#nonsenseinspires week 2: waking up

Music Awakens (violin). Model: Amy Crosland, Photo: Wendy Hurst Portrait

"That can't happen."

Flower pedals can't swirl around to the tune of a violin. Paper butterflies can't fly. But when overcome with the rush of wind in beautiful light with a simple instrument, when you care about a story that draws you in, it doesn't matter.

Movie-makers have known this for years and the trick (if one can call it that) is to make the story just believable enough, entertaining enough, and likable enough that the audience is willing to suspend reality long enough to feel the magic.

Last week I introduced #nonsenseinspires as a blog series I hope can inspire storytellers everywhere to challenge the words, "That can't happen."

This week's nonsense explores what happens when nature is woken by music, but first the concept.

Spotting the Nonsense
You've just woken from a dream. Maybe you don't remember what it was about. Maybe it was even a nightmare. Before you get out of bed, take a moment. How did the dream make you feel? What did it look like? If you apply logic to it, what stands out of place? Listen for the words in your mind: "That can't happen." That's the nonsense!

How to Use It
Grab your notebook and sketch the scene. Who's in it? What prop(s) could capture the feeling of that dream? What colors come to mind (or maybe no colors at all)? With a few lines and a pinch of salt you could have a stew going.

It Works for Me
Talenthouse.com recently invited artists to create imagery to celebrate "music moments". When I listen to music I feel like my senses wake up, as if the music could move things--like in my dreams. So I recruited some models with musical instruments and picked a small forests area nearby. Granted...there was a backpack ransacked and left behind by a mugger long gone and we called the police, and there were dead birds with their heads torn off here and there, but once the police left and things settled down we had a good time...

Models:
Alyxa Dawn Cortez (clarinetist)
Amanda Solt (guitarist)
Amy Crosland (violinist)

Music Awakens (clarinet). Model: Alyxa Dawn Cortez, Photo: Wendy Hurst Portrait

Music Awakens (guitar). Model: Amanda Solt, Photo: Wendy Hurst Portrait

Models: Amanda Solt, Amy Crosland, Alyxa Dawn Cortez | Photo: Wendy Hurst Portrait