It amazes me how much music impacted my life when I was a kid. Even as I am a (nearly) middle-aged adult, it keeps influencing my writing and idea of story. My sisters and I grew up with cassette tapes of our favorite kid’s songs and would listen to Beach Boys on the radio. Now I realize as a teacher that these constant repetitions probably drove my parents crazy, but because we were listening over and over again to the same things, it was easy enough to memorize when I continued to learn more difficult things in school. My dad would even help us with memorization through teaching my sisters and me verses in song and requiring us to sing these songs to each other. Of course, my teenage self was mortified and on one hand thought it was fun, but on the other hand didn’t want to do anything embarrassing.
It wasn’t until I was eighteen or nineteen years old that I learned that something new was not always a bad thing. My first trip overseas was a shock in itself, but at the same time, liberated me to try it again and again as I developed more of a travel sense, something that I cling to today. When discovering new worlds, I embrace the newness, no longer fearing that something will change. This was something that was begun when I was a three year old, rocking on the couch to my favorite kid’s song.
When I am creating art or writing thoughts in my journal, I turn on a musical playlist, usually classified as “upbeat instrumental motivation.” I have a couple favorite movie soundtracks that I love listening to when I’m creating something new or traveling, like Pride and Prejudice, Dan in Real Life, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Lakehouse, and La La Land. I’ve recently stumble across a favorite Broadway music soundtrack, which includes other artists that I know in the playlist. Just the other day, I was listening to the newest Aladdin soundtrack and it reminded me of several things at once. First, it used to be one of my sister’s favorite movies. A lot of the movies that we used to watch used to be all about stepping into the unknown. Also, my other sister loved the Lion King, and not only did it have animals, which she adored, but it showed a lion cub exploring a world into which he had not previously been accepted. I was thinking about Pocahontas songs and, while not historically accurate, it inspires art, even twenty years later.
I will explore this concept of UNKNOWN more in my artwork and I’m playing with the idea of grouping them into bundles that can be interchanged to share different stories. This concept sounds very abstract as I try to describe it in words, but I hope it will be a fun challenge, which is something that I always want to include in my artwork. In just a couple weeks I will open up the “HM. Artwork Gallery” page here on my website, so keep an eye out for this!
I also remember watching musicals on the stage; one of the first being my friend’s high school production of Les Miserables. I spent a few years after this wanting to be in stage productions, but because life was busy and on my parent’s advice, I was never in anything other than small productions at my church. However, a couple years ago when I was rewriting my contemporary family novel, I realized that I didn’t have to sing and dance in a musical to uncover a storyline for others. I could use themes from stories that I have loved and concepts in books that I’ve read.
When people read my writing, even here on this blog, I hope they hear my heart come through my passion. During the month of May I am teaching my students in music how to write poetry. This is something that I am developing as a writer, but mainly focus on prose. I will continue to write and even come up with some poems, mostly to fit into my stories, but I can combine this with artwork into my writing. As I put in my goals chart, I want writing to be my main focus, though I imagine that art will always be a part of my writing. I see things in pictures, so that is the easiest way for me to convey my thoughts. Many people learn new things visually and even if my imagination is not the same as someone else’s I hope that my creations will allow readers to have a lightbulb moment within their own creative explorations!
Keep wondering,
Hannah Marie.