Chasing My Art Form

Claude Monet planted his gardens at Giverny as a place to find inspiration for his paintings, as he did with these famous water lilies.

This summer I traveled to Paris. I found many new loves while wandering the avenues (why can we not have crêpe stands on the streets of Omaha?), but one of the greatest joys I discovered was the art that permeates the city. From the Louvre to the Musée d’Orsay, magnificent works surrounded me. I learned the history behind these pieces and delighted in the emotions they aroused in me. One emotion I recognized, however, was not delightful at all: jealousy. How could I ever reach these artists’ levels of success, igniting in others the awe, joy, sorrow or whatever other sensations I felt? I have never been much of an artist, and among these giants, I was insignificant.

 Writing is my art form. I do very little creative writing and dread having to write academic papers, yet words are still the medium through which I best express myself. I have found that once I actually sit down and force myself to compose a piece, I truly enjoy the writing process. This process usually begins with me waiting until the last moment before I begin. This may not be conducive to creativity, but procrastination is a hard habit to break. I will then come up with a brief outline, though it is likely to change course once I start; my best ideas typically form when I have already written a significant portion of the piece. From there, I let the subject take me wherever it will. After I am finished, I will let the piece sit (maybe only ten minutes or so, given the deadline), and then I will edit.  Usually I edit as I go along, so this final step does not yield many changes.  Finally, I type in the title and consider it complete.

Rather than paints and brushes, my favorite tools are my computer and a thesaurus.  Synonyms are some of my best friends. I feel that they can make any form of writing poetic. That is what I love best about writing; I can transform a boring sentence into a beautiful one. I enjoy stretching my mind in order to come up with new ways of phrasing and structuring my thoughts. Writing is frustrating, however, in that as an art form, it takes time to develop. My procrastination often leaves me little time for creativity.

When I read, I usually search out articles from magazines such as Newsweek or websites such as CNN.com and NPR.org.  These I read to stay informed about what is going on in the world. I also am a big book fan, though the ones I typically read are novels or memoirs. I rarely read blogs or print newspapers, as I do not think to seek them out. I like the websites and books I read for their quickly accessed information as well as their entertainment value.

My writing must become more concise, as this entry may suggest. I tend to write long sentences, which can become tedious, and I love to use flowery language. I also would like to think more outside the box when it comes to style and how I approach different stories. Reporting has forced me to do this, for news stories must be written concisely and in a certain format. Though this challenges me, I do enjoy the work. I am not a fan of interviewing people, however, and this creates problems when it comes to reporting.

This semester I will work to hone my art and try new ways of expressing myself. Though I may never successfully imitate Monet with my writing, I will attempt to capture some of the life in his paintings with my words.