I will occasionally see people raving about some highly-edited artist’s process video that blows their mind. Think VR painting, or the whole “paint it upside down then flip the canvas.” I’m somewhat embarrassed to say my first instinct is sometimes “Eh, that’s just showy, they could have achieved the exact […]
Category: creativity
Adaptation
When you’re hungry to learn and improve without getting hung up on ego and resume items and social standing, you accelerate your growth and success by whatever metric you measure it by. You’ll find that suddenly success gets easier and easier. The more willing you are to question your own […]
Stale Crackers
When you find a box of stale crackers, you might be tempted to either a) be like me and just eat the stale crackers, or b) throw them out. Often we look at a lot of our decisions as binary, in terms of the two most obvious solutions or actions. […]
“Is That Supposed to be a Person or a Monster?”
In art school, a critical part of all studio classes is the critique. You pin up your work on the wall and as a class you and the instructor collectively offer feedback on everyone’s work. By necessity, you learn how to not only receive feedback, but also give it. You […]
Value by Naming
There are studies that show that once an item becomes yours, you attribute more value to it than if it was not yours. It’s sort of like how I named the plants in my backyard and now I want to take them all with me the next time we move. […]
Artist vs Professional Artist
I know you may feel tempted to not call yourself an artist if you’re not a classically trained painter, or a Broadway actor, or sculpting gigantic figures out of bronze. You might say things like “I just enjoy art,” or you make small sculptures for fun, or you go to […]
You’re Definitely Not A Jerk
If you know nothing about the skill it takes to create some art (that’s why you want an artist to make it), I know you’re way too awesome to do something as insulting as to ask for a price that is radically under market rate. Then, if you are challenged […]
Pancakes
I’ve never really liked pancakes, besides as a delivery vehicle for maple syrup. I’ve never really liked school dances, except as a way to try and dance with my crush. I’ve never really liked grading student papers, except as a way to keep my job as a teacher. I’ve never […]
K-Pop Stars
I’m not a die-hard fan, but I listen to a fair amount of Korean Pop music. I’m a bigger fan of Korean variety shows, which often feature these idols, as the trained singers are called, on the shows as guests. What I find so fascinating is that the idols will […]
Store Bought Costumes
As a kid, I only had handmade costumes, as I couldn’t afford to go pick out something from the local pop-up Halloween store, or Toys ‘R Us (RIP). While I deeply love my care bear costume my grandmother once sewed me, as I grew older I remember always being a […]