Disillusioned since my college graduation, I have been pulling at straws and waiting for my niche to find me. Think The Graduate (1967), but sans downtime and nifty diving suit. Not that I had an affair with a woman twice my age or anything, but you get the idea that I felt lost and well… lost. The point is that I feel like my creative reality check finally came in the mail. FINALLY! It took long enough. Good muses are hard to find, especially ones that do math. I know that some of you reading this who have seen my housekeeping habits will laugh when I say that I am a perfectionist. But it’s hard to realize that I can’t create a masterpiece everyday.
Oh really? I ask myself.
“Yes, really, that’s why you haven’t done anything!” I answer back.
The most interesting artists and most inspirational people know how to just do their thing and that’s it. It’s what they live for. Whether that thing be painting or film making, music or writing, they just do it. As a result they’re damn good at it and live with a kind of freedom that many people wish they had.
I can write. I can play musical instruments. I’m insightful. I’m creative. I’m a film maker. I can draw. I have an eye for design. Hell, I even hold a BA in communications which is a nice broad major that includes all of those things. I haven’t *really* created anything that I felt emotionally attached to in a very long time. This blog is a stepping stone for that. This blog that I have now written makes me feel very accomplished and like I’m at the start of something that will launch me into fulfillment, like a forward spiral. Little by little I will do things – write a blog, learn Flash animation, hone and perfect my design skills, create a cartoon, and whatever else comes my way as my momentum falls forward.
Which brings me to, why did I name this blog “The Forward Spiral”? Names are very important. They are iconic words to represent a piece. The internet is inundated with self-publishing, so uniqueness is crucial. I Googled “the forward spiral” and the results were obscure to say the least (it’s ok, go ahead, try it). Not only are there only 382 hits, but the references included a machine part, MR imaging, and a figure skating move. Also, I must acknowledge and confess the fact that it is also partially a nod to Trent Reznor’s album The Downward Spiral (1994). Since his contract with Interscope Records expired last year, Trent Reznor can spread his wings as a pioneer in the way that music is dispersed in the digital age and his no-compromises attitude is a role model for independent artists. But that is its own blog post, which I plan to write in the upcoming week.
The phrase of “the forward spiral” is also a good metaphor for not only my own, personal artistic kick in the ass, but also of the state of political and worldly affairs. Bush’s term is in its last year and we have a very exciting and historical election for our next Commander in Chief, we are moving forward. And I see things to be in a state of perpetual spiraling. Nothing is ever completely over and there is always a cause and effect.
Finally, I’ll give a brief mission statement: The Forward Spiral seeks to be a forum for me to write my unsolicited, often tongue-in-cheek opinion of social issues and political events. I will also include tv and movie reviews and any tidbits of art that I create as time goes on. Please send me questions, comments, or ideas for future entries! If you are so kind as to read it, then I will be so kind as to listen to your input.
the forward spiral 