Life update

It has been four months since the announcement of my creative retreat. Since then, I've been learning new skills, taking college classes, and carving out a career path that will enable me to fulfill my creative potential. I've also moved into a group house with other creatives, landed a job that starts in September, and also found out that my partner will need to have a hysterectomy soon! A lot has happened since my last blog update— mostly good, but quite a roller coaster.

Creative coding

As I briefly mentioned in my first post, one concept that has fascinated me lately is the idea of creating audio and visual art using code. I had been familiar with audio programming languages like SuperCollider and Max/MSP for a long time, but it wasn't until recently that I also learned about similar environments for computer graphics: GLSL shader art, Processing, TouchDesigner, Jitter, Three.js, Blender, and more. Going down this rabbit hole led me to a field that perfectly encapsulates my current interests: “creative coding”. You can find some examples of this on Shadertoy and p5.js. Furthermore, upon doing more searching, I found out that there is a school that offers a degree in this very subject— and it just so happens to be right where I'm located— Portland Community College!

Soon after publishing that post, I found, enrolled in, and completed the spring term for the Creative Coding and Immersive Technologies Associate degree. My first term consisted of Audio Programming I (a class in Max/MSP), and Music as a Career (not required for the degree but I learned a lot from it). I aced both classes, and made some cool audio projects including a drum machine that uses sounds from your voice:

Looks cool! But what end goal do you have in mind?

Creative coding is lots of things in one – mathematics, art, digital signal processing, computer graphics, video effects, sound design— not to mention, of course, software development. Here's just some of the things that I'll be able to do once I've completed the degree:

Soon, I see myself finding a career path that allows me to spend time doing several of these things. The more time I spend away from my previous job as a full-stack web developer, the more I realize that my ideal lifestyle is one where I can do lots of different activities throughout my day instead of solely focusing on one project. So my best options moving forward are to either find a single job where I can wear lots of hats that are all interesting to me, or to find a healthy combination of income streams and business hustles that allow me to fulfill all of my interests in different ways.

How's Violet Flame doing?

For those of you who don't know, Violet Flame is an audiovisual art and live performance project that consists of me and my partner, Cloud (they/them). We have been quiet on social media for about a year now due to other obligations, preparation for the next phase of our project, and medical circumstances. Cloud has been seeing a doctor for uterine fibroids, and recently came to the conclusion that they will need to have a hysterectomy, scheduled on July 23. This is a huge procedure, and the recovery process usually lasts about 6-8 weeks. I'll be by their side the whole time, and resting and recovering will take priority over songwriting and production. But once this is all over with, Cloud will hopefully be pain-free for the first time in a while, and we'll both have lots of energy!

For the next phase of our project, all of the skills that I mentioned above will be applied, and we hope to impress audiences in 2025 with our immersive presentation, emotional storytelling, and hard-hitting beats. In the meantime, here's a recording of the visuals and instrumentals that we performed with last year. This was done entirely in Resolume Avenue with the help of some drawings and animations from Cloud, local Portland artists, and some free-to-use video loops from the internet. The goal moving forward will be to not rely on outside graphic designers and start crafting animated patterns from scratch with creative coding!

In addition to this, I'm also learning the ins and outs of stage lighting, which is another potential career path of its own. Using TouchDesigner and possibly some other tools like Beam for Max to convert MIDI and OSC signals into DMX, I'll be able to create amazing light shows that are perfectly synced with our visuals and audio. I'm inspired by my favorite band, Meshuggah, who synchronize their lights to every note of every song, creating a powerful, larger-than-life experience for the crowd. As I branch out and explore the EDM/rave scene, I've also been inspired by the experiences that those events offer and hope to eventually do something on that scale.

Finding a job

While this is all great long-term planning, I'm still in the early stages of most of this work, and am certainly not an expert yet by any stretch. Until I get to that point, I will need to find jobs that help me gain experience and make connections toward my goals. So far, I have landed a part-time job that starts in September as the Clubs Program Engagement Leader at Portland Community College, and have also started interning at The Hallowed Halls as an assistant technician for sound and lighting. These are both fantastic opportunities that will showcase my people skills and engage me with my local community, both of which are very important to me. In addition, working at HH is an excellent gateway into the music industry and a potential regular gig as a live sound/lights engineer.

But with the internship being unpaid and the part-time job not starting until September, it is time for me to start actively seeking more income opportunities. I have applied for jobs at music venues, tutoring centers, and tech companies, but the job market is brutal at the moment. I am also starting to offer services including private lessons, live audio engineering/equipment rental, and music collaborations. This is my first time doing this sort of thing, so I am probably not very good yet at setting ideal prices or marketing myself. But if any of these services sound useful to you, or if you run a music venue that needs sound engineers, don't hesitate to get in touch with me via Instagram or LinkedIn!

Final thoughts

I chose the hard path of going out and searching for a career path that fulfills me, as opposed to the easy path of staying a full-stack web developer, moving up the ranks, and retiring early. As someone who tries to be as analytical as I can, introspecting and acknowledging any mistakes I might make, I wonder often: was this really the right move?

Fortunately, I'm pleased to say that the ability to focus on my own projects, build skills at my own pace, and express my truest self through my work, far outweighs any financial anxieties that I have. My mental health has improved tremendously, and I strongly feel that I am on the path to paving my own success in my own way.

Taking college classes, interning, reading lots of books, consuming hours of LinkedIn Learning courses and YouTube explanations, learning new styles of software development, writing these blog posts— it all takes lots of energy. So how do I do it every day? The answer is Red Bull— lots and lots of it. Unfortunately, this fuel is not cheap, and my stash of cans is starting to run low. So if you're enjoying seeing me pursue my creative aspirations, I would be flattered if you'd take a moment to help keep the Red Bull machine running. Any amount is highly appreciated!

Thank you for supporting me, Happy Juneteenth, and Happy Pride Month!