ABOUT
Creativity is an essential inclination, one that can change or redirect many situations, it's an impulse that can yield a positive outlook even on a bleak day -- it is possible to create something meaningful, sometimes making magic out of a mess, and it will have a worthwhile life of its own. The creative process is an addiction and a motivator filled with limitless choices of expression. The works posted on this site represent developing skills and craft which reflect the not-so-secret by-products of indulging in, or escaping from, musing over, or grinding at, commenting on, or committing to, a flawed and sometimes under-valued life.
Generally speaking, songs were mostly written 1981-1993, plays/skits 1988-1993, stories 1993-2005, imaging (drawing, painting, photography) 2005-2015. Poems came in spurts at various points during these years. Prior to this output, I spent a decade studying and learning the basics of many forms of creative arts -- as Malcolm Gladwell points out in "Outliers," it takes 10,000 hours of practice to be good at something. That's a lot of prep and it's certainly an on-going, never-ending process. This field of dreams owes much to self-produced fertilizer mixed with humility seeds.
2015 reading list
A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon, Anthony Marra
At Night We Walk in Circles, Daniel Alarcon
The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, Ben Fountain
The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri
Interpeter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
Tinkers, Paul Harding
The Color of Water, James McBride
The Good Lord Bird, James McBride
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
other books
End of the Story, Lydia Davis
We Live in Water, Jess Walter
The Tenth Circle of Hell, Rezak Hukanovic
Creativity is an essential inclination, one that can change or redirect many situations, it's an impulse that can yield a positive outlook even on a bleak day -- it is possible to create something meaningful, sometimes making magic out of a mess, and it will have a worthwhile life of its own. The creative process is an addiction and a motivator filled with limitless choices of expression. The works posted on this site represent developing skills and craft which reflect the not-so-secret by-products of indulging in, or escaping from, musing over, or grinding at, commenting on, or committing to, a flawed and sometimes under-valued life.
Generally speaking, songs were mostly written 1981-1993, plays/skits 1988-1993, stories 1993-2005, imaging (drawing, painting, photography) 2005-2015. Poems came in spurts at various points during these years. Prior to this output, I spent a decade studying and learning the basics of many forms of creative arts -- as Malcolm Gladwell points out in "Outliers," it takes 10,000 hours of practice to be good at something. That's a lot of prep and it's certainly an on-going, never-ending process. This field of dreams owes much to self-produced fertilizer mixed with humility seeds.
2015 reading list
A Constellation of Vital Phenomenon, Anthony Marra
At Night We Walk in Circles, Daniel Alarcon
The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, Ben Fountain
The Lowland, Jhumpa Lahiri
Interpeter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
Tinkers, Paul Harding
The Color of Water, James McBride
The Good Lord Bird, James McBride
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
other books
End of the Story, Lydia Davis
We Live in Water, Jess Walter
The Tenth Circle of Hell, Rezak Hukanovic
PLAYS Playwriting evolved out of my Berkeley Adult School play-reading class, Plays and Playwrights (1988 to 1993), which covered stage works from Greek plays to contemporary theater. Interest in this class lead to creating the Performing Arts Workshop (co-sponsored by BAS), which allowed me the opportunity to write and stage socially-themed programs about every 8 weeks -- 30 original productions in a five year span. Half of these shows evolved around songs and skits, i.e., "Berkeley, Common Goods, and The Quest," while the other stage works were mostly short plays, such as those included in Playbook and Christmas Eve.
Selected plays available for online reading, click highlighted title excerpt.
Selected plays available for online reading, click highlighted title excerpt.
Sketches & Illustrations
I have drawn and painted infrequently but have a small collection of original sketches and illustrations, some of which have been used as illustrations for books and brochures. These images can be found in the Idiot Savant story (included in Elementary Concerns book), also in the Christmas Eve playbook, and in the Berkeley Adult School's tri-mesterly catalogs of classes1999-2009. The images are divided into two sections: 1) Sketches using pencil, pen or chalk pastels; and 2) Illustrations, primarily themed images created using acrylic paints.
BAS Art Workshop
I facilitated a free weekly Art Workshop at Berkeley Adult School for more than ten years. In its last three years, 2006-2009 I began photographing the ongoing projects. The majority of class participants were foreign students also enrolled in ESL classes at BAS. The Art Workshop facebook link has four folders, 3 folder/years of art workshop participant activity, and a collection of some of the artwork produced in the workshop. In 2009, the Art Workshop ended due to state and school district budget cuts and program reductions.
Videos
During covid 2020-2022 I began creating videos to capture the community volunteer aspects of Lake Merritt. It began with 150th Anniversary of LM Wildlife... 20+ Videos posted to @lakemerritt on YouTube about the lake, its history and stewards, and special events. Was able to utilize 10 years of lake area photographs and interview many individuals I've interacted with through lakemerritt.org connections. Had to upgrade computer
SONGTRACKS
I purchased a Korg Kross 2 which enabled me to layer and arrange song tracks
Videos
During covid 2020-2022 I began creating videos to capture the community volunteer aspects of Lake Merritt. It began with 150th Anniversary of LM Wildlife... 20+ Videos posted to @lakemerritt on YouTube about the lake, its history and stewards, and special events. Was able to utilize 10 years of lake area photographs and interview many individuals I've interacted with through lakemerritt.org connections. Had to upgrade computer
SONGTRACKS
I purchased a Korg Kross 2 which enabled me to layer and arrange song tracks
Kirkworkshop.com site content, words and images © 2013 by John Kirkmire. Use by permission only.