Links from the Show at a Glance:

Artist: Me (Rebekah Nemethy)

Title of Art: Sandstorm at Sea

Artist’s Website: rebekahnemethy.com

Instagram: @rebekahnemethy

Melissa Dinwiddie’s book The Creative Sandbox Way (check out the first 50 pages for free!)

Support Art Ink on Patreon to get goodies: rebekahnemethy.com/patreon

Art Ink Submission Guidelines: rebekahnemethy.com/artinksubs

Art Ink Podcast Transcript:

[Intro:]

Welcome back to a brand new episode of Art Ink! I feel a bit like I’m cheating this week… because despite my best efforts to sit down and write something new over the past couple of weeks, I’ve barely had time to sleep let alone get into a creative or productive groove. I have a bad habit of putting too much on my plate… I’m working on it.

But!…

The good news is that it’s nearly my favorite time of the year: Creative Sandbox Retreat time! As you’re listening to this, I’m packing my bags with comfy clothes, blank notebooks, and maybe even my camera, to head to California, where Melissa Dinwiddie hosts her annual creative retreat about an hour south of San Jose. This is either my 4th or 5th year returning… I honestly lost count hahaha. Time just slips out of my grasp when I’m there, I’m afraid to admit it, but I’ll be on my way home before I can blink I’m sure.

So why is that good news for you? Well it’s my intention to crank out some stories while I’m there. As many as I can manage in the 5 days I have.

Today’s story is from my own blog archive, which, I realized gives me the opportunity to fill you in on more Art Ink history, because what you may not know is that this show is an expanded audio version of what I was already doing on my own blog for my own art a few years ago. And I actually have to thank Melissa for that original blog concept too, because if it weren’t for her “Tiny and Daily” teachings (which you can find out more about in her book The Creative Sandbox Way), well, if it weren’t for the “Tiny and Daily” concept, I don’t think I ever would’ve started the Photo and 100 Words Project.

I needed a way to regularly get my art out into the world that wasn’t too overwhelming. Writing 100 words wasn’t a huge deal… but the idea of doing it daily was still a bit scary for me, especially because I was creating art AND writing a complimentary story to go with it. (sounds familiar huh?) So I decided to go with tiny and weekly instead: one photo and one short story of less than 100 words. It was 2014 when I started blogging weekly, writing mostly narrative nonfiction with a poem sprinkled in here and there, and I kept that up for well over a year.

Even back then I wanted to get other artists involved, though. In fact, I started an Instagram account for the Photo and 100 words project, too, though I never actually posted to that account.

A few years into it, around the time my new-found fascination with capturing tiny reflections spurred an abstract series of photos on the blog, my stories started to stretch past the 100-word mark, and the Photo and 100 Words Project evolved into Artsy Reflections.

By the time my blog trickled out to a standstill, I knew I wanted to give my stories an actual voice in the podcast medium, but it was too scary to put the whole focus on my own art and personal stories… it just seemed too selfish. But the spark for Art Ink was there… and if you listened to the very first episode of this show, you already know that story.

So today’s featured photo came from my Reflection series… let me recreate it in your brain before we move on:

[Art Description:]

If you squint at this abstract photo, it could pass for a yellowed map. It’s mostly blue and reddish-brown, with slashes of coppery gold hovering above and blending into the rest of the piece.

Imagine you’re on a boat in a Caribbean sea, approaching a red-brown desert island as you sail between two tan sand bars. Now imagine you’re in the middle of a sandstorm. Wet clumps of sand cling to your eyelashes, creating coppery vertical haloes as your watery eyes squint against the wind, distorting the scene ahead of you.

Sandstorm at Sea is what I call this photograph, and it’s this same title that sparked the following memory…

[Story:]

What are you more afraid of: a stranger’s opinion of you or death? The answer might not be as obvious as you think…

It was day three of our seaside vacation and we were just hitting the beach for the first time. By some miracle, the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds; despite the 10-day forecast that showed nothing but dark clouds and plentiful rain.

I had been under the covered balcony, starring out at the ocean, when it finally happened, and I wasted no time in trading my pjs for a tankini and digging my toes into the sand. Okay… I did make everyone pose for photos first, you should just assume that’s a given.

The waves were pounding the shore and most of the boys didn’t hesitate to jump in. I wandered along the wet shoreline feeling the warm water sweep over my feet. They were calling for me to come in, but I wasn’t so sure I could handle the stormy seas. I can swim, but I’m far from a mermaid.

It took a lot of convincing and a bit of daring me to get me to walk out any further. My boyfriend at the time insisted that he would protect me, and I only had to get past where the waves broke and into the safety of his arms.

Cautiously, I ventured deeper into the ocean. I was knee deep one second, but then, suddenly, white water was washing over my entire body and I found myself butt down back on the beach.

You’d think that my fear would give me some instinct to brace myself, I mean, I must have braced myself, but I had no idea how powerful those waves were.

I went back to wandering in the safe zone for a while. I don’t know exactly how long it was before I noticed… but I’d been strutting my stuff in front of strangers for more than a few minutes, when I finally brushed my hands over my butt to find a heaping pile of sand that had been scooped into my bathing suit bottom as I’d been pushed up the beach.

I rushed back into the ocean, instinctively, to rinse my bottom out. Apparently, the fear of people seeing me in something that resembled a saggy diaper, and the connotations that came with that, were much more threatening than drowning.

[Conclusion:]

Yup, that’s the true story of one of my first and, understandably, last experiences at the beach. Shout out to the power of the ocean to help me face my fear of public embarrassment AND my fear of being pummeled into a pulp all in one day. Hmmm… maybe I should visit the shore more often.

Well I do love the ocean, the sound of waves, the feel of the soft sand on bare feet, and the salty wind whipping inland… it’s all so magical, isn’t it? That must’ve been why I was distracted for so long. I’m giggling even now imagining the scene from a strangers point of view: look at the smile on that girl’s face, she seems intoxicated by sunshine… or perhaps self-satisfied? Oh, wow, yeah, probably self satisfied, because it looks like she just relieved herself… took a dump right in her bathing suit!

Ok, I know I’m letting my imagination get away with me… but I hope that gave you a laugh. My embarrassment is your entertainment.

And if you’re antsy for more entertainment you don’t actually have to wait two weeks. I’ve been hesitant to put this out there because I didn’t want it to seem like Art Ink has this ulterior motive… but the fact is that I’ve actually been on Patreon sharing my work since 2014, and before I go any further I have to send out my heartfelt gratitude to Yadira, Alice, and Margie for being my longest running supporters. Yadira and Alice have been there from the very beginning which means they’ve given me a whopping 55 months of support! And Margie has been supporting me for 44 months! Thank you ladies for always believing in the work I put out into the world, whether that means my work as an animal activist, my art, or a new podcast, you have been there all along. I so appreciate that, more than you could ever know.

So I’ve been on Patreon for almost 5 years, and patrons have trickled in and out as my work has evolved, and I’m thrilled to let you know that I’ve revamped my offerings once again. So getting back to how you don’t have to wait to get more entertainment, I actually recorded the first 100 blog posts from my Photo and 100 Words Project, AKA Artsy Reflections, and turned it into an exclusive audiobook that’s available only on Patreon! Not only that but I also added in some behind the scenes commentary, which again, is something you won’t be able to hear anywhere else.

For as little as $1 per month you’ll get instant access to all 100 chapters of my Artsy Reflections audio book, and you’ll join my small community of Patrons that get early access to all of my content, including new episodes of Art Ink.

There are even more rewards if you’re feeling more generous like a blooper reel of my first few audiobook projects, free copies of all newly released audiobooks I narrate, and, here’s a big one, access to digital copies of all of my fine art photography in my Patron-Only Art Library.

There’s actually a whole lot more, but seeing as my intro and conclusion this week are far surpassing the story, I’ll leave the rest for you to discover on your own. Visit rebekahnemethy.com/patreon to get the details on all the fun bonuses you can get your hands on. You’ll find a link in the shownotes.

Alright my friends, I’m off to my creative retreat so I can write you some more art-inspired stories. Love ya’ll! Thank you for listening!

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