creative process

Mary Oliver on Taking the Day Off, “Letting the Voodoos of Ambition Sleep”

Just a reminder how much can happen when you take the day off…

S’mores Fabulously Re-envisioned (Gab Bois)

It hadn’t occurred to us to think beyond the idea of S’mores we’ve had in our head for eons. Then we stumbled on a complete re-envisioning of the three elements that blew our mind in the most pleasurable way.

Etel Adnan’s ‘Day-to-Day Bravery’

In the weeks leading up to artist and poet Etel Adnan’s death, our instagram feed was flooded with images of her work as though the world could feel her passing. Her striking paintings have been called “talismans”, “declarations of love”, and reminders of what Adnan called “day-to-day bravery”. Seeking out her work and writing, we found her big wisdom.

In Ukraine’s Tragic War, Art Appeared

Early in the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 23rd, 2022, New York Magazine invited young Ukrainians — the first generation born after Ukraine won independence — to share their experiences. It offers a remarkable view into the fierce realities of escalating war, including this from a 25-year-old painter who fled Kyiv.

Artist Ed Clark Defied the Limits of the Brush with a Janitor’s Broom

We love this clip of abstract expressionist artist Ed Clark describing how he came defy the limitations of the paint brush by painting canvasses laid out on the floor with a push broom, the old-fashioned super-wide broom janitor’s used to wash big swathes of floor. His improvisation reminds us of the way ideas can ignite or connect in an instant to yield solutions with mighty effect.

Reasons for Not Doing the Thing Today (Madeleine Dore, Maya Angelou, Louise Bourgeois)

The other day, a newsletter arrived in my inbox with a list that made me instantly relax. “Some reasonable reasons you didn’t do the thing today” was from Madeleine Dore, author of Extraordinary Routines, which explores “how we navigate the pendulum swings of our days”, i.e. how to live with meaning and creativity and unleash our productivity. Her brilliant list grew out of her realization that there is no secret to productivity, and that the very notion is deeply awry.

The Unwritten Stories of Our Lives (John McPhee, Diane Arbus, Lisette Model)

Tabula Rasa, The New Yorker’s series by the great John McPhee features “the saved-up, bypassed, intended pieces of writing.” McPhee’s spare, vivid descriptions reminded me of the essential lesson legendary photographer Lisette Model taught her students, most notably Diane Arbus.

An Artist Who Spent 30 Years on a Single Painting: “I Obey Time” (Myonghi Kang + Patti Smith)

“I obey time, but do not try to manipulate it” said South Korean artist Myonghi Kang, referring to her painting “Le temps des camélias” (“The Time of Camellias”), which took her 30 years to complete. We are heartened by her assuredness and courage, even, striking in a world where the pressure to be productive seems to inform every moment.

The Tender Message In Christo’s Arc de Triomphe Dream

Sixty years after the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s first visioned wrapping the Arc de Triumphe I’m fabric, the project has come to fruition for all to e see, touch, interact with, for free. In this short video, Christo gives insight into the meaning of their unusual — and ephemeral — life’s work spent transforming huge outdoor spaces at great cost in money and time.

Michaela Coel: “See What Comes To You in the Silence”

Michaela Coel won an Emmy for her fiercely powerful drama I May Destroy You which she created, directed and starred in. Her stunning 30-second acceptance speech offers remarkable counsel to writers and artists longing to make truly meaningful work.

A Blind Painter’s Lessons in Seeing (Sargy Mann)

When landscape artist Sargy Mann went totally blind in 2005, he assumed there were no options left. But since a blank canvas was stretched in his studio,and paints had been mixed, he thought, “I wonder would happen if I gave this a go?”

A Question to Maintain Stillness, Attention and Flow

I rely on my tightly edited instagram feed to bring ideas and wonders right to me when I need them. Then a powerful quote from Saul Bellow sparked an essential question.

Banksy: How to ‘Create Escape’

We’re inspired in so many ways by graffiti artist Banksy’s brilliant tutorial done to the words of Bob Ross, TV painting instructor and host of the iconic Joy of Painting show from 1983 to 1994. Along with revelatory technique is a philosophy for navigating life…

Anni Albers’ on Material as Metaphor + Martin Margiela’s Tape Belt

We were stunned by the simple brilliance of clothing designer Martin Margiela’s packing tape belt. He recognized the most ordinary of materials as the perfect width, and texture to fulfill an instant need with astonishing personal style. It called to mind Anni Albers’ brilliant words.

Creative Thinking is a Martial Art

SO GREAT, wherever this few seconds of inspiring outside-the-box thinking came from.

Siloing on the Island of Creativity (S.B. Dworski)

S.B. Dworski reflects on the nature of being “siloed”, which most of the world is grappling with, and a new way to think about it.

House Paint by Artists + Why (Katharina Grosse, Andrea Zittel)

After months being seriously home-bound, I’ve found myself looking around my space for ways to shift my head. The work of several artists provided both inspiration and illumination as to why…

Why Walk in Hard Times (Rilke)

We take a walk daily because it never fails to refresh our thinking, change our view of things, calm us. Especially, in these most stressful times. It is perhaps our most powerful medicine. Walking, we find our mind shifting, ideas sparking, problems beginning to yield in ways we never expect. Rilke nailed it in A Walk:…

How to Redeem Life’s Spoilers (Andy Goldsworthy and Hala Alyan)

For over a week, the work of a poet and an artist seemed to be in conversation,
helping us understand a fearsome part of living.

Improvising: on the Edge

In the 16th century, an Italian artist named Cesare Vecellio began to use the long “fourth” outside edge of books as a canvas on which to make small paintings… a reminder of possibilities hiding in plain sight…

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