27 Things I've learned...so far

I've been neglectful of my blog lately. This was because April was a busy month for me (As I knew it would be) and it was one of the things I could neglect between working for someone else, working for myself and working on completing my latest creative project.

A few months back I started writing a blog entry called 'Things I've Learned...so far'. It was inspired by two things:

1) I believe that learning is a never ending process. That life without curiosity and an interest in discovery is rather dull. I wanted to share that passion I have for expanding my knowledge of the world around me and within me.

2) I get really irked when people write someone off because they assume that when you're younger you lack wisdom and insight. I have learned some incredible things from people half my age. I have heard the most wise and intelligent and insightful things from children I've babysat or friends who are two, four, six, even ten years younger than I am.

I've also seen my fair share of people in their forties or fifties or even sixties and seventies, who do or say incredibly foolish things.

There is no order to life and no reason behind how or when we will learn a valuable life lesson. Some people will have the same experiences repeatedly and never learn from them whilst others will learn it the first time or learn it by observing what others have been through.

Regardless, we're all in the same boat and life is not out to get anyone in particular. Life is a brilliant opportunity and life is for living right now.

Six weeks ago I decided I was going to make an animation and I wanted it completed by my 27th birthday. I set up a light table in the corner of my room, positioned a tri-pod with camera over top of it, and set to work.

Every spare moment I've had has been spent drawing, sculpting, photographing, timing, planning, sorting and editing. This was in between working the still necessary day job and the developing Life Coaching job. This was between supporting over 100 fundraisers at a charity, working on design and layout for marketing materials, updating my blog (occasionally), being extremely ill for five days, working ten to eleven hour shifts during the London Marathon Expo, taking driving lessons and planning a birthday party.

But I'm organised and I'm committed and when I set my mind to something I get it done. It's how I roll.

Today is the first of May. Today is my birthday. So here it is:

27 Things I've Learned...So Far

General goings-on

The year continues at its lickety split pace.

Everything seems to be falling into place so I’m not feeling terribly overwhelmed. As my gallery show approaches I feel like everything is coming together nicely, especially with the development of Barefoot providing the wine.

There are other little things cropping up and they too seem to be making themselves happen. A fellow artist here in London twigged me onto the Crazy Sexy Cool Show, a general showcase of various artists which will feature a pair of my custom sneakers.

At the end of April my animation, ‘Affinity’ screened at the Paris Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival. Apparently it was watched by one of the organising members of the Some Prefer Cake Film Festival in Bologna and now they too wish to have me send a copy for screening.

Then there’s the exhibition for Trees for Life up in Edinburgh, which both my partner and I have pieces in and it looks like we’ll be going up to attend.

I have to admit that it feels a bit surreal. I’ve not really done much beyond my usual blog updates and tweeting regularly. It’s incredible how, the less you cling to making something happen, the more likely it is to naturally occur.

An unexpected surprise

I was going to reveal another tarot card in today's entry but an email I received gave me something else I'd like to write about. Besides, I'm enjoying the slow reveal of my final pieces.

I was in London no more than a month when I received the first email from Cineffable, the organisers behind the Paris International Lesbian & Feminist Film Festival. They had seen my animation, 'Affinity' screened at the Toronto Queer West Film Festival and wanted me to submit it for their own festival. I filled in the rather lengthy application, burned a copy of 'Affinity' to a DVD and popped it in the post.

I didn't expect to hear anything. I've sent 'Affinity' to several festivals and never heard anything back. For a first animation, given that it's had four public screenings, I figure it's done well.

So this email today came as a pleasant surprise. Evidently my film wasn't chosen for the November 2010 screening, but it has been chosen to show in April 2011!

Making my animation was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I loved every second of it and have even said that, if someone told me it was completely paid for, I'd sign up for animation school tomorrow. Now that my tarot paintings are complete I'm looking forward to the next project. I'm not the sort of person who intends to only have one identifiable career in their life. At the moment I do fundraiser support and graphic design at a charity, I'm editing one of my five completed novels with the intention of publication within the next two years, and with those paintings done I'm looking at how to complete the deck and where I can hold a gallery showing.

I still have that children's book on my To Do list, with no timeline to confine it to, just a thing to dabble in for the time being. And then there's animation. I long to animate again. I want to do a classic hand drawn piece. I'd love to try my hand at animated music videos for some of my favourite songs. Now that I have flash I think it would be fun to give computer animation a go too.

But, one thing at a time. The important thing is that I did complete 'Affinity' and it's still out there and still appreciated even three years on.

Student of Life

And so it was done....

Four days off in a row for the celebration of the resurrection of our lord and saviour...by eating chocolate. This is what happens when Pagan and Christian customs get mashed up together.

I however, don't really recognise this particular holiday as anything more than a long weekend.

Already I've managed to nearly complete an animation with a friend. Despite the utter lack of proper equipment (Other than his brilliant camera and tri-pod) and a ridiculously short amount of time in which to work, I feel really good with the result. Not everything is done but what is left is relatively minor. We have managed six rough animations of about twelve seconds each. This took us six hours collectively and there is still one left to do. Ironically enough we have been animating the seven deadly sins for use in a play written and performed by some Yoot's. It's a gritty animation, but then, these are the seven deadly sins we're talking about.

I really enjoyed working on it and hope to have the footage to add to my portfolio in short order. It made me miss the creative flow that comes from animating something and I'm trying to formulate ways in which I can work it into my other creative projects. I think an animation of a stained glass piece slowly building itself up would be fabulous.

Again, it seems I'm just adding to my list of things to do and create. I continue to tell myself to specialise, hone my skills and modify my work so it improves in one area. I don't know that I haven't though. Certainly, I do tackle many mediums and often with great success, but I am by no means dabbling in everything. I think my style is less about the medium and more about the elements. Everything I do is bright and almost all of it has an aspect of the natural world to it. Even these animations, which were quite gruesome, employed the use of some very bright colours.

Or maybe I am truly in an apprenticeship of my own making. I am a student of life and right now London is my classroom. I meet teachers everywhere in the people I'm begining to call my friends. I find special lessons on the television or at a museum and I create my own assignments.

And this is as it should be.

I have been doing art, I swear it!

I finally finished the first story in my Graphic Novel. I'm pretty pleased about this as it was a project I've flipped about in my head for years and never ventured to try out of the sheer frustration of it. You spend months working on drawing this thing that takes most people less than five minutes to read. But it's still totally worth it, I think. I know I did a lot of work on it and I think it's turned out quite well so I've no complaints.

I'm still working on the Tarot pieces but I took a bit of a break to do some art for a competition the library is hosting. The assignment? Create some art that celebrates The Book. I've done a piece on my usual canvas size. It's almost done and I'm really happy with it, but it needs a little something more. I feel like I should make it pop somehow, because, despite being brightly coloured (As is all my work.) it just doesn't seem like it's going to feel done when I finish the final bit of painting.

In other news, my dad and I made a lightbox! I can finally animate at home! I just need to get lightbulbs for it, and a few reams of paper hole punched for my animation stick. Then i can go to town!

So yes, the creativity continues.

YAP Screening

Thursday, October 9th marked my first official screening. This was also my first ever experience showcasing my work as an artist.

It was absolutely incredible to share the stage and screen with nine other brilliant minds. My experience at the Youth Animation Project has opened my world up in ways I didn't realize were possible. I am an artist and activist, professionally, first and foremost.

"Who we are and what we do should be one and the same."
- Myself.

This statement has taken on new meaning for me as I've watched my fellow 'yappers' grow and evolve and as I have done the same. For the past five months my mind has been blown and my perception of who I am and how I define myself has expanded and shifted in a monumental way. I may have to work a retail job now and again to get by, but I won't let that define me because it simply can't. As one of my fellow co-workers put it: I am electric inspiration.

Another co-worker said "When 99.99% of the time you are positive, uplifting, happy-joy, I think it's O.K. for you to have a bad day now and again."

I'll have good days and bad, because you can't have one without the other and you can't appreciate the good without the bad to contrast it. But I'll always know who i am and who I am is electric inspiration. I'm an artist. I'm a writer. I'm an animator. I'm Kaitlyn S. C. Hatch, who wrote, directed, animated and made sound for the short claymation 'Affinity'.

Today my co-workers and I are famous. We are fellow artists ready to venture out into the world full of bright faith in our ability to create and grow. We are brilliant, all of us.

*Smiles the widest smile of them all.*