Defining Our Area's Artistic Culture (A Primer)

Hello and welcome to the first post of this blog! I will attempt to explain what will be going on in this blog and prepare readers for what is coming.

I am honored to be a blogger for the Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch!  The opportunity was offered on two conditions: 1) be an expert on something and 2) attempt to make it local.  My idea was the definition of our area's artistic culture.  To determine exactly what our culture is and to talk with the creators of different forms of art that, by doing what they do naturally, are defining what our local artistic culture is and can be.

So yes my idea is local but am I an expert in this field?  I wouldn't necessarily refer to myself as an expert but I have a lot of experience in creating artistic works and am fortunate to be friends with many amazing artists from the area. I created a band that is still going strong 12 years after our creation although we are currently on haitus from playing live while another important member works on finishing his teaching degree.  I've completed one novel which I am working on editing while investigating several avenues for having it published and at the same time I am working on the skeleton for my second novel.  I've written a complete screenplay, which will be getting more work done to it, that I plan to try to produce into a short film.  So am I an expert? Not quite. But through our adventure in this blog I will be attempting to learn from other masters of their crafts so that all of us can become that much more of an expert.

I love nearly every expression of art and felt that this was a great opportunity to flex my writing muscles (of which there are apparently five since I am typing these posts).

So how does this work and how does it define a local culture you ask?  Go ahead, pretend that you asked!  Each blog post will focus on a different artist from our area whether their chosen medium is film, music, novels/books or visual artwork or any combination of mediums to determine what impact our area has on their work and how their art impacts our local culture.

I will start each post with my thoughts on what it is that they do which will be followed by a written interview with the artist and will end with a summation based upon the above information.  I will include all relevant links and media I can to help readers discover for themselves what the artists create.

Three things that I hope this will accomplish are: 1)gaining exposure for artists in our area and create a supportive atmosphere for our artistic culture 2) and try to expand readers' horizons.  If you love music I hope that you'll find new bands/musicians that you will enjoy. If you love movies then you will learn of local filmmakers who are likely to create something you will enjoy watching.  And lastly 3) give readers a better understanding of how you can acheive goals if you too are an aspiring artist.

I fully intend to cover up-and-coming local artists as well as those that may have already achieved more widespread acclaim.  The more active I can get this blog the more artists I can get interested in being featured.  I also plan to mention in future updates any positive big steps taken by artists that we've alread covered.

"Rules" of conduct:
1) Please speak your mind in each post's comments section if the article makes you feel so inclined.  Discuss what you think of the artist and their work.  Comment on the actual post itself.  Whichever may come to mind.  This can help foster the supportive environment.

2) If you like an artist and their work please feel free to "like" and/or share.  This helps garner exposure for the artist and our artistic culture as a whole.  It can help local readers learn of new artists that may interest them as well as bring art fans from all over to learn more about our area.

3) If you know of an artist, using any type of medium, in our area that does something 'different' please contact me and let me know. I will be researching good candidates to be featured but could definitely use help.  Any reader that points me towards a solid candidate will receive credit for the help in the post.

Let's embark upon an informational and hopefully fun exploration of what art our area has to offer!  *Writer's note to readers* "I realize that this post looks a little plain without any pictures but future posts should have pretty pictures and assorted eye candy.".