The Uplifting and the Heartbreaking – September 26, 2013

Life.  It can uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time, in the same place about the same people. The uplifting.  Watch it for yourself at http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2013/09/18/pakistan-smartphone-app-success-mohsin-pkg.cnn.html.  It warms your heart, and makes your chest swell with pride. Eyedues Labs, a nascent Pakistani company comprising of young students who have developed an app that merges two pictures together to allow the photographer to be in the picture.  An ingenious idea, solving a real-life problem, and executed well enough to attract the attention of Google, which flew all members of the company to Northern California for a mentoring program.  As if this was not enough, another surprise! Plan 9, a program to foster innovation using the latest technologies is being funded and backed by the Pakistani government.  Amongst the torrent of news of government corruption and general lawlessness in Pakistan, it was like a breath of unexpected fresh air that the same government is actually beginning to take a few steps to leverage the intellect and industriousness of the Gen-Y of Pakistan.  I hope this effort continues, and brings more positive news from Pakistan. The heartbreaking.  After reading the very short article at http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/09/24/city/lahore/kidnapping-racket-busted-police-arrest-27-forcing-children-to-beg/, the only question that comes to mind is – how is this possible in this day and age?  But I realize worse things happen in the world every day.  As far as Pakistan is concerned, if you do go there, you will see beggars on the streets.  And they will usually be children.  You also read about the gangs who abduct these children and force them to beg.  It is all very real.  (Read the fictional account of this horrific reality in http://www.amazon.com/The-Rat-Boys-Karalabad-Zulfiqar-Rashid/dp/1928704484/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380259450&sr=8-1&keywords=zulfiqar+rashid)  But this kind of news still hits you like a sledgehammer.  This is not what you want to hear about your home country.  If there is any silver lining, it is that the news is about the capture of the gang, consisting of both men and women, which was kidnapping children and using them as beggars, even though the gang leader escaped. I can only hope that this is the start of a change, one that was recognized by the editorial board of the NY Times in the September 10 issue at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/opinion/pakistans-peaceful-transition.html?smid=tw-share.  Who knows, maybe the change in the government will also make a change in the destiny of...

Completing an Art Project

Creative activities, such as painting or writing a book, should be treated like a project.  Why?  Because while we are driven to start them by a desire stronger than ourselves, it is very possible to not have enough time to finish them – life gets in the way.  To avoid this, I use a variation of Fergie’s catchy song from The Great Gatsby – ‘A little organized thinking never hurt nobody’. What are the characteristics of a project?  Well, (i) it should be started with intent, (ii) it should be planned out, and (iii) it should be diligently executed to completion.  While this may sound more like doing an engineering project, I have found that if a writing or art project does not have a plan – even a loose one – around it, it could easily end up being that, half-finished canvas or almost complete manuscript, lying forgotten in the far corner of the basement or the garage. Once I have taken the first step, which is also the easiest – deciding that I want to start an art project – I spend some time recognizing and internalizing that I have made this decision, this commitment.  I try to think about what this means, how much time each day or each week I expect it to take, and how much time I will realistically be able to give it.  This gives me a sense of how long the project may take.  Sometimes I do this all in my head, at others I record it more systematically with pen and paper. When I have a sense of the scope of the project, I think about what kind of project this should be.  Most of my art projects end up being one of three categories. The ‘Just Pick up the Brush’ projects The ‘Planned’ projects The ‘Commissions’ While all art projects are great fun, the ‘Just Pick up the Brush’ projects are the most fun.  These usually start off as doodles and take a life of their own.  I never know where they are going to end up.  The primary excitement in these projects is the discovery, the joy of not knowing where this journey is going to take me. When the art project is a ‘planned’ project, I usually have a pretty clear idea of what the completed piece will look like.  On these, I spend a fair amount of time at the beginning sketching out drafts that become more and more detailed with each iteration.  The satisfaction and...