May Newsletter
For the last year, I have been obsessing over these plants — bergenia, a.k.a. pigsqueak. When I see them blooming (which seems to be always, even in winter), Adam has to endure me going, "SQUEAK!"
Happy May!
News:
• I’m recording!
• I’m writing!
• I’m birding!
• TELEPHONE, one of the largest collaborative, interdisciplinary artworks in history, launched on April 10th! I contributed a song called “The Light That Comes Through”.
• Listen to my most recent single "Minor Holiday" everywhere!
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Last week I recorded vocals for three songs, and they’re nearing completion. All the percussion is done, and some bass and trumpet. There’s a little more to record, but they’ll be coming to you as singles very soon! I’ve uploaded a sneak peek at the artwork for “Varied Thrush” to my Patreon.
I’m planning to do some songwriting in May, and I’m still at work on the next draft of my young adult novel. I mentioned last month that I was accepted to Lambda Literary’s 2021 Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices, and thanks to a number of very kind people I’ve managed to fundraise $350 of the cost of attendance. (It's tax-deductible!)
To get into the right headspace for the novel, I’ve been trying to squeeze in more birding lately. Next week I’m going on my very first pelagic trip, birding some miles off the Oregon coast. Later this month I’ll be spending four nights at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to research and write. And next month I’m participating in the Portland Audubon Birdathon. So far I’ve raised $170 for Portland Audubon! (Also tax-deductible!)
If you haven’t checked out TELEPHONE, I highly encourage it! It’s one of the largest collaborative, interdisciplinary artworks in history. It’s based on the game of Telephone, where a message is whispered from person to person. I was assigned a painting from an artist in Istanbul, and my task was to convey the painting’s message in a song. In the end, 950 artists from 479 cities in 70 countries created original, interconnected artworks.
I hope everyone is staying safe and getting vaccinated as soon as they’re able to! I got my second dose last week, and I’m (cautiously) looking forward to seeing people I haven’t seen in forever. ❤️ I’ll be in touch next month, hopefully with a new demo!
Take care,
Stephan
a.k.a. Sparkbird