On AI and Art

Our children are growing up in a world where AI cannot be avoided (well, if you lived completely off the grid, maybe you could...) People argue that AI has its uses, but the problem I see is that we can no longer trust what we see, read, or hear on the internet. I would be watching a video of an animal, and my son walks by, takes one look, and says, "That's AI."

As an artist, I lament that people are relying more and more on AI to generate art, music, and even the written word. Again, AI has its uses, but what AI cannot ever do is replace human interaction.

Which is why the antidote to AI is COMMUNITY. 

You can "observe" animals on websites. Or you can go to the park or the zoo.

You can "travel" the world thru the internet. Or you can get out and experience the world around you.

You can "make" art by yourself at the computer. Or you can collaborate with other artists and go see live performances.

The more we do with other people, the more we are rooted in what is real.

This all hit me yesterday, as my family went from one activity to another.

We started off with rehearsal for my kids who are involved in the CYT Tri-Valley production of Frozen. I am on the set committee for this show (I get to paint!) and so I joined other set parents at our rented warehouse space and organized the paint supplies and old cans of paint while the kids sang, danced, and acted.

Meanwhile, my husband went to a café near us to meet with local artists. They chatted and shared their art and ideas, and one painter invited my husband to an art show and reception that afternoon at the library.

So in the afternoon, my husband and I took our youngest child to the library and admired the beautiful floral art done in glass, textiles, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, acrylic, and oil. The artists were present and shared a bit about their processes and their inspirations. Then they held a raffle and I won a set of cards from one of the artists!

But we were still not done. In the evening, I took two of my girls to see my friend's professional ballet company perform in town. My other friend had choreographed one of the dances. As I watched, I marveled at their graceful movements set to the music. That night, I worked on a piano piece that I hope will be part of their performance someday.

Sprinkled in between all this activity was a guitar lesson between my husband and son, kids making birthday presents, and baking in the kitchen.

It was a full day, and I loved all the artistic things my family got to experience. My husband and I want to work more on "getting out there" and interacting with our community. That might be as simple as going downtown and listening to a band perform at the park. It might be as elaborate as becoming a part of the art association and helping with the next Comic Con in our town. Or in my case, workshopping a musical and performing it at the local theater!

Your family may or may not be artistic, but that's not what matters. Keep putting in the effort to connect with people, whether at home, at school, at work, or beyond!

A New Musical - Part 2 - Writing and Rewriting

 In the video on my last blog post, I noticed two mistakes.

1) I forgot to tell you the working title of the new musical! For now, I call it "In Miss Potter's Garden."

2) I said that I finished the musical this past summer. Really, what I should have said was that a shareable version of the musical was finished this past summer. I'm feeling good about the script and the songs, but this doesn't mean that the musical is finished! My next step is workshopping, which is when I get a group of actors to read through the script. I also play them the songs and ask them for honest feedback. 

Every time I've workshopped a show, I've heard lines that needed tweaking, or scenes that could be smoother, or songs that sounded too short (or too long). The actors always had some very important and helpful feedback to give as they were in the dual roles of both audience and players. After hearing their thoughts, I would go home excited to add to a scene or a song.

So I expect to do more rewriting. Writing is really about rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting. I know that this musical will go through several versions before it is truly done, so I try my best not to hold on to any part of it too tightly (which is easier said than done!) And just so you can "see" what my writing process looks like, I'm sharing with you the pages of my notebook in a video.

(Background story: I used to write notes on random pieces of paper, and clip them together, which meant that my notes didn't always stay together. Then my friend "KW"– the director of my first musical– gave me a Christmas present of a set of small notebooks. I decided that I would use one whenever I started a new musical. And now all my scribbly notes are in one place!)

A New Musical - Part 1 - A New Seed of Inspiration!

 In 2022, I had written my first musical, Five Children and It, and blogged about it in a series titled "A Musical is Born!" The blog posts cover much of the production of the show, but very little of the writing process before that.

Since then, I've written a second musical and started two more. With high hopes of getting these musicals on stage, I decided to start sharing more about my writing process, before the musical is fully finished. A nerve-wrecking task, being the perfectionist that I am, but I'm pushing myself to do this. And to make me even more nervous, I'll be incorporating video, which is also a very new thing for me. (I'm a writer, not a videographer.) But with help from my adult children, I am now on Instagram and will be able to share songs through that medium (and also post the videos here!)

So, watch the video below to hear about what I'm working on right now!

 

The Unexpected Blessings of Being Stay-at-home with Older Children

I always knew that I wanted to stay home with my children. Then, when they were older, I'd go find a job somewhere. That was the plan.

And for the most part, I've stuck to that plan. On this blog I've written about the unexpected blessings of being home with my children. It's not just that I have more time with them and that I can homeschool. It's that they eat better (and more cheaply) and that we have flexibility in our day, instead of rushing out the door every morning.

Then, as my children grew, I began to get the itch to work outside of the home. I was already teaching piano part-time in our living room, but I wanted to be more influential in the community. The problem was that, at that point, I had older children, AND younger children. I started teaching music classes and working on shows, but I still limited my hours and stayed home in the daytime as much as possible. This was frustrating at times: I felt that I couldn't do as much as my friends with only older children, and at the same time I didn't have the more carefree days of being at home with only younger children. The feeling that I was just "spinning my wheels" hovered over me. I had to push that feeling aside and tell myself that being available for my family was better for my children, both young and old.

But I didn't realize ALL the benefits until this summer!

Being home means that I can be more hospitable. I have the energy to have guests over for dinner almost any day of the week. I have flexibility to cook someone a meal and deliver it. And the big plus–we have other kids over. This summer, we've had soooo many of my children's friends over. And for many of these kids, because they are older, their parents are working full-time and the kids are home all day, sometimes by themselves. They eagerly say 'yes' when we invite them to our house! I bake some cookies and pop some popcorn, and they all have a grand ol' time!

Another plus is that I've had more time with my adult children. My oldest daughter graduated from college and was home in between jobs. My second oldest daughter had summer school, but came home during breaks. My oldest son needed a ride to the airport to fly to visit his cousins, and I was able to take him in the middle of the day. These "babies" of mine still need guidance and support, and I'm able to be there for them.

Stay-at-home moms, I know sometimes you feel like you aren't doing enough (or that you're doing a lot, but it's the same, mundane routine day in and day out!), but you may be doing more than you know! Keep looking for ways you can bless others by being stay-at-home!

On Speaking Up

As a child, I was taught to "honor my parents." Which, in Sunday school terms, was translated to "obey your parents." And my parents definitely stressed the "obey." Obey without questions. Obey without giving your side of the story. Obey obey obey. By the time I was a college student, I had learned to follow the rules, keep my opinions to myself, and to doubt my own judgement.

I started my classes at UC Berkeley as the quiet "A" student who never said a word in class discussions. One day at the end of my education class, the teacher took me aside. 

"Rita, you should speak up. You have great thoughts to share!" she said.

Those words got me thinking. 

Flash forward thirty years.

I'm now a pastor's wife, and I'm content to be working "behind the scenes." But I have also pushed myself to speak up – to express myself and share my ideas and to point out wrong – when I need to. In my roles as wife and mother, this is crucial. Even my husband needs correction sometimes (don't we all?), and I cannot stand by silently in those situations.

Why am I writing this? Rita, get to the point! you're thinking.

Here's the point, and this may make some of you uncomfortable: Don't blindly follow and obey just because someone is in a position of authority. 

I'm talking to wives who are told to obey their husbands no matter what.

I'm talking to employees who see their bosses doing immoral things and are afraid to lose their jobs so they go along with it.

I'm talking to congregants who disagree with their church leaders, but push those itches aside because they figure "this person is a man of God."

I'm talking to citizens of this country who are saddened by what they see in our government right now.

A few years ago, I had to confront a church leader about things he was doing that I felt were hurting our church family. This was by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. But now I'm so glad I said something. This leader, instead of choosing to dialogue about the situation, accused me of sinning against him, which, in my opinion, only reveals a proud "I'm-always-right" spirit that is not what I want to see in a leader. He then resigned and left on his own accord.

No person is above God. It's as simple as that. So speak up.