Tien Chiu

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Logo

I’ve been plowing ahead on my new business website, where I’ll be teaching online classes to help people master their craft – go from beginner to professional-quality work through the creative process and exercises that I outline in the book. So far I’ve got an outline of the content I want, and a basic WordPress site, but there is still a ton of work left to do to write the content and design/create the site. However, I do have a logo now, and that’s a start!

Here’s what I think will be the final logo:

"Creating Craft" logo
“Creating Craft” logo

I didn’t develop it myself – instead, I hired a logo designer via Upwork (a site for hiring freelancers). I’m still discussing things with her, but I’m pretty pleased with the end result. I had been hoping for a logo image that communicated “craft” and “craftsmanship” better, but neither she nor I have been able to think of something that describes “craft” without also implying a specific medium. If you have an idea, I’d love to hear it!

 

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Done with the book proposal!

Got myself unblocked and finished writing the draft of the book proposal. I’ve sent it out to a couple of writer friends for review (two have already said it looks great), and am waiting for feedback. In the interim, I’ve set the proposal aside for a few days, so I can look at it with fresh eyes this weekend.

After that, I’ll make any needed revisions, format it correctly, and send it out for copy editing. (Speaking of which, I need to find a copy editor, so if you know one, please drop me a line!) After that it will be time to start querying.

It’s a huge relief to have the proposal more or less complete. I’ve been stressed out about writing it for the last month or so – much to the detriment of my work on Phoenix Rising – and having it off my to-do list feels like being released from creative purgatory. Now I can get on with my life! (And I can start answering emails again, which I have not done for the last week or so. If I owe you an email, my apologies, and I will get to it today or tomorrow.)

Other than that HUGE item, not much has been happening. I’ve done some preliminary sketches for Phoenix Rising, but nothing I’m satisfied with. I like the huge skirt from the Dior dress, and the idea of overlapping tiers for the dress, but want to make it more fire-like and more feathery. I think I really need to try draping some ideas. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll have time to do it, now that the book proposal is done!

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Hunting the wild book proposal

The last two days have been astonishingly productive on the book proposal: I have completed the rough draft of the proposal, including the table of contents, and am working on the first of two sample chapters. I’ve written over three thousand words in the last two days, and while things are still rough, they’re shaping up nicely.

For me, the hardest part is always writing the initial draft. Annie Dillard put it nicely in The Writing Life:

…writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. If you were a Zulu warrior banging on your shield with your spear for a couple of hours along with a hundred other Zulu warriors, you might be able to prepare yourself to write. If you were an Aztec maiden who knew months in advance that on a certain morning the priests were going to throw you in a hot volcano, and if you spent those months undergoing a series of purification rituals and drinking dubious liquids, you might, when the time came, be ready to write. But how, if you are neither Zulu warrior nor Aztec maiden, do you prepare yourself, all alone, to enter an extraordinary state on an ordinary morning?

The trouble with a rough draft, for me, is that the framework and rhythm of the piece hasn’t been established yet. As a result, I don’t have a mental model of what should go where, which makes it difficult to let the words flow. Blog posts are easy because they are essentially pouring out my thoughts; a full chapter requires more discipline, a thesis, some organization – much more complicated and difficult. It requires a clear and untroubled mind that can focus on the problem at hand.

So yesterday I was on a roll; today I’m blocked again. I may have to resort to one of my usual tricks – reading and rereading what I’ve written already until a new thought springs to mind, then quickly capturing it before it vanishes. Do that enough times, and suddenly you’re writing again. It doesn’t always work – but that’s true for most things.

On the whole, though, I’m pleased with my progress. I’m hoping to have a rough draft of everything, including the two sample chapters, by the end of next weekend.

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Interested in talking to designers in craft

Short version: I’m looking to talk to people who are well-known designers in their craft – not just fiber arts, but things like jewelry, ceramics, glasswork, etc. (Plus fiber arts, of course – quilting, fashion design, etc.)  If you have suggestions for people to talk to, please drop me a line at tien @ tienchiu.com (leave out the spaces)  – especially if you know that person and would be willing to introduce me.

Longer version: I had a long talk with Rachael Herron of Yarnagogo yesterday. In addition to being a very cool person, she’s a many-times-published writer, and has (among many other things) offered to help me network to find a publisher, which will come in very handy. (Thanks, Rachael!)

Rachael also had a very interesting suggestion. I had explained my concern about the audience appeal of the book – the process applies more or less universally across craft (in my mind anyway), but all my examples are drawn from fiber arts, since that’s what I do. She suggested that I could expand the appeal by including interviews with (and possibly samples from) top artists in different types of craft – so, polymer clay, metal clay, quilting, knitting, ceramics, etc. That would give the book more credibility and diversity – I absolutely love this idea and want to include it in the book. But I need to find these people first. In some cases, I know who they are – but in most cases, I don’t.

So I’m asking for a little help from my readers. I need names of people that you think would be helpful to interview – primarily, designers who are well-known in their craft, and who would be reasonably friendly to approach. If you know someone personally and would be willing to introduce me, that would be even more fantastic. So if you have suggestions, please either leave them in the comments or email me directly at tien @ tienchiu .com (leaving out the spaces). I’m interested in any kind of skilled handicraft – not just fiber arts (though I do want fiber arts as well).

Thanks all!