Steal Like An Artist—Great Textbook!

I really got so much out of reading and doing the suggested activities from Austin Kleon's book, Steal Like An Artist. I have a feeling he had no idea how successful this little book would be! I'm going to purchase his other book, Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered. It's described as "the essential guide to self-promotion for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion." That's me. I loathe self-promotion which is one reason I didn't get further in my music career over the years. Did I mention I DETEST self-promotion? Ugh! So maybe his second book will help me with that!

I really like the epilogue in Steal Like An Artist. It includes a "What Now?" list. Very useful. It also includes some deleted scenes, which are interesting to read. It really shows how he subtracted and subtracted until the book was just right. He also includes a little note that ends with encouragement to say hello with his contact information. So, I think I will write him a little note and tell him how much I enjoyed his book and how it useful it has been for me:

_______________________________________________

Dear Austin,

I'm getting ready to graduate next month with a degree in graphic design, and for one of my last classes, Steal Like An Artist was our textbook. Not only did we read it, we completed every suggested activity. It is an absolutely amazing and inspiring book filled with very clear, concise advice that has helped me so much in the area of creativity! It will serve as a reference book for me in the years to come. I found it very easy to read and understand, and I really like the examples, the lists, and the quotes from other creatives. Also, it's so cool that you are also a musician (so am I). It seems like creative people usually have more than one area of creativity. 

I will recommend your book to others (I already have), and I am going to purchase a copy of your second book, Show Your Work, as well because I know it will be wonderfully helpful for me. I am definitely someone who detests self-promotion, so I think I'm the perfect candidate for this book!

Again, thank you, and may you enjoy continued success in whatever you do in life!

Most Sincerely,

Gloria Roubal

_______________________________________________

I have sent this to him via his email address.

One other thing in the epilogue was the list of recommended reading, from which I chose a book to read and review. The book is called Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott.

This is a wonderful book by an extremely smart, bold, humorous, and sometimes brutally honest writer (who is also a teacher of writing). Her advice about the writing process is down-to-earth, practical, sympathetic, witty, and sometimes includes things the reader doesn't want to "hear." It's about the human process of creativity and the connectedness we all have with one another as creative people. She is very frank about her own challenges and struggles, and I think this is one of the most appealing aspects of the book. It's comforting to know that a successful published author has moments or even days of feeling inadequate, self-judging, completely lost. Her personal life is discussed in great detail from childhood on, and she has struggled with the feeling of never fitting in and the anguish that comes from feeling like an outcast, drug and alcohol addiction, bulimia, and many failed relationships, among other life challenges. She suggests, however, that these life struggles are precisely the food for her writing and that the writing process itself is what helps her deal with life's struggles. 

The book covers how to begin to write, technical details of writing, the frame of mind best for writing, the importance of community (such as writers' groups), and how writing about painful events in one's personal life can help a writer come to terms with their pain. Lamott has a strong connection with God and believes that having some kind of spiritual life or belief system is very helpful for the creative person. Most importantly, she believes in writing truthfully from one's own voice, and advises writers to face the painful moments in their lives, as these moments often lead to the best writing. It's a very inspiring book, filled with very interesting personal stories, often about her relationships with her son and other important relationships, that always have some way of demonstrating or relating to the advice she offers. This book is an expression of Lamott's wish to share the immense joy that writing gives her and how it enriches her life. It's encouraging to know that she would not trade being a writer for anything else. With all of its challenges and ups and downs, writing (and the process thereof) is, for her, the best and most joyful way to spend her life. 

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others, even if they aren't writers. It's all about the creative process, no matter what the medium is.

Embrace your limitations. They will set you free.

The final chapter of Austin Kleon's book, Steal Like An Artist, is entitled, "Creativity is Subtraction." The main point is that your best work often comes out of setting limitations or constraints on yourself (or having them set for you), and that regarding creativity, limitations are actually very freeing. He quotes Jack White: "Telling yourself you have all the time in the world, all the money in the world, all the colors in the palette, anything you want—that just kills creativity." I totally agree with this. I can think of a number of examples where this is true. Thinking about Jack White, musical examples come to mind. Here is one such example.

I was taking guitar lessons some time ago, and I was working on soloing (improvisation). It's really hard when you are first learning to know what to play, even if you can hear it in your head. Novices often try to play as many notes as they can! Actually some experienced guitarists try to play as many notes as they can as well, but if they don't think of the space between the notes as being as important as the notes themselves, it doesn't sound like good soloing. So anyway, my teacher told he would play a chord progression and that I could only play three notes (he told me which ones), and that I could do anything with those three notes, but I couldn't play any but those. It was amazing! I started paying attention to all of the other things about soloing—dynamics, different combinations of those three notes, space, time, all of that stuff. The perfect example that shows how setting limitations can be freeing. I totally felt it firsthand. At the time, that type of exercise really helped me improve my soloing. (By the way, unfortunately I'm still not good enough to solo in public.)

Another thing that comes to mind is negative space being as important as elements on a page. All good designers know about that. And yet another is in fiction writing (and I learned this while writing my first short story) it's best not to tell everything to your reader; some things you intentionally leave out and other things you "show" rather than tell. It makes it much more interesting. I could go on and on as I keep thinking of more creative situations for which this concept about limitations holds true.

Constraints can definitely help you become more creative. Creativity is about finding solutions to challenges, problems, and so on. Let's say, for example, you are asked to design CD covers for two different bands. Band A has unlimited funds and is willing to pay you very generously with no real limitations, and they give you complete artistic control. They have a basic concept in mind, but they trust you to come up with whatever you want within that rather vague concept. You can use as many colors as you want with full bleeds, and you also have as long as you want to complete the project as they aren't in any hurry. Band B, on the other hand, has limited funds. They have a fairly specific concept, but they want you to use your own style to execute it. You can only use two colors, and they give you about 6 from which to choose. Also the deadline is two weeks from now. Which band's project do you think you will be more creative with? For Band A, there are just too many choices. It's overwhelming. It doesn't feel freeing at all. For Band B's CD cover, you have a definite starting point with constraints in place from the start, time being one of them. The design problem will have to be solved within the limitations that have been set for you, and you'll really have to delve in quickly and work within those boundaries...but it feels so much more freeing than Band A's CD cover project. Limitations help us understand what we can and cannot do from the start, and it helps us to be more creative when we know and understand these constraints. And, if it's not easy, it's a way to learn how to be more creative!

It was suggested that we assign ourselves a project with some constraints and post the results. I am still trying to come up with something keeping in mind the massive time constraints I have right now! I will post my results once I figure out what my self-assignment is and do the assignment. To be continued....

GOOD ADVICE

In this post, I'm going to describe how I follow Austin Kleon's advice (from Chapter 9 in Steal Like An Artist).

I've always been a to-do list maker. It helps me get things done and feel productive. I still use paper and pen, but I also found a great app for my iPhone called TickTick, and it's GREAT! I won't bore you with the details. But if you're looking for something like this to help your productivity, check it out. I love it, and it's helped me a lot.

I've always had calendars. Yes, plural. Until I had an iPhone, I had a small month-at-a-glance datebook with me at all times, and I relied heavily on it. Now I have my phone app for that (complete with reminder alerts and repeating events). In addition to that, I always have a kitchen calendar so that my husband and I can enter events in a common place where we can both be aware of what's going on. Furthermore, I have one in the bedroom near my dresser/desk on which I write various things when I think of them. There's also a mini-wall calendar in the family room on which I record my exercise (and sometimes my weight... not these days because I don't wanna know). There's one in my office which I only use for aesthetic purposes (all of my wall calendars have visual themes I love, either photography or art) and just to remind myself what day it is or whatever. Then my husband keeps one in his office. That's a ridiculous amount of calendars for a two-person family. (Plus, my husband, of course, has a date book that he carries with him). However, the most important calendars are our personal date books/calendar apps plus the kitchen calendar. The others are superfluous.

I've always tried my best to take care of myself. I eat a fairly healthy diet; I am usually in an exercise routine and keep my weight down; I floss (usually); I normally get enough sleep (although that has completely gone to shit with my school schedule this second year in the program!); I go for nice long walks with my dog; I always eat breakfast. I always feel better when I am taking care of myself. I also try to meditate daily, even if for a very short time. I used to get regular massages, but haven't had the time lately (although I did get one when spring break started and it was so great and so needed). My problem lately is that school and now a part-time design job have consumed me (or I've let them consume me), and I am not doing all of these things regularly and haven't for a year. Well, I graduate in May, so my goal is to get back to all of them. I'll be making my lists!

Before I met and married my husband, I lived with my boyfriend at the time for about five years when I was in my 20s. All I can say is that he was very persuasive and I was a push-over, and yada yada yada... my credit card debt got up into the thousands. Once that issue was resolved over a long period of time, I have never been in credit card debt since. My husband and I have several credit cards and use them regularly, but we always pay them off in full every single month. It's just a convenience thing. We own a house and two cars, but we don't have car payments and we pay extra principle on the house every month and should have it paid off in nine or ten years. Staying out of debt is so important. I'm not a big spender, and my husband is even less of a spender, so we are able to save. Actually I began saving money when I was a teenager with my first job at a fast food restaurant. Now, if I'd stayed with the ex-boyfriend... I hate to think what kind of debt we'd be in!

I've worked a job since I was 14 years old. I lied and said I was 15 so I could work with a worker's permit (legal at 15). I was in high school and all my friends had jobs and spending money, and I was a bit younger than most of my friends but wanted to be like everyone else, so I worked. I worked in retail clothes stores at the mall, a head shop on campus, Christie Clinic as a personnel assistant, and other retail jobs. I worked at Tower Hobbies (now Hobbico) during my undergrad years at the U of I. Once I graduated, I immediately got a job as a secretary/receptionist at Frasca International (flight simulator manufacturer). I worked at the U of I after that in the College of Education as secretary to the associate deans, after which time I went back to school to get my master's degree in education. I still worked; I had a half-time assistantship. I got a job right after graduation and taught elementary school for ten years. Went back to school when I burned out as a teacher, this time in massage therapy. Still, I worked—a retail store in Lincoln Square Mall. Started working as a massage therapist at BodyWork Associates a month before I graduated. Physical issues from the work made me again consider changing careers, and I enrolled in graphic design at Parkland. I continued to work at BodyWork Associates. Oh, I forgot to mention that all the while, since I was about 20, I've played music professionally, either in bands, solo projects, duos, and recorded several CDs (latest one to be released APRIL 16. That's APRIL 16! *CD RELEASE PARTY ON THAT DAY AT THE CLARK BAR FROM 7–10). I'm sure you've learned to skim my writing, but I still apologize for my verbosity. The point of this paragraph is that I strongly agree with Kleon's recommendation to keep your day job! I've felt many times as if I'm leading a double life (music and whatever day job I had). Now I have music, school, and a design job (10-12 hours a week), but the routine, as Kleon puts it, is extremely important. Sometimes I end up accomplishing more when I'm really busy and have less time to accomplish things, and that's only because of the momentum and inability to develop inertia. I don't do well with unstructured time usually.

I have kept journals, but I have never kept a logbook. Kleon suggests that this is important, and as I looked at the pictures of his logbook pages, I actually thought it looked like fun and easy to do, so I'm looking forward to starting that. I have the perfect book already that I'm going to use! It's Jessica Hische's "TODAY IS THE DAY" planner (Thanks, Sidney!). I'll post more when I have kept it up for a week. I'll also scan and post a page or two.

Ah, the last piece of advice in Chapter 8. MARRY WELL. I think I've done that. We are both busy, creative people, so we don't really see one another as much as one would hope, but we're both okay with that. We support each other's endeavors and share some interests. We accept that we don't share all of our interests. We are a team but we are also pretty independent individually. We don't have kids, so that makes it easier to be the way we are. It works. We both get obsessed with creative endeavors, so we understand each other.

Rather than actually write a synopsis of the chapter and describe what I got out of it, I chose to simply describe my own life in terms of the advice he gives. I agree with his advice. All of it. I'm looking forward to getting back into my healthier habits and to starting my logbook.


PS Since I first wrote this post, I did start using my logbook. Here are a couple of pages from it:

FRIENDS AND KINDNESS ARE GOLDEN

***
Be nice.
Be open.
Be curious.
Be friendly.
Be considerate.
Be compassionate.
Live by the golden rule.
Be willing to look stupid.
Stay busy with your work.
Human kindness is necessary.
Don't be jealous or envious of others.
Treat others how you want to be treated.
Surround yourself with smart and talented people.
Let others know how you feel about them.
Channel your feelings into creativity.
Say nice things to and about others.
Know that praise is fleeting.
Learn from other people.
vFollow creative people.
Don't waste any time.
Be a great friend.
Write fan letters.
Be genuine.
Be humble.
Work hard.
Be nice.
Create.
***

I guess those little statements sum up what I got out of Austin Kleon's Chapter 8 of Steal Like An Artist, which is entitled, "Be Nice (The world is a small town)." It's not that he said every one of those things, but some of them just naturally came into my mind as I was reading the chapter.

Kleon begins the chapter with a short discussion about the golden rule as it applies to the Internet—that saying nice things about people online is the best way to befriend them and that ignoring "enemies" is the best way to make them "disappear." He also talks about surrounding yourself with smart, talented people, or following those people online. You'll learn the most by doing this.

Kleon seems to enjoy getting himself all worked up and angry by reading stupid posts on the Internet. He states that "Anger is one of my favorite creative resources." He admires Henry Rollins who is said to find anger and curiosity the things that keep him moving, keep him going forward and creating. My husband is a big Henry Rollins fan, starting with enjoying his music but also reading his books and watching his live talks on video. Personally, I don't know much about him, but maybe I'll read something he's written. I'm not much into his music. Anyway, my own beliefs about what helps me and what hinders me revolve around eliminating drama from my life, doing my best to accept things as they are including my own feelings (such as anger, sadness, etc.), and trying to stay very aware of what's real in any given moment. I find that provoking myself to get angry or upset by reading about things that make me angry or going over and over in my head thoughts that make me upset does me absolutely no good. It doesn't serve me at all. It doesn't serve anyone else. It actually has the potential to create more negative thoughts and patterns in the brain. It has the potential to cause mental anguish and physical symptoms just by continuously ruminating (if you get stuck in a cycle). I can't see how intentionally getting oneself angry and then channeling that energy through creative means is good for anyone. This is just my opinions. That's not to say that I think one shouldn't use his/her anger or sadness or whatever is there emotionally to inspire oneself in creativity...I'm not saying that at all. I just don't go looking for it! It's fine if that's what you want to do, for sure. To each his own. Maybe I'm missing Kleon's point; maybe he's just saying that no matter how you are feeling—angry, depressed, ecstatic, lazy, joyful, melancholy, anxious, or whatever—just go make something! Create!

Kleon also encourages us to write fan letters without looking for some kind of response or affirmation from the recipient. I've written a few fan letters in my life, always hoping for some kind of response (never having gotten one), but I do see his point that showing your appreciation for someone and their work that you admire is important for you. The person may or may not ever read what you wrote about or for them; that doesn't matter. You will benefit from having shown the appreciation. It's like saying that giving is better than receiving, that the joy of giving far outweighs what we get from getting. I agree with that. I love to give people things. I don't expect anything in return. Conversely, I love when people give me things too! And, I love to show my deep appreciation for gifts that people give to me. I don't expect gifts. But if I receive a gift or a compliment or praise, it's a wonderful feeling—one to be enjoyed, and then you let go of the joy (because it is fleeting just like everything else) and send it out into the universe or turn it into something you do for someone else to bring them joy.

I do like Kleon's suggestion of keeping a praise file. It's like a little bank account upon which you can draw when you are running low on "funds." Keep a collection of positive comments, praise, compliments, appreciation from others, etc., somewhere that you can access on days when you feel rejected, discouraged, misunderstood, unliked, unappreciated. Having a praise file would have helped me a few days ago. The week before spring break was tough; I had three nights in a row of getting about three hours of sleep per night. Ugh. It's pretty standard for me to be lacking sleep regularly these days, but that was a little extreme. The fourth day was the last day of classes for me, and when I was finished with classes, I ate a carb-heavy lunch and then went home to watch movies with my friend; we were both OUT within about 15 minutes! EXHAUSTED! She left a few hours later and I got up and ate a small dinner, then watched some TV, got horizontal on the couch again, and fell asleep early in the evening, not moving from that spot until about 7am the next morning. At that point I had to get up, shower, eat breakfast, and go to work from 9–12. I felt like S-H-I-T. I couldn't think straight. I didn't feel good physically. I couldn't eat. I felt like my nervous system had taken a big shot, and I was also feeling shaky and emotionally drained. I went to work and tried to be creative! I got barely anything done. I won't get into the details of the work day. However, when I was leaving, I was seriously questioning my abilities as a designer and even questioning my decision to go to school to be a designer! I was a mess. Now right about then, a praise file would have come in handy! Given, there were multiple factors contributing to my state of mind, and I was basically crashing just from overworking myself and not taking care of myself mentally or physically. But still, a praise file! It would have definitely helped and possibly given me the lift I needed. I'm much better now, by the way (she said, happily). And, there's still more than half of spring break left. :)

When it comes to following people who are smarter or more talented than me, I am in complete agreement with Kleon that this is a great thing to do. I follow some people on Twitter, but the problem is that I'm rarely on Twitter. I need to be on it more or following people does absolutely no good! Anyway, here are some of the people I follow:

Jessica Hische (of course!) (@jessicahische) My hero
Maya Bruck (@mayabruck) Amazing web designer and typography teacher
Luke Wroblewski (@lukew) "Humanizing technology" Has worked at Yahoo, eBay, NCSA
Julie Zhuo (@joulee) Product design director at FaceBook
Biz Stone (@biz) Co-founder of Twitter
Cap Watkins (@cap) VP of Design at @BuzzFeed; formerly at Etsy, Amazon, Formspring, and Zoosk

So, as Kleon advises, I'm going to write a fan letter, and I'm going to write it to Jessica Hische.
___________________________________

Dear Jessica,

I learned about you during my first semester of school (graphic design program). We were given a Pinterest blog assignment, and I came across your Daily Drop Cap project and fell in love with it! Since then I've become a serious fan of you and your work. I admire your drive and determination, your organization (I even have your "Today is the Day" planner), your attention to the most minute detail, your aesthetic sensibility, the humor and sweetness and beauty in your work, how amazingly prolific you are, and much, much more. I find I can look at your work, pieces I've seen, over and over and over again. It always amazes me! I've watched a couple of your talks on Youtube, and I've learned so much from listening to you discuss your work, your process, your views, your advice... and your delivery is so entertaining and captivating as well. I am humbled by you, and you inspire me greatly. My own work has benefited from how I've been inspired by your work. You are my hero. Thank you, Jessica.

Most Sincerely,
Gloria Roubal

http://jessicahische.is/
___________________________________

I will also post this on my professional blog and link it to Jessica's site there. Maybe I'll actually get up the courage to send it to her. I'll probably edit it before I do that, however. :)

HOME IS WHERE YOU HANG YOUR HAT and BOOK REVIEW: THE DAILY COYOTE

Where do I live? That may seem like an easy question to answer, but for many people it isn't. Living in one's own head is common, and people get all caught up in there—lost, carried away by being stuck in their own thinking. However, most people who are lost there don't even realize it. They don't realize it until something jolts them and brings them back into the present moment, into their bodies, into awareness. Another way of thinking about where you live is only considering the geographic location. I live in Champaign, Illinois. I live in my house in Champaign, Illinois. I live at such and such address and it's near a nice park in a nice neighborhood, conveniently located five minutes from anything I might want or need. Some people might answer very differently thinking this way. It could be: "I live wherever I can find a quiet place at night. I don't have a house. I don't have a job. I spend much of my time outside in bad weather. I sleep in a box." Or, "I live in Honolulu, Hawaii." You get the drift. Where you live, geographically speaking, can impact your life and work dramatically, but it's where you live—where you travel, where you visit, where you take your mind that has the most impact. You need to leave where you live once in awhile, too. That's one main point that Austin Kleon makes in Chapter 7, "Geography is no longer our master," in STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST. 

The main points of the chapter are that we should build our own world, enjoy creativity, and leave home once in awhile. We can create our own world by where we choose to live (or sometimes it's not a choice), where we spend time on the Internet, where we spend time with ourselves in our minds, and how we make our creative space a place that surrounds us with things we love. He makes the point that with today's technology, we can communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world via the Internet; in fact, this is how he makes most of his creative fellowship and conversation happens there. While he geographically lives in Austin, Texas, he also lives much of the time in the art scene in cyberspace. He also believes it is necessary to travel from time to time, and it doesn't have to be far or exotic. Just go somewhere outside of your comfort zone for a bit; it's important for creatives to make their brains uncomfortable occasionally in order to be more creative. Our brains "get too comfortable in everyday surroundings," says Kleon. I think that this inhibits creativity because of the lazy habits we cultivate when we are too comfortable and things are too predictable. We need to "shake things up" now and again. What can I do to make my brain more uncomfortable? I can be open to doing new things that I'm reluctant to do, going to movies or plays that I don't think I'll like, putting myself in social situations that make me uncomfortable, and so on. Who really wants to make their brains uncomfortable? Not many, I would surmise. However, if we know it's good for us, maybe we'll make the effort! Kleon also says that it helps to live around interesting people. I think he is including getting to know interesting people through online channels. I definitely agree with this, and I always enjoy meeting new and interesting people. One way to meet more interesting people is to put myself in situations where I can meet them. For example, I could start going to some of the meetups that are announced to me via email. I could go to the Pechakucha events that take place in Champaigin-Urbana regularly. You basically have to be willing to do new things and seek out the kinds of events where this could happen. You have to make it happen!

I resonated with the part of the chapter where he describes how, if you aren't particularly enjoying where you live, build your own world around you. I definitely enjoy my "captivity" when I go into my creative room, close the door, put on some music, and work on projects or whatever. I am surrounded by lots of art on the wall made by people I love, things I have created, tons of books, art supplies, and sometimes a cat or dog who inadvertently became trapped with me when the door closed. I am in my own little world. It's a peaceful place, and I really enjoy it. I love that he quoted Kafka, an author I like quite a bit. "It isn't necessary that you leave home. Sit at your desk and listen. Don't even listen, just wait. Don't wait, be still and alone. The whole world will offer itself to you."

I also really like that Kleon always carries a book, a pen, and a notepad wherever he goes. I always have a pen and notepad, but not always a book. One of my goals is to always be reading, as he recommends. Graduation is coming soon; I hope once my schedule lightens up a bit, I'll dedicate myself to more reading and writing.

When Kleon discusses leaving home, he is talking both about moving away and about traveling. I have never moved away from my home town. Do I regret this? No, I don't. I've traveled quite a bit over the years, although not in the last few. I agree that traveling does do something to alter our minds, and in a good way. The last time I went out of town was to visit a friend about three hours straight west of here. Without going into detail, that one overnight trip changed my life in many ways. That's a story for another post. Anyway, I totally get what he's saying about leaving home or moving away. This and the last paragraph are perfect segues into my book review of The Daily Coyote, an amazing and moving story that I highly recommend.


BOOK REVIEW

The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming

by Shreve Stockton, 2008

This book is a true story written firsthand by photographer, Shreve Stockton, whose life completely changed when she moved to Wyoming and was given a tiny orphaned coyote.

Shreve was a die hard New Yorker who never saw herself leaving her urban home, especially to end up in a place that could be called its polar opposite.

New York City

Ten Sleep, Wyoming

A photographer, health nut, and author, Shreve spent some time in San Francisco writing a book called Living Gluten Free. She decided that her return trip to New York would be on a Vespa to see the country. She was captivated by Wyoming's mountains, red dirt, and areas of wide open space, but still returned home to NY thinking that the feeling would pass. It did not. As if pulled by a magnet, she relocated to Ten Sleep, Wyoming, where everything about her life changed. She was used to anonymity, a fast paced life, and a million daily distractions, and Wyoming presented her with none of these. She slowly adjusted to living in a cabin where she had to gather and cut firewood for heat, getting to know the people who lived in the town of only 300, doing intense physical labor, learning the laws of the land. She also met Mike, a cowboy with whom she became romantically involved; it was Mike who surprised her one day with a ten-day old coyote pup whose parents had been shot for killing livestock. Shreve made the biggest commitment of her life when she decided to keep and raise the pup (along with her terrified cat, Eli). Shreve realized that this baby's life completely depended on her.

She named him Charlie, and he was more adorable than you can imagine. 

Shreve learned what it was like to be a new mom to a Coyote baby. She bottle fed him, played with him, spent every moment with him, comforted him, let him sleep in her bed with her, and they developed a bond so deep that it's amazing she found the words to accurately describe it. Her writing is so captivating, so poignant, you can hear, see, smell, and feel her experiences through her words. The photographs interspersed through the book are absolutely stunning and add tremendously to the pleasure of reading the book. (By the way, Eli was dominant over Charlie and remains so to this day.) This book actually began as a photo blog about Charlie for friends and family. Shreve emailed daily photos, and when others found out and got on her mailing list, a friend convinced her to charge a small fee ($5 per month) for the daily photos. And, as they say, the rest is history. She still has a website, blog, and email newsletter to which one can subscribe. THE DAILY COYOTE WEBSITE

As Charlie reached sexual maturity, he challenged Shreve so severely, it's amazing that she figured out a way to successfully work through it. But, she did, and this part of the story is intense and riveting. It's incredibly inspiring and even a person who isn't particularly interested in wild animals would have a hard time turning a deaf ear to this story.

Shreve's relationship with Charlie shifted and changed, but it is built on mutual respect and trust, which had to be earned on both of their parts. Shreve turned her life upside down to create an environment where Charlie, her beloved friend who was still a wild animal and not a pet, would be safe and happy. Happily, Shreve adopted a puppy who became and remains to this day to be Charlie's best friend and companion. 

You get to know Shreve and Charlie so well by reading this book, and you will laugh and cry and find yourself in love with them both. Most books about true animal stories have a sad ending—the death of the beloved animal. Happily, the story of Shreve, Charlie, Eli, and Chloe is still happening. They are living in harmony.

In reading this book, you will learn all about Wyoming, coyotes, government laws about coyotes, relationships, challenges, beauty, joy and sorrow in nature, and about how sometimes your life will take an unexpected turn and everything will change. I highly, highly recommend The Daily Coyote. And, if you don't like to read, the photos alone are reason enough to get the book! You can also always visit her website which is wonderful. Seriously, this is one book I could barely put down. It touched me deeply.    THE DAILY COYOTE WEBSITE

Charlie is so, so beautiful.

I love this quote from the book:

"I watched him, silent, swift, aware, as he spotted me across the yard and trotted over, his tail gracefully floating behind him like a plume. In his movements, in his eyes, he had a depth that kept pulling me further into him, further into myself. He had been with me for exactly a year. Time felt so nebulous, more like a figure eight than a linear streak. I couldn't believe how much had happened in such a short while, and yet I could barely remember how life felt before he was a part of mine." ~Shreve Stockton

Just wait until I emerge from obscurity.

Chapter 6: THE SECRET: Do Good Work and Share with People

In reading Chapter 6 of Steal Like An Artist, which is entitled "The Secret: Do Good Work and Share It With People," I found that author Austin Kleon once again quelled some of my worries about getting out into the real world as a designer and validated some of the things that are currently going on in my life. The chapter's main point is that starting out as a beginning designer is difficult in many ways but you will find that if you simply work hard at your craft and then share your work with others, primarily on the Internet in this day and age, you will benefit greatly and grow as a conceptual thinker and skillful artist—you will be on your way to becoming known or discovered. He talks about several ways to go about this. He emphasizes the importance of developing and cultivating a sense of wonder about all kinds of things as well as sharing that wonder with others and getting them to wonder with you. The reason for this is that sharing your wonders and passions with other people is letting them into your life and heart—this openness makes people feel closer to your work and also helps you learn in the process. Sharing secrets, even if we are hesitant to do so, is a good thing, and learning the secrets of others who share them is a great way to gain insight, inspiration, and ideas. Kleon believes in fully taking advantage of today's technology, i.e., the Internet. At no other time in history have people been able to "put themselves out there" as instantaneously and far-reaching as the present time. You can share yourself with others on the Internet in many different ways, and Kleon believes in making use of as many ways as you can.

I got several things out of this chapter. First, in the beginning he discusses how students are used to getting tons of feedback and a feeling that people really care about their work. We work together, talk to one another, share our work and ideas, critique each other's work, and offer support to one another.  "Never again in your life will you have such a captive audience." (p. 77) ("Oh no!" I thought.) Once out of that environment and in the world of a working (hopefully) designer, nobody seems to care anymore. He quotes writer Steven Pressfield as saying, "It's not that people are mean or cruel, they're just busy." (p. 78) During this learning curve, it's actually good to not have too much attention because your work won't be all that good at first, if you are like most people. You can use this time to experiment freely with no distractions. Once you start becoming known, you won't have that kind of freedom. All of this made me think about my current job at ThirdSide Design. I've been there for about three weeks now as a paid intern with the plan (both mine and ThirdSide's plan) for me to become a full time designer when I graduate in May. It's a very small company that does mostly web design and branding, and they are doing very well in their fourth year. But yikes! The learning curve is steep for me! And my boss, who is wonderful, is very very very very very busy and has little time to discuss or provide feedback on my work or provide much direction. I am already experiencing a slight sense of isolation and miss the constant interaction and feedback that I'm used to at school (even though I'm still in school). Kleon says (and I laugh... then cry...), "you learn that most of the world doesn't necessarily care about what you think," and "Know you're going to suck for a while," (p. 78–79). It's scary! However, to know that this is perfectly normal and that things do get better and you do get used to the changes—this is what is comforting. So there's that.

I also related to Kleon's ideas about being open and sharing yourself and your work with others. I'm a pretty open person, generally speaking. I like to share my thoughts, feelings, work, who I am, with others. I also like to wonder about things and do so somewhat naturally. I wonder what Kleon means when he says that "You should wonder at the things nobody else is wondering about." Sometimes I feel like I do that a lot. But it's also important to get others to share your wonders.

I like the idea that having a website is like having a container that needs to be filled and use this as inspiration. I'm going to keep that idea in mind as I continue to build and maintain my Prosite (which is gloriaroubal.com by the way). Kleon also discusses the Internet as being an "incubator for ideas" and that having a public presence can be "a kick in the pants." I think he means that being on the Internet and browsing around can help us develop some of the ideas that are already bouncing around in our heads, and that putting ourselves on the Internet is a way to keep us working hard to keep creating good work to share. I agree with both of these concepts. Definitely.

So, since graduation is just around the corner, it's time to create a real professional blog and link it to my other professional online presence locations—my Prosite of course, but also my LinkedIn profile, my Behance page, my Facebook business page, and my Google + page (I already have all of them set up but haven't done much yet with the latter two).

Here are links to all of the above:

   PROSITE

   BEHANCE

   FACEBOOK

   LINKEDIN

   GOOGLE +

Here is a link to my new professional blog:

   FAST READ

 

I Love My Side Projects!

As I continue reading Austin Kleon's book, Steal Like An Artist, I keep feeling more and more validated; I agree with almost everything I read in the book, and many of the things he writes are in direct opposition to what a lot of people (and society) have said or implied to me throughout my life.

Examples of some things Kleon does not believe—ideas that a lot of people do believe because they think that's how they're supposed to think:

"You have to decide on one thing and then just do that one thing for years and years." (an exaggeration, but one of those societal "norms" you sort of pick up because many people do just that).

"Don't procrastinate!"

"Work on a project until it's finished before starting another."

"Being bored is a useless activity."

"If you sit around and do nothing, you're a slacker."

In Chapter 5, "Side projects and hobbies are important," Kleon's main point is just what the title says. People need to have hobbies and side projects in their lives because those things will actually enrich or feed into the other work they do. We all need to have some down time to just kick back and do not much of anything. It can be restorative, and it can help facilitate creative thinking when we need to be creative. It's important to have activities/projects/hobbies in our lives that are things we love to do, and we do them just for the pure fun and joy we experience while we do them. Kleon believes we should allow ourselves the flexibility to jump back and forth between projects, to give ourselves the permission to play, and to sometimes avoid work and see where you wander. "Take time to mess around," he says on page 67, "Get Lost. Wander. You never know where it's going to lead you." I do most of the things he suggests, including jumping back and forth between projects, having things in my life that have the sole purpose fun and play, and trying to always make room in my life for doing things I love and sometimes doing nothing at all (the operative word in that last phrase is "trying").

I could not agree more with Kleon's opinion that hobbies and side projects are really important and enrich our lives and work in so many ways. I have a friend who told me he loves to mow his lawn because it's a totally boring and repetitive activity but he gets into a really "zen place" when he does. It probably does feed into his creativity as he is a writer and musician. Most people I know have hobbies or side projects going much of the time. I have had and continue to have numerous hobbies and side projects, and that's been one of the hardest things about being in school full time for two years—I have very little time for those things. If you know me, you know I'm a musician and play gigs on the weekends; I'm also a songwriter and am actually awaiting the FedEx truck to pull up any time now with 500 copies of my latest CD! Being a musician/songwriter is not, to me, a hobby; it's really more of a second career. Yes, I make money doing it, which Kleon says should not be a part of a hobby, but I think I get as much more even more satisfaction out of my musical projects than any of my other hobbies. Part of being a musician is having music-related hobbies too. I bought a ukulele last summer just because I wanted to mess around and try to learn how to play it! Even though my idea was to incorporate it into live performances very, very occasionally, the real reason was that I thought it would just be fun to do! Sit out in my sun room and play the ukulele. How chill. How fun! Next summer I will be sure to get around to actually doing it. Ha!

On page 67, Kleon says, "Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing." When I'm doing nothing, it's usually not really nothing. I'm watching a movie or TV show, sitting on the couch, probably eating popcorn or chocolate, and just enjoying vegging. For several years I was in the habit of meditating daily for at least 30 minutes. Now that is pretty much doing nothing. It's just sitting, trying to be completely aware of what is going on with my mind and my body, focusing on the breath, and when thoughts, worries, memories, or other mind activity pull me away and I notice that, I gently bring my attention back to my breath. It's being with myself and not trying to get away from anything. It's accepting whatever arises with kindness to myself and just allowing it to be how it is. Anyway, along with exercise and social activities, meditation has taken a back seat to my focus on school. I hope to be able to get myself to get back into these good habits of spending quality time with myself and sitting around and doing nothing (which can also include just being with friends and hanging out, which I love).

I do find that when I procrastinate, it causes a lot of anxiety. I think that's probably because of the instilled work ethic values that came from various sources through much of my life. It's really hard for me to feel okay if I'm procrastinating and I know I have work I think I should be doing. That's one of the things I love about music. When I'm at a gig or recording or whatever, I really don't think about anything else. I don't think about all of the assignments for school that are due the next week. I absolutely let all of that go while I'm playing and just let myself be in that moment enjoying everything. It helps a lot that my musical partner is my best friend, so it's fun on another level as well! Anyway, enough about music. It definitely enriches my life and I believe it adds to my creativity as a graphic designer.

Other hobbies I have or go in and out of are: gardening, making crafty things (like I wrote about in a recent blog post), working with animals and volunteering with animal organizations, writing fiction, rollerblading (not so much recently, but I still do occasionally!), tennis (again, same parenthetical comment as for rollerblading), painting, and a few more. I got really into a side project the summer before I started the graphic design program which was that I started drawing pictures of what I thought emotions would look like. They turned out to be creatures. I just started and let it take me where it took me, which was to eventually paint these creatures. My goal was to have 50 of them at the end of the project, but school started when I was at 30, so 30 it was. I would like to have them made into a book or cards. I really, really enjoyed that little side project! I also wrote (and designed the cover for) my first short story a year ago or so.

Here are a few photos of some of my various hobbies and side projects.

I grew Glads several years in a row. I try different things every year in my flower garden.

I was in the 80s band "The Brat Pack" for several years some time ago. It was one of the most fun bands I've ever been in! SO fun!

My current musical project is my duo simply called "Paul & Gloria." (We do have a website, by the way, which I threw together on Wix: http://www.paulandgloriamusic.com)

Come see us play! It's super fun!

I'm laughing so hard in this picture! We have a great time, and we play some pretty good music, if I do say so myself.

I love making little tiny things. I made this little matchbox "diorama" for a friend of mine who loves music.

I kind of got interested in runes, and I made my own little tiny set of them. Just for fun!

I LOVE taking my dog Silvio to dog training classes! We have a blast! Hobby? For me, I suppose it is. For him, it's his life's work!

Mud Pies and Magnets

When I was a kid, a common thing to say to friends when we were trying to think of something to do was, "Hey! Let's make something!" I remember making all kinds of different things. Here are some examples. I used to like to find really smooth rocks and paint pictures on them. I still have one left on which I painted a little owl. I would find an empty shoe box and scraps of this and that and create a little room for one of my small animal toys. It would have the most elaborate things—a stereo system with albums, carpeting, furniture, lamps, and so on. I got into making potholders with a little device my mom had for making those. I got into macrame. I drew a lot. When I was really little I drew a story sequence of birds in a nest in the middle of about a dozen small paper plates. My mom saved it and I still have it! My friends and I would try to make whatever we decided we were going to make. Once we got the bright idea to make mud pies, just to do it. What I remember about it was that at first it was really fun to dig in the mud, but after awhile it was just difficult because it wasn't moist enough and we weren't near water (or didn't think of that), but we were determined and did make mud pies! Making things, creating, is a magical experience. Even kids growing up now in this age of technology still really enjoy making things. Whenever my nieces and nephews visit, we always do something together where we're creating something. They love it. And, so do I!

A side note... When I was about three, my mom was making enameled jewelry and was using tweezers to place various pieces of glass on the piece she was working on. I was hanging around (of course too young for my mom to have me be a part of it in any way). Well, I found the tweezers. I was on the floor, I guess, and I saw the outlet near the baseboard. "Hey!" I thought. "These would fit right into those two holes! I wonder what would happen?" (I doubt I went through this entire verbal dialogue with myself, but you get the picture.) So, being the curious kid that I was, I jammed the tweezers into the outlet and got the surprise of my fucking life. All I remember was the feeling of electricity going through my body, a big noise and sparks, and smoke coming from the outlet (which had to be replaced). All I can say is that I was one lucky three-year-old. I remember that it hurt, that jolt of electricity, and I realized I had made a big mistake. I don't remember anyone being overly concerned, but I'm sure I was just in a daze and don't remember. Anyway, that was my introduction to art projects. I will never forget it! And, I'm still curious but a whole lot more cautious.

Anyhow, reading the fourth chapter of Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon is called "Use Your Hands," and it really got me thinking about how fun it is to make things. It stirred up memories of making things all the time as a kid, which is why I began this post by discussing some of that. As an adult I have continued making things. I go on kicks. For awhile I got into watercolor painting. My own style. I have no technique, but I really enjoy it. I like to paint very ornate, micro-detailed designs on different things like little pots for plants, wooden shapes that I then make into magnets, bowls, picture frames, boxes, and so on. I like to make thing with beads and charms, both jewelry and non-jewelry items like bookmarks. I discovered how to make cool refrigerator magnets using glass pieces, silicone, art of my choice, and strong magnets. One of the reasons I really enjoy making things is because I enjoy giving them to people as gifts. One Christmas I gave my family only things I had handmade. It was really time-consuming, but totally worth it!

Being creative has to involve doing things, moving, feeling things, listening, smelling, even sometimes tasting. This is one of Kleon's main points of the chapter. He says that "computers have robbed us of the feeling that we're actually making things." I like how Kleon uses example of other types of artists, such as musicians and orators, to illustrate the point that creating has to involve bringing your entire being and your body into your work. For graphic designers, or anyone who creates on the computer, it's easy to get stagnant if you don't do some kinds of hands-on work. Kleon says that sitting in front of a computer and creating just from the head is no good—we can't create just from the head because our inspiration comes from doing things that involve all of the senses. I am totally in agreement with him! Sitting in front of the computer for hours on end is deadening to the mind, body, and soul. I do enjoy my computer work, but it can't be only that. I love his idea of having an analog workspace and a digital workspace. I actually already have those, as probably many of you already do too. They are in the same room, right next to one another. I call it my art room and have art on the wall made mostly by artist friends of mine. It's inspiring! I always work with some kind of music playing, and it's very comfortable. It has a good vibe.

I think that engaging as many of my senses as possible will help creative people produce better work, and that's because it wakes us up! It is how humans experience the world. We don't just see the world; we see, feel, hear, taste, and touch the world. Kleon's description of bringing analog tools back into his process made total sense to me. He said that the work he did that engaged most of his senses was so much fun! He said that "there was a kind of magic happening." (p. 58) And most importantly, "it didn't feel like work. It felt like play." When what you are doing feels like play, of course you are going to produce better work! Your love and enjoyment of the process are evident in what you create!

Generating ideas on the computer might work for some people, but using analog tools first, such as a sketchbook, are much better. Collecting things to put in your idea stash and then getting them out and spreading them out over the table when you want inspiration is also a great way to get the brain active and more "alive." Kleon likes to move back and forth between his analog space and his digital space. The analog space is for idea generation and the computer is for executing the ideas. "When you start to lose steam, head back to the analog station and play." (p. 61) I love that line and will try to start working that way.

When deciding what kind of analog project I wanted to create, I was pulled toward my magnet making project (ha...). So below are a bunch of pictures, all captioned, that show some things I have created over the years (things I really enjoy making), my workspaces, and the process and final execution of my analog project. I miss doing this kind of project!

Set of magnets I painted (acrylic on wood). These are about 1 1/4 inches high.

Same kind of magnet project, but these depict my actual cats. I added the halo when Zöe died.

The most recent set of painted magnets.

One of my painted pots. I have painted dozens of these. Yes, that's a little person at the top. He came with a terrarium kit that someone gave me from TWIG company. :)

Another pot. The plant isn't looking so good...

I guess you might call this kind of thing "folk art?"

I have no idea where I got this idea, but I made a few collaged outlet plates. I used various papers, applied them with Mod Podge, and on this one I added a few little rhinestones.

Same idea.

I have always tried to find special ways to commemorate beloved pets of mine who've passed. These little matchbook memorials are just my style.

The first magnet set I made (of this particular style). The images are patterns from a Victoria's Secret catalog.

So my workspace is currently one big messy room. This is a room that for years was our "office." We kept the main computer, file cabinets, bookshelves, and stuff like that in it. I needed an art room, so I gradually took it over. The main computer is now in another room (the "studio") where my husband spends much of his time practicing guitar and saxophone. All of our musical gear is stored in that room. So anyway, we each sort of have our own space. When I went back to school, my room also became my work room for school work. So now it has a computer desk with my large monitor and tablet (printer is in the studio but I print wirelessly), and a utility table where I can spread out.

Digital Work Station

Analog Work Station
It doesn't always have so much stuff on it. I just have some of the materials out that I keep in the room to give you an idea of how much crap I truly have! I keep everything as organized as I can, but I really need a bigger room. Notice the wall of art. I have so many talented friends and family members.

Getting ready for the project. All materials are on the table. Now I have to look through a bunch of images and decided what I want to use to make a few magnets.

After considering cutting up a copy of one of my watercolor paintings or a greeting card that has little musicians on it, I settled upon images from an old calendar (the little pics on the backs of calendars that show what the pages look like are great for this). This is a Tibetan Buddhist art calendar. 

Put the glass (I don't know what you call them—flat on the bottom, rounded on the top) on the image where you want, then I just trace around with an exacto knife and then finish with scissors.

Finish and fine tune with scissors, making sure the glass fits just right over the shape.

This is some toxic stuff. I only use it because all other glues leave bubbles or don't work right for one reason or another.

Put a pea-sized glob of the silicone on the picture...

 ...and then the magic happens. It's so fun to watch as you press the glass down and the glue spreads out—the glass magnifies the image and makes it come alive! (This is before the magic has happened.)

Voila!

Now who can I give these to?