tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post8363271841723648066..comments2024-03-26T01:10:13.720+00:00Comments on Teach Me Tonight: Art and Craft: Bachelor Dad on Her Doorstep (1)E. M. Selingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00426524354823232002noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-19834143633451796892011-12-09T02:35:58.199+00:002011-12-09T02:35:58.199+00:00The art in the "Marathon Cowboys" story ...The art in the "Marathon Cowboys" story is definitely about narratives but also about being very culturally attuned and aware and using this awareness as building blocks. There is also a very strong political sense brought into the development of both the paintings and the choices Lorenzo makes for his cartooning. Colours in the paintings are important because they are carefully chosen to represent place, identity and culture for example. Music is referenced and thinking out loud and discussion is part of the creative process. The process of doing art is also the source of conflict between the two heroes so there is a reflection on art as symbolism and art as representative and the intersection of this and how both are 'true'. So this is about art as active in the now and explaining us to ourselves - a dialogue.<br /><br />This is a real contrast with the representation of poetry sugested above. Funnily, I have just read AM Riley's m/m "Goldilocks: a man, a jersey and a tight end" which introduces a secondary romance of a deeply shy almost inarticulate young man who turns out to have great potential as a poet and whose relationship grows from meeting someone who recognises this. So this absolutely fits as an example of how Eric discusses poetry's representation in the genre.Merriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-62812129129663090482011-12-08T22:34:13.976+00:002011-12-08T22:34:13.976+00:00Thanks, Merrian. It's interesting that artists...Thanks, Merrian. It's interesting that artists are so often depicted " 'getting into the bones' of making something real and true," whereas poets tend to be treated rather differently. <a href="http://teachmetonight.blogspot.com/2006/07/aphrodite-visits-parnassus.html" rel="nofollow">As discussed by Eric some time ago</a> (you need to scroll down a bit, to the section on "Foils and Fakers"), "Heyer makes poetry seem an art of the solitary self. It may be recited, even given to others, but it’s fundamentally about its own concerns, its own artistry."Laura Vivancohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00906661869372622821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-7068444108796138482011-12-08T01:14:38.353+00:002011-12-08T01:14:38.353+00:00Sarah Black's "Marathon Cowboys" (m/...Sarah Black's "Marathon Cowboys" (m/m) is also about art. One hero is an emerging cartoonist and the other a painter. Part of their engagement with each other is an exploration of doing their art; what it is, what it means,the process. One of the things I liked a lot in this exploration was the sense of the fierce work that goes into 'getting into the bones'of making something real and true. This is a great little novella.Merriannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-78160396726768559112011-12-07T21:53:12.964+00:002011-12-07T21:53:12.964+00:00Michelle and Annie, I'm delighted you both enj...Michelle and Annie, I'm delighted you both enjoyed my post. Since romances have given me a lot of pleasure as a reader, I like the idea of being able to give something back to romance authors.<br /><br /><i>I thoroughly enjoyed this book but your post brings it alive with a new perspective.</i><br /><br />That's probably the nicest thing someone could say to a literary critic!Laura Vivancohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00906661869372622821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-696244795385251472011-12-07T20:19:30.252+00:002011-12-07T20:19:30.252+00:00Laura, thanks very much for this post. I thoroughl...Laura, thanks very much for this post. I thoroughly enjoyed this book but your post brings it alive with a new perspective. One of the things I appreciated in the story was the link between the wellbeing of the characters and their creativity. It can be so true in real life and Michelle used that very effectively in the book.Annie Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16804740491737358014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-5947245047421884342011-12-06T22:29:48.954+00:002011-12-06T22:29:48.954+00:00Laura, I really enjoyed your critique of Bachelor ...Laura, I really enjoyed your critique of Bachelor Dad, and you're right -- art is very important to the story. When Jaz and Connor were teenagers their relationship and their art were the most important things to them, almost defining them. When their relationship broke down, I wanted to show corresponding repercussions for their art. <br /><br />Like you point out, Connor turns his back on his art -- but then he does start to create that wonderful wood-turned furniture, and it could be argued that's because he does have love in his life again in the shape of his young daughter, Mel. Jaz has to take her art in a direction she'd never considered before because she needs the income.<br /><br />Likewise, when they are rebuilding their relationship I wanted that reflected in their art too. Hence, Connor learning to draw again and Jaz's struggles to finish her picture of Frieda -- her creative block mirroring her romantic block (so to speak).<br /><br />Laura said: Brief as this passage is, it seems to suggest that the production of the best art requires practice as well as raw talent"<br />Oh, yes, I believe this wholeheartedly!Michelle Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07748538761711892080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-71993876247417496422011-12-06T10:13:25.708+00:002011-12-06T10:13:25.708+00:00That's a really good point, Kaz. I hadn't ...That's a really good point, Kaz. I hadn't thought about it much before, but their lives definitely affect and reflect their art. As I mentioned, once Jazz leaves and Connor abandons thoughts of the future they'd planned together, he also abandons his drawing.<br /><br />It's not mentioned that Jazz abandons drawing (I assume she doesn't), but it's certainly the case that she shifts her focus to tattooing. Tattoos, like Jazz's time away from Connor, can be painful to gain but then express identity, and it's thanks to her painful time away from Connor and Clara Falls that Jazz creates an artistic identity that's quite separate from Connor's and also learns to function as an independent adult. When they'd been together as teenagers, Jazz had always felt that Connor was the better artist and "Jaz had been awed by Connor's love - grateful to him for it, unable to believe he could truly love a girl like her. And she'd hidden behind his popularity, his ease with people, instead of standing on her own two feet" (129). As she admits, "I needed to find my own place in the world that was separate from yours" (235).<br /><br />Connor's reluctance to start drawing again parallels his reluctance to let Jazz back into his life and his initial clumsiness in drawing has its parallels in some of the awkward ways he behaves around her, so it makes sense to me that, as you say, drawing again serves as a metaphor for becoming romantically involved again. <br /><br />Jazz says of Connor's drawing ability that "You had it in you all the time. You just had to let it out, that's all. [...] If you ever turn your back on your gift again, it will desert you. For ever!" (176). I think perhaps he also had his love for her in him all the time, he just didn't let it out. And if he'd let her get away from Clara Falls again, this time she probably would have deserted him "For ever."Laura Vivancohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00906661869372622821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-44773227356136055962011-12-06T04:23:31.402+00:002011-12-06T04:23:31.402+00:00Sounds to me that Michelle has used art an evocati...Sounds to me that Michelle has used art an evocative metaphor for the relationship between Jazz and Connor. <br /> <br />'But look at how you've captured the way the light shines through the trees here. It's beautiful. [...] You can draw again, Connor.' (174-75)<br /><br />And indeed they can fall in love again...Kaz Delaneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11185938209953975157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-31392441732877025002011-12-05T18:03:29.197+00:002011-12-05T18:03:29.197+00:00You're a writer, so I wonder if perhaps that m...You're a writer, so I wonder if perhaps that makes you more attuned to the similarities that exist between the various arts? Lorena, who blogs at Divine Secrets of the Writing Sisterhood, <a href="http://divinesecretsofthewritingsisterhood.blogspot.com/2011/11/marriage-of-art-and-craft.html" rel="nofollow">recently posted that</a>:<br /><br /><i>I believe that novel writing is not that different from painting, except that in the visual arts, an (accidental) mistake is a lot more obvious than in the written word. I didn’t always believe this. When I turned to writing fiction, I thought that because I was literate and had good ideas, I could publish a novel. With time and many bumps along the road, I came to realize that craft is just as important as ideas, enthusiasm and dare I say, talent.</i>Laura Vivancohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00906661869372622821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-90227969748500412932011-12-05T16:40:16.973+00:002011-12-05T16:40:16.973+00:00I also find it fascinating as how a well-written r...I also find it fascinating as how a well-written romance can either introduce or deepen our appreciation for something such as the visual arts and creativity in general...Monicahttp://monicajackson.comnoreply@blogger.com