February 2012
16 posts
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“They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them...”
– Andy Warhol
January 2012
17 posts
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Bookshelf: "Art's Supplies"
I’m starting a new kind of blog post. “Bookshelf” posts are brief recommendations for books about creativity and/or the arts that I have enjoyed and found valuable. They might be books that I return to year after year, or new discoveries. If you have suggestions of your own, please feel free to get in touch.
Today’s: Art’s Supplies, by Chris Tougas. Published by...
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“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
– George Bernard Shaw
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“I’m happiest when my music is going well. So if I find time for my creativity,...”
– Amin Bhatia, Gemini winning film and TV composer, currently composer for the TV police drama Flashpoint.
And also…one of my favourite people and a good friend. Among many things I love about him, I ’ve always admired the fact that he sees creativity as akin to breathing: something we...
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Top Artists Reveal How to Find Creative... →
From The Guardian. Jan 2, 2012.
Lots of advice here. Inevitably, some of it is contradictory. I guess if it works for you, accept it. If it doesn’t, just leave it on the side of your plate.
A couple of my favourites:
“I liken the process to seeing ghosts: the ideas are always there, half-formed. It’s about being in the right state of mind to take them and turn them into...
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Watch This is Kathryn Schulz’s Ted Talk “On Being Wrong”
Last week, I spent the week in Florida at an intensive week-long program in “Productive Thinking” (regular followers to this blog might remember me mentioning the founder, Tim Hurson, before). It was an awesome, possibly life-changing course, partly for what I learnt that was new and partly for the fact that it gave me a new way...
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The Rise of the New Groupthink [link] →
This article appeared in the New York Times recently. It’s written by Susan Cain, who apparently is the author of a forthcoming book called “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” (which, obviously, I haven’t read).
I find this article very interesting, and I think it raises some good points. There often is a tendency to assume that the extrovert way is...
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“Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.”
– Picasso
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“Scrub your bathroom tiles with a toothbrush instead.”
– Julia Cameron’s hilarious and slightly disturbing “How To Avoid Making Art (Or Anything Else You Enjoy)”
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WatchCreativity in Business: Bringing Your Brain to Work
This is Michelle James, CEO of The Center for Creative Emergence (http://wemeanbiz.tv/2012/01/04/creativity-in-business-bringing-your-whole-brain-to-work-michelle-james/)
The interview is long but interesting, especially since it ties together a lot of thought in the field of deliberate creativity and intentional innovation.
There are two...
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Gratitude
I read an article recently that argued that professionals devalue themselves when they give their expertise away for free, unless it is specifically a marketing tool that will generate more clients. The writer argued that the casual coffee or lunch, or the “Can I pick your brains?” conversation should always be charged at consultancy rates.
I have a certain amount of sympathy for this. I know that...
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Finding inspiration in a dancing penguin
I read an interview with author Emma Donoghue a while ago in which she says it’s impossible to tell where ideas come from: “It’s like asking someone where they picked up a cold.”* In other words, sources of ideas are everywhere and it’s hard to predict where you’ll find them next.
I find the same is true of inspiration. Sometimes I actively seek out sources of inspiration, and...
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Who asked you, brain?
I have found myself falling into a trap I thought I knew to avoid. “Will I ever learn?” I scream at myself.
As my last post indicates, I had decided that I would take the week off from posting over the Christmas/New Year holidays, thinking that a break might be a good idea. It wasn’t.
Throughout the week, I continued to have ideas for posts. That’s ok. Ideas come. I like that about them. No big...
