It is easy to romanticize the image of the “starving artist.” But there is no intrinsic value in failure. Just as there is no intrinsic anathema in success. If you choose to sell what you make, then for the sake of all things worth swearing by, don’t believe for a minute that doing so makes … Read More
Title Pending: What To Do With Criticism and Weakness
If you are anything like me, you won’t have to work very hard to remember negative remarks – they tend to stick to the lesser and weaker parts of my psyche like barnacles. And while I try not to allow negative feedback to derail me, I also think its a bad policy to simply ignore it. … Read More
Title Pending: Starting Over, Over and Over
Bob Dylan began by picking up the acoustic guitar. He began again by putting it down and picking up the electric. And people lost their minds because they felt as if he was betraying his most actualized artist-self. But he knew better. He was beginning again. And eventually his people followed. The truth is that … Read More
Title Pending: You Want To Be Critiqued
Mid-way through that songwriter retreat, one of the other contributing artists shared a story that, in my estimation, clearly detailed the danger of expecting niceness rather than seeking critique. Upon arrival, one of the participants whose song he had critiqued approached him, infuriated. Student: “I don’t understand the feedback you gave me.” Teacher: “Let’s take … Read More
Title Pending: A Few Thoughts On Cliche
Theologian Walter Brueggemann’s “Hopeful Imagination” is a poetically-charged call to abandon dead words (cliché). In this essay he writes: “Predictable language is a measure of a deadened relationship in which address is reduced to slogan.” The use of cliché can be reflective of a tragic disconnect be- tween an artist and her subject. What may … Read More
Title Pending: Propaganda
Nobody likes propaganda and nobody wants to make it. But what if you’ve got something you really want to say? I don’t think the trick is keep your agendas and ideologies in the back-seat like troublesome children. Instead, learn to make art in which your ideologies and agendas have a place of their own without taking over and dominating your work. … Read More
Title Pending: Maturity Is Not About Arrival
In a scene I find both challenging and encouraging, Irving Stone depicts Vincent Van Gogh conversing passionately with his brother, Theo concerning his personal creative development. Pacing the floor wildly, breaking glasses and trashing his own hard-earned work as he rants: Vincent: “Must I give up? Am I through? It looks that way, doesn’t it? Theo: … Read More
Lauryn Hill And Love For An Audience
This past summer, Lauryn Hill showed up late to a show in Chicago. Someone in the crowd made note of it during her performance. She responded that she didn’t “owe” him anything and that, instead she “did this for love.” The encounter stirred up some very interesting conversation about the relationship between an artist and … Read More
Title Pending: Imitation
Inspiration is a wonderful place to start when making art. But we often move too quickly from being inspired to innovation—making our own thing with (hopefully) our own, unique signature. I believe that imitation is a missing link in much of our artistic development. So, don’t just be inspired by someone’s work. Make it part … Read More
Title Pending: Stay In Love With Art
If you’re like me, you loved art before you started making it. In fact, your love for art is, in large part, what probably led you to make your own. I think that ought to always be the case; that my love for art should remain close to the heart of my creative process. Which … Read More