Creative Advice

Have lots of air freshener when turning garbage into art.


Don't be afraid of making mistakes.  Mistakes are good--especially when you don't make them.


Coloring outside the lions is better than coloring inside the lions.


Do what you love except if it involves your hand and a lubricant.


Welcome chaos and the unknown as long as they don't stink.


Be yourself and follow your heart, but call the police if your heart does not return after 48 hours.


It's okay to be crazy as long as you're not insane.


Blocked?  Try walking backwards for 5 minutes.  (How does walking backwards remove a creative block?  I don't know.  I just made it up.)  


Make a list of stupid ideas and read it out loud while walking backwards.


Embrace solitude, but let it go if it complains.


Think, "Don't Think."


Start what you finish.

Not All About Creativity

"How do I become more creative?"
"Change your name, and then your initials will be M.C."


"Why did Creativity cross the road?"
"Why?"
"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."


"How much creativity does it take to light a change bulb?"
"I dunno."
"Not much, but someone as to invent a change bulb."

"Knock.  Knock."

"Who's there?"

"Creativity."

"Liar!  Only opportunity knocks."

"How would Leonardo da Vinci write a blog about creativity?"

"Very slowly."

"Why is that?"

"Because he is dead."

"Why did the idea cross the road?"

"Why?"

"To go into an apartment building, and then go into a bathroom shower where a writer was already showering."

"What?  Is the idea a pervert?"

"No, it's an idea for a short story about a rebel river that goes against the flow.  Like most ideas, it likes to come to people when it's not convenient to write it down."

"Where does Creativity get its ideas?"
"I dunno."
"It waits for them to cross the road."


"What are the five stages of creativity?"
"What?"
"Preparation.  Incubation.  Illumination.  Taxation."
"That's only four stages."
"So?  It's a creative answer.  Why can't four equal five?"
"Okay, but what's with Taxation?"
"No matter what, the government will tax it."


"Thanks to Creativity, ideas and the ways they can be combined are infinite."
"True, but this blog isn't."
"But the blog can't end, Creativity hasn't walked into a bar yet."



Creativity walked into a bar and the bartender said, "What will it be?"
And Creativity said, "Can I have something on the house?"
"Sure," said the bartender and he brought Creativity a brick.  Creativity drank the brick, and then left to wait on the other side of the road for some more ideas.

All About Critics

"Why did the critic cross the road?"
"Why?"
"To find something wrong with the other side."


"How many critics does it take to change a light bulb?"
"How many?"
"Three.  One to change the bulb and the other two to criticize the process."


A critic walked into a bar and the bartender said, "What will it be?"
And the critic said, "Did you have to ask me that way?"
"What was wrong with the way I asked?" said the bartender.
And the critic said,"Nothing, but you didn't have to ask me that way."

"Knock.  Knock"

"Who's there?"

"A critic."

"A critic who?"

"Your door needs painting."

"Do you see anything wrong with The End?"
"Yeah.  Look how the curtains cover part of the T in The and the D in End."
"You're right."
"What a failure this funny bone guy is.  He can't even get The End right."
"Okay, we're finished here.  Let's go somewhere else where we will find something wrong."

HOW TO BE CREATIVE

If you want to be creative then remember, 

So, how do you generate new ideas?  How do you think outside the box?  First you find the box you are thinking inside of.  Once you find it, climb outside of it and start thinking.  Secondly, take risks.  You can buy them at The Risk Store, but taking or stealing risks is much more fun.  Thirdly, fall down the stairs.  Falling down the stairs and banging your head will give you new perspectives with new ideas.

If the above ideas don't work, then take a pencil and a piece of paper and eat them.   Watch the ideas flow out of both ends.

You can always use the following suggestion when stuck on any problem, or facing any situation that requires creative thinking.  Ask yourself, "What would Anonymous do?"  No one knows who Anonymous is or what he or she would do; so you are safe no matter what action you take.

These are just a few suggestions.  For further suggestions, consult the books used as references for this blog.

REFERENCES

Away, Passed. The Zombie's Guide To Creative Deathing.  Slaughter Press, 2011.

Dameron, Julia.   The Artist's No Way: An Earthly Path To Lower Creativity.  Mud & Company, 2007.

Ovate, Inn.  New Ideas And What To Do With Them. Mind's Eyeglasses Press, 2013.  

ON CREATIVITY AND CACA

My good friend David Fontana, in his book Creative Meditation and Visualization, wrote about the importance of going inside to communicate with our inner being.  Communication with our inner being is important for self discovery and well being.

 

As children, we unknowingly communicated with our inner being by drawing and coloring pictures.  We did this joyfully until we developed an inner critic as we were taught not to trust ourselves; to look outside for the answers instead of inside.

The process of communicating with our inner being is important.  The art or writing that results from this process is not important.  It is a by-product just as caca is a by-product from the process of  nourishing our bodies. Unless you are making political speeches, caca is not important.  The process of eating for nourishment is.

By focusing on the process and not the by-product, there is no reason to be blocked or to wait for elusive and capricious inspiration.   Two of the ways you can focus on the process of communicating with your inner being are free writing, and free drawing.   The result is not important.  It is caca.

No longer is it necessary to get upset if someone looks at your art or writing and says, "That's a piece of shit!"  He or she is right.  It is the by-product from the nourishment process of communicating with your inner being. 

Your inner being,  the deep mystery inside you,  is not elusive or capricious.  It is always there just waiting for you to start a conversation.