Three Ws

Hi! I'm Zach, and this is my blog. As you can see, this is my first post. I'm a little nervous, but I'm just going to dive in and hope I don't make too big a mess with the splash. In this entry I'll introduce myself, explain what this blog will be about, and disclose the reason I'm starting it. Consider this the who-what-why post. Like many movies where the credits roll before the entertainment, this introductory post must be published before the fun content. Be patient, it will come!


Like I said, my name is Zach. I live in a medium-small town in Texas, where the unpredictable weather is a common entertainment. I've seen it snow on the first day of spring, rain on half of the driveway but not the other half, and hail for five minutes and become inexplicably sunny and dry the next. Fun stuff. Beyond my location and its novelties, I am most defined by my faith and upbringing. I am a Christian and was homeschooled from birth to 12th grade. More on faith later. Being homeschooled, I was exposed to my mom's creativity in rubber stamping, sewing, card making, paper crafts, doodling, and many other methods of expression. I believe this exposure set the stage for my own creative journeys, which have included stamp carving, Zentangle®, photography, altered books, collage, painting, drawing, digital, and many others. These in turn inspired me to pursue a creative degree in college, finally settling on graphic design. I just completed my first year in college and have enjoyed every minute of it. I could go on, but this is a good snapshot for now; you'll have to fill in the rest on your own.

What will this blog be about, you ask. Well, I plan to post, whenever I feel inspired, a description and pictures of a project that I am working on. I listed a few of the media in which I dabble in the who section. I would classify the content I have planned as a mixture of art, crafts, and design. It seems I always have multiple projects going, a few projects I want to start, and a gazillion project ideas in my head at the same time, so I doubt I'll have any trouble looking for content. I may go off every once in a while and talk about something else, but it will primarily be a place to share my work in progress with friends, family, and interested strangers.

Finally, the why. I have multiple reasons for wanting to blog. First off, I enjoy sharing my work with others. So many blogs I read have inspired me to start a project, implement a technique, or try something new. I'd like to give back and share some inspiration with others. Additionally, blogging will give me a way to maintain and hone my writing (and typing) abilities. I'd like to type more than just Facebook status updates and write more than just emails. Keeping a blog will also, in theory, motivate me to complete more projects. I have several that are languishing away, nurturing their own colony of dust bunnies. I aim to use the accountability this blog provides to banish the bunnies once and for all on project after neglected project. Finally, I look at a blog as an act of creation in and of itself. It's a method of expression, a work of art. I have an innate motivation to create. This desire to create things is part of my nature. I believe, as a Christian, that all human beings are made in God's image. What is the first major thing, as recorded in the Bible, that God did? He created the heavens and the earth. He didn't sit there, letting there be nothing; he created something. Eventually He went on to create man in His own image, according to His own likeness. If this is true, my desire to build, design, and devise is a reflection (albeit a dim one, due to the fall of man in the Garden of Eden) of a facet of His personality! Just as God shares His creation with man, I want to share my creations with others.

To sum up in a few words:

Who: Me
What: A blog about my creations
Why: To give glory to God

Well, just look at that. You witnessed my jump into the puddle of blogging. Or maybe it's more of a pool. Or perhaps, even more fitting, an ocean. I  hope I can learn to swim in the salty water. I thank you for reading this far, and look forward to sharing more of myself with you.