I started reading Verlyn Klinkenborg’s Several Short Sentences about Writing and twenty pages in, it’s already the most useful book on writing I’ve ever read. One of the hard truths from the book: The central fact of your education is this: you’ve been taught to believe that what you discover by thinking, by examining yourContinue reading “learning vs. education”
Category Archives: creativity
quick to hire, slow to fire
I’ve been spread too thin lately. I’ve been stressed. I’ve been depressed. I’m been fighting to keep my head above water. As a result, some of the work in one of my numerous jobs suffered a bit. When my boss confronted me, I asked if she was going to fire me. “No,” she said. “I’mContinue reading “quick to hire, slow to fire”
a poem or a prayer
I’ve always loved how poetry comes from somewhere deep, almost as though it’s the language of the soul. Austin Kleon, in addition to being famous as the Steal Like an Artist guy, is known for his blackout poems. He takes newspaper clips and blacks out most of the words to create a poem. After all,Continue reading “a poem or a prayer”
hang your art
If you don’t hang up your own artwork, how can you ask anyone else to do so?
go to the real place
Another reason I haven’t been posting lately is I’m not happy with what comes out when I sit down to write. My attention is fragmented, I’m trying to keep my head above water personally and financially, and when I sit down to engage with the work, I often feel like I’m skimming over the surface,Continue reading “go to the real place”
starved for oxygen
I’ve felt wrung out recently. I think we all have. It’s hard to awaken all the creative parts of yourself, to feel the energy and aliveness that comes from making things, when numbing seems necessary to get through the day. Everything feels like a shit show right now. Maybe it’s always been a shit show.Continue reading “starved for oxygen”
a tiny reminder
Despair is easy. Hope is much harder, but also more rewarding. I find the best way to hope is to look down at where I’m standing, then look up at the sky. I try to savor the now of it all, although I’m not always great at this. (I suppose that’s why they call itContinue reading “a tiny reminder”
farmers, pirates, and Anthony Bourdain
I went to see Morgan Neville’s Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain this weekend. Twice. Perhaps it’s the season of life in which I find myself, but Bourdain’s story resonated with me on a level that summoned a deep discomfort. The film paints a portrait of Bourdain as a contradictory soul–a man in search ofContinue reading “farmers, pirates, and Anthony Bourdain”
let it be awful
I’ve been playing around with paint recently. I’m not good at painting, but that’s the whole point. Allowing the work to be terrible to a joyful kind of letting go. Without the pressure of trying to meet anyone expectations (including my own), there’s a freedom to play, to wonder, to explore. And isn’t this whyContinue reading “let it be awful”
“Take Your Time”
Art is theft. Sometimes, we quote other people because they put an idea into words better than we ever could. Such is the case with Seth Godin’s recent reflection on taking your time: [Taking your time] means two very different things. When a person or a marketer takes your time, they’re stealing. Something irretrievable isContinue reading ““Take Your Time””
joshua chamberlain 