Thursday, June 30, 2011

Doing it just for fun

Sometimes, we get too wrapped up in the reasons behind "doing things": everything from who you connect with, what you do with your time, and even what you eat. Ever hear any of the following in your head?

"It's good business sense."

"This is what I should be doing."

"I've been taught this way."

"I've been doing this [profession, relationship, recipe for chicken] so long, I don't know what else to do!"

Well, today I remind you of a reason, another reason to do something. You used to use this reasoning a lot, when you played. I'M DOING THIS BECAUSE IT'S FUN!

Find something today to do just for fun. Here's mine. I'm putting up this video just for fun. It makes me laugh. I love parodies, football, and Peyton.


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Getting rid of the dead-ends

A few weeks ago, I got to chat with Jody Cedzidlo of Flytrap Studios, an apparel design studio in North Carolina. We had a really good talk, especially about supposed dead-end jobs that are actually amazing tools and not "dead-end" at all.

Most of the creative people I know, and I'd lump myself in this category as well, have had what we thought as "dead-end" jobs. But Jody doesn't really call them that, she calls them cul-de-sacs. Perfect! That means you don't have to start over, turn around and trace the same path you just came to get to this big stop. No, it just means that you need to explore the curve then gently redirect on down the street.

Usually when you're in one of these jobs, you have a gut reaction at some point that just says "no." Then the fight or flight mechanism kicks in.

Fight: "This is not what I was trained for."
Flight: "I don't want to be here."
Fight: *Maybe non-verbally* "All you people here need to see that I am better than this job."
Flight: "What's the point -- I can just blend in."
Fight: "Ok -- I learned x lesson or y lesson, universe, so I deserve to be released from this dead-end cage!"

These reactions hit close to home for me, and spiritually, emotionally and mentally, I've been there. But think about the image comparison of a cul-de-sac vs. a dead end. It's really open versus closed, and I don't know about you, but I've been in many neighborhood where I accidentally turned down a street that ended up being a cul-de-sac (open). However, there are usually warning signs for a dead end street (closed) and sometimes I even have to put the car in reverse to get out of there!

Thanks Jody, for this imagery, and oh yeah, for the great clothing designs!


How she maneuvered out of her cul-de-sac is in the article I wrote for Go Triad, so read for inspiration and ask yourself, what is my cul-de-sac?

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Little Food Trucks That Could

Diggity Doughnuts -- anyone for green curry doughnuts?

Food trucks are forming a loose, happy, and friendly army here in Charleston. They are sunny spots in my life, their decoration, their names, their food, and the friendly faces that pop out of a window. Variety is the name of the game here, including gourmet pops, BBQ, Geechee Lowcountry home cooking and crepes.

These are people that thought: I want to cook my own thing, my own way, and not be stuck in a kitchen.  Love that ingenuity, especially when the results are portable deliciousness! And today, the particular sunny spot was Diggity Doughnuts. Attention to detail is evident -- check out the happy teal color, the chalkboard of gourmet flavors, and even the sunflower vase next to the condiment rack.

Even if I decide to skip the food, the trucks make me smile on a happy Saturday.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Saturday Shopping Excuse

I used to say that I don't love shopping, but in the past few years, my giddiness on occasion while shopping has proven this false. So I am here to amend my statement. It's not that I don't like shopping, I don't like buying. In the past, it's been money woes, but lately, I've become more discriminating, budgeting out things such as "fill-in" clothes (it works ok, and it's on sale!), anything at Wal-Mart and shoes that hurt. (In case you're wondering, that does not mean no high heels. It means no cheap high heels.)

My buying success has gone way up, which means I buy something when I love it, know I can get a lot of use for it, and when it is a fair price. So me and my little change purse are off to the Lowcountry Artist Market tomorrow morning at the Music Farm.



Local vendors, variety, high-quality and just loads of cool stuff fill this market every time, and after writing a cover story about the market's growth and impact for yesterday's Charleston Scene, I am even more excited about tomorrow's activity. I personally shop for vintage goodies (that fit, are not falling apart, and flattering) and jewelry, but more than that, I'm always inspired by the vendors themselves and the creativity they illustrate.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

A Connection to Inspiration

So far in the life of "From My Little Desk," you've been able to read lots of my articles and learn more about the people and the places I write about. We've been to various locales, such as the wildly exotic Knoxville, Tenn. -- hey, I fed a giraffe there! -- and met musicians, painters, potters, farmers and chefs.

But the evidence of a creative life (in my case, published articles) is really only the surface of "what I do," which is what people are often asking that I explain. How do you come up with things, Steph? How do you find these people? How do you write every day? How do you get artists to show up at an appointed time for an interview?

The articles only show a bit of the story of my life. No, stop holding your breath. I am not going to start posting pics of my dogs or my award-winning butternut squash here, although they are both deserved of multiple snapshots. And this is not going to be a laundry list of daily activities, vacations or how I am obsessed with various styles of chicken salad.

It's more about a sea change here at The Little Desk, which is defined as marked change, or a transformation. The articles are but an apartment door peephole into my creative life, which has always included an eye for inspiration and a yearning to connect to it, and now includes my creative consulting and pr business The Beehive.

The articles will still be here, but authors such as Elizabeth Spann Craig have really set me to thinking. She writes a daily blog about the writing craft, creating a resource for writers but also giving her a space to think about her own work, dissect it and study it and feed her creativity in the process.

So this will be my connection to inspiration and creativity. Pull up a chair at the desk. There's room for you here too ...

Thursday, June 9, 2011

I know you don't believe me, but I SWEAR it's cool

Last Saturday night, B. and I had the chance to go to any Piccolo Spoleto performance we wanted. I'd written a preview piece about the festival for City Traveler, and thus scored a press pass for one. So what did we choose?

Paul Gertner's Ten Fingers: A Play of Magic. And it was awesome. Honestly.

I know what you're thinking, since many of you have said it out loud to my face: "nerd alert!" And maybe that's true ... still, this wasn't David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty disappear, there weren't scantily clad women as assistants, no creepy music and really, it was like hanging out with someone at their house who does the most amazing card tricks EVER.

It's called "parlor magic" or "close up magic," and it's experiencing somewhat of a renaissance through acts such as David Blaine and Parlor Magic evenings in NYC. And Paul Gertner is more like a friend of your dad's -- the guy who rocked the suede leisure suits in the 70s, had kids, and somehow through magic supported his family. In the show, he explains why he was drawn to magic, and he moves seamlessly into myriads of tricks. He used cameras to show the audience his hands, audience participation and explanations for each trick, and still, it was seamless.

One such trick involved drawing though "mindreading" and not to spoil the the illusion, but little Jacob Jack, age 10, was catapulted to star-status after the show with his audience participation. And he got his own magic souvenir.

Paul Gertner and Jacob Jack

There are still two performances left this weekend at the Village Playhouse. I won't tell anyone if you go, even if you're rocking the pocket protector. Which, of course, you don't need for admittance. 

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Anytime is a good time for a ghost story

My book, Ghost Stories of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County was really a labor of love for me back in 2003 when I wrote it. I'd grown up reading southern tales of ghosts from Nancy Roberts and others, but I never read any about my hometown, and finally I decided to remedy that. I researched the stories like the budding journalist I was, and in the process, happily became the first to collect some of Charlotte's tales of the past in the present.

And no matter what you think of Charlotte, its shiny buildings, its NASCAR hub, or it's suburbs endlessly bleeding out into the former tobacco and cotton fields of the Carolina Piedmont, it has a history. Really. I'm talking Revolutionary War. There's a little thing called the Mec Dec, still celebrated today.

Here I present a case in point: Rosedale, ca. 1815. And its growing legend of paranormal activity. I recently came across this account a reporter from The Charlotte Observer wrote about a night in 2007. And by the way, I'm "the writer about ghosts" Jeff Elder mentions in the story. I was there, one of the ones creeping about the darkened house on All Hallow's Eve ...