You know some people say you need to study music to play it, some say you need art training to draw. I say fuck it. #endurancewriter*
Jeannette Rogers What do you say about writing?
Damon Shulenberger It is 90 percent heart and reading a lot.... College didn't teach me much about how to write. I really think there are ways of using lack of formal training to one's advantage.
I'm sure there are benefits to learning specific modes of expression for many. There are also those for whom the real interest lies in the gropings, mistakes, inspirations––creation 'in the dark.' Balancing the visual, auditory, and language senses is difficult, but the effort involved in making these cohere as part of a unified internal system of perception is rewarding.
I admit that the only way I can pull off the music thing is with the tribal flute, which is a simple four-hole affair, where the different tones are arrived at through octave shifts and in various patterns of blowing, breathing, and sound mirroring thought. Not so far off from singing or whistling, in a way. With my pictorial endeavors, the bounds are primitive ink and paper.
But these modes of expression cohere (in my mind at least) and amplify what I am trying to accomplish through words. They are the more meaningful to me for being spontaneous, mysterious even to myself. I try and catch myself off guard.
No disrespect to those who choose the traditional channels of learning––just complete disregard for those who use lack of formal training as a self-limiting belief.
*hastily written facebook post.
Jeannette Rogers What do you say about writing?
Damon Shulenberger It is 90 percent heart and reading a lot.... College didn't teach me much about how to write. I really think there are ways of using lack of formal training to one's advantage.
I'm sure there are benefits to learning specific modes of expression for many. There are also those for whom the real interest lies in the gropings, mistakes, inspirations––creation 'in the dark.' Balancing the visual, auditory, and language senses is difficult, but the effort involved in making these cohere as part of a unified internal system of perception is rewarding.
I admit that the only way I can pull off the music thing is with the tribal flute, which is a simple four-hole affair, where the different tones are arrived at through octave shifts and in various patterns of blowing, breathing, and sound mirroring thought. Not so far off from singing or whistling, in a way. With my pictorial endeavors, the bounds are primitive ink and paper.
But these modes of expression cohere (in my mind at least) and amplify what I am trying to accomplish through words. They are the more meaningful to me for being spontaneous, mysterious even to myself. I try and catch myself off guard.
No disrespect to those who choose the traditional channels of learning––just complete disregard for those who use lack of formal training as a self-limiting belief.
*hastily written facebook post.
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