Hey, friends! It has been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss me?
I realize I haven't posted here for some time, but I want you to know I am still writing — just not here. My Blogger bio said, "Loves art. Loves fashion. Loves writing. Loves traveling. Trying to combine them into a career." I may have not combined all of those things into a career, but I have figured out a lot since the last time I posted here.
- First off, as much as I still love sewing, fashion and clothing, I no longer want to go into fashion design.
- I still love art, but being an artist almost sounds more painful than just enjoying it.
- I love traveling... but Covid and being an adult kind of got in the way of that, didn't it?
I recently lost my job (story about it here), and it gave me a lot of time to think about what I really want to do with my life. I had always enjoyed writing and recently found a platform that I really enjoy working on. I also realized I wanted more flexibility with my own life and to have more decision-making power over my future. After a great deal of thought and prayer, I decided it might be time to take the plunge and become a freelancer — an idea I had already considered for a few years.
WHAT IS A CHARRETTE?
Historically, the word “charrette,” meaning "cart," was used by the École des Beaux-Arts in France. It referred to the student's method of working late into the night before their initial projects and drafts were due and a cart would come around and pick them up. Later, their professors would go on to give them critiques and feedback.
In today's terminology, you usually see a "design charrette" in civil engineering or at design agencies. In this process, they get a group of a few people with different specialties (for example, an engineer, a designer, a marketer, etc.) to problem solve and come up with a solution that no one of them could have devised on their own.
The Charrette's motto is, "Where art, history, politics, & public opinion meet." I guess I wasn't finding a way to roll all my passions into one career, so I had to take charge and do that myself. SO, KATHLEEN — WHAT DO YOU WRITE ABOUT NOWADAYS?
I'm still working on finding my perfect niche, but I love exploring the interlocking connections between history, art and modern life. Having spent probably too much of my career in social media, I realize that so many of us have lost touch with reality. I feel that art and history have a lot to teach us in the way of empathy and can create important context for our lives.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BEST THINGS YOU HAVE WRITTEN RECENTLY?
Before I set off on this journey, I actually worked for a performing arts organization, and I wrote some pretty great things for them like this piece and this piece. I also created a few great videos for them that challenged my writing skills like this one and this one.
Before I left, I got the rights to publish an interview I did with Steven Osbourne, an incredible Scottish pianist and interpreter of Sergei Rachmaninoff. I will probably try and continue to include more artist interviews in the future, but for now, I have a few other projects I want to work on.
I also republished the piece "The Black Dog: How to Talk about Suicide" on The Charrette. I made some much-needed updates. The meat of the piece is very much the same, but I have changed so much, that I needed to share the lessons I learned as I grew over the last four years. LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT...
I would love it if you followed me at The Charrette and subscribed. Sign up below, and keep up with my writing.
