Advice from an Artist: Steal Like an Artist
LOS ANGELES —What are the rules of creativity? How can we unlock it? This is a question nagging all artists, because we all know the experience of sitting in our studios, staring at a blank canvas or a piece of paper or what-have-you, and not quite knowing what to do.
LOS ANGELES —What are the rules of creativity? How can we unlock it? This is a question nagging all artists, because we all know the experience of sitting in our studios, staring at a blank canvas or a piece of paper or what-have-you, and not quite knowing what to do.
A recent post on Brain Pickings turned me on to Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist, a new book that offers advice to all budding artists. The big idea, according to the book’s trailer (and as implied heavily by the title) is that “You are a mashup” and that you simply need to be around creative influences to get those creative juices flowing. There’s truth to this, which explains why artists naturally gravitate toward each other and form creative communities.
The basic truths, as laid out in the book and that originally went viral in a blog post, are:
- Steal like an artist.
- Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started.
- Write the book you want to read.
- Use your hands.
- Side projects and hobbies are important.
- The secret: do good work and share it with people.
- Geography is no longer our master.
- Be nice. (The world is a small town.)
- Be boring. (It’s the only way to get work done.)
- Creativity is subtraction.
It reminds me a bit of Sister Corita Kent’s rules for artists. The language varies but many of the ideas are the same: work hard, keep working, be happy, learn from others. Those sound like good rules to post in your studio … and share with everyone else, too.
