Author: Erika Bell

7/11? More like 911

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Beyonce has done it again. I am sorry to bring another fangirl post to the blogosphere about, in my opinion, one of the most inspiring and unattainable talents of R&B music, but it has to be done.

The singer released two new bonus records to her latest album Beyonce, entitled “7/11” and “Ring Off.” The songs were meant to be released at a later date, but somehow they got out before their planned release. Thank the heavens they did.

“Ring Off” is a song that seems to be about the singer’s mother and the drama experienced between her father. It’s empowering. She sings to her mother in a loving voice telling her to finally put her “love on top” (a reference to a track from her studio album “4”). The theme coincides with her album’s mission of women empowerment. Going through the ups and downs of her marriage, the singer is consoling her mother and letting her know that it is finally time for her to be happy with this “ring off” of her finger. She can finally be herself and learn from the mistakes that happened in her past. Great song, check it out here!

“7/11” is just what the doctor ordered. The beat follows suit to some of the hits from the current album like “Partition” and “Drunk in Love”. There’s a place to dance, a place to sing, and a place to…rap? Yes, the singer seems to have fallen into her own genre with the Beyonce album in general. Mixing her vocal abilities of singing with the crispness of her speaking voice, she stands in her own lane with this upbeat hit.

The possibly biggest fangirl part of this record is the D.I.Y video she did for it. Check it out below, and then we’ll talk.

Yes, she’s in her underwear 98% of the video. Yes, she’s still amazing. The video showcases her dancing around with, what seems to be her real backup dancers, having fun with the some of the moves they’ve been working on for the track. There’s butt-shaking, there’s a pyramid of bodies, and there’s Blue Ivy for .2 seconds on a bed. I mean, can it get any better than that?

The release of these two records and the music video reminded me of how exciting it can be hearing a great song for the first time or seeing a great video for the first time. Music, especially the mainstream kind, can get old really fast, and it’s always great to have that “wow” moment when something first enters your ears and takes you over. Whatever music you enjoy, I encourage you to try and absorb the moment when you first hear a favorite track or view a favorite video. It’s great for memories because we all know how overexposure is the theme of this generation.

Creating a Space to be Creative

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You read that right people. Today we need to delve into the topic of creating a space that is worthy of your presence and helpful in getting your creative juices flowing. It’s all about the vibes that you enjoy and the kind that gets you thinking about being productive.

Let’s talk solely about bedrooms, dorm-rooms, whatever place you may sleep, eat, and attempt to do homework in. This is an essential place in which you should find yourself being productive in. I know some people love going to the library to study or a coffee shop, but let me tell you, when that winter storm hits the streets (and it will), your thoughts on leaving wherever you reside will be nonexistent. Therefore, having your room be as helpful to your life as possible is so very important.

1. Make it comfy

Feather down pillows, 400-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets, down comforter. Aaahhh.

Comfort is always key. Your bed, should be a mountain of fluffy clouds that, when jumped in, you lose all memory of what it is you need to be doing. Therefore, when you have your bed piled perfectly high with the right amount of comforters and pillows, stay far, far away from it. I mean it. Find a stool, a chair, a desk, or anything that you can sit on that’s sturdy and is forcing you to sit upright in. This is important for when you are doing your work. You can work endlessly on projects, schoolwork, writing, drawing, or whatever else you need to get done, and when you will undoubtedly reach your wit’s end, cannon ball right into that mass of comfort.

2. Have Pictures/Words that You Enjoy Surrounding You

Robert Rauschenberg// This image interestingly combines text and image in the form of the text being part of the image : The stop signs, and traffic signs. This is a rather easy way to combine text and image, and is effective because people will recognise it straight away.

What I mean by this is: have an image from your favorite editorial posted on your wall, a quote from a favorite movie taped to your desk, or a painting that you’ve created hanging above your bed. Surrounding your space with images or words that inspire you is a great way to visually stimulate your mind. They indicate moments of creativity from others, or yourself, and staying inspired is always important in any creative space.

3. Don’t Underestimate Lighting

This is actually pretty cool because it counts as wall art but I love the soft glow that you end up with for the light!

Lighting can make or break a work environment. From dim and super bright, to yellow and blue, lighting is an important way to determine a space’s ambiance. Yes, you may need to see when you do your work, but can you relax your mind enough to think clearly with that bright yellow light shining? That is the question. Have varying lighting options so you can choose what kind of creative space you may want to work in.

These are just a few tips that have helped me decorate my bedroom, and create a creative space in which I can be productive in. Of course, it is all about what you enjoy surrounding you and inspiring you, and I encourage everyone to take into consideration how the environment you reside in can make or break your creativity.

 

Wake Up, Mr. West

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So has anyone noticed the undeniable transformation of Kanye West’s music? Of course you have, what am I saying. To be quite honest, I don’t really know many of Kanye’s new songs from his recent album or follow any of his musical partnerships at the moment. From the few songs that I have listened to, however, coupled with the insane media coverage and his elevated fame and fortune as his family becomes the First Family of Fashion, it is very apparent that he has evolved as an artist. Yet, if I may give my opinion, I would say that it isn’t in a good way.

It hit me like a ton of bricks as I was walking down the street with my music playlist on shuffle. On came the loud yell of a man saying “Wake up, Mr. West, Mr. West, Mr. West…” followed by Kanye’s crisp voice as he flows his way into the start of the song. I hadn’t listened to “Heard ‘Em Say” by Kanye West and Adam Levine in a long time, but the ease that the melody of the song brought to my long walk, the power in the words that made up the song, and the way that Adam Levine’s harmony flowed over the hard beat, made me ecstatic that it came across my ears again. Then, by some mighty force of nature, another Kanye song started as “Heard ‘Em Say” faded from my ears. This time it was “All Falls Down”.  A song that I adored when I first heard it back in 2004. Great melody, great rhymes, great music.

Given all of this greatness that entered my ears on that walk, I became aware of what everyone has been saying about Kanye West’s music. It’s nothing like it used to be. His rhythm, his words, his message, his relatability, in my opinion, has been lost in a mass of his media-influenced life. Now I’m not saying that it is impossible for people to change up what they are passionate about, how they do their craft, and how they project that to the people that appreciate it. However, I would like to say that there was something exceptionally enticing, artistic, poetic, real, and everlasting about Kanye’s music circa early 2000’s. Of course a lot has changed in his life and in the music-age among us, where certain sounds and styles are more popular than the sounds from back then. But isn’t there a way to mesh today with yesterday, Kanye?

The collaborative way in which he mixed old-school R&B artists and tracks with his poetry and rhymes that targeted repressed cultural issues was game-changing. If he were to do that again, it would still be game-changing, considering the lack thereof of rap artists that broach controversial topics in way that’s inviting and fun to the ear.

I think that it is sometimes hard to accept that music has changed from what we’ve remembered it to be when we were young and barely knew what the words meant, to now where we crave beats and words that connect with us. I do enjoy some of Kanye’s latest work like Blood on the Leaves and a few of his verses on other collaborations. I just wish that he was able to connect with whatever greatness that made his old music so unforgettable. Whatever it was, it helped him create true art.

Happily Ever After and Then Some

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My current guilty pleasure? I love reading romance novels. Yes, I’m that girl in your local Barnes and Nobles scouring the desolate section of cliched romance books, picking up novel after novel of Fabio and damsel in distress covers. I enjoy the steaminess, the fantasy, the heartbreak, the passion, the fairytale, the conflict, and overall, the idea that love can happen anywhere at anytime. I know it’s cheesy but I can’t help but be drawn to these novels as a place of comfort in my days filled with with classes, work, and piles upon piles of homework. It’s my way to escape into a world in which a realistic love story will never be a thing, but the idea of happily ever after comes with some sticky, drama-filled ups and downs.

I’m going to be really PG here and say what captures my attention the most in these novels is the crazy storyline that fills the holes of the actual romance. I’ve been enraptured by storylines of love hardships due to secret societies, arranged marriages, murders, business corporations, evil fathers, and so much more. When I first began reading my now hefty collection of romance novels, I never understood what the point of these random secondary plots were, when there was a steamy storyline between the two lovers and their always present resistance to be together. But then I read The Blackstone Affair trilogy by Raine Miller. It wasn’t my favorite love story, but the conflicts that arose that put their love to the test, made me yell, punch, and gasp all in one page, and those are pretty varied emotions to have after reading your average romance novel.

After finishing my 50th novel in a span of two months, I began wondering, what is it about these books that has made me disregard any other genre  for so long? I’ve disregarded The Alchemist and the last Divergent installment on my kindle for some months now. Why do I find this excitement to lay back and read about unrealistic happily ever afters, instead of novels that I could actually be proud to say I’ve read in a job interview. Well…I can get lost in them. Yes, the almighty escapism triumphs again! These romance novels, with their cheesy lines, amazing passion, unrealistic hardships, and cute endings of marriage or kids, are lives that I enjoy reading about, and I’m not ashamed of that.

I started thinking about my guilty pleasures and what really gets me thinking creatively today, and this seemed to resonate most with me. Through your guilty pleasures you can find a means to better understand and express yourself. Don’t be afraid to proclaim what you love to read, watch, or do when you want to escape from your everyday lives. I know I’m not.

“I Think Everything in Life is Art”

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“I think everything in life is art. What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile and your personality. What you believe in, and all your dreams. The way you drink tea. How you decorate your home. Or party. Your grocery list. The food you make. How you’re writing looks. And the way you feel. Life is art.” 

I came across this quote from Helena Bonham Carter for the first time last week. It’s quite enthralling. She uses the examples of everyday life, from the way you drink tea to what kind of food you make, and equates it to the importance of art in life. I love this quote a lot, because I can connect to it. When I sit down, excited to write my ArtsInk post every week, I’m so overwhelmed about the different ways I can talk about the art that is present in all our lives. It’s literally everywhere.

I know what you’re thinking. “Art can’t be simplified to the act of drinking tea or smiling at someone!” But, think about the way the steam swirls in the air, as warm Chamomile tea sits in a mug on your coffee table. A symbol of comfort, warmth, and being at home. A feeling of relaxation because your day was long, you talked a lot, maybe laughed a lot, and now you need to find solace in something soothing, something that can fill your belly with flavor. That is art. That is a moment in time that can easily be captured in a photograph, a painting, a video, but it’s so much better than any physical piece of art. It’s your own moment of symbolic peace.

“What about a smile? That’s something on your face, how can that be art? You’re smile can be crooked or small, no one can connect to a smile!” Well, my friend, think about it. Getting that happy smile from a stranger or someone you love can literally make or break a day. It’s the transfer of hope and kindness among humans. It’s a silent exchange that means so much when given to someone. We see smiles within physical art products as well, and we buy it and embrace it because it makes us feel a certain way. That same concept applies with smiling in real life.

Carter’s quote can be applied to any moment of our days when we’re feeling uninspired by the world. It’s a matter of looking closely and appreciating the beauty of everything, even a simple cup of tea.

Feelings…and What to Do with Them

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So.

I have come to that periodic point in my life where I feel emotionally stifled. You know when you have so many thoughts rushing in and out of your head, and you just don’t know what to do with them? There’s school, there’s home life, there’s work, and all you can really do is go to sleep just to get some peace and quiet from your emotion-filled day. Well, I’m there. I guess when I think about it, I could address everything as it comes. Collectively go over why that made me feel this way and just be done with it, as soon as it occurs. But, I guess I’m just human.

So.

What should I do about it? In the past when I’ve gone off the deep end, crying one minute and jumping up and down to a Beyonce song the next, I took to my favorite pastime to get me by. Blogging. Tumblr, specifically. Yes I’d write a long, passion-infused text post about everything I’d endured that day. From the moment I got up, to the time I took to sit down and write, I’d jot down everything. I’d write down my thoughts on why I felt that way, and then forced myself to come up with a better way of how I could go about the situation next time. The beautiful part about this emotional outlet is that no one really follows my blog, and if they do, they have no idea who I am. I could be as boisterous, cynical, selfish, and pathetic as I want because it was my blog, no one else’s. I still go on there from time to time and enact some of my online journaling, but this time I don’t think it’ll do the job.

I could put my feelings into my apartment? Okay, that sounds weird, but follow me on this. Even though I moved into my apartment two months ago, I haven’t gotten around to decorating it. I have high aspirations for what I want to do to the place, yet whenever I get around to buying a pillow or a flower plant, it doesn’t ever seem to come together. Maybe my emotions can open my creative abilities. I could put time into researching what works and what doesn’t work, what I like and what I don’t like. It could be freeing and fulfilling, and it could let me escape the hustle and bustle within my head just for a little bit. Possibility?

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Dealing with emotions are very hard. We’re all human, we all have them. Some more than others (pointing at this girl). But finding fun, creative and, most of all, fulfilling ways to deal with them will always be the challenge. First, we have to come to terms with the fact that we need to deal with them at all. Second, we need to take the time out of our day to do all we can to comfort ourselves. It may not seem like a difficult task to start, but who really wants to go through everything that’s upset them or made them sad that day? But, then again, who really wants to let it build up continuously, to where it becomes difficult to function.  Find your outlet. Blogging, decorating, painting, dancing, it could be anything. I’m still figuring out what I should do with mine, but to be honest, I feel like writing this little post on Arts Ink helped a lot.