Category — artist

Experiencing local and independent art is fun. Sometimes it is inspiring.

Once in a while, you run into a FANTASTIC piece of work. Grade “A” stuff. And that is great.

Most of the time, local and independent work is tolerable to okay, you know, like if you had to give it a grade, you’d give it a “C”. You take SOMETHING from it, but overall, it’s not so memorable or inspiring.

And then the rest of the time, you run in to stuff that is SO BAD that you are embarrassed for the artist. I’m talking about stuff that you’d give a grade of “F”, or maybe “D-” if you are feeling generous.

I’ve experienced my fair share of HORRIBLE musicals, independent movies, sketch comedy, rock bands, paintings, photography, etc. But what always happens to me when I experience this stuff is that I say to myself, “I could do 10 times better than that guy without even trying”. Even if it is an art form that I have zero experience in, I feel as if I could crank out something better than the drivel that I have just experienced. It makes me want to go home and write a movie. Or write a book. Or record a song. Or paint a picture.

Don’t get me wrong, I have all the respect in the world for EVERYONE who is willing to put themselves out there and show the world their work. It often takes balls. Lots of folks who want to publish a song or write a novel or make a movie never even TRY. Usually fear stops them cold … fear of inadequacy, fear of failure, fear of ridicule, whatever. They never even try. So my hat is off to everyone who even tries.

But sometimes it is SO sad when an ambitious project that someone has sunk hours and hours and hours into is SO BAD. The good thing about experiencing this embarrassingly horrible art: it often inspires me.

So next time you’re stuck, go seek out a horrible play or indie movie or rock band. It may just give you the inspiration to produce something that is at least a “C” and who knows, you may produce an “A”.

Write to Done as a great article on finding inspiration for your writing.

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London

No matter how much you love writing, there will always be days when you need inspiration from one muse or another.

So check it out and get writing!

31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing

photo credit: photogirl72

Joe wrote to show a cool little pamphlet from Mega Blocks. Here’s part of it:

Check out the whole thing at FourHMan: How Creativity Saved the World

Julia Cameron

Our Rating:

Thoughts/Words/Reviews:
This hilarious look at creative blockage and blunder is a laugh-out-loud tribute to artist procrastination.

In How to Avoid Making Art, the bestselling author of The Artist’s Way delivers a (tongue-in-cheek!) guide to doing anything and everything you possibly can to avoid making art. Anyone who is engaged in a creative pursuit will no doubt identify with these wonderful cartoons by award-winning artist Elizabeth Cameron of creative wannabes doing everything except actually getting down to work.

“For most people creativity is a serious business,” says Julia Cameron. “They forget the telling phrase ‘the play of ideas’ and think that they need to knuckle down and work more. Often, the reverse is true. They need to play.” Ultimately, the characters in this book show us how we can turn our procrastination into play and our play into great work. With this delightful volume, Julia Cameron once again hits the nail on the head on the subject of creativity.

View More about How to Avoid Making Art

Some dude John Hoff posted a decent article on training yourself to be creative. You ARE creative! Expand your horizons! Read the post!

Martha Beck

Thoughts/Words/Reviews:

Put the telescope away; the North Star mentioned here is a human body, not a heavenly one. And like Polaris, which has guided sailors for centuries, the human body’s gut feelings and emotions can help guide a wayward soul back to his or her “essential self.” In this absorbing combination of detailed self-awareness exercises and true stories from her own counseling experience (equal parts sobering and hysterically entertaining), Harvard-trained sociologist Martha Beck invites readers to explore their heart’s desires and the vast social webs that keep such desires in check. The goal is not to forsake the “social self” and indulge every emotional impulse of the “essential self.” Rather, Beck gives readers the tools and the encouragement to achieve maximum happiness by harmonizing these typically divergent voices.

Beck (author of Expecting Adam) admits that repairing a damaged emotional compass and setting out on such a vital journey–which often involves painful realizations and changes–”has all the combined attractions of suicide and childbirth.” But the payoff, she concludes, is a love affair with real life. To that end, she walks readers through a lengthy exercise to evaluate their current lifestyle’s pleasures and pains, teaches the process of listening to the body for directional cues, describes how to extract “soul shrapnel” (healing all those nasty, self-defeating emotional wounds), and provides an intriguing “Map of Change” to achieve an authentic life. Beck’s impressive knowledge, her engaging (if somewhat irreverent) voice, and her ability to parse this scary process into achievable steps make her a new champion in the self-help arena. –Liane Thomas

View More about Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live

Lewis Hyde

Thoughts/Words/Reviews:

acidfreeink.com says: A modern classic on creativity!

By now a modern classic, The Gift is a brilliantly orchestrated defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. Widely available again after twenty-five years, this book is even more necessary today than when it first appeared. An illuminating and transformative book, and completely original in its view of the world, The Gift is cherished by artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. It is in itself a gift to all who discover the classic wisdom found in its pages.

View More about The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World (Vintage)

Gordon D. Kaufman

Thoughts/Words/Reviews:
The lively interest today in the historical figure of Jesus is rarely matched by theological advances in understanding his person and significance for our own time and worldview. Gordon Kaufman takes up this challenge in this bold, speculative work.

Despite the fabled difficulties of traditional Christological terms, few theologians since Tillich and Teilhard have sought to re-envision the symbol of Jesus within the contemporary scientific worldview. Building on his notion of God as simply creativity, Kaufman here locates the meaning of Jesus’ salvific story within an evolving universe and a threatened planet.

Outside the dualistic categories of the biblical worldview, he finds, the enormously creative and influential figure of the historic Jesus can have a vital role in the emergence and development of the cosmos and human history. Within that role, he argues, Jesus, his relation to God, and his centrality to Christian faith become clearer and our own lives

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Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Thoughts/Words/Reviews:

Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. The author’s objective is to offer an understanding of what leads to these moments, be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab, so that knowledge can be used to enrich people’s lives. Drawing on 100 interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists to politicians and business leaders, poets and artists, as well as his 30 years of research on the subject, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous theory to explore the creative process. He discusses such ideas as why creative individuals are often seen as selfish and arrogant, and why the tortured genius is largely a myth. Most important, he clearly explains why creativity needs to be cultivated and is necessary for the future of our country, if not the world.

View More about Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention

Ruth Towse

Thoughts/Words/Reviews:
`This is an important work on compensation of the artist and the incentives for artistic activity. The explosive evolution of the technology of communications raises particularly pressing issues in this arena and poses new threats to remuneration of the artist. The discussion of copyright in this book provides vital information for analysis of this issue. The book is informative, intelligent and well written - precisely what is needed for understanding of its subject.’

- William J. Baumol, New York University

Creativity is crucial to the Information Age economy. It is the basis of production in the cultural industries. In this excellent book, Ruth Towse provides an analysis of the interaction between creativity, the law, and markets for cultural goods and services.

Copyright law establishes property rights that create economic incentives to cultural production and Ruth Towse uses her analysis to draw conclusions about policy on copyright. This unique study will be of interest to those in economics, law, cultural studies and management.

View More about Creativity, Incentive and Reward: An Economic Analysis of Copyright and Culture in the Information Age