Art That Only Comes From The Head Isn't Any Good

(page 56, Steal Like An Artist)

This week, Austin Kleon gives us even more priceless advice. He tells us to get out of our office chairs with the sunken cushion and into a different space where we can stand up and create something with our own two hands.

I've always loved working with my hands. I love to create projects that yield results I can touch, like sculptures or collages or paintings. I think as designers it's important to get that knowledge of how things stick together, cut and bend. Basically of how things work. It lets you see your work differently compared to someone who's only worked on the computer and expands your mind to what you know you can do.

In chapter four, Austin Kleon asks us to create a space away from technology, an analog space. I set mine up on my kitchen table and told myself to make a poster. Honestly I had no clue what kind of poster I was going to make, all I knew was that I had glue, I had an xacto knife, and I had my imagination.

My analog space

Generating ideas this way was so liberating. You can get so stuck on one concept if you start from the computer, and be unwilling to change decisions you've made. Doing things with my own hands meant making mistakes, and because I couldn't easily press ctrl+z, I had to make the mistake work. I was constantly making changes and when I did that generated a whole new line of ideas. Plus looking at a computer screen waiting for ideas to come to you isn't the most inspiring, don't you agree?

In the end this is what I made and I'm ok with that. Sure if I had done this on the computer it would probably look better and I wouldn't be stuck with all this glue on my fingers... but if I'd done it on the computer I don't think this piece would exist.

Now, I'm going to go back to sipping on water and hopefully fight off this stomach bug.

That's all for this week.

— B

We Like Art

This week, re-reading chapter three of Austin Kleon's book, Steal Like An Artist, I was greeted with the familiar headline of "Write What You Know Like".

To sum up this chapter, Kleon shares with us the disappointment he felt when his favorite movie's sequel wasn't as good as the one he cooked up from his own imagination. He puts into words the feeling that I think all of us creatives have felt at one point or another; the feeling that things would have been better if we were the ones in charge of it.

I loved reading this chapter because I could relate to it as one fan fiction writer to another. I played the most recent release of my favorite game series and was crushed when the story didn't live up to my expectations.

top: Teresa Sdralevich | bottom left: Bruno Munari
bottom middle: Alvin Lustig | bottom right: Sister Corita Kent

A few months later I'm writing down my own version of the story.

So, basically, create what you like and write the story you want to read.

If I applied that manifesto to my life, like Kleon suggests, I would re-write it like this: I would expose myself to more art and music and whatever the hell else I want much early on. I would try more things and not stay inside so much. I would make more meaningful connections to my peers and neighbors and involve myself in the community. I wouldn't be afraid to put my true self out into the world.

Taking that into account, I would want the next few years to be something like this: finish my degree, visit more museums, get a job I like, continue what I'm passionate about, travel lots, keep finding new hobbies, create all the time, learn everything I can about anything, eat good food, and as cliche as it is, just lead a happy life. Someone once told me that they considered themselves to be a selfish person because they lived how they wanted. Though I wouldn't consider it being selfish, I think we should all take a page from their book and do more things for ourselves every once in while.

Brooke Armstrong

On page 48, Kleon suggests an exercise: “If all your favorite makers got together and collaborated, what would they make with you leading the crew?”

For this exercise, I made a poster for a book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The title quotes the Sherlock Holmes short "Silver Blaze" and, spoilers, the dog dies. I took a lot of my inspiration from my main mentor Teresa Sdralevich. Her illustrations have a quirky and child-like essence to them, but uses that to address serious situations, and her type style ranges from hand-written to Swiss/International. Her and my other mentors commonly use a minimal color palette and a lot of simple shapes and graphics.

I took the knowledge that I absorbed from my mentors and incorporated it into my own work. I've got a long way to go to even compare my style to theirs, but for something that I made in one night, I don't think it's too shabby.

That's all for this week.

— B

"Even The Beatles Started as a Cover Band"

Chapter 2, Steal Like An Artist

Chapter two of "Steal Like An Artist" by Austin Kleon features advice that defines the line of stealing and copying, imitating and emulating.

"We learn to write by copying down the alphabet. Musicians learn to play by practicing scales. Painters learn to paint by reproducing masterpieces." (page 35, Steal Like An Artist)

Nobody knows what style they'll develop which is why I like this quote so much.

When you learn to write as a child you start by copying letters. Our lines aren't straight and the words are barely legible. Once we learn, though, we aren't looking at the alphabet for reference anymore, we know how to do it, and thus our own style starts to come through. Over time our handwriting is as apart of ourselves as our personality. Maybe it's a curly cursive, or maybe it looks as illegible as when you started but you took something done thousands of times before and made it your own.

This is a key point that Kleon tries to get across, (though his explanation is much more elegant) you copy at first to learn the mechanics behind it, and then you take what you learned and transform it into something all your own. Or in other words: emulation.

The good artist emulates. The bad artist imitates.

Left: Teresa Sdralevich | Right: Brooke Armstrong

Above I've done a quick exercise of tying to emulate a piece by my mentor, Teresa Sdralevich. I tried to encapsulate her childlike imagery with her use of light colors. I translated the original text and used it for my emulation.

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading.

— B

I Just Want to Drink My Coffee in Peace

I usually enjoy writing and sharing, as it has always been a way for me to relax and take my mind off of things, but this week, I'm not really feeling myself. Luckily for you that means less to read.

Let's carry on.

I went to the library and found ten books that I thought might be interesting to read. They say not to judge a book by it's cover, but that's more or less exactly what I did. Continuing with Austin Kleon's advice, he says to always be reading, so I plan on buying one of these and I'll get back to you with my opinion on it.

Something else Kleon recommends, taking a quote from John Waters, is having an unread library. I actually have quite a few books I haven't gotten around to reading yet (I promise your day will come) and keep a wish-list on my Amazon account to add to said collection. Naturally, most of them are design books to fuel my passion even more.
The others are manga.

The newest one to this collection is Poster Power, which was suggested to me by Teresa Sdralevich herself. As soon as I get my next paycheck it's going in the check-out cart. A few of these were sourced from Kleon's recommended reading list. It's a little humorous... when I finished the book for the first time I saw the list and bought the first two right after. My plan was to check off each one I finished until I read them all. Now it turns out we're required to read one for class anyways, so I guess that worked out for me.

The first one I finished was Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod. It wasn't very long and had a lot of great advice (don't ever let me borrow a book because I love to write all over it). He shared his own experiences of being a "starving artist" in New York and proved that keeping a balance between a boring life and a creative one is the key to staying sane. I think it's a great book that any type of artist should read as alot of what he says is worth remembering.

I'll keep this post short and simple and leave it at that.
Now, I'm going to finish my coffee.

— B