The "Red Monster" is here! (...and some ruminations about time)

Because of this guy here, the studio can now launch. Yep, the "red monster" has found his way to the Harman house. This is a custom designed (for heavy processing, such as 3D animation) monster of a computer. You wouldn't believe the specs, but just let me skip all of that for the sake of blog accessibility for every reader - even those who don't live and breathe the language of computing like we do. It is great to have the major piece of our practice up and running after months of waiting. It is not a completed studio yet - this is a real process - but we are getting closer. I feel like it is within reach. I like the idea of having a place to be creative and to communicate effectively again other than just posting on Facebook.

So, these last several months (September and October) with no real set schedule have been amazing! I have discovered that the main beauty of retirement lies in the control of all of your time. It doesn't move at any pace other than the pace we want to set. I can't explain it really. I think that those who have experienced it (or are experiencing it) totally understand that it is an amazing plus. I wish that everyone could get to experience it at some point in their own lives. I suppose I really needed that freedom from schedule more than I knew. I have had a job since I was 15 years old. To not have one for the first time at the age of 59 feels a bit strange, but it's a great kind of strange!

Now, what am I doing with my newfound freedom? I have been spending time thinking a lot about children and how their minds absorb information. Real children. The kind of kids that my grandchildren are. Regular little people absorbed in their own world of daycare, preschool, pretend, social activities with friends and family, and the most important aspect of all - the development of their minds and curiosity. My little grandson is four years old at this writing, and my granddaughter is just now two years old. They are my own beautiful little "Petri dish." I get no bigger pleasure as a grandmother and a creative person than observing them at play and then trying to think of ways to make their day more fun and becoming more interactive with their surroundings and their intellect.

I wish I had known what I know as a Grandmother when I was raising my own three precious little people in the 1980s and 1990s!

I have several ideas on simmer for children's books. I have always wanted to write for kids - I believe,  similarly to Roald Dahl, that it is the most difficult to master of all forms of writing. There is so much at stake as well.

  

My grandson has internalized the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He loves both of the movies, he loves the music, but mostly he loves the story. I have watched other documentaries which detail the rather interesting practice of writing that Dahl follows, and it made me realize that as unconventional as it may be, I will need to follow my own practice. If I need to hunker down in a room full of music and light with a giant cup of coffee and closed doors, that will be how it will flow. I have no rules, people. That is the way I need to operate. I realize now that perhaps that is why I tried to make the studio I taught in quite free. I feel that many creative people work well with their own strategies for success and that they need a bit of freedom to discover that strategy that works well for them.

So off I go! Launching full-bore into my own mind to plumb the depths of my own imagination with special attention to learning. I want to learn from children and find out what appeals to them and how to make an impression without boring them in the process. It is so difficult to try things that you are not experienced at doing. But it is personally enriching. I can't wait to get started.