If you make your work public, you won’t need to go looking for negative feedback. So, keep the positive feedback you get. And keep it close.
Art
Inspiration, Innovation and 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. Don’t just be inspired by someone’s work. Make it part of … Read More
Learn To Love What You Can’t Make
As much as I enjoy music, I have a tendency to think and talk shop about music—meaning, my love and appreciation often take a backseat to analysis and critique. But that’s harder to do when I’m looking at work I know I can’t make— work by artists like Rothko or Vonnegut. Because I cannot do … Read More
Fall Down. Get Up.
Young Playwright: “I just feel like everything I write is crap.” Old Playwright: “It probably is. You’re still too young to write great dialogue.” YP: “So, what am I supposed to do?” OP: “Keep writing.” YP: “But you just agreed that it’s probably crap.” OP: “Yes, but it is out of the manure that the … Read More
When Quitting Is The Way Forward
Part of the hard work of being a good artist is learning when to put something down.
Beautiful Bridges (video)
I think great art can be (and often is) both beautiful and purposeful.
Art Means Everyone Matters
I’ve got a rough history with customer service. Better said, customer service has a rough history with me. I’ve been unkind. I’ve treated people like poorly. Basically, I treated them like they were part of the machinery that I need to serve me. That’s bad business. That’s also bad art. So, heres what I know … Read More
You Are Not Called To Be An Artist
Not primarily. I think your primary calling is to love the world and those to whom you’re given. Art may be the way you go about doing that. But that may also change. Here’s why I think this is important to grasp: I’ve seen wonderful, gifted women and men run out of steam in one … Read More
Stop Signs And The Truths We Get To Tell
This is a true story: Boyfriend rolls through a stop sign. His girlfriend, in the passenger seat, says “Hey! you just ran that stop!” He tells her that, after 5pm, stop signs with white borders should be treated like “Yield” signs. She’d never heard that before. “Oh, yeah,” he tells her, “I learned it from a cop buddy of mine.” A … Read More
BOOK REVIEW: Austin Kleon’s “Steal Like An Artist”
This is a liberating book and a joy to read. Kleon clearly loves his work. His interest and curiosity carry the book. At the heart of “Steal Like An Artist” is the idea that “We learn by copying.” Kleon writes, “Even The Beatles started as a cover band. Paul McCartney has said, ‘I emulated Buddy Holly, … Read More