Juggling Muses vs. Parenting Myself

By débora Ewing
Work in Progress - Tongues
"I assume, if I haven't heard from you, that things are okay." -me, to H------, ca. 1998
You know my sarcasm and wry asides are for hiding the raw edge of something I desperately want to share but also don't want uncovered. Overreaching typically indicates anxiety. If you don't hear from me, things are probably okay.

Things are okay.

I said words and that was all:  promised this year I would learn to be more me than I already am, and do it unaugmentedly if possible. There was no plan. Basically I started a bunch of shit and it's all taking off - all of it. Terrifyingly. If you aren't seeing me where you're used to seeing me, I'm busy making my own hell and reveling in it.

Much like starting a family, there's no best time or place, and all the planning in the world won't make it easier - you just jump in the deep end. There will be surprises, disasters, and glory; at least one more tattoo. I am my own child, and I'm giving myself encouragement, not ridicule. Pushing through permeable boundaries. To that end, I'm spending at least one night a week making art in a restaurant - in front of people, explaining my processes. In between, I've got editing gigs and I'm looking for the next venue in which to hang.

Juggling muses.

I keep Melete on her toes by wrangling 280-character poems on Twitter with a posse of science-oriented creative-types. The medium breeds conciseness. It also continues the juxtaposition of words and pictures Peter Kidd started with me:  words bleed back over into art, my own lines or sometimes Mel's or Lisa's. We call ourselves #entangledpoets and we want tee-shirts.

I still try to show up at book club meetings, even if I can't find my book.

It's horribly important to get your exercise among people who are true peers. If you're already at the top and the rest of your study group is unmotivated, then there's nowhere to go. Find some people who understand the level of your craft and also what there is to be accomplished - frank people with your best interest at heart. Augment each other. There's always so much more to learn.

There's still time for some of the things I started to peter out; what's important is that I have a contingency plan lest they thrive. This option or that one? It's too soon to tell; tend them all.
 We give up something when we choose a path.
- Joe Manion
Let me throw this into the universe:  some time next year I may be ready to start Project Erdös-Deb, and by this I mean come stay on your couch while we collaborate on something.

If you know me, you know I'm joking and also not at all joking. Let's entangle.

Further Reading/seeing/doing:

Palette 22 Artist-in-Residence Program
If you're in the DMV, look into this networking and sales opportunity.


Evolution of Art Series
Here's another opportunity for area artists. Come over.


 We Are Mars - Cheryl Lawson
I can't link you to the works I'm editing, but I can link you to Cheryl's sci-fi. She's also got an amazing book for creative persons here: Authentic Creativity
I can't recommend that book enough. GET IT.


Coming Into Balance - @aspienblue
@aspienblue is an autistic parent of an autistic child, and one of the #entangledpoets of Twitter. I really think we all augment each other, lyrically and elsewise. Read more about her experience as an autistic parent here: It's All Right to Cry - The Aspergian

WIP - Built With Brittle Styx
ChallengeMe - @ScienceGeekMel
You'll have to sign up to comment on her site, but just look- you'll want to do it. Each ChallengeMe poem is titled with the three words someone gave her to incorporate into a piece. The poem she wrote to my three words (Bulbous, Sanguine, Corpus Callosum) is where I found the title to my piece Built With Brittle Styx, and excerpts from her poem are worked into the art.

Igneus Press - Facebook Page
This is where my poet-guru Peter Kidd and his muse Linda Stone can sometimes be found. Other times they can be found on the porch or at the kitchen table. 

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