Medusa

Photo Source: La Piccioletta Barca

I began the day
no – the day began
me 
o p e n i n g – closing – o p e n i n g – closing – o p e n i n g – clo –

give me those lemons – the  l  e  m  o  n  a  d  e
looks fresher in Greek –      λ ε μ ο ν ά δ α
that said, I’m not sure if it tasted fresher when
my mum got stung in Athens that day

CONTINUE READING: Medusa

it reminds me of the  p  o  k  e button
on bad old facebook – you know, that kind of stuff:
you ask                               w  h  y  m  e
the answer is           it’snotaboutyou

so you go see someone
and they – sometimes – say:
massaging with butter is all you need to heal the scars
at least that’s what J  e  n  n  y the good old nurse had said

sometimes it’s that e  a  s  y 
sometimes it’s not
sometimes you get poked by the  M  e  d usa
sometimes you don’t

no way to know, but
yes – the day will begin 
you 
o p e n i n g – closing – o p e n i n g – closing – o p e n i n g – clo –

Originally published in La Piccioletta Barca.

Creative Conscience – 10 Years – 10 Stories – 10 Lives: Giulia Gandini

Giulia Gandini is a London-based writer/director originally from Italy. An alumna of King’s College London and MET Film School, she has worked on numerous critically acclaimed projects since the beginning of her career – including her award-winning documentary ‘Home Stream’. It was this groundbreaking documentary that brought Giulia and Creative Conscience together in 2019 and which led her to win a Creative Conscience Silver Award in 2020.

Giulia reflects on how making this documentary and being supported by Creative Conscience was a life-changing experience: “I had always dreamt about making a documentary and this project was very different from all the other ones I’d done in the past. I was also supported from the very beginning by Chrissy and Creative Conscience, which made a huge difference.”

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Creative Conscience – 10 Years – 10 Stories – 10 Lives: Megan Williams

Photo Credit: Creative Conscience

Graduating from university and contemplating your next steps can feel like walking through thick fog – especially in the midst of a global pandemic. The unknown can be full of fear – but it can also be full of hope. It can be “the worst of times and the best of times” – and it definitely was, for Megan Williams.

Megan had just graduated from Leeds Arts University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Advertising when she crossed paths with us, back in 2020. Reflecting on how she and her fellow classmates felt at that time, she says, “Before I got involved with Creative Conscience, it was quite a depressing moment and quite despairing – especially coming out of university on just a random day, it did kind of just put us all down…”

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His Sun

Image by Jules Gervais-Courtellemont.

A flash fiction story originally written for and published by The Story Seed.

It was as if Margaret was still here.

After all those years, her presence could still be felt everywhere – in the house and in the garden, in the river and in the air. But most strongly, in his paintings.

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You Are Home

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Image by Ramon Haindl.

This flash fiction story was originally written for and published by The Story Seed. It is inspired by and dedicated to the teachings and meditations of Thich Nhat Hanh, a beloved Zen master, spiritual leader, activist and poet.

She closed her eyes and inhaled the sunset mist…

As she let her breath out slowly, a deep sense of nostalgia filled her.

It felt like she was in a long-lost 19th-century Romantic painting.

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A Mockingbird the Color of Teal

Image by Susan Worsham.

My first piece of flash fiction, originally written for and published by The Story Seed. It is inspired by and dedicated to one of my favorite novels of all time, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

I’ve been wearing his sweatshirt ever since they took him away. He once told me that its color was named after a bird.

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Game-Changing Models of the New Generation

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Image Credit: Gurls Talk

In the age of empowerment, models are on a mission to break the stereotypes and challenge the criteria by which their success is measured.

Oxford Dictionary’s definition of a model is “A person employed to display clothes by wearing them.” Which is, in the literal sense, true, of course – but clearly inadequate especially when one thinks about the successful, outspoken and inspiring models of our time, like Adwoa Aboah, Winnie Harlow, Ashley Graham, Hari Nef and Halima Aden. If there was a chance to edit that definition now and expand it, what could’ve been said?

A model is a person (i.e. a human, not a hanger) who has a unique character, soul, opinions and beliefs. A person who works hard to show that, that there’s much more to them. A person who works hard in the professional sense too, in not always so glamorous conditions which they have little control over, while more often than not facing gender and racial discrimination, verbal abuse and bullying, sexual assault and constant criticism about how to look, what to eat, who to become. A person who has scars and marks, insecurities and health issues like everyone else, but perhaps feels that people don’t want to hear about all that, they just want to see the body – the person who is employed to display clothes by wearing them.

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No Escape

Girl with a Pearl Earring and a Silver Camera. Digital mashup after Johannes Vermeer attributed to Michell Grafton. Image Source.

How social media platforms are being used by young people for experiencing art is a current issue that most people can have an idea about or be familiar with, as it is being focused on and explored constantly. In this short story, I wanted to take a slightly different approach and reflect on the role of social media on experiencing art not from the point of view of a young individual or a millennial; but from the perspective and experience of a pre-social media generation. I hope you’ll enjoy.

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