In January, UMD senior Erin Welch will receive a check for $300 signed by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt.Two years ago Erin Welch, graphic design major, submitted a 19-word poem to HitRecord, an online production company directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. HitRecord is driven solely by the love of creating art. Welch thought nothing of it. Two months ago, she received a notification that her poem was published in a small book of art and short stories that was released on Nov. 3. In 2010, Gordon-Levitt created the HitRecord website as a place where anyone could create an account and submit their work, whether it’s music, illustrations, books, short films or photographs. The main purpose of the website is to promote collaboration between artists. Once a piece is uploaded, others can contribute to and build on it, either by editing someone’s writing, animating someone’s drawing, adding different filters to a photograph or remixing someone’s song. The original versions stay along with the new, and everyone gets credit. “It’s an outlet where people can be creative and work with others and bounce ideas for projects off each other,” Welch said. Welch jotted down her poem in five minutes to go along with an illustration titled “The Mountain Wept.” “The website is a fun way for people to feel comfortable to get their stuff out there and seen by a big community of like-minded people who won’t judge or criticize them,” Welch said. “It’s an open place where you can send stuff out and someone can tweak it and you can see the progress.” After the artists have finished tossing ideas back and forth, the teamwork begins to build up to a final product. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and 13 others act as curators who pull together different collaborations and decide which ones to publish and produce in CDs, collections of small books or even the television show “HitRecord.” Though Welch’s motivation to submit her work comes from her passion for what she does instead of recognition for her accomplishments, she was proud to hear her poem was published in a small short-story book with work from 82 other contributors. “I felt awesome,” Welch said. “It’s a great feeling to know people appreciate what you have done.” To Welch, as well as many others, submitting work can be intimidating because everyone has their own opinion on what is good and sometimes critics can tear pieces apart. “You have to just keep doing it and throw yourself out there,” Welch said. “The worst someone can say is no, and then you just keep going and maybe the next person will say yes. Don’t be discouraged.” Even though it is nerve-wracking for someone to throw their work out there for others to see, Welch maintains that it is important to do and comes with a sense of accomplishment. More importantly, it allows people to share what they love with others. “The mountain wept to feel the saltiness of the sea,/ the place he could gaze upon but never be.” — Erin Welch
BY MAKAILA MILLER Staff Reporter