creativity

Wonder: You can be everything

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Collage amalgamation tribute to Steve Jobs by artist Charis Tsevis

“You don’t have to just be this or that. You can be all of it. You can be an amalgamation.” ~Rapper DDm at Creative Mornings DC at Renwick Gallery

I’m still thinking about Rapper DDm’s presentation about language and identity at the Creative Mornings DC talk. I’m still energized and inspired by his words, his decision, and his encouragement to be everything that we are. From Diana Ross to Li’l Kim to the influences of ancient fashion from the Moors to the rough streets of West Baltimore, DDm put all of that inspiration into a mixing bowl to invent himself, his look, his language, and his art. And he continues to reinvent, learn, grow, evolve, and experiment. The only thing he sets in stone is his right to be exactly who is in every moment on his terms.

That’s a right we all have—to joyfully be who we are, to make the decisions that are right for us, and to live the lives we want to live. Embrace your own unique brand of madness. Surround yourself with people who support that journey. Have the confidence to be exactly who you are and to become all that you want to become.

 

creativity

This just in: Follow your inspiration and find the natural hum for your life

Find your inspiration

I’m not great at vacation; I never feel rejuvenated by it. I wish I did. I envy people who do. I just can’t. If anything, I feel overly anxious about the very idea of vacation. About 12 hours into it, I start to get antsy. I need a project and I’ve stopped trying to fight that need. I am who I am, and my idea of fun is creating things. It’s what I do and who I am.

In 2016, I’m not going to fight that anymore. I’m an intense, passionate, and some might say (slightly) manic, person. Moments of calm and peace are necessary (I sit in meditation for 18 minutes a day no matter what my schedule is), though the natural hum of my life exists at a higher frequency and that’s just fine by me. I’m most comfortable when I’m using my mind, body, and heart to build something.

In the new year, I hope we all find that—the way and speed of life that feels most authentic for us. It’s different for everyone, and there isn’t a way that’s better. Just a way that’s better for each of us as individuals. Let’s honor that.

creativity

This just in: Art builds character, literally

One of my favorite paper collage inspirations
One of my favorite paper collage inspirations

“Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character.”Ā ~Horace Greeley

I’ve been flipping through a lot of magazines recently gathering swaths of color for some paper collages I’m working on. The best paper materials come from the lush photography of advertising. It’s caused me to see that most of our ads make us crave 2 things: notorietyĀ and possessions. Not a single one focuses on helping us become better people – kinder, more generous, more compassionate, more dedicated to others.

But art can do all of these things. It can and often does inspire us to become the very best version of ourselves. And so as I turn these paper ads into paper art, I hope that I’m doing something, however small, to transform the world around me.