NationStates Jolt Archive

Be it poems, painting, photography, drawing, anything that you've created and you would like to share with us, feel free to post it here in this thread!

I know there's an artistic population here, so I'd like to see your work.

If you're not really the artsy type, I'd like to know what (if any) artsy things you'd like to try or learn.

*fingerpaints on Ruffy*

I like to take photos.

http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs26/300W/i/2008/152/4/4/Rust_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs29/300W/i/2008/134/6/a/naturey_14_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

http://ruffyhatessally.deviantart.com/

*nods*

*fingerpaints on Ruffy*

Stop that! It tickles..

I draw:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/OutofTime.png

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/MapofEconomiaBlank.png

I write, I draw, I take photos, I do quite a few things.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/SaintB/saintbm.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/SaintB/muriablue.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/SaintB/masspanic.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/SaintB/d20.jpg

Just a few of my things.

I write poetry, but I hesitate to call myself any good. :p

I like to take photos. -snip- *nods*

How 'Shopped is the picture of the rusty spring? (I almost typed "sopped," but that would have been you, wouldn't it, Ruffy?)

I write poetry, but I hesitate to call myself any good. :p
I encourage you to post your poems!
How 'Shopped is the picture of the rusty spring? (I almost typed "sopped," but that would have been you, wouldn't it, Ruffy?)

Hehe, it's only coloury stuff. It's a RAW image, so I just messed with the tones and slight colour stuff. I don't do any major edits, only tone and colour.

I'm going to post this (http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/3789/img0704xp4.jpg) on behalf of the weather :D

I write.
Mostly poetry.
Though I do dabble in other things from time to time.

And even though I´ll probably regret it,
I shall post some of them. ,)

-----
Echo throughout the void

To know what truly is,
what things that does exist,
can drive you into anguish,
banished is, our youth´s bliss.

With your veil unfolded,
watching eyes confounded,
that which held you grounded,
those tormented thoughts hounded.

Your echo throughout the void,
reflected back a thousandfold,
enough to put the universe on hold,
and your mind in a numbing cold.
-----

-----
Deep under the surface

I look up,
from under the surface,
having long since been submerged.

Reaching out,
these fragile hands,
trying to grasp gathering debris.

Fading away,
from light to darkness,
I sink deeper into the abyss.
-----

-----
When I am with you

When I am with you,
everything is so true,
every day so new,
but those moments to few.

When we are apart,
I keep thinking that its a dream,
without that feeling in my heart,
nothing is as it seem.

If you will be mine,
I will never leave you behind,
because you will always find,
that you are special, in my mind.
-----

-----
Out of the howling night

Out of the howling night,
which has never seen its like,
comes shadows from out of sight,
ready to deal the killing strike.

That can not be killed,
which is not seen,
not stilled,
which has not been.

back into darkness it goes,
waiting for the moment,
to bring out our woes,
without lament.
-----

-----
The dawn of day

The dawn of day,
makes the shadows go away,
as the sun appears and say:
I am here to stay.

From evening to night,
the moon the have to fight,
the clouds in sight,
to make it shine bright.
-----

Sorry for the long post.
And....be kind :D

Heh...I Photoshop from time to time...

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h188/DragonsBay/TsunamiHongKong.jpg
That's Hong Kong, by the way.:D

I dabble in many things. However, since my music is mostly not uploaded to the internet, I'll give you some of my art and poetry.

Some more of my art:http://futureanamnesis.deviantart.com/

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs28/300W/i/2008/141/a/4/Horizons_by_FutureAnamnesis.jpg

http://fc04.deviantart.com/fs25/f/2008/145/2/6/Cosmic_Dust_by_FutureAnamnesis.jpg

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs28/300W/i/2008/113/e/0/Recitations_by_FutureAnamnesis.jpg

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs27/300W/i/2008/091/0/0/Warmth_by_FutureAnamnesis.jpg

Some poetry I did for creative writing class :D :

I Slumber in my Vigil

Darkness, ubiquitous and cold,
around the flaring lights of helpless stars,
In the overture of their swansongs, dominates.

I swim through the black silk of space
As one travels through a dream:
With tacit will,
I touch the bountiful yet timorous orbs
Scattered about a thousand suns and cosmic dust.

I sing deeply, like a whale, yet
I am breathless,
I am order incarnate, yet
I bathe in chaos,
I am action made thought
And thought made solid,
I am the eternal perceiver, yet
I slumber in my vigil.

I swoop down with my open palm
To stir the miasma
Of kaleidoscopic gas about the planets.

They, the voices, are legion,
Mindless eternally sobbing children,
Though I hear the pitiful cries
What am I but the reluctant witness?

They emanate from the countless worlds
As a slowly rising vibration
Till they pound like ceaseless drum,
Like a peerless drone,
Seeking aid from a higher source.

Why should they turn to me?
Why should they desire to touch my mind?
Why should they seek to discover me?
Do I exist if they ask it?

Is hope not but the sole instrument of the powerless?
Is it the duty of strong to cradle the weak?

I wrap my fist around the tiny beings
To silence their prayers
To request serenity
But they persist now, with volume magnified,
Like a silver string bowed.

“Anguish, woe, mercy!” They cry to me
Struggling to tantalize my favor, to pierce
The veil – from the trials of existence, to flee.

Enclosed, now, their voices, one by one, trail off
Like the thoughts of the insane
Into the terrible darkness.

I have killed their world,
Their everything, and now,
I am alone with the memories.

I sing.

www.myspace.com/gracejuliaproductions.

I paint and take photographs:

(It's supposed to be a slide show, but if it doesn't show up, click on it.)

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm169/gracejuliaproductions/watermarked/th_father.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm169/gracejuliaproductions/watermarked/?action=view&current=b76ffd1a.pbw)

I didn't really want to add any nudes on here, of course.

I make films.

&I suppose I write. I highly doubt I'd post any of it though. I also play the piano, but I'm not particularly special.

I like to take photos.

http://ruffyhatessally.deviantart.com/

*nods*

You have to be my Deviant friend. *nods*

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/SaintB/Feelings.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/SaintB/Evocation.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/SaintB/Rancid.gif

I sing.
Not a genre I am a huge fan off, but they were good examples of the genre.

I guess I should respond to the OP. I have limited artistic skills. I'd like to be able to write novels and or short stories (if that will qualify in the art definition).

I have no soul, and therefore, I can create no art.:(

I write articles which are about new bands I find:

http://brokentoyboxmusic.blogspot.com/

My talent can be found in the Literature Lounge (http://z8.invisionfree.com/SSA05/index.php?showforum=19) at the Social Spam Alliance (z8.invisionfree.com/SSA05/index.php).

I recommend "To the Muse Erato."

I'm an architectural draftsman, but not an architect. I like residential architecture, and have drawn several house plan concept drawings. Nothing that would be accepted by an architecture magazine, though. And I can't upload a CAD file very well.

My talent can be found in the Literature Lounge (http://z8.invisionfree.com/SSA05/index.php?showforum=19) at the Social Spam Alliance (z8.invisionfree.com/SSA05/index.php).

I recommend "To the Muse Erato."

Ditto. My poems and sonnets, even if Rhyno says they´re not, are on the SSA Literature Lounge. I reccomend the series ¨In Love With Leteo¨.

Ditto. My poems and sonnets, even if Rhyno says they´re not, are on the SSA Literature Lounge. I reccomend the series ¨In Love With Leteo¨.

The word sonnet has a specific definition! You can't just called it a sonnet because you want to. Only English majors get to change the meanings of English words and make up new ones at will. Those are the rules.

The word sonnet has a specific definition! You can't just called it a sonnet because you want to. Only English majors get to change the meanings of English words and make up new ones at will. Those are the rules.

I beg to differ on that last statement. You need a poetic liscence in order to create or change the meaning of English words. And you, my aspiring poet, do not possess it.

I beg to differ on that last statement. You need a poetic liscence in order to create or change the meaning of English words. And you, my aspiring poet, do not possess it.

Nope. Majoring in English, that's all you need.

Besides, you don't have a poetic license, much less in English. <_<

Nope. Majoring in English, that's all you need.

Besides, you don't have a poetic license, much less in English. <_<

Well, in your country, Fez, they do things differently then. Bitch.

I have it in Spanish. >_>

I'm pretty proud of my snake pic.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/nikonzoo/DSC_0032.jpg

I took it with my Nikon D-40.

I'm pretty proud of my snake pic.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/nikonzoo/DSC_0032.jpg

I took it with my Nikon D-40.

Somewhere in there is a kitten. :eek:

I'm pretty proud of my snake pic.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/nikonzoo/DSC_0032.jpg

I took it with my Nikon D-40.

Oh, man...you tease me with the idea of Smunkeeville, one of the Nine Hottie Muses of NSG, taking a picture with a snake...I rush to open it, and its a picture...

just a damn snake.


I call gyp.

I'm not particularly great at it, but I like to take photos:
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/1052/dscf0656sg7.th.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0656sg7.jpg) http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/531/scarybarnkd1.th.jpg (http://img407.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scarybarnkd1.jpg) http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/3258/dscf0570acb7.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0570acb7.jpg)

"Sea salt and your skin."

Back when we were courting love like wild horses, when we
were drops of Wednesday afternoons and Sunday
evenings by starlight, we loved
like rockets through the night and sang
our own songs. Tell me

how I set sail with no paddles to spare and no
sense of direction, and how I
found you anyway. It’s the waves, you say,

the waves carried you to me. I didn’t see you coming
but I knew you when you landed, knew you
by the stories in your eyes. I’ve been places
you will never go, they said, and I knew that they were right -
but you weren’t one of them.

And you say,
You, with all your ocean stories, will understand:

if I am a boat, you are the only shore,
and I am shipwrecked willingly.


---

Also, http://sweet-lyrical.deviantart.com/art/in-the-quiet-60194957

Plus, http://sweet-lyrical.deviantart.com for anything else I've written. I haven't written in awhile, sadly. The ability comes and goes, apparently. :p Whatever ability that may be.

Yes, they're love poems. All of them. Even when I try not to write love poems... they're love poems. Try not to ridicule the stereotypical habits of a young woman too much.

I have no soul, and therefore, I can create no art.:(

How true.

I quote: I was walking in a wooded glen
when a bear came up to me
and asked me right there and then
if I'd martyr my soul for thee.

I said 'no', as you may know
and the bear spoke 'go', said he.
So off I went, although, although,
I hardly knew who was me.

Along the way, they say, say they
one comes upon a tree
and though this tree may bay, may bay,
it'll scarcely bite your knee.

But as I hopped up near, so near
the tree soon spoke to me.
It said don't fear, don't fear,
your soul is safe with me.

I checked my pocket,
even opened the locket,
to see what I could see,
but lo' behold.
I'd lost my soul...

It's hard you know,
once you lose your soul,
to write good poetry.

So there's a traditional jewish song about how bad my drawing skills are

"My circle, it haaa-aaas three corners.
Threee corners have my circle.
And if it hadn't three corners,
It wouldn't be my circle!"*

Seriously, they're probably on par with bob & george's first attempt at hand-drawn.

*Okay, the lyrics are a little different, but...

My drawing and painting skills are decidedly average, the photos that I take are ok, but nothing special, and my poetry always ends up being uninspiring. I can hold a tune and was an unremarkable guitarist when I was (much) younger, but I'm not particularly musical. I occasionally come up with some nice prose, but the quality is inconsistent. It would appear that I'm simply not an artist :p

Looking at some of the work that's been posted here I find myself a little envious... not a bitter, jealous kind of envy, but rather the kind of envy that is born of wishing, on some level, that I was able to create something as good.

I'm glad that the people who are more artistically capable than I am take the time to do what they do. It makes my world a richer place :)

I make little doodles in the now-dead Yahtzee takes on the world style. A complete rip-off, but ALMOST identical! Otherwise, I'm not very artisticly talented :(

My photos (http://photo.net/photos/Katherine_Dancer)

Not a genre I am a huge fan off, but they were good examples of the genre.

I don't just sing jazz. It was from a jazz demo.

Anyway...

Somewhere in there is a kitten. :eek:

It's possible. He was heavily protected. Part of the reason I love my snake pic so much is that it was a bitch to take. He's behind 3 feet of glass and then also I was 3 feet away behind a velvet rope.......in a weirdly lit room where it was nearly impossible not to see your reflection instead of the snake.

It took many adjustments to get that pic, and since I am a very new photographer and it was my new "big girl" camera I was very pleased with the result. I only had to crop it a little too!

It's possible. He was heavily protected. Part of the reason I love my snake pic so much is that it was a bitch to take. He's behind 3 feet of glass and then also I was 3 feet away behind a velvet rope.......in a weirdly lit room where it was nearly impossible not to see your reflection instead of the snake.

It took many adjustments to get that pic, and since I am a very new photographer and it was my new "big girl" camera I was very pleased with the result. I only had to crop it a little too!

Awesome shot.

To make it a little easier, if you still are wondering:

Tripod and long exposure
or angle your camera when shooting onto glass so the glare is not front and center....
or if you can get up to the glass, use a rubber lens hood and put it RIGHT against the glass. It shields the shot from the flash, but your subject is illuminated by the flash anyhow.

Awesome shot.

To make it a little easier, if you still are wondering:

Tripod and long exposure
or angle your camera when shooting onto glass so the glare is not front and center....
or if you can get up to the glass, use a rubber lens hood and put it RIGHT against the glass. It shields the shot from the flash, but your subject is illuminated by the flash anyhow.

Part of the fun was the exercise in figuring out "how do I make this work?"

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/nikonzoo/DSC_0152.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/nikonzoo/DSC_0293.jpg

more pics from that day. more experimenting with "getting no glass glare"

I write occasionally, but it's usually not very good. Here's my latest one (http://docs.google.com/View?docID=dhpx5sps_9dtx9h4fq), which is pretty much about me except under a different name. (only bits of it are real)

The word sonnet has a specific definition! You can't just called it a sonnet because you want to. Only English majors get to change the meanings of English words and make up new ones at will. Those are the rules.

Lol!! You have to give the English majors something... what a realitively useless degree. It depends if you have a narrow or open view of art. I have been playing guitar for twenty-five years now and consider musicianship as art. I used to write a lot and anyone who read my writings (be it prose, poem,or song) claimed to enjoy them. I haven't even seriously attempted in five or six years (before I even owned my first computer), as life has seemed to have just beaten out of, and sapped, much of my inspiration from me...
:(

Musicians - Keep on Musing!!! :cool:

Lol!! You have to give the English majors something... what a realitively useless degree. It depends if you have a narrow or open view of art. I have been playing guitar for twenty-five years now and consider musicianship as art. I used to write a lot and anyone who read my writings (be it prose, poem,or song) claimed to enjoy them. I haven't even seriously attempted in five or six years (before I even owned my first computer), as life has seemed to have just beaten out of, and sapped, much of my inspiration from me...
:(

Musicians - Keep on Musing!!! :cool:

Music could be considered as useless as an English major, so I don´t get your haughtiness.:rolleyes:

I sing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU). I've gotten a lot better recently. *giggle*

Lol!! You have to give the English majors something... what a realitively useless degree. It depends if you have a narrow or open view of art.

Yeah, I'll give you that English is pretty useless. More useful than Art History, though.

And anyways, no, the meaning of the word "sonnet" is not subjective. "Poem" is fairly subjective, "lyric poem" is fairly subjective within a specific context, but "sonnet" has a very specific definition of style which is usually, thought not necessarily, Shakespearian or Petrarchan, but does necessitate a 14 line poem (with a few notable exceptions) with a very strict rhyme scheme. You can't call a free verse poem a sonnet any more than you can say van Gogh painted cubism, call The Odyssey an example of absurdist theatre, or say that Pan's Labyrinth was an Indie film.

Edit: I have to add: Being an English major may seriously limit my career options. However, I'm going into teaching, which means that I will always have a job. That kind of career stability is something that very few musicians have, and is fairly hard to come by in most other fields as well. The best part is, my major never becomes obsolete with age.

I'm a musician (like most people).

I've written hundreds of musical phrases and fragments, and even a couple complete songs or themes, and recently bought some half-decent recording equipment, which means some of it may exist electronically soon. Whether I can record each instrument separately and overlay them properly so as to assemble the parts into the whole I can hear in my mind is another story, I would guess. And whether any of it is enjoyable to anyone besides myself is probably a *completely* different story. :p

I write, Poetry and Prose, I paint, sketch (basic drawing) and graphic programme stuff, I like taking photographs but I have yet to get a decent camera of my own and I do the odd photomanip. I also Sing, Act and play the flute...I have always tried to avoid dancing due to self-confidence issues and hated dance class at Stagecoach and College.

I won't say I'm good at any of them. Because I'm not a fair judge, either I'd judge too harshly or I'd be too conceited.

The only thing I feel comfortable enough posting on here though is a poem:

Wind on her Face

Wind on her face,
Catching at her hair,
Breath filled with life,
Hope overcoming despair,

Beauty has the Goddess,
Lady so sublime,
Dancing in the wood,
Celebrating all that's good,

The Earth is her body,
Tread it carefully,
The Wind is her voice,
Listen for her whispers,
The Water is her blood,
Listen to it rush,
Fire is her heart and soul,
Let it live within you,

Spirit connects it all,
Connects us to her,
Her to us,
Wind on her face,
Catching at her hair.

---

Okay, that's a v. pagan poem, but I am listening to Damh the Bard right now that no doubt affected me.

If you wanna see my stuff it's at: My deviantART account (http://wolfshadow1989.deviantart.com) - However it's a very new account as I'm on a new computer so I don't have a lot on there and my graphics art at the moment is v. bad since all I have at the moment is a mouse pad on a laptop. I'll get used to it soon I hope.

Yeah, I'll give you that English is pretty useless. More useful than Art History, though.

And anyways, no, the meaning of the word "sonnet" is not subjective. "Poem" is fairly subjective, "lyric poem" is fairly subjective within a specific context, but "sonnet" has a very specific definition of style which is usually, thought not necessarily, Shakespearian or Petrarchan, but does necessitate a 14 line poem (with a few notable exceptions) with a very strict rhyme scheme. You can't call a free verse poem a sonnet any more than you can say van Gogh painted cubism, call The Odyssey an example of absurdist theatre, or say that Pan's Labyrinth was an Indie film.

*kicks Rhyno´s ass from Madrid all the way to Japan and back to his country*

I write random stuff, most of which is horrible and gets posted here. (http://curiousnotebook.blogspot.com/) Granted, part of that is because a lot of the stuff I like I don't post for various reasons, generally do to the fact that I'm trying to write a novel, and part of that is because I don't give a fuck.
I also draw random stuff, all of which is horrible and gets posted here. (http://sdcthulhu.deviantart.com/)

I write random stuff, most of which is horrible and gets posted here. (http://curiousnotebook.blogspot.com/) Granted, part of that is because a lot of the stuff I like I don't post for various reasons, generally do to the fact that I'm trying to write a novel, and part of that is because I don't give a fuck.
I also draw random stuff, all of which is horrible and gets posted here. (http://sdcthulhu.deviantart.com/)

I rarely share what I write with others. Same thing when I play the piano. Perhaps it´s because I think I´m no good, because it´s mostly in Spanish or because I think no one is worthy of sampling my talent. I don´t know. Take your pick.

I'm creative, but I'm not any good at it.

I'd like to say though that all of the art I've seen on this thread has been excellent. Well done, everyone.

Bored plus MSPaint equals nifty (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/RhynoD/Nifty.jpg).

I made that pixel by pixel for a while, and then 2x2 pixel paintbrush tool by 2x2 pixel paintbrush tool, then 4x4, and so on.

I'm creative, but I'm not any good at it.

I'd like to say though that all of the art I've seen on this thread has been excellent. Well done, everyone.

You clearly didn't go to my DevArt account.

Bored plus MSPaint equals nifty (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/RhynoD/Nifty.jpg).

I made that pixel by pixel for a while, and then 2x2 pixel paintbrush tool by 2x2 pixel paintbrush tool, then 4x4, and so on.
:eek:
Aren't you an English Major?!

That thing is perfectly symetrical.. as best my eyes can see.

Also: You must have a good deal of free time. (Though I suppose that used up a bit of it so you probably have less than one would expect.)

:eek:
Aren't you an English Major?!

The best part about being me is that I can write a Shakespearian sonnet, discuss with some amount of detail the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and contribute to the construction and programming of virtual robots (http://youtube.com/watch?v=GHGN5-qDvN4) within a single day.

That thing is perfectly symetrical.. as best my eyes can see.

Apparently you missed it when I said pixel by pixel.

Oh, and I cheated a couple of times with cut/copy/rotate/paste.

Also: You must have a good deal of free time. (Though I suppose that used up a bit of it so you probably have less than one would expect.)

Eh, it was an accumulation of several different moments of free time. Eventually I'll get around to making it bigger.

Honestly, my poetry (http://z8.invisionfree.com/SSA05/index.php?showforum=19) is my talent. Though apparently invisionfree is being retarded today.

Also, when I say I wrote a Shakespearian sonnet, I mean I know how to conjugate verbs in Elizabethan English. (I run, you runneth, thou runnest...) Because I looked it up when I was writing said sonnet.

For more examples of my talent with visual art:
The Angel of Def (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/RhynoD/Def.jpg) [Edit: dunno how that ended up so small...oh well]
The Legions of Def (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/RhynoD/scan0006.jpg)
And my home-made comic-book superhero:
Radio-active Hooker (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/RhynoD/File0017.jpg)

Hooker is her name, not her profession.

I write mostly prose and a small bit of poetry in those rare times I'm in the mood to do so. My poetry is mostly haiku written in English or Spanish, though I haven't written any in a couple years, honestly. I sing and act, though I don't write music or one-man theater works to perform.

Poetry and this hybrid prose-poetry experimental crap. I phail at all else.

i already know
i already know
i already know
i already know
i already know



exactly what you'll say to me


&i already
i already know
what will be in our hands
at the end of the world


not your hand
in my hand,
but your taste on my tongue
&an albatross
drawing a line across
the sky
to birth a New Rome



ialreadyknow
ialreadyknow
ialreadyknow


but, oh, my dear
i don't know
i don't know anything,
anything at all.

xxx.

i am staring at the street
which is
empty of your body
which is
cars that are really
just spaces where
happiness should be
like my
warm and soft organs
are really just sleeping
in the hollow places
where you should be

i don't think
i will get to show you
the spot where the cupboard door
sucked my skin pink,
or the record
i bought that is
so much you and i

&i don't think
i will be healed tonight,
by you,
or by someone
wearing your skin

i'll still be alone,
i'll still be
miles from your world


&wishing you were,
too, just


just for a heartbeat
just enough to say
i
i
i

no, i need to see your face again

xxx.

so, you are standing
a hand span away from me

of this i am certain

if i can be certain
of anything,
certain that
the sun is more
than a circle
in the sky,
that the ocean
runs over the side
of the horizon
&into eternity,
i can be certain
of you,
a hand span away.

it is not enough

when you are
walking away from me,
it is
never enough
&i’m wondering
who is more alone


(it always comes down to me)


i think i’ll be
saying “good night”
before you, because--
because even in
dreams of your death,
i was always
the one who was leaving.

xxx.
I had fever dreams last night. And where were my hands? All in your aura. It takes darkness to know the complications of light.
If what she writes is like what you write, are your souls inclined towards eachother? What if no one writes like what I write? I can't bridge the gap. That is how to be alone.
I can't feel you when you're far away.

I lost everything except knowledge, except poetry. Everything else in me is broken. I can hardly stand up. I have two words for you:
-We must love in the present tense.
-&we are all selfish in matters of passion.


'i am loving you in the present tense, my dear'



but i'm nothing more than a
poor imitation of ee cummings

xxx.
friday night ambulance sirens a night to bruise your liver w/ the weight of a weightless thing to fuck on the wall on the wall on the wall all fucking all around while the ambulance sirens scream i got you i got you babe and i got something very unromantic your hand feeling me up while i stare at a poster for harry fucking potter and the deathly hallows im hallowed im harrowed im like who the fuck needs to tell that story to that many people to get inside them and not even all the way i promise im not angry just a bit insane a bit not quite right but i couldnt stay angry at you because youre my everything and i still would we could be five years old in a field and God would like us and it wouldnt rain i wish i was the only person on earth some days so i could just stand by the edge of the ocean and there wouldnt be fucking romeo and juliet sucking their faces off at the side of my vision which distracts from the natural beauty of the horizon and several rock formations i loved your handwriting today the sweetest thing i ever saw so perfect and curved and spelling my name and an apostrophe punctuation so your words dont spill over into eachother making everything impossible to read this should be impossible to read this should be ambulance sirens ambulance sirens ambulance sirens i will wake up tomorrow morning and the world will have healed its cut and all its bruised livers nothing missing nothing damaged only punctuated

xxx.
Essay Topic #3: Describe Ayer's emotivism. Is it a satisfactory theory about ethical langauge? Give reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with Ayer's position.


you try to
make me
indignant, you
say, "isn't it sad
how little
we were given?"
i am
already ashamed,
but you know that.

so you ask
if i will
love you less
if you get fat.
i say yes,
& i think i
mean no.

dialogues,
conversations.

words we say
that are really
the distance between
our hands,
& the
thousand things
about your face
my eyes
refuse to see.

you might
reject this, but:
there is a moral
knowledge.

there is that
your lips on
my lips
is wrong,
but that
in the mouth of God,
who is
your fingers
in my fingers

&the water
we swim in,
we are
forgiven;


&when we part,
we part as
children, with
spit on our
chins, hunger
in our bellies,
&beating hearts


in our hands.

xxx.
for a concept, i'd

push the mountains
113 south;
for a lover i might
push the earth
into the sun.


(if you
gave me a lever

to lift myself)


if i am
in Syracuse,
if i bear the
scars of science
on the palms
of my hands,
you--


well, you
were my prometheus





(& i still
carry your fire)

xxx.
There are places you go with people you cannot recover from. There is a scar drawn as an arc across two bodies, and you will either love that scar as a war wound, or hide it in shame.

&if i could show all the things you gave me like medals, on the inside of my wrist--


but you know my mind is not that far gone.


A single voice calling into the night, repeating the word "desire". And a girl who would cut that desire from her body, had she the strength to be empty.

i have shifted from one to another, again.


if i could walk back from that place with your hand in mine, if i could wake up with the arc of that scar complete, maybe we could both survive.



&survival is the closest thing to love.

xxx.
i touched
your hand
to find God

& i could keep neither
you nor him


into the jungle,
now,
into the jungle
with your heart
in my mouth,
with that taste,
to wash it
from my tongue.

&if i could
suck your marrow
to take the poison,
who would
wash me pure
as my knees
meet my mouth
on the ground,
in the dirt,
in the jungle?

xxx.
scars we have
inherited,
&messes
we create.

just lost children,
scared&alone,
naked in the dawn.


i am knock-kneed
you are knock-kneed:
we feed
together
in the ashes
of our parents,
on the hearts
of our children.

under the blackness
of my eye:
you

you are the
north wind,
you are the
wind that
blows me
to where you are

&i would be
naked with you,
in a garden,
in a place
we are free.
&what is
in my hands
will be
what is
on your face


as you carry me home.


That's enough for now, I think. Most of the rest of it is pretty crappy, anyways.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_solitary_geoscientist/

My pic-tu-ars.

Graduated with a studio art degree
drawing background for over 10 years
working at a minimum wage job

So I guess the answer is no, 0 talent whatsoever.

I play the piano - its a huge part of who I am and I believe I am good at it, judging from the reactions of random people and other musicians that I've played for. Unfortunately, I'm also extremely shy about playing for people - its difficult for me to expose my soul to the world /wry smile.

Anyway, the reason for actually posting here is a question: When I play, I get images in my head which won't leave me alone and I need to realise them somehow, probably in paint, but I don't know how. I've never painted although i have used pastels before, so can anybody recommend a book or a website or any other place i can learn how to get these images out of my mind and on to paper? ta!

I take photographs. I write a little. I build stuff. The last one is cute, especially since I've not shared most of what I build.

What would be nice is if someone would show me how to use one of those CAD programs. They're like totally counterintuitive.

Yes, I've built three dimenionsal objects, but the program I use to build three dimensional objects does not allow me to export them to you. It's quite the odd little program, but it's very easy to use, too. Not to mention popular.

Could someone point me to a CAD that's as easy to use as that one?

http://ruffyhatessally.deviantart.com/

http://futureanamnesis.deviantart.com/

Plus, http://sweet-lyrical.deviantart.com for anything else I've written. I haven't written in awhile, sadly. The ability comes and goes, apparently. :p Whatever ability that may be.

I also draw random stuff, all of which is horrible and gets posted here. (http://sdcthulhu.deviantart.com/)
*watches everyone in dA* :p

I take some photos:

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh292/Dan_Rollison/Cambridge/20080227_0005.jpg

Also, I write music but am not currently willing to let NSG on a site that has more personal details of me on it.

I do photography mostly: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahstillwell/

I used to draw a lot: http://simplytonks.deviantart.com

And I write fanfiction from time to time: http://www.fanfiction.net/~ahs

I paint miniatures.

http://www.ldsknights.org/images/IMG_1671s.JPG

I paint miniatures.

http://www.ldsknights.org/images/IMG_1671s.JPG
That's nice. Can I have one? Pleeeeease?

I take photographs. I write a little. I build stuff. The last one is cute, especially since I've not shared most of what I build.

What would be nice is if someone would show me how to use one of those CAD programs. They're like totally counterintuitive.

Yes, I've built three dimenionsal objects, but the program I use to build three dimensional objects does not allow me to export them to you. It's quite the odd little program, but it's very easy to use, too. Not to mention popular.

Could someone point me to a CAD that's as easy to use as that one?

Are you using Google SketchUp?

The best 3D modeling programs are 2-4K USD. AutoCAD has a rather old 3D modeling system that works on the principle of adding and subtracting geometry, and it's harder to edit a shape than in newer parametric modeling programs. The best program for most modeling seems to be SolidWorks for mechanical drawings and you might try the trial version of Chief Architect if you want to try a decent program for residential architecture.

There's a reason people go to school for careers in drafting, engineering, and architecture. Most CAD programs are designed to meet the rigorous drawing requirements of industry and need to have a lot of features. features mean complexity, and the most useful ACAD tools often require keyboard entry unless you've made a custom toolbar.

I have heard that some people who make mod weapons for Oblivion use a program called "blender". you might see what you can find about that. Rhinoceros also offers a trial download.

That's nice. Can I have one? Pleeeeease?

Sure! All you have to do is come over and pick it up ;)

Sure! All you have to do is come over and pick it up ;)
Thank you! :)

Alas, I d not have the money for the airfare and the time to go halfway around the world... :(

Thank you! :)

Alas, I d not have the money for the airfare and the time to go halfway around the world... :(

Heh it would almost be worth it to send one to you just so I could say my miniatures can be found on 3 continents... (There are a couple residing with my dad in South America.)

NSG has the greatest talent-to-pride ratio I have ever seen. Nothing here that I have been warned by the author as awful as actually been anything short of pretty good.

I feel like I have to give these inspirational messages because a) it's true and b) I have no artistic talent of my own.

Heh it would almost be worth it to send one to you just so I could say my miniatures can be found on 3 continents... (There are a couple residing with my dad in South America.)
I am in Asia. :)

I am in Asia. :)

Sweet!

I paint and draw :

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs11/300W/i/2006/178/b/d/Dragonfly_by_Shenshen.jpg
(http://shenshen.deviantart.com/art/Dragonfly-35438268)
http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs11/300W/i/2006/178/5/c/Lavatree_by_Shenshen.jpg

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs13/300W/i/2007/105/9/b/Twin2_by_Shenshen.jpg

http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs10/300W/i/2006/125/9/a/Frozen_by_Shenshen.jpg

I am now attempting to update my writing blog every weekday for June. My failure will be epic.

I paint and draw :


I love texture! Love! And I love your work!

Um, well I bead and mostly do crafty stuff with the kids. My 'art' is mostly musical, and I've already linked to that enough.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1053.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1045.jpg

I play the piano - its a huge part of who I am and I believe I am good at it, judging from the reactions of random people and other musicians that I've played for. Unfortunately, I'm also extremely shy about playing for people - its difficult for me to expose my soul to the world /wry smile.

Anyway, the reason for actually posting here is a question: When I play, I get images in my head which won't leave me alone and I need to realise them somehow, probably in paint, but I don't know how. I've never painted although i have used pastels before, so can anybody recommend a book or a website or any other place i can learn how to get these images out of my mind and on to paper? ta!

you need to take lessons with an actual instructor. there is no substitute for hands on learning with art.

i recommend watercolors but they do tend to be rather unforgiving of mistakes.

How did Nanatsu no Tsuki voted twice?:confused:
She's twice the artist you guys are:p

I love texture! Love! And I love your work!

Um, well I bead and mostly do crafty stuff with the kids. My 'art' is mostly musical, and I've already linked to that enough.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1053.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1045.jpg

I haven't done anything in ages now, I have to admit. And I love the texture, too... I like experimenting with different materials to see what textures can be transferred onto the canvas, and even try to get some mock-texture effects. It's all very tactile, meaning I usually end up just as colourful as the painting.
And I like setting the texture off against something very precise, very exact, very clear shape or form.

Like this one :

http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs12/300W/i/2006/270/4/1/Circles_by_Shenshen.jpg

you need to take lessons with an actual instructor. there is no substitute for hands on learning with art.

i recommend watercolors but they do tend to be rather unforgiving of mistakes.
*cringes*

I had to paint with watercolours in art class for a marking period..

http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs28/300W/i/2008/153/f/c/York_Mister_by_Riolama.jpg
I quite like this one :)

http://riolama.deviantart.com/ ;)

Not an artist.

I take pics (well, more like I plan on taking pics but never really do <<):

Travel (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/sets/72057594055931133/) (yeah, old link, shuddup)
Winter (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/sets/72157605395434814/)

Ever so often I get all craft-y but I'm an awfully slow crafter so everything takes forever. Only pics I have are of two pages for a recipe book I did for friends (colors are chosen to match the recipes - curry (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/whereyouthinkyougoing/Random/recipe1_edited.jpg) and a thing with berries (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/whereyouthinkyougoing/Random/CCI00001_edited.jpg)).

Dude, that link is old!! :eek:





:p
*Flees*

I paint and draw :



I really like your paintings.

How did Nanatsu no Tsuki voted twice?:confused:
She's twice the artist you guys are:p

Voted twice? Ein?:confused: I am the Spanish Chris Angel, maybe.:cool:

Twice the artist? Perhaps, perhaps.:p

I recently got duped into doing a short-comic until the end of June, and here's a panel from that:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/Page01Panel02small.png

Also, my most recent avatar:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/KaiserWilliams300p.png

Be it poems, painting, photography, drawing, anything that you've created and you would like to share with us, feel free to post it here in this thread!

I know there's an artistic population here, so I'd like to see your work.

If you're not really the artsy type, I'd like to know what (if any) artsy things you'd like to try or learn.Thxbe2StevenWright

Abstract painting ... extremely abstract. No paint, no canvas. I just sit and think about it.

The Internet Haiku of LOL

u mak me rofl
LOL, w/ capitol letrz...
laffin my ass of!!11!!1!




By me.

Hey Cabra, you inspired me to get out some moulding pastes and dust off my acrylics:)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1118.jpg

Hey Cabra, you inspired me to get out some moulding pastes and dust off my acrylics:)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1118.jpg

Wow!!!

I LOVE that!!!
Seriously proud to have inspired it! :D

Travel (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/sets/72057594055931133/) (yeah, old link, shuddup)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/92756120/in/set-72057594055931133/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/92763206/in/set-72057594055931133/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/92741051/in/set-72057594055931133/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/92735572/in/set-72057594055931133/
Nice. The right lighting definitely follows you around. :p

Graduated with a studio art degree
drawing background for over 10 years
working at a minimum wage job

So I guess the answer is no, 0 talent whatsoever.

Graduated 2 maybe 3 years ago with a BS degree in Graphic Design (BS standing for both bachelors of science and bull shit it seems).

I work part time in radio... because of my lack of experience I can't get a job in any self respecting design studio, because of my college degree I can't land a job in any of the local self respecting tool shops, because I have no money I can't move to a place where my skills would be on demand... America is the land of opportunity alright.

well, I guess if you want to call a musician an artist I am one.

well, I guess if you want to call a musician an artist I am one.

I would/do.
*bows*

Wow!!!

I LOVE that!!!
Seriously proud to have inspired it! :D

Seems to have inspired a whole week of painting! :D

I like working on wood better than canvas actually. These are some panels I'm doing on our picnic tables, taken from the book, "I am a Bunny" by Richard Scarry:)

This was the first one I did...I was a bit clumsy and rusty fo' shizzle, also not sure of the 'flow' on the table:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1126.jpg

Then this one, and the more detailed butterfly panel after:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1152.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1151.jpg

Still a lot of space to cover...I think I bit off a bit more than I can chew in a week...but I must finish :D

Seems to have inspired a whole week of painting!

So where are you going to put the hidden Micky's?

http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs32/i/2008/201/6/a/Dial_911_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

[/bump]

http://tn3-1.deviantart.com/fs27/300W/i/2008/091/0/0/Warmth_by_FutureAnamnesis.jpg



awesome! just up my street :-)
*is still a sucker for sunsets*

Not an artist.

I take pics (well, more like I plan on taking pics but never really do <<):

Travel (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/sets/72057594055931133/) (yeah, old link, shuddup)
Winter (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whereyouthinkyougoing/sets/72157605395434814/)

Ever so often I get all craft-y but I'm an awfully slow crafter so everything takes forever. Only pics I have are of two pages for a recipe book I did for friends (colors are chosen to match the recipes - curry (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/whereyouthinkyougoing/Random/recipe1_edited.jpg) and a thing with berries (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l192/whereyouthinkyougoing/Random/CCI00001_edited.jpg)).

i still love your stuff WYTYG!

I recently got duped into doing a short-comic until the end of June, and here's a panel from that:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/Page01Panel02small.png

Also, my most recent avatar:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a205/ulteriormotives/KaiserWilliams300p.png

i like your style!
Seems to have inspired a whole week of painting!

I like working on wood better than canvas actually. These are some panels I'm doing on our picnic tables, taken from the book, "I am a Bunny" by Richard Scarry:)

This was the first one I did...I was a bit clumsy and rusty fo' shizzle, also not sure of the 'flow' on the table:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1126.jpg

Then this one, and the more detailed butterfly panel after:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1152.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/DSCN1151.jpg

Still a lot of space to cover...I think I bit off a bit more than I can chew in a week...but I must finish :D
can you come paint Glitziness' room? :p

(very cute, i like :))
http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs32/i/2008/201/6/a/Dial_911_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

[/bump]

that's cool... reminds me of my attempt at "urban photography" when i was up in london the other week:

http://www.upload.lloydseuropa.co.uk/pm/_MG_7833%20copy%20-%20small.jpg


http://www.upload.lloydseuropa.co.uk/pm/_MG_7853%20copy%20-%20small.jpg

and some other recent ones of mine (yeah, i don't get out to take photos as often as i would like/used to...)

http://www.upload.lloydseuropa.co.uk/pm/_MG_4966%20-%20Copy%202.jpg

^ liked the texture

http://www.upload.lloydseuropa.co.uk/pm/poppy%20fields%20winchester%20100608%20hdr%202%20copy%20-%20small.jpg

^ HDR, so a little playing with colours but not much

http://www.upload.lloydseuropa.co.uk/pm/san%20francisco%20panorama%202002%20planet%20copy.jpg

^ my first photoshop "planet"... its san francisco from my trip in 2002, but it wasn't a proper panoramic... so had to cheat a bit to get it to work :$

Graduated 2 maybe 3 years ago with a BS degree in Graphic Design (BS standing for both bachelors of science and bull shit it seems).

I work part time in radio... because of my lack of experience I can't get a job in any self respecting design studio, because of my college degree I can't land a job in any of the local self respecting tool shops, because I have no money I can't move to a place where my skills would be on demand... America is the land of opportunity alright.

Just quit my minimum wage job recently so I got a bit of time to draw again. Although I don't see myself actually getting pay to do this anytime soon. We are in the land of opportunity you know.

http://123hamster.deviantart.com/art/Summer-Rain-92224221

http://123hamster.deviantart.com/art/Girl-with-Summer-Tree-92139241

Seems to have inspired a whole week of painting! :D

I like working on wood better than canvas actually. These are some panels I'm doing on our picnic tables, taken from the book, "I am a Bunny" by Richard Scarry:)

This was the first one I did...I was a bit clumsy and rusty fo' shizzle, also not sure of the 'flow' on the table:

Still a lot of space to cover...I think I bit off a bit more than I can chew in a week...but I must finish :D

Those Bunnies are awesome

I also sing. Here (http://www.myspace.com/magicktr) are some samples. Working on the third album right now.

Cheerio!

I can sing and play the piano somewhat, but at amateur level. I don't qualify as artist.

Lol I was bored and draw this. Figure I would post here.

http://123hamster.deviantart.com/art/George-W-Bush-92916836

"Sea salt and your skin."

Back when we were courting love like wild horses, when we
were drops of Wednesday afternoons and Sunday
evenings by starlight, we loved
like rockets through the night and sang
our own songs. Tell me

how I set sail with no paddles to spare and no
sense of direction, and how I
found you anyway. It’s the waves, you say,

the waves carried you to me. I didn’t see you coming
but I knew you when you landed, knew you
by the stories in your eyes. I’ve been places
you will never go, they said, and I knew that they were right -
but you weren’t one of them.

And you say,
You, with all your ocean stories, will understand:

if I am a boat, you are the only shore,
and I am shipwrecked willingly.

Wow. I really liked this, and I am an unutterably picky, snarky, elitist creative writing grad who can't stand more than the first two lines of most "poems". You can write.

And she's pretty. The world is so unfair. :(

I spent four years on a creative writing degree, so according the state of California I should be able to write. Words are the greatest passion of my life, and they also torture me. Six months out of school I turned my back on becoming a "real" writer and became a teacher.

So, yadda yadda, I write, I draw (I suck), I paint (I really suck), I like to build things, especially out of wood (I have made some kick ass fences and a pergola).

Wow. I really liked this, and I am an unutterably picky, snarky, elitist creative writing grad who can't stand more than the first two lines of most "poems". You can write.

And she's pretty. The world is so unfair. :(

You are such a sweetheart. I, myself, fall into the "picky, snarky, elitist" category, and often wonder if I'm just a hypocrite. But then I get ego boosts like this and feel better about myself. ;) Have you posted something on this thread that I've missed? I'd love to read some.

(Literature is my greatest passion in life, I think. After love, but then, look where the latter got me, so I'm trying to stick with the former. I'd love to teach English Literature at a university level, eventually.)

/snip

It makes me happy to see your photos, so much so that I think you should quit your job and take photos everyday. Just to keep me happy. *nod*

Also:

http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs31/i/2008/212/3/3/En_Route_II_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

http://fc05.deviantart.com/fs32/i/2008/206/5/c/Past_and_Future_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

http://fc04.deviantart.com/fs32/i/2008/202/f/5/The_View_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs31/i/2008/202/3/9/En_route_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

http://fc07.deviantart.com/fs31/i/2008/199/6/4/B_U_R_S_T_I_N_G___I_N___A_I_R_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs31/i/2008/193/b/8/Parkway_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

I try to write once and a while.

I wrote this in march-april, don't remeber.

Cries of "Incoming" were heard throughout the swamp as the whine of incoming artillery got louder and louder, followed by explosions and the creaking and cracking as trees fell all around. I tried to run, zig-zagging through the dark, wet hell-hole I had been patrolling. "HQ, This is Lt. Buck Arnarson with Second Platoon, D Company, Three-oh-Fifth AirCav Regiment. My Platoon is taking heavy fire and needs immediate evac. Is anyone reading me? Over." Only static answered back. I franticly repeated my call for aid. "Damn. Radio bought the farm." I continued my hushed rant for a few seconds before calling out to my squad leaders, "Anyone got a working radio? Mine took shrapnel all to hell." After a minute or two, that felt like hours, "Mine works, Sir." Sgt. Dave Anderson shouted back over the now, thankfully, distant sound of exploding ordnance. " Looking around, I couldn't see him. "Anderson! What is your position?" I shouted in what i thought was his general direction. He got a stick and waved a piece of torn, red cloth. As I stumbled through the thick foliage to get to him, the entire area came under heavy shelling from what seemed like dozens of artillery emplacements. I dove to the ground and belly crawled under a fallen log. I stayed there for well, I don't know how long, it could have been minutes, or hours.

When I finally emerged, I was wet, and covered head to toe in black mud. "Squad leaders, I want a unit sit-rep ASAP." The Sergeants started barking orders to their squads. Anderson, my XO yelled back five minutes later. "Eight dead, three have minor wounds, mostly scratches and bruises from falling trees. We lost all the medics. They were dividing supplies when the shelling started. One shell wiped 'em out." I swore. "Damn it." Sighing, I looked back at him. "Give me that radio Dave. I'll call for evac. Like it or not, we can't hold this position against those kind of numbers. Before we lost the Skylark, I saw dozens entering the edge of the swamp, with hundreds more farther south. That was at oh-six-hundred. Its been at least three-four hours, this swamp is probably swarming with them right now." The Sargent looked at my contemplating what I had said. He handed me the radio. I dropped the broken one and put the ear piece on. "This s Lt. Buck Arnarson with Second Platoon, D Company, Three-oh-Fifth AirCav Regiment, I have taken losses including all my medics. The swamp is probably crawling with enemy troops. I need Evac Raptors on ready to lift on as soon we get out of the wooded part. Over." Static buzzed for a moment. "Roger Second platoon, two Raptors are prepping for lift off as I speak. Over." I replied. "Roger that HQ, We'll contact you when we get near the RV point. Over." I switched frequencies to the Platoon channel. "Ok, boys and girls, we are going to get out of here in twenty minutes. But, we need to get to sector three. Unfortunately, those bastards are holding the only way to get to Sector Three. Move out!"

The groups split up into their ten-man squads. Not three minutes after we started toward the RV point, a claymore went off. Ears ringing, I screamed into the swamp. " Squads check in!" I heard only four shouts. I ran toward Third squad's last position. To this day, I wish I hadn't. The entire squad was ripped to shreds. All but one man was dead. He sat there groaning about a huge hole in the side of his left leg, with his right arm laying ten feet away. "God damn it. Fucking new guy was dragging his feet complaining about taking point. He stepped on the trip wire where the trails cross. Its my fault. I put him at point." I walked over and got his right arm. "Its not your fault. You couldn't have known about the mine. Wanna hand?" I looked at him grinning, holding his own arm to him." Meyer looked back up at me with his huge toothy grin. "You have always been a son of a bitch Buck." He grabbed his arm and pulled him self up. "I'll live for a while. Just get me crutch." I picked up one of the branches blown off by the AP mine. Steve grabbed it. He hobbled for about twenty feet and feel down dead.

I do fiber arts - hand-spinning, knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch ... It's not generally readily available for pictures, since I give much of it away.

I also do some writing.

I've looked through at some of the things you all have done. You're an incredibly talented group.

http://cream-of-the-crap.deviantart.com/art/the-promontory-81694286

I write mostly, my stories all here: johnnybgoode666.deviantart.com

http://bp2.blogger.com/_Cb0318lF-Cw/R72HfVc23mI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/jWYhS6X107M/s320/PICT0022.JPG

My girlfriend made this. She also makes teddy bears.

I love these threads. :)

1/27/2005

I don't know how long I wandered in the darkness. I seemed to be alternately walking in deep dark tunnels and a wide open landscape, dark as midnight. Was it days? Was it months? Maybe it was years. Probably years. Yes, years. That must be it. I felt strangely at home there in the dark, and as much as I felt I'd rather know light, somehow... the darkness was more comfortable. It was easier. Why climb?

At any rate, it wasn't until recently that I started to hear the noise. It was like a distant clanging sound... metallic. Like a hammer, perhaps. At first I saw no reason to pay any attention to it. Noises were common things. I heard that sound morning, noon and night. It didn't seem to matter really what day it was or what time. I don't really know how long exactly the sound had lasted before I decided to investigate. I think it was months. Maybe. Or maybe it was years, after all.

I followed the noise in the darkness until I came upon a small building. It was rectangular and modest. There was a reddish sort of light coming from inside and as I went around the back I saw that the structure was open on one side. Inside was a blacksmith, working. He noticed me immediately and looked up, nodded in greeting then went back to his work. He seemed to be working on a sword of some kind, but strangely, part of it seemed already complete. The handle and crossbar were already there, and portions of the blade seemed new.

The blacksmith himself looked familiar, although I could not place his face at the time. He was average in height but strong, as a blacksmith would be. His long hair was tied back away from his face, and his beard was neatly trimmed. Relentlessly he pounded on the blade, turning it over, folding the metal. Once in a while he would chip away charred blackened bits and keep hammering.

I watched him silently for a while, just watching him work. I was curious, but did not want to disturb him. After a while he paused and pointed to a chair near the forge, indicating that I should sit. I did so, and after watching him for a few more minutes I asked him, "Is that a sword?" He looked up at me and nodded. "Yes, it is. It is my father's." It seemed strange that it was nearly complete and yet being forged. "What are you doing to it?" I asked. He answered, but did not pause in his work. "The blade was broken. I am mending it." That made sense, but my curiosity still brimmed. "I don't know much about blacksmithing... but wouldn't it be easier to just start over, and discard that one?" He paused, as if considering my question and how best to answer. "This sword is special to my father. He would not want to discard it, and so I am mending it for him." That made sense to me too. "Does he have any other swords?" The blacksmith nodded. "He has many. Every one of them is special and unique, and so I won't discard it if it can be mended."

This sword must indeed be unique, if it was worth the trouble to repair it. "Did you make this sword originally?" He shook his head, pausing to wipe his brow. "No. My father made it. He made them all." That seemed to fit. A father and son both in the same trade. "How did it break?" My curiosity now got the better of my hesitation, and I felt more at ease conversing with this busy blacksmith. He paused, and seemed to consider this question more carefully even than the others. "The steel was impure. As I mend the blade, I am hammering out the impurities, and strengthening it. It will not break so easily now." I didn't understand, and he seemed to realize this. Pausing to reheat the blade before adding some carbon to it, he explained.

"The raw iron that was used to forge this blade contained impurities. Natural impurities must be removed form the iron when refining it. We also add some carbon to it and as we fold the metal over and over, it becomes stronger and stronger. This steel contained many impurities still, and the blade was not very strong. As I mend it, I strengthen it." I nodded. I knew little about metallurgy, but was able to follow his explanation.

Is it really worth the trouble, though?" I asked, "It seems that once you've finished, it's harder to work with the metal than to start from the beginning." He looked at me again, and this time there was something in his look that I couldn't quite interpret. Was it frustration, or was it pity? Perhaps neither. He looked at me the way a teacher might look on a student who has asked a question to which the answer should be obvious. "Of course it is. Every single one of these was made by my father, forged by his own hand. He knows every one of them, and has given every one of them a name."

It was then that I noticed writing inscribed along the crossbar. I couldn't make it out from where I sat, but I could see that indeed this sword had been given a name. "So, will your father be able to wield it again?" He smiled then. "Yes. Yes he will. As will I, when the time comes." He seemed genuinely pleased by this idea. I watched him work in silence for a while, carefully hammering out the impurities, each time leaving the red-hot metal purer, stronger. He worked with care, lovingly crafting this sword as if it were the only one in the entire world. I marveled at this dedication and sacrifice. How valuable must this artifact be for one with such skill to focus on it so completely.

"Will it be finished soon?" I asked. He heated the metal again, folding it over once more with his hammer blows. "There is still more work to be done on it, but the blade is whole again. I will strengthen it until I am satisfied that it is pure, then I will temper it, polish and sharpen it. I will present it to my father clean and whole, as it was when it was brand new, only it will be stronger, and will serve him well. I know he will be very pleased with it." As he spoke, he stopped hammering and took a moment to clean the crossbar of the bits of grime and dirt that had built up on it. The name was now legible, but from where I sat I still could not make it out. He saw me craning my neck to try and see, and so he lifted the sword, turning it so that I could clearly read the name by the light of the forge.



The name was my own.



The realization of who this blacksmith was and what was happening struck me like a hammer blow, and I fell out of the chair, crawling into the shadows, hiding my face. "No..." I begged. "Please... don't waste your time. It is not worth it... for... that sword. It is not good enough. Just... cast it aside and make another." The silence that followed was like thunder in my ears, and yet I could not bring myself to look up and see what he was doing. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and his voice, soft and gentle in my ears. "It is not for you to decide. You do not know my craft, and so you do not see the strength that I see. You do not see the value that I know is there." I could make no reply. I wanted him to be right and yet, how could he be? Could that sword, that device which bore my name, which was in fact my self, possibly be worth such an effort after such complete failure?

"You will serve my father, and you will serve me." He said, gently but with strength behind his words. Something about the way he said it... I was unsure whether he was telling me, or asking me. If he was asking me, and if he indeed was going through all of this work and trouble to mend the broken blade, then I knew that it was up to me to live up to it. "Yes..." I whispered. "I will." I felt his hand squeeze my shoulder for a moment, then after a moment, the sound of the hammer once again on the steel. I felt warmth now, and not from the forge. As I dared to open my eyes and look outside, I saw the source.

The sun was rising.

I sing.

www.myspace.com/gracejuliaproductions.

I paint and take photographs:

(It's supposed to be a slide show, but if it doesn't show up, click on it.)

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm169/gracejuliaproductions/watermarked/th_father.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm169/gracejuliaproductions/watermarked/?action=view&current=b76ffd1a.pbw)

I didn't really want to add any nudes on here, of course.

I make films.

&I suppose I write. I highly doubt I'd post any of it though. I also play the piano, but I'm not particularly special.



You have to be my Deviant friend. *nods*

Wow thats really good

http://fc07.deviantart.com/fs32/i/2008/231/2/b/Legion_by_RuffyHatesSally.jpg

*licks everyone*

i drew this today :wink:

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/4297/serveradmingk0.jpg

i feel it speaks for itself.

awesome, PM :D

:P

Hehe.

Just something I wrote.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhpx5sps_41hq4rchgv

i drew this today :wink:

http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/4297/serveradmingk0.jpg

i feel it speaks for itself.
Oh noes! Another MS Paint webcomic! D=
(It's hilarious, but I fear it will inspire those not meant to be allowed access to the internet...)

i write.at the moment i'm writing a book about a half-human,half-fairy mercenary(the Artemis Fowl kind,if you don't know what difference is in the two types of fairys,see my posts) fighting for the Western Mercenary Union against the Eastern Mercenary Coalition with his wife,who is also a mercenary.i want to do a Flash version of it,but Flash is so expensive-700 bucks.:(

i have really been slacking at taking pics for like the past year. but here's something from a couple weeks ago.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3270/2806218998_992db72d6a_o.jpg