#we make stuff

Made this Minimalist lamp back in college. I love making sculpture and stuff like this. Functional art is awesome. This lamp is so bright and lovely in person. Feel free to message us about custom requests like this. We love geek inspired functional art. This was originally inspired by Issac's mask from Dead Space. We can make all kinds of items, props, accessories and functional art. Just because you don't see it at our shop as a current item does not mean that we don't make other stuff or stuff very different than what we sell regularly.

Check out our shop and send us requests at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WithencroftCo

WHAT SHOP WHERE

I've been trying to imagine what I'd say if interviewed for a certain artist-focused book, published in Vancouver, the second in an anthology series. The first book focused on the immediate and slightly outlying network from the network of the original compiling publisher. Painters, dancers, songwriters teachers, photographers, snow-board builders, writers, jazz pianists, etc. 

The book was a rich gathering of different mediums, challenging a diverse perspective on the possibilities of an art form. However successful, I felt the book's focus leaned towards two main themes: Diversity of craft, and financial stability. While the book covered a lot of ground in including artists from across the spectrum, it only seemed to highlight the ones who had found a way to make money with their art. 

I thought to myself "where do I fit in?" It begged the further question of "Is being paid for my poetry, enough to support rent, something I'm supposed to be doing?" I've never considered the notion that my writing could ever be a financial benefit, so in a few ways I was a bit of an outsider from this book's network. 

The long and short of it is the publisher is compiling a second edition, this time reaching out to submissions from artists rather than drawing from their initial network. I, among likely hundreds, applied with the odd hope that being recognized in print would be a firm affirmation of my art's legitimacy. My art, in this case, being poetry. 

I won't create an argument about the financial life of the artist (this is a topic for another day). I will simply present how I would respond, if by some miracle I'm selected from among the hundreds of other more highly talented artists than me:

"I don't see myself as a very good poet a lot of the time. Much of what I do as an artist- writing, reading in public, and publishing- is an attempt to show other poets what is possible. I know of at least 3 friends who write much more brilliant poetry than I do, the difference is they keep it a secret, only revealing their craft on sparse occasions. I'm only regarded as a good poet because I choose to share. 

I got into self-publishing because I wanted publishing to be easier. The publishing world is infinitely complicated, and un-inclusive from what I could tell. Being an average poet and having a book release would be likely a 5 year intensive process. I took a step back and asked "who are these books for? To have hundreds of strangers read, or to share with my friends and family?" Why, the latter of course. 

So, the reason I self-publish my own work is to learn how self-publishing works, then eventually I want to self-publish my friends, with poetry I feel is too well-crafted to keep hidden. 

Despite the fact that I don't see myself as very good, if I look at my art from an outsiders perspective there are some unique things I can see about it. To explain them in point form:

1) I utilize consonance and alliteration quite well. 2) I don't use iambic pentameter, rhyme, meter or any other poetic structure. Not on purpose at least. One of my poet friends does, and very well, freeing me from feeling the need to do it myself. Sometimes in community rather than feeling the need to write a certain way myself, there may be someone else who can for me.  3) My poetry is all about identify the essence of things, then trying to summarize this essence in the most concise way possible. A lot of my poetry attempts to summarize entire great ideas, concepts, or fascinating themes into a single line of verse. I learned the idea of considering the essence of things from a theology lecture by a guest speaker in bible school (an intellectual by the name of Derek Weiss). 4) I try to write most of my poems these days with a flowing, conversational sort of style, so there is a flow to the way they are read. They make better sense if read in public. Taking cues from slam poetry, I've done my last few readings more theatrically, including varied voice tones and mischievous antics.  5) I've also been experimenting with alternative spacing, placing lines of verse in varied parts of the page rather than straight down, in a line. Mostly safe stuff like extended indents, but it adds of bit of character to the poetry. Thought I'll admit it's really nothing compared to Bradley Hathaway's "All The Hits So Far".  6) I try to re-visit my memories and experiences with every varying stage in my life. Being in a different stage means I'm looking at things from a different perspective, having learned new things since the last stage. Good memories and bad memories alike have the potential to inspire wonderful poems. Why let a really happy or really painful and heartbreaking experience go to waste, that's what I say. 

My advice to aspiring poets?

Write. Write all the time, whenever you can- on paper cups, in journals, on walls, with chalk on a sidewalk, in the margins of textbooks, on sheets during exams, on napkins, even if most of your poems end up being lousy. I find for every 20 or so lousy poems I write 1 or 2 good poems. It's difficult to know the difference unless you write as many of them as you can. 

Try to always have a pen on hand so if a good line comes along to catch it before it flutters off. Also also try to progress, if a poem is taking too long or is too difficult to finish just call it a day and try a new poem the next day. 

Always try noticing things (as Annie Dilard taught me). Definitely get outside and have as many experiences as you can- good, bad, shitty, staggering, heartbreaking, or magnificient (because you can't write anything unless you have experienced serious things worth writing about).

Finally, read other poets, as many as you want. Poetry is a conversation not only with yourself, but with the other poets you have adapted your insights and personal style from as well."

That's all for now. 

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We make stuff.