from the publisher

The Spark Issue

nikki

publisher@skirt.com

I’m a loner when it comes to work. When I was going to college, I perforce had to study with my kids around, but even then I had to lock myself in the bedroom and generally neglect them until I got my papers written. I’m sure they’re telling their therapists about it to this day. I still find it hard to write if there is anyone in the same house, much less the same room. I’m happiest when I’m alone in front of a computer or blank page, wandering around in my own mind, my own world, playing with possibilities, rearranging words, getting it right suddenly after struggling with a sentence for days. I’m fiercely proprietary about my work–mine, mine, mine, I cry, as I hang onto ideas, reluctant to share. But recently I’ve learned that cooperating on a project doesn’t mean losing control. If the circumstances are right, it can give you a crucial injection of inspiration just when you’re running dry. In 2005, I started a daily blog with a friend who was moving to Europe. We did it on the spur of the moment, had a split-screen site designed in three weeks and started blogging every day. At first it was just a way to stay in touch with each other’s daily lives, but it soon became an addictive creative collaboration. For a year, I worked all day at Skirt! and then went home at night to create blog entries, writing, taking photos, making “art.”  We became daily muses for each other, finding an outlet for ideas that didn’t fit into our day jobs and collecting a modest online audience along the way. It’s been a year since we closed Muse to Muse due to the demands of a new baby on her end and an increased work load on mine. Now I’m starting a new solo blog and I’m having fun, but I’ll have to keep the spark alive on my own. Got a match, anyone?