I
enjoyed a breezy read, Steal Like an Artist:
10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative, by Austin
Kleon. It’s a book I picked up while
visiting The Getty Museum out in L.A.
The museum, by the way, is really a beautiful architectural marvel and
the campus of art buildings are set upon a hill giving you gorgeous views. But the artwork inside is inferior to the
“art-chitecture” of the white, glass and stone buildings. Anyway, sorry to digress.
Kleon,
a NYT best-selling author, says we need to rethink what will supercharge
our craft, be it art, music, writing, etc.
He suggests things like “writing the book you want to read” and “don’t
wait until you know who you are to get started.” He also offers the following:
“All
advice is autobiographical. It’s one of
my theories that when people give you advice, they’re really just talking to
themselves in the past.”
“What
a good artists understand is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came
before. Nothing is completely original.”
“The
artist is a collection. Not a hoarder,
mind you, there’s a difference. Hoarders
collect indiscriminately, artists, collect selectively. They only collect things that they really
love.”
“I
think it’s good to have a lot of projects going not one so you can bounce
between them. When you get sick of one
project, move on to another and when you’re sick of that one, move back to the
project you left. Practice productive
procrastination.”
He
also suggests that we put limitations or constraints on ourselves. For
instance, go write your best blog post in the next 20 minutes. Be done then, no matter what. Or, construct a song that doesn’t use any
words beginning with A,S, or M. Paint using only two colors. Only run upstairs, not down. Try cooking meals that only exceed 5,000
calories.
Kleon
points out many things you’ve heard before but are worthy reminders. He wants us to fully explore our curious side,
looking things up, asking questions, wondering and not assuming, researching
deeply and not finding a Wikipedia answer satisfactory, and seeking ways to
connect what exists with what could.
Of
course, while we consume massive input from the over-informed world around us,
we also have to make choices about what we don’t include or borrow in our
works.
“In the end, creativity isn’t just the things we choose to put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out,” he writes.
“In the end, creativity isn’t just the things we choose to put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out,” he writes.
What
will you marinate on today?
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Brian
Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas
expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or
anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and
email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when
discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog
©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings
are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent. This was named
one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby
http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized
by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by
WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on
book publicity for Book Expo America.
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