SOUND KRAYONS: Copier Counterpoint

Tonight, I'm engaged the repetitive, administrative side of being a creative person.

Tonight, I'm my own administrative assistant. Nothing glamorous about it. Just plain old mindless work. I'm printing, copying and collating handouts for a workshop I'll be teaching at a conference in a few days.

I staple together sets of worksheets. The printer and copier chug away in the background. I count aloud, lifting sheets from their piles, "one-two-three" K-CHUNK (that's the stapler), "one-two-three" K-CHUNK in counterpoint to the poly-rhythm of the office machines.

One runs out of ink. Another has a paper jam. We are musicians in rehearsal. I am their conductor. I stop to fix a problem, then we pick up where we left off.

This is the work of creating. Though it doesn't feel creative, the machines and I are bringing something new into being -- the means to communicate ideas beyond the confines of this small room.

©2006 Kay Pere - Effusive Muse Publishing