What can this space/process provide for you?
When working full time, it is often difficult to feel connected to your own artistry. Having a blog to which you can refer, could serve as a sounding board for ideas as they cross your mind. My use of a digital environment is not new. Seven years ago, I used Weebly to post photos, curriculum and student work. I have since migrated my work onto Wix and I have a blog that is part of that sight.
Up until now, I have used my site primarily for students. The blog has been for solely for Wayne State assignments. But now that I can see the value of blogging, I could foreseeably use it to chart a project. Journaling is part of the creative process that could help me get out of my head the ideas that keep me up at night imagining. Using a digital environment makes messy ideas neat, since it is so easy to edit, as long as you take the time to do so.
What are the limitations? Can those be articulated?
There is something to be said for journaling directly on paper. It is a visceral feeling to use a pencil and be able to draw pictures and brainstorm ideas through seeing them and being able to touch and shape those ideas. Intuitively writing on paper, words are more spontaneous and ideas more direct. We see a direct pathway into our though processes by viewing our writing on paper.
A visual arts teacher I work with is adamant that the ideas she might develop are less immediate when working on a digital document. Her doodles tell stories that maybe only she can interpret, but as a visual learner, I concur there is no digital equivalent to a pencil on paper.
Who might you share these materials with?
It is difficult for me to imagine how to stretch beyond my current constituency and I don’t want to speculate. This question about the future it challenges how I have been working as a public school educator; to be staying in the moment in an effort to keep my work focused and intentional. As I continue to reflect upon this question, I will update my answer as my imagination soars in new ways.