“Sure, your life story could fill a thousand pages – but sometimes a few words are all you need.” The Oprah Magazine, February 2012
An article in the current issue of The Oprah Magazine describes a 2006 challenge that writer Larry Smith issued to his online readers. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s legendary shortest of short stories (”For sale: Baby shoes, never worn”), Smith asked his readers to describe their lives in 6 words. Smith’s 6-Word Memoir challenge officially ended after a month, but the stories kept coming. Now, five years later, participants have sent in more than half a million mini memoirs, and Smith has published 5 compilations of the intensely personal accounts.
Inspired and intrigued, I thought it would be fun to try writing a 6-Word story of my life as an artist. Having been an on again/off again artist for most of my adult life, I looked back at my 40 year+ art journey and spent some time searching for the 6 perfect words to describe it all. It was a stimulating, enlightening, and fun experience!
Here is what I came up with…………
My 6-Word Artist Memoir:
I Found Myself Painting My Life. Donna Zagotta
Now it’s your turn! Are you ready to search for those 6 perfect words that describe your life as an artist? E-mail your 6-Word Artist Memoir to me at donnazagotta@chartermi.net by February 16, and I’ll post all of the mini artist memoirs here on my blog. You can find more information and ideas about Larry Smith’s 6-Word Memoir challenge at smithmag.net.
Happy Painting (and Writing)!
