“So…what is this place?”

In a basic sense, Faded Harbor is the merge of art and life. For me, the two are closely linked together: life (family, culture, society, politics) influences art, and art (music, words, pictures, cuisine) influences life. This website is a way for me to document these inter-related forces.

The intent of Faded Harbor is to inspire and inform those who visit. The takeaway will vary from person to person, but I hope you will find something interesting and insightful here. I’m always looking for other people to link with to build some kind of loose community of artists, thinkers, and anything else in between. So if you enjoy what you see please stick around and reach out (if you’re up for it anyway). I appreciate your presence here.

“And you are…?”

I’m Stefan Q. I’m an amateur artist who specializes in storytelling and dabbles in photography and food (and maybe one day music will make it on here). I draw heavily on the world around me to inform and shape my art. I also view the world in a plethora of lenses due to a unique childhood and early adulthood, so the way the world gets translated into art through my lenses makes for a fun process.

In public I’m a former naval officer turned teacher candidate who is completing a master’s degree/teaching certification program to be a high school English teacher. I also work as a lifeguard and a swim instructor in my community. All of those are on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I also run a website that promotes social justice and anti-racist resources here.

“How do I find my way around here?”

Currently you’re at a static homepage. The menu at the top breaks Faded Harbor up into subject specific areas:

“Musings” resembles a traditional blog where commentary about writing, cooking, pop culture, and society will be posted. It also contains my Twitter feed.

“Storytelling” covers my philosophy of what makes a good story, and then it gets divided into separate pages dedicated to individual works.

“Vistas” hold photo essays from various adventures. I’m no NatGeo photographer (yet…), but my wife and I go on a lot of trips. Keep checking it for the latest photos.

“Cool stuff! Can I use your work for my [insert your project]?”

Yes, but on one condition: you must credit whatever you use back to this website (give credit where credit is due, intellectual property rights and such…). Please don’t be the person who takes from this website and claim it as yours. That’s going to make hell for the two of us and I’d rather not go there if I don’t have to.

“Hey! A character in one of your excerpts sounds eerily similar to my relative…”

I don’t know if these situations ever do happen, but just in case we cross that road here’s the relevant disclaimer:

“This website contains works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, plces, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.”

[Source: Joel Friedlander, “6 Copyright Page Disclaimers to Copy and Paste, and Giving Credit.” https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/01/6-copyright-page-disclaimers-and-giving-credit/%5D

Questions, Comments, Concerns, Feedback…or Just Saying “Hey“

Email me at csdpt0308@gmail.com

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