Some well-crafted inspiration

And, on the subject of inspiration, there are these:

Tim Minchin's graduation address of a few years ago. I heard it then, but today it hit home. I am putting his words into art over the next few days. My first attempt is here. You can find the video here and the transcript here. Wisdom with a comedic touch. As is much comedy also a bit of daily wisdom.

"Be micro-ambitioius. Be careful of long-term dreams. If you focus too far in front of you, you won’t see the shiny thing out the corner of your eye."

I also found inspiration amid the pages of an Uppercase Magazine in my "to read" pile. If you don't know Uppercase, and you count  yourself among the "creative and curious" as the magazine's audience, add it as #3 to Do Yourself a Favor (see others here.)

Each issue of this ad-free luscious papered Canadian quarterly is themed. There is always a visual alphabet of the vocabulary of that issue's focus. (I am a sucker for alphabets and collect them in a variety of forms).  Issue 31 highlights people who use their skills to make things for the performing arts and is filled to the brim with creatives of all kinds. Today I am inspired therein by:

1

Andrea Aquino and her cool collages in calendar, book, and posters. I will have to add her illustrated Alice in Wonderland book to my collection. Such fun! 

Illustration by Andrea Aquino. 

2

The Creativity Caravan. "Our favorite people are those who say they are not at all creative." After you see their video, it's worth a trip to their blog for interesting thoughts on creativity. They have a string of short videos, and I loved the one called 'Don't Dis Your Dabbling," extolling the virtues of "dabbling" with your interests and not being embarrassed about lack of expertise or oriented to big projects. I am so happy to have found these women! 

One last word about Uppercase. If you join their newsletter, you'll get  free content, bonus articles, peeks at the magazine, and an opportunity for special publications such as the one I just received: Botanica, a gem. They also don't overwhelm you with their newsletters and e-mail.