No matter how we say it day to day, all of us are trying to figure out what makes us feel the most fulfilled and gives us the most pleasure, and how to make these activities happen all the time. For me, it’s complicated. I fundamentally feel divided in my preferences. While I enjoy of web development, the artist side of needs to come out sometimes.
Recently I have discovered a little piece of magic that, for me, synthesizes art-making and web development in a way that feels powerful.
CSS animation. I’ve actually done simple versions of this before, so can’t say I’m totally surprised. However, I’ve not yet had a chance to fully embrace this world until recently. The simple elegance and required use of static graphics, namely svgs, has me using every part of my brain, including the swirling ether of feelings I access while in the throws of creative ecstasy, as well as the analysis and careful thinking of interactive programming, without dunking me into a bottomless pool of Javascript, which often confounds me because of it’s distractingly endless possibilities.
This feeling of ‘synthesis’ happened while making a silly animation of David Bowie tapping his foot, with his head represented as a hypnotizing swirl. Not only did I enjoy what I made, but it is clear to me that next steps of a fun project like this would be increasing the amount of interactivity. (This cheesy project is not the point of this story.) No doubt the ‘perfect synthesis moment’ is why my inner creative world made an appearance in my dream last night.
In my dream I was working on a project. I seemed to be in a large institutional building. In order to get some supplies for my project, I needed to go to ‘The Basement’, a large room full of mysterious and amazing miscellaneous things. I left the well-lit area of the school-like rooms and halls, and ventured into The Basement’s dimly lit and cave-like vast room, carefully picking my way through reclaimed construction materials, piles of compost, reams of paper, cement, and piles of sticks.
I saw a couple of round, glowing LED lights that called to me, and when I reached get them, they rolled down an earthy, steep slope. I slid after them, ending up trying to get them from a ‘tree house’ built on top of a large and tall detached tree stump. At last! I had them in my hands.
Right then a door clanged open, opposite to my entrance, and two security guards called out to me asking me who I was and what I was doing. I explained my project, realizing how dirty and unkempt I’d become. They gruffly accepted my explanation and left. I sighed with relief and woke up… I can only think that this way of being creative passes the inspection.
dream++ 