Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Austin Kleon)

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It's a cute little book I picked up in a museum/gardens gift shop. And I do mean little (6" square) and cute cover. It's a quick read, but I stretched it over a few weeks, letting little bits sit with me and get absorbed.

As a non-artist who enjoys making art, it's a blessing. It's formally giving permission to copy things, and learn from making art that resembles other art that makes you feel good. It's learning to go from that to changing it and making it your own. It's little hints that give you a little more bravery about putting your photo or sketch or thoughts out there on Instagram or whatever platform you like.

This book reminds us to associate with people who lift us up, people who inspire us to be more. (And that reminds me - I've got a great group of friends, and they do that for me - some are nicer than me, and I'd like to be more like them, some are more creative, some are more focused. Hopefully I'm something more for them, in my own way.)

Anyway, it's fun. It would make a good gift book to the right person, or a whimsical one to keep on your shelf for the occasional reminder to just DO the piece of art. Make the art/write the book that you want to see/read.

I borrowed the ebook version of this from my local library because it was generated as a recommendation for me through the app. I now want to buy it, despite having already read it, just to keep it on my shelf for flip-n-dip inspiration.

I then checked out the author's second book "Show Your Work", not really thinking I needed it as: a) I am not an artist and b) have no need to show my work. But I enjoyed the author's wit so much from the first and thought why not. So I have two books on my need to buy list. He now has a third book out that I'm anxious to put my eyes on.

I also signed up for his weekly newsletter; in which I recommend if you're a fan or just looking for something interesting. It's one of the few newsletters that I find worthy of actually opening every time it hits my inbox, reading, and clicking through all the links. (It's through the last one that led me to the recommendation to the author Charles Portis. I just finished True Grit and I believe it's going down as a new favorite. The movies have nothing on the book.) Kleon's Instagram is pretty neat to follow, too.

Quick read. Got me thinking about where I like to get my inspiration from for projects and how I can better use those inspirations.