Whenever I attend a conference, I struggle to describe what I do.
“I’m, a stay-at-home dad, write music, conduct, daily blog, …”
Whoever asked is often already gone by the time I finish.
It’s a typical freelancer problem – I wear so many hats, it’s hard to pin me down.
But at the recent ACDA-Michigan Conference, I settled on an expression that worked very well.
I do a lot of things, but mostly I bake bread.
Now, this is literally true – I’ve baked almost 100 loaves of bread so far in 2015 – but it’s also great metaphor for the kind of work I love to do.
- I love to take simple things and combine them into something nourishing and whole.
- I love to avoid the processed American culture for something real and substantial.
- I love to express my love for people with a physical object like a loaf of bread. (Nothing says love quite like a slice of bread and butter still warm from the oven.)
All three of those statements describe my motivation for baking, but also much of my philosophy for the music I try to make. Simple, real, whole, substantial, and an expression of love.