Five Questions with… Brett Rogers

Posted on July 30, 2007 in Five Questions by DM

Five Questions With… is a weekly series on DMweblife highlighting Des Moines area bloggers and their blogs! This edition features Brett Rogers of BeatCanvas, an eclectic blog that showcases the many sides of its talented author!

1. What’s the focus of your blog?
My blog is personal - it’s a playground for me: for my art, sounds, pictures, words, thoughts, programming. It’s the place I use to live my process out loud. It’s messy and scattered, productive and exposed.

2. What aspect of blogging do you enjoy the most?
It pushes me to create more vibrantly and think more clearly. I wrote the web site completely on my own, I take my own pictures, I do my own artwork.

3. What’s an activity besides blogging that you can’t live without?
Spending time with my wife and family. And painting. And reading. Can I get to say three?

4. What’s the best advice - personal or professional - you’ve ever received?
Can I give a few quotes? In order…

“Crave function over title.” - Jerry Sandman, my grandfather

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London

“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell, and when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.” - William Saroyan

5. What’s something you’ve accomplished in the past five years that you are particularly proud of?
I’ve gotten into a pretty good habit of trying to squeeze the most from every single day.

And the “Secret Sixth Question” just for Brett and the BeatCanvas blog:

6. How difficult is it for you to balance your technical and creative sides?
Actually, it’s better to do both. Being creative and technical aids the other, so no balance necessary. Take painting, for example. While the act of painting itself is right-brained, the act of mixing colors accurately is a pretty technical left-brained exercise.

Des Moines-area bloggers: to be considered for this feature, just drop me an email with your name, location, and blog address, and answers to the five questions I’ve asked here. I’ll reply with your “Secret Sixth Question”!

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