First Post Hurrahs
Ah, the first post of a new blog...! It never gets old. After trying other platforms, other mediums, other ways of connecting, it's good to wander back to the idea of a blog.
Why "The Packet Boat"? I chose it mainly after my favorite poem from one of John Ashbery's early collections; here are the first few lines of "As One Put Drunk Into the Packet Boat":
"I tried each thing, only some were immortal and free.
Elsewhere we are as sitting in a place where sunlight
Filters down, a little at a time,
Waiting for someone to come...."
Of all the Ashbery I've read, I've always loved this poem best. Of all the poetry I've read that isn't Ashbery, I still love this poem best. Truth be told, I'd like the first line inscribed on my urn/tombstone/personality upload drive casing. A packet boat is a vessel that carries letters and packages to outlying villages or islands, and the image is perfect.
Imagine it: you've spent ages shuffling your feet, milling around, waiting for some big message to arrive, and one morning you wake up to find yourself at sea, press-ganged, as it were, and just another part of the voyage itself. You're a message now, not a recipient. What a trip.
Why blog at all? I have a professional update blog on my main website. I have multiple Instagram and Twitter accounts for my personal art and for my business, Two Ponies Press. It's a lot to keep up with, and I'm not always as punctual or consistent as I'd like to be, as it is. Per the good advice of many pro friends, though, I keep those feeds focused and largely impersonal.
So where do I go to post the personal stuff? The projects that don't fit? The stuff that isn't clean and neatly curated? I can't help it; I'm a sharer. I made the decision to leave Facebook earlier this year and haven't regretted it for a minute. It has left a gap, though, and nudged me back toward the quirkier, more personal, and infinitely more creative world of blogs.
I'm not sure what I have planned for this one. In my day life, I'm an artist, a writer, and a podcast host. But there's so much more to it than the gussied up world of portfolios and professional Instagram feeds might imply.
I'm a woman entering perimenopause, for one thing. I've moved from the South to Seattle, for another. I'm a gamer, an avid reader of almost everything, an animal lover, a wife and a cat mom. I always have at least three big projects underway, along with who knows how many minor interests and side excursions. Life is pretty interesting right now, and I'd like share more of it than carefully chosen "after" pictures.
It's good to be back.
Why "The Packet Boat"? I chose it mainly after my favorite poem from one of John Ashbery's early collections; here are the first few lines of "As One Put Drunk Into the Packet Boat":
"I tried each thing, only some were immortal and free.
Elsewhere we are as sitting in a place where sunlight
Filters down, a little at a time,
Waiting for someone to come...."
 |
| view from my studio window near downtown Seattle |
Imagine it: you've spent ages shuffling your feet, milling around, waiting for some big message to arrive, and one morning you wake up to find yourself at sea, press-ganged, as it were, and just another part of the voyage itself. You're a message now, not a recipient. What a trip.
Why blog at all? I have a professional update blog on my main website. I have multiple Instagram and Twitter accounts for my personal art and for my business, Two Ponies Press. It's a lot to keep up with, and I'm not always as punctual or consistent as I'd like to be, as it is. Per the good advice of many pro friends, though, I keep those feeds focused and largely impersonal.
So where do I go to post the personal stuff? The projects that don't fit? The stuff that isn't clean and neatly curated? I can't help it; I'm a sharer. I made the decision to leave Facebook earlier this year and haven't regretted it for a minute. It has left a gap, though, and nudged me back toward the quirkier, more personal, and infinitely more creative world of blogs.
I'm not sure what I have planned for this one. In my day life, I'm an artist, a writer, and a podcast host. But there's so much more to it than the gussied up world of portfolios and professional Instagram feeds might imply.
I'm a woman entering perimenopause, for one thing. I've moved from the South to Seattle, for another. I'm a gamer, an avid reader of almost everything, an animal lover, a wife and a cat mom. I always have at least three big projects underway, along with who knows how many minor interests and side excursions. Life is pretty interesting right now, and I'd like share more of it than carefully chosen "after" pictures.
It's good to be back.
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