Hannah Wilson GDS-222

In this week's chapter of Steal Like an Artist , we were given advice about what to leave out. When I am assigned a project, or I just feel the need to create a project for myself, I try to look for inspiration.  The problem is, it's hard to narrow down what or where I want inspiration from.  Even when I decided what I want the subject matter to be, I then have to decide what medium to use. This chapter told us the importance of leaving things out.   Kleon states that the best way to get over a creative block is to place constraints on yourself. When I first read this, I wasn't sure how this could possibly work.  By giving yourself constraints, wouldn't you be limiting yourself in what you could do?  What if you wanted to make a painting but limited yourself only to a pen? As I read further, it began to make a little more sense.  Kleon tells us that having the right constraints can lead to our very best work.  He uses the example of Dr. Seuss...

When I was in high school trying to figure out what I wanted to do as a career, I thought I could make it somewhere in the art field.  I thought that I could make lots of money just drawing illustrations or making designs like all the artists I learned about in art class.  Young, naive Hannah thought it would be so simple to sell work, make money, get her name out there, and marry *insert handsome male celebrity name here* .   It wasn't until I finished high school did I realize making money or finding a job in art and design is easier said then done.  Nothing happens overnight.  Making art became a side job in addition to my actual, boring job, something I didn't want to happen. In this week's Steal Like an Artist  chapter, Kleon tells us how important it is to take care of ourselves, stay out of debt by keeping our day jobs, and keep track of what we do on a daily basis.  Kleon reassures us that the image everyone has of the creative genius artist ...

This week's chapter in Steal Like an Artist  had all kinds of good advice about what kinds of people to follow for inspiration, making work instead of being angry, and keeping a praise file. In this chapter, Kleon tells us that we need to ignore our enemies and make friends.  "That means following the best people online, the people who are way smarter than you".  I will often be on sites like Tumblr or Strikingly to look at the work of other people.  I'll look at what they've done and think, "wow, that's such a great idea!  I wish I could think like they do!"  So, I'll start following these people, trying to see how I can make my work successful like theirs, but still my own. Here are a few of those smart people I follow: - Jessica Hische -Taylor Humby -Miranda Zimmerman -Eminem -Dayna Corbitt -Donald Glover -Justin Roiland -Rebecca Sugar -Alex Hirsche -Pendleton Ward It was hard to pick just one, so I posted links to a few of th...

This week in Steal Like an Artist: I learned the importance of building your own world of creativity and creative people. At the start of the chapter, Kleon tells us about how he grew up in the Midwest, surrounded by corn.  He was always wanting to get away and go to a place where something was happening.  I felt like I was reading something I wrote myself!  I grew up on a farm surrounded by fields of corn, always wanting to leave for a while to go somewhere that had something going on. Then, Kleon tells us that we don't have to live anywhere other than the place we already live to connect with the world that we want to be in.  In the meantime, before we find out where that place is, we can build our own world. Kleon makes a point to say that "our brains get too comfortable in our every day surroundings".  I couldn't agree with that more.  Sometimes, I feel like I'm stuck in a creative rut unless I make an effort to get out and go somewhere.  Wh...

This week, in chapter 6, we were given some important tips for getting out work out there. Kleon tells us that the internet can be an incubator for "ideas that aren't fully formed, a birthing center for developing work.  After I read this, I got on the social media and cloud sites that I've put or saved my past works on and looked through them.  Some are finished products that I wanted to share with people, others are just sketches that I upload incase I needed them for anything later.  I noticed on a few of the projects, I went back to revisit them at one point and ended up making them into something other than what I had originally intended for them. Here is an example of some projects I found that went through some changes: What started out as a print became a digital drawing which then became a t-shirt design.  I was just doing a project for fun, but after sharing it on Instagram, people expressed their interest in it and asked if they could get it on a shir...

This week, in chapter 5 of "Steal Like an Artist", we were given some interesting advice to practice "productive procrastination".  Kleon explained to us that it's good to have some side projects and hobbies.  That way, when we get sick of working on one project, we can spend time on a different one.  He tells us to take time to do nothing, to get bored. Reading this, I wondered how he could do that.  I feel like I need every available minute I have to concentrate on my assignments for class!  I realized after reading this chapter that I've gotten to busy that I've abandoned all of my side projects and my "just for fun" pieces. Kleon says that it's important to have a hobby.  It's important to have something that gives but doesn't take and it's just for you and no one else.  Some of my hobbies that don't require much thinking are knitting, going for runs and playing instruments.  Sometimes, I just like to do "nothing...