Discovering micro narrative

The Dinosaur – one of the shortest stories ever

“When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there.”

Believe it or not, that’s one of the world’s shortest stories.

It’s titled The Dinosaur and belongs to Augusto Monterroso (December 21, 1921 – February 7, 2003) a Honduran writer, known for his humorous and ironical style in his work.

When it comes to writing, one tends to think that it’s necessary to count on plenty resources to find inspiration. That stories need to be long in order to deliver meaning.

Take another look at the first line of this blog post. You’ll see that all you need is a powerful idea to welcome as many interpretations as the universe has.

Flash fiction, a style of fictional literature characterized by its brevity, starts showing more presence on the world wide web through sites like Flash Fiction Online and Flash Fiction Magazine.

Micro narrative leads the way to compiling ideas for a longer composition. Sometimes, as a writer, you find yourself jotting down random thoughts without any connection between themselves. This literary style may put them all together.

Another tool that may you help with micro narrative is Twitter. You have 140 characters to tell a story. Great way to train your mind to express in a few words.

Play with ideas and possibilities. Starting small can bring some great results.

Museums trigger creativity

Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City

Last month I visited Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

It is one of the most iconic museums in Mexico. It’s a must to be there!

In December, there was an exposition on Russian art that displayed propaganda posters as well as drawings that illustrated influences from cubism.

There was a specific room for all visitors to play with cubes and build anything with them to interact and experience that kind of art. This is brilliant. It’s the first time that I find this possibility in a museum.

A pyramid, product of cubism at Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City

Pieces and ideas to interact with cubism at Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City.

Then, in a different exposition, the murals painted by Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros portayed the essence of the Mexican history. My mom and I were analyzing them, and figuring out the meaning behind them. We came to so many conclusions together.

It was really constructive to exchange ideas on what we were appreciating.

In that very moment, I realized that it’s important to have pen and paper when visiting a museum. I felt so bad for not having any of those elements. (What kind of journalist am I?)

Therefore, next time I visit a museum, it’s mandatory to have them because of the following reasons:

• Further research on a topic or artist can be conducted later on. Keywords are necessary for that.
• It’s possible to come up with ideas to design, illustrate and photograph. Inspiration might catch you there!
• Thoughts and interpretations can be translated into ideas for articles or analysis.

 

Go for it.

 

A story of art and entrepreneurship

Jack Giesen – Calgarian artist, illustrator and designer

Jack Giesen, 26, is a Calgarian artist, illustrator and designer of indie science fiction and fantasy book covers. She has taken all of her talents to maximize their potential through entrepreneurship. Her parents were her first point of reference in aiming for an independent career, and her grandma inspired her to get into the creative world.

As for her name, it is what it is: Jack. Not Jacqueline.

The first steps

 She grew up in Saskatchewan and lived there until she graduated from high school. Because she was in a small town, she had to travel to a city on the weekends in order to take art classes.

“As soon as I graduated [high school], I was ready to go,” said Giesen. She recalls coming to Calgary in 2005 to take a pre-college program at The Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD). Then, she built a portfolio that was sent to several art schools. She got accepted to ACAD and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD).

Giesen decided to fly to Nova Scotia and begin a new journey far from the town where she grew up, which she didn’t like much. However, after a couple of years in that new program, she decided to leave.

“I left because they didn’t really teach any of the business side. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do afterwards, and I also wanted to run my own business,” she admitted.

So she went home and then returned to Calgary to work in the marketing and public relations field. Later on, she came across Royal Roads, a university in Victoria, B.C., where she is about to complete a bachelor in professional communications.

Facing creative fears

Creativity is challenging

Creatives face challenges constantly.

Everyday, there’s something new to solve. Something to figure out in any kind of industry.

However, these creatives also get to a point where they don’t know if they can meet expectations. What if they run out of ideas?

What if they’re not good enough?

Lots of what if’s.

The other day I found this talk from 99u. In it, Christoph Niemann, an illustrator, artist and author proposes solutions to these challenges.

Let’s focus on the solution, not on the problem.

Calgary Zoo Lessons

Pandas at Illuminasia, Calgary Zoo

Monos, Calgary Zoo

Felines, Calgary Zoo

Insects, Calgary Zoo

A couple of weeks back I visited the Calgary Zoo at night to enjoy Illuminasia, a lantern & garden festival presented by Sinopec Canada.

I was deeply impressed.

The concept captured cultural aspects of China, Japan and India through food, garden and art. All at night.

One would think that a zoo has a fixed schedule, and that there’s nothing to do at it after 8 pm.

That’s not the case here, and that’s fantastic.

I learned two lessons from that experience:

1. Culture can be transmitted through creativity at a zoo. It’s not an exclusive thing from libraries or museums.
2. Art is a way of expressing knowledge.

I love you, Calgary Zoo.

Step up and show your work

Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon

All of us have projects.

We write, we take pictures, we create music…but we are shy to share that work with an audience.

Austin Kleon says

Crafting something is a long uncertain process. A maker should show her work.

In 211 pages and 10 chapters, Kleon describes step by step how to put your creations in the public eye through the use of the Internet.

His first chapter strongly states that you don’t have to be a genius. All you need is process. Results are not the main focus. This point in particular is the core essence of Show Your Work! That mindset can actually help you track your daily progress as you think less about becoming famous or going viral.

The matter of time can be a factor that stops you from crafting your art everyday. You have to work, or study, or take care of your children, or feed the dog and so on.

Still, it’s important to share a little something everyday through a tweet, a picture or a blog post. Small steps will turn into great habits.

On the other hand, Kleon suggests to tell good stories instead of becoming human spam. You might be excited about your content, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to pester online communities to ask for likes or retweets.

According to the author,

“Follow me back?” is the saddest question on the Internet.

Show Your Work! is highly recommended to start promoting yourself through social media. It’s the kind of book you can easily read in one day.

Once you’re done, you’ll want to get to work immediately.

Photo by Alicia Barreto Jaime

The Beakerhead Experience

I recently heard about Beakerhead and found it very interesting.

I truly believe that art and science can be combined, and it’s possible to do so through creativity.

Intrude, by Australian artist Amanda Parer, was the event that caught my attention because of its huge rabbits. I have a story on why it was important for me to capture that exhibition: it all started last month when my roommate and I spotted a couple of rabbits behind the building where we live. We both stared at them while they stared back completely frightened by our presence. I was amazed.

“Haven’t you seen a rabbit before?”, she asked. “Not in a city!”, I replied. Eventually, one of the rabbits jumped away to feel safer. I don’t blame him, we looked like giants in his eyes.

So when I saw these huge rabbits at Central Memorial Park, the roles certainly changed: now they were giants, and us humans were small. Imagine if they were for real…we would run away too, right?!

This is why Intrude is so brilliant. Humans and rabbits share some space in the city and it’s essential to learn to co-exist.

Here’s a few pictures I took with my brand new camera.

If you see a rabbit, be friendly

Majestic

Let him be

We inhabit the same city

Who’s the giant now?

Let’s respect nature.

Alice