Computing used to be something that I associated with maths, a discipline that I largely avoid because it feels antithetical to the freeform world of creativity. Little did I know that computing is a creative world unto itself. I always considered myself to be an artist, but felt myself distanced from the art world. I adore art, but cannot believe in it or commit myself to it the way other artists do. Rather than see myself as an artist, I have come to identify more as a creative or maker. There is a practicality in that definition that is grounding. I feel this same grounded-ness when I create using computing. It holds a practicality and universal relevance in our technology laden world that truly appeals to me. I believe art can induce change, but through an abstraction that I find more difficult to grasp when compared to the potentials of computing for solving current world issues.
Not only does it allow you to create extensively and without limitation, computing is also a language. I often heard code referred to as a language, but didn’t actually understand the truth in this statement until I started to write it. Writing code and discovering new functions felt similar to learning vocabulary in Mandarine class. I was gathering material to build conversations and relationships — the only difference now is that I am using an interface to achieve this communicate between me (the creator) and the user.