Flash Fiction brings the art of words to #FAFATL

If you follow me on twitter – which you should! (@carolinehuf) – you already know that I am obsessed with Atlanta’s free art movement, #FAFATL. But as I began collecting pieces and scouring this city, I started to wonder what about my beloved art, what about writing. Luckily, TK Hadman was thinking the same thing and created the literary section of the free art scavenger hunts that happen every friday. Below, I talked to TK about the power of flash fiction, becoming a part of the movement, and why you should follow @flashfictionatl

Q. FAFATL is a huge movement amongst the visual art community, but you have taken on the task of reppin’ for the written art. What made you want to become a part of this movement and share your work this way?

A. I saw Nicole Powell’s mini documentary, Free Art 4U, about big FAFATL folks like Evereman, MsAtl, Blockhead. When I saw that they were ordinary people making art with their hands, that really appealed to me. I love that they are just putting themselves and their work out there for anyone to enjoy. So I thought, ” Me too! What can I contribute?” I wanted to keep it small, so I wrote a short piece and found a 6×6 square that I could fit it on. I did the background art with spray paint. I’ve always loved graffiti and street art, but I was never a good enough visual artist to do it myself. This is a way to make it my own.

Q. Is there any sort of theme amongst your flash fiction drops? Are the stories interconnected in any sort of way?

A. The stories aren’t interconnected, just microcosms, their own little worlds. They usually mention music, but not always. So far they’ve been about addiction, loss, relationships, identity. One of my favorites is an excerpt from a longer poem I wrote. The one I’m working on right now, from a prompt on Flashfiction.net, uses Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken as inspiration. I know, it sounds cliche, but I want to get at the real meaning of the poem in this particular flash: self-mythologizing your decisions. When I learned that about the poem, it blew my mind.

Q. Flash fiction is one of those genres of story that sounds really easy because it is extremely short, but in reality, less words does not mean simpler to put down. What drew you to this form?

A. I’ve always loved short stories. As a writer I find writing a novel to be a daunting, herculean task. I love the distilled language of poetry, that every word is so carefully chosen and pulls its weight in crafting an emotion, a mood, an image. I figured this was a craft I could really polish and perfect, and it would help me in writing relatively longer short stories. And then there’s the infamous six word story, For sale: baby shoes, never worn. Part of me thought, “Why not? I could do that, maybe…” and the other part relished the challenge.

Q. Are you working on longer projects? Could there be a mini-FAFATL-novel done in drops along the way?

A. I have short stories I’m working on that I’d like to get published eventually. A bit too long for a free art drop, though. A mini-FAFATL novel sounds intriguing! I think once I get the hang of making art regularly (I’m bad with deadlines) and juggling multiple projects, that could definitely be a thing. I think it would be beyond awesome to collaborate with other people. Someone could do the backgrounds while I wrote a longer story, or even a round robin story!

Q. There is a huge amount of excitement that comes from finding one of the FAFATL drops. Is the feeling mutual? Do you get the same kick out of mysteriously sharing your work with whoever the audience might be that finds it?

A. Yes! I wish I could somehow hide and get to see whoever’s face finding my work. I haven’t gotten any tweetbacks yet, so I have no idea if my art has been found at all! Even though it’s weather sealed, I sometimes worry it might get ruined and mistaken for trash. I hope it’s nestled in someone’s house or car, being enjoyed. I know I’m just starting out, and I have some future strategies to preserve my art pieces. I guess it’s not unlike how any writer might feel. You put it out there, hope someone enjoys it and it doesn’t end up lost, and it takes on a life of it’s own in the hands of whoever is reading it.