Small Dream Saturday: A Brief History of Vampires

September 23, 2023September 23, 2023 MabelLeave a comment

Hello Strangers,

I am nothing if not (in)consistent. Today (eleven o’clock at night,) I am going to do things a bit differently; I am going to reveal to you the surprising and potentially very inaccurate history of the folkloric tradition of vampires as I have learned it.

Beginning in the Slavic region of Europe, ‘wampyrs’ or ‘vampyrs’ were not blood sucking demons but were actually mythic creatures that sucked the rain from the storm clouds and causing the droughts that starved communities. Similar to the gods of other communities, they served as explanations for weather patterns and as causes of human suffering.

After this, it came to mean a race of creatures that devoured celestial bodies including the sun, and also the moon. They were thought to be the cause of eclipses and blood moons, when they would bite the moon, turning it red. Now, interestingly, this is also where the werewolf myth begins. Part of the vampyr myth was that they could shapeshift into creatures like crows, cats, rabbits, and, you guessed it, wolves. Because of this, and because of the new lore surrounding the moon and stars, historians have a difficult time deciding which myths belong to which creatures, and the meanings of the name that they shared for a long time. To this day, there is conflict between vampires and werewolves not only in the interpretation of their stories, but also as characters in the stories themsleves.

After all of this, we arrive at the familiar tale of the blood sucking demon. There wasn’t much to tell here, it was simply a terrifying supernatural creature, feeding on the blood of humans. Until it became something else. Something closer to a human.

If a human were to turn into a vampire, (forgive my many spellings of the word, I know it’s distracting,) there was usually a reason for it. Parents might curse their child, and when that child died, they would return as a vampire, roaming restlessly in search of human blood. They might be a child born out of wedlock, a union not blessed by God. I take issue with that kind of assertion, because I believe that God is merciful and that every person will have a chance to repent of their sins and be saved. I take issues with stories that twist our perception of reality, but it was a cultural belief at the time The third way one could become a vampire was through sorcery. If a magician was already playing with dark forces, then when they died, their corpse might be overtaken by a demon and used to steal blood. Not just human either, a lot of sheep and cattle were killed for a very long time.

From this myth, we find the introduction of the vampire into mainstream media in England, and then America: Bram Stoker’s Dracula. (This statement ignores the many myths already present in distinctive stories held by various Native American tribes, and it is an interesting note that while the modern vampire can be traced back to Slavic origins, there are cultures all over the world from Africa, to Asia, to the Americas and beyond who have their own tales of blood-sucking creatures similar to the vampire.) But! Nonetheless, Dracula was a beginning of the vampire for the American people. A nearly human, but still greedy, conniving, lusting, blood thirsty monster. And yet even in the novel, there was some sympathy for him.

Dracula is modern, but Twilight, True Blood, and The Vampire Diaries, are contemporary examples of the vampire in literature, and they have undergone yet another shift. While they maintain their warnings of and brushes with female sexuality, lust, and demonology, these vampires are no longer demons, even if they maintain their offensive religious imagery. Religion is even touched on directly and from the vampire’s perspective in Twilight; Edward Cullen thinks that as a vampire, he is beyond saving, beyond the grace of God, and unwanted by God. In The Vampire Diaries, the two leading brothers struggle to find a sense of morality and love. Also undead politics and eating people. But the point is, vampires have changed in a fundamental way: they are no longer demons, they are representations of fallen man.

Within the realm of storytelling, vampires are at a place at last where they might seek redemption. Instead of representing fear, evil, and famine, they represent the human lost. The unwanted. The dangerous, and the people who think they are too far gone. It is time, in fiction, for the vampire’s redemption.

All stories are a product of their time and culture. We tell stories based on the state of reality, and of the thoughts in our heads that maybe we are not ready to think about in their realest forms. Our culture today is lost, listless, restless, and evil. But fully human. And in the stories of today, there is an ingrained belief that even a vampire can be redeemed.

I have a hero complex, but I will never save anybody, in any way. My small dream at the end of this Saturday is a prayer that the lost would come home.

All my love to you,

–Mabel

Art & Writing

Plastic Forks, Banana Splits, and Bright Spots

June 30, 2023 MabelLeave a comment

Hello Strangers.

Along the coast of Maine, sharp breezes and dark skies close in as summer warns of its own demise. When the tourists leave for the season, the population of a small, isolated town shrinks to three thousand, and the locals are left alone with the cold and dark. The sea taunts a young woman suffering personal tragedy yet again, in Megan Miranda’s ‘The Last House Guest.’ And I think to myself, man. This girl could use an ice cream.

A while ago, I worked at a sandwich shop and it was the happiest time of my life. And I was determined to be happy. It was during Covid and our supply chain regularly fell behind on orders. Bags were missing, straws, cups, lids, salad containers, et cetera, and we made do. It wasn’t a particularly big issue. But every time my manager would walk up with a box of bags to open, I felt my face light up like some cross between a Christmas tree and a clown. His face would twist up in response and he’d ask,

“What are you so happy about?”

I was happy about the bags. Obviously. What else was I supposed to draw frogs on.

I once went to the grocery store coffee shop on our strip and picked up a fork. My glee was boundless. I think I giggled. The barista, Collin, looked at me with bewilderment and asked,

“You okay over there? You just looked at the fork like it was God.”

Well no, Collin, not God, let’s not get carried away. And, yes, Collin, I’m over the moon. Last time I came here to eat an entire-one-dollar-pie-that-I-didn’t-buy-from-you, you were out of forks and I had to buy a full container from someone else and come back. Which I can’t believe is allowed.

And that’s very close to what I said, with a Joker grin plastered across my face. And the truly spectacular part of this was that it happened every day. And I was genuinely joyful, every day.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m in a bit of a rough patch right now, but! Yesterday, an opportunity came my way. I was gifted a banana split and let me tell you,

Bright Spot.

One chocolate scoop covered in marshmallow sauce, one strawberry scoop covered in sugared strawberries, one vanilla scoop covered in fudge sauce and nuts. A banana underneath, and all topped with whipped cream.

In my mind I could hear ‘Top of the World’ by the Carpenters playing. And because it’s in the movie, ‘Dark Shadows,’ that’s what I thought of. The happy song laid on top of a deep blue world, just a little twisted. And I thought,

That movie would be so much better with a scene of someone really enjoying a banana split. Bright spots.

See, the movie was funny. It was a dark comedy, and I understand why there were no yellow-lit summer scenes including a frozen treat. But in that moment, I understood there could have been one. And there is a good rule of thumb for story writing here:

Nothing lasts forever.

In our writing, we should break up monotony from time to time. If the story is one filled with gloom and danger, you must have authentic moments of joy and comfort. If your story is one of light and glee, it should be punctuated by a sadder perspective. The holes we punch in the paper are what make the world, like tears in the sky, making our constellations. It’s all the small things. Whether good or bad, the small things will build your story, and those moments need to be there, lest they be forgotten.

Happy writing, Strangers.

With all the love I have,

–Mabel

Dear Strangers: A Letter on the Power of Writing

April 5, 2023 MabelLeave a comment

Hello Strangers.

Years ago, I lived with my family in the desert. My uncle, who lived in Arkansas, passed away. He was young. He was my favorite. I hardly knew him, a common theme with my extended family. I don’t think anyone realized how much I loved him, and no one really understood my reaction when he died. Around the time of his funeral, I was sitting on the bough of a tree, the sun shining, a breeze blowing, and I was talking to him. Saying goodbye, I think. Trying to make it final, so maybe I’d stop saying it over and over again like I had been. I told him I loved him and maybe that I’d miss him—I don’t remember—and all of a sudden I heard a voice in my head that sounded kind of like him, but forced. Just a bit wrong. In the moment I truly thought it was him saying goodbye. I don’t know about the voice, or what I saw next, but I looked up and he was standing in the sunlight, white shirt, his cowboy hat and boots. He smiled. And I smiled. And then he was gone.

Well that was Oklahoma and Arkansas, but we went home after the funeral, and every night I would sit on the stone wall outside our house and watch the lights of the city begin to blink on while the sky changed from blood orange to a lilac mixed with smoke. I’d pray. Have make-believe conversations with my uncle. And he’d sit there silently on the wall.

All those years ago and no one ever knew. I guess I never communicated that. And no one ever asked what I was doing.

It’s years in the future, and I’m asking a friend their opinion on my taste in men. (One in particular, fictional, embarrassingly.) She said that I live life as a “good girl” and subconsciously I wanted someone dangerous as a way to explore my dark side. And I was struck by…just how wrong that was. (Now it’s not her job to psychoanalyze me, she’s my friend not a therapist, but still. I was very surprised.) I ended up watching ‘Delivery Man’ with Vince Vaughn a little bit later and it clicked. I was looking for and found something very specific in all of these people, and once I figured it out it made perfect sense. But apparently, I had failed to communicate what I wanted in a way anyone understood, ever. And I began to realize that people had different perceptions of me than what I thought I was putting into the world.

I can think of a million instances where I’ve been misinterpreted and misunderstood. People didn’t understand what I wanted or what I was trying to say. Why I cared about something or someone. That I was angry, or that I was in love. People don’t always understand. This is one of the first things children learn in life, and one of the first things we relearn as adults. Which brings me to writing.

Writing allows me to build my own world where I can say what I mean to say. I’ve struggled with the difference between Mabel and this space, versus the way that I am in real life. But the truth is that this is so much closer to who I want to be. And this is where I am able to say what I want to say.

Right here, right now, you and I are sitting at the kitchen table. It’s dark, and smoke’s coming from the chimney and creatures that don’t exist come to visit me. Sometimes my cottage is more real, and there’s a garden in the back, and I think about tips I can give so we can both garden better. Sometimes I’m a ninety-year-old woman at the edge of the world, and you’re a battle-scarred mercenary, but you know my house, and I know your silhouette in the darkness. I don’t really know who you are, I can’t see you. But can you see us?

This is how writing frees us, giving us the ability to say what we mean. And by the way, thank you for reading about my uncle and the stone wall. I’ve wanted to tell someone for a very long time. That’s all for now.

However you see me, Strangers,

–Mabel

Oh, P.S., I realized that my slogan is “a window in the dark, a cup of tea waiting in the kitchen,” and I’ve really failed to give you all any recipes. If you were here, I’d make food, so I’ve got a soup recipe coming, and after that some springtime desserts. Much love.

Art & Writing

The Medium of Story…

March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 MabelLeave a comment

Hello Strangers,

It is officially spring! Has been for a week. Flowers are blooming with the leaves on the trees, bugs are back, jumping and buzzing above the wildflowers and grasses, and the sun has gotten some of its color back. It’s looking to be a beautiful season.

There are so many stories in nature. One area of the forest holds standing water, mosquitoes, and the moss which will continue to live despite the summer heat, another has a babbling brook and Black Eyed Susans that the deer come to drink at, still another holds a meadow, which somehow always manages to catch the sunlight, gold in the middle, and green at the edges from the filter of the leaves.

That’s an apt metaphor for story as well. I read somewhere that a lot of people today have stories inside them, but assume they have to turn them into novels. That simply isn’t true, there are a thousand ways to tell a story. They don’t even have to be written.

My favorite living artist is named Robin Sealark. She has an excellent YouTube channel under that name, and she was the person who taught me to experiment with everything in my art. To sketch, paint, and tell story with abandon. Art-a-thons and studies, realistic and stylized…She explained that in the first year of an art degree, students work in the studio for hours a day, months on end, trying everything. Acrylic, oil, gouache, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, chalk, crayons, sculpting, digital mediums…And then after they’ve tried everything, they specialize.

So, in a generation that has access to everything, do we limit ourselves?

I’ve started a journal, and everytime I have a story idea, I write it down. I think about it, and then I also add what medium I think it’s best suited to. Some of my stories are very visual, so I pick comics, graphic novels, or animations, (animations are obviously out of reach for a lot of creators, but I still like to list it as an option!) and some stories enter my mind and I imagine telling them around a campfire or as a bedtime story. These might be better suited to podcasts, songs, or a simply written script I can memorize and tell as a bedtime story, or at a campfire. Not everything has to belong to everyone.

You can write novels, short stories, poems, tv scripts, you can make mixed media stories like comics and graphic novels, you can make sculptures and paintings that encompass a story, dance, song, podcast, blog, youtube channel. You can cook stories! You can weave a story! Literally.

What I’m asking is that you don’t limit yourself before you’ve tried everything. Even the people who write medical textbooks and grants are telling stories. Marketing is storytelling. Landscape paintings are stories. Embrace all of the mediums. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new way to create.

Happy Spring!

–Mabel

Art & Writing · Writing

What I Thought Writing a Book Would be Like

March 24, 2023 MabelLeave a comment

Hello Strangers,

Welcome! How have you been? Personally, I’m glad to be back here; this blog feels like the inside of the cottage I have in my head. This post will discuss some of the preconceived notions I had about writing a novel, and what ended up being true instead. (There’s a note about my future plans for the ‘Art and Writing’ section of my blog at the end.)

Writing would be a linear process.

I thought that if I had 30,000 words written, that would mean I’d be about a third of the way through my narrative. In other words, writing a book would be like reading a book and all the pieces would fall neatly into place.

What actually happened:

With 30,000 words written, I have a rough beginning, middle, and end. As I continue, I’m building in more character development and foreshadowing, and after I work through those, I plan to add more depth to the plot and detail to the world building. After I finished that first draft, I wrote quite a few things out of order as I realized I needed them.

I’d only have one outline.

I assumed that I’d use one outline that detailed the entire story, and maybe I’d add to that if I needed to.

What actually happened:

I have a main outline which enabled me to write my first draft. However, when I read through the story I realized that it needed a lot of new scenes to build up my character interactions. These were hard to write though, so now when I come to particularly difficult scenes, I outline them and it helps me avoid getting writer’s block.

I’d only need two or three drafts.

I read in a murder mystery recently about a minor character who’d been working on her novel for ten years. The main character thinks to herself that the manuscript is probably unreadable and should be scrapped as it can’t possibly be salvaged. For better or for worse, that stuck with me as I began my first novel. I’ve been scared of overcomplicating things and taking too long to write it, so I thought I’d give myself a limit of three drafts and two years to finish this story.

What actually happened:

My first draft included the skeleton of the plot, it has all of the characters and their relationships, as well as the setting. It’s the bare bones of everything. In my second draft, I’m focusing on the characters. In the third draft, I plan to add the findings from my research and strengthen the plot. Now I know that I’ll most likely need a fourth draft for restructuring and fixing continuity errors, and a fifth one for true editing and finishing touches. Those numbers are the minimum. This is my first big project and even if it fails, it will teach me so much about myself and my process, so I don’t need to limit myself with this. I need to breathe and figure out how I do things.

I thought that real writers always push past writer’s block.

…

What actually happened:

I’ve discovered that for me, it is beneficial when I get stuck to step back from my work. Sometimes I give myself a few minutes, a few hours, a few days to work on a problem. I might write a scene outline, I might talk through that scene with my sister. I might delete what I’ve written and start again. And sometimes, I truly disconnect and do laundry, cook, or handle business. In the end, I sit down and write the worst version. After it’s written, I feel better about it, and I can move on. That’s my editor’s problem in a few months. (I’m my editor.)

I expected people to care more…

Some writers find or build support systems, or writing groups, or other things of that nature.

What actually happened:

I don’t know how to do that yet, I haven’t yet, and while my family and friends are very supportive and loving about my stories, most people don’t want to hear the broken-sentence-synopsis of a book that doesn’t exist yet. The author is the only person that has all the miniscule details in their mind, so asking others their opinion of them won’t usually help you. Even if you want to include others, they’ll likely be busy with their own lives and it’s easy to feel isolated. Spend time with those you love, do your work and practice your hobbies, but remember that it’s okay; you’re writing because you have a story to tell, or want to explore your personhood, or you just want to say you’re a writer. It’s alright that a good bit of it happens alone. Keep going.

Those are the notions that have been challenged so far, I hope they can be helpful to you in your writing! What I wanted to say about the future of this section is this: I love art, it was my favorite creative outlet before writing, and the two are probably equally important to me now. Within the next year, I plan to release far more posts about art (painting, drawing, sketching, the creative process, etc.) that I have been able to thus far. For now, there will be more posts about writing. I’m excited about what the future holds!

Until next time,

–Mabel

Art & Writing

My Experience Writing the First Draft of a Novel

March 1, 2023March 1, 2023 Mabel4 Comments

Hello Strangers.

I’ve done it.

Last Tuesday, I completed the first draft of my first novel! It’s a day I’ve dreamed of since the seventh grade, and finally, it’s done. The draft itself is kind of abysmal; it’s very short, the characters need more work, the plot needs filling, etc., but now that it’s completed and I’ve had some time to think, I’d like to write about the process of making it.

The Ignition

“Steal like an artist” is a maxim that has caused controversy within creative communities for at least a couple of years now, but unabashedly taking inspiration from multiple sources (that part is important) to create something that’s yours is what creation is…So when my favorite side character died in a tv show I loved, I had to steal him…And change almost everything else. As soon as he died, a story immediately began materializing in my mind. The characters shifted, the setting changed drastically, the plot would come later, but there was the inspiration. Of all the story ideas I’ve had, I’m actually shocked that this is the one I managed to write.

Incubation + Creative Partners

As soon as I had the idea, I let it roll around in my mind for a few days, scheming aesthetics, the feeling of the story, relationships, and things I wanted to include. Once I had a bit of it figured out, I ran and got my younger sister. She and I have come up with stories together for years. We’d tell them to each other at night, we’d brainstorm during the day, and we’d show each other art we made for it. Creative partners are one of the greatest assets a person can have, because instead of regurgitating the same thoughts over and over, they offer new ideas. It helps to keep ideas from stagnation and death. She loved the idea of this character in Scotland, surrounded by an obscene number of castles, so every night for the next two months, we spent an hour every night just talking about everything we wanted to happen. This stage was literally just talking, but it led to something I’ve never done before.

The Outline

All my life, I assumed that if I just started writing, then the plot would fall into place. Really, I was just denying the fact that I was scared to write an outline because I didn’t know how. I started writing chapter headings with brief synopses, but that ended up being too specific, so I labeled them ‘sections’ instead. I ended up with about eight sections across seven pages, and I managed to figure out the basics of the entire plot. It took probably a month, and I was still very intimidated by the process, but it saved the story.

Writing It

I’ll be honest. There was about a four-month period where I only wrote six thousand words. I was frozen. When the New Year came, I had it in my resolutions to finish the first draft. About a week later I got to work. In my post on routine, I went through the things that helped establish an actual writing habit. I was lucky enough to have a couple of hours a day to write. That blessing also helped me to write the bulk of the draft in two months. I would check my outline, decide what needed to be written that day, and then imagine individual scenes and chapters that it could be fit into.

That was my process. Every process is different, but I hope this encourages you in your writing journey. You can find your own way and figure out what works for you.

Salutations,

–Mabel

Art & Writing

Creative Rituals

February 16, 2023 Mabel1 Comment

Hello, Strangers.

All my life, I’ve wanted to be a novelist. I wanted to write book series after book series and earn a nice living and some recognition. The problem for me has always been, simply, I am not a very good writer. The process of writing a structured novel has eluded me for years, and short stories are somehow worse. I lose the plot, I sound patronizing or preachy, I can’t find the words, my story is dull, characters lack dimension. In frustration and laziness, I have abandoned countless projects and forgotten the details of the rest. And that was when I was writing consistently at all. But one thing I’ve always had some ability in is writing poetry. I love poetry because it frees me to tell a story without constraint, or worries about proper form. I can meditate on the meaning of words and truly slow down to think about what needs to happen. it doesn’t have to make sense. And the poems don’t have to be good. They just have to exist. And therein lies the secret to ritual and routine.

Not poetry,

but love.

The word amateur initially came to English through the French, and the French took amateur from the Latin amator which means “lover”. According to Merriam-Webster, in its earliest usage, it meant:

“one that has a marked fondness, liking, or taste.”

An amateur writer, then, may be clumsy, inexperienced, and lack talent in the craft, (which is closer to how the word is used today) but they get into writing for the love of it.

Merriam-Webster defines ritual as a ceremonial act or series of acts which are repeated in a precise manner. The type of ritual I am referring to today is not religious or spiritual, but a way to enforce a habit.

To be an amateur is to love something even if you have no skill in it. Ritual can be defined as the result of disciplined love to practice something until you have skill in it.

Every night after I got home from work, I would take off my uniform and replace it with a set of pajamas. I needed to be comfortable and warm. After it got dark and the rest of my household went to bed, I donned red lipstick and mascara, made myself a cup of something hot, gathered my journals and went to sit in the dim glow of the lamp in the dining room alcove. As low music played quietly, I would ruminate, and then, in a format that I knew I could trust, I would write. Here are some of the key elements that I’ve found help me when creating a writing ritual:

Time and Place

The first thing to consider is practicality. Do you only have time to write in the mornings or evenings? Build writing into that time. I typically waited until everyone was asleep and when it was peaceful and quiet, I got to work. It is important to be consistent, but flexible as needs must. The second thing to consider is place. Do you work better in the hustle and bustle, or do you need silence? Do you need the comfort of your bed, or the dignity of a desk? Are you alright with mess, or do you need a clean environment? You can build a space with whatever you have by making small adjustments as you need to.

Attire

I write whimsically; fantasy, children’s stories, poetry, etc., and I find that I work best in pajamas. I’m warm, comfortable, and able to contemplate quietly. The makeup I wear helps me to feel artistic and awake with my ideas. In my mind, it adds a layer of depth to my writing persona. What you wear can affect your mood and your view of yourself, and exercising creative control can help you to feel more confident when you create.

The Five Senses

Ritual relies significantly on the five senses, which are: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. If you have a glass of wine and burn your favorite candle whenever you write, you have two different things to associate writing with. You may use a certain playlist, turn on the same lamp, and sit in the same place. You may find it more difficult to write without these things once you have a routine, but they can also help you greatly when you do use them. Much like grounding, these elements can give you a mental anchor to the task at hand. The things you associate with writing should be pleasant, but not distracting.

The Love of an Amateur

I mentioned in a previous post that I have a hard time writing humor into my stories because I always see people as sad. I would like to write funny stories, but I write sad things instead. I would like to write short stories and novels, but I write poetry and journal entries instead. Yet, this is not bad. I do not write funny stories yet. But through writing my sad things, I am learning how to incorporate laughter. Through years of writing poetry and journal entries, I have gained enough confidence and discipline to try novel writing again (and I am!). Don’t let your love for the craft die out! If you need to, begin your ritual or routine with warmups, or a medium that is familiar to you, and comfortable. Gain confidence and passion for it, gain experience and expertise, and then challenge yourself to do the hard things.

I hope these ideas can be helpful to you, and I look forward to writing more about writing, soon. With love,

–Mabel

Art & Writing

The Creative Process: Originality vs. Authenticity

January 24, 2023 MabelLeave a comment

Hello, all my Strangers!

I woke up this morning to a sunlit living room so bright it could have been summer. For a moment I was filled with such joy at the prospect that I forgot where I was, and instead imagined I was in a pine forest in Oregon, standing in a live-in shop of curiosities. Yesterday it was cold and gray and I went on a walk to talk with God. As I walked through my neighborhood on streets I hadn’t seen in a while, He showed me stories.

I walked past a turtle statue half buried beneath leaves, a statue of a flying pig and a brightly painted garden gnome. There was an engraved tablet which bore a family name, but which looked like a headstone, the dirt raked around it like a burial plot. For a moment, all around me, there were bumper stickers, lawn decorations, and porch lights in different shades of amber, and every single one of them was a story. For a moment, I was connected to a foreign place, and I realized that everything around me said something, and that all of these people were saying something. There are stories all around me, and I realized that they were available for my use also; after all, now you know about the frog, the flying pig, the gnome and the grave. I know that they will enter the stories that I write and the things that I paint.

When it comes to creation, the internet is oversaturated with information. Millions of videos, images, sound clips, and web pages, spread across dozens of social media platforms and hundreds of websites. With all of this ‘content’ being produced, the rallying cry of the community is that of originality. Every other hour, a scandal emerges surrounding art style, art theft, imitation, consent, and the effects of AI. Tropes are dissected and spat on in every genre of fiction and people cry for the dismantlement of any recognizable character types and arcs.

In the midst of these ideas, a new question has emerged. Is it more important to be original or authentic?

According to Merriam-Webster, the first definition of original is, “of, relating to, or constituting an origin or beginning.” But I happen to like the first part of their second definition better:

“not secondary, derivative, or imitative…” And still the third is, “independent and creative in thought or action.”

One definition of authentic according to the same dictionary is, “made or done the same way as an original.” The next relevant definition is “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.”

I think we’ve made a mistake in separating originality and authenticity. In ‘Steal Like an Artist,’ Austin Kleon tells creatives…to steal. Again, most of us consume media on an hourly basis. We know what we like; we have our favorite shows, artists, and accounts. Some of us have curated thousands of ideas on Pinterest. These things that we love are true to our own personality, spirit, and character. This fulfills the requirements of authenticity. But if we steal traits from the things we love, doesn’t that make us unoriginal? If we created forgeries, maybe, but in taking and combining ideas we love, we are independent, and creative in thought or action. There will never be anyone like you. Even if you actually did make forgeries, they would never be the same as the originals. Everything that makes you different would change the painting. (That said, please do not make forgeries.)

All this time, we assumed that originality begot authenticity, but I believe that we have it backwards; authenticity begets originality.

How can we expect to create something wholly new in an ancient world? There is nothing new under the sun. Original work happens when you are exactly who you are. So be authentic.

Be an original.

–Mabel