my classes skills, but seeing someone utilize all of them so effectively is like seeing a master at work.

So get out there and make some art in your life!



P.S. By request, here's a pic of the frog. :)