How Your Habits Can Make You More Creative

johnpaulcaponigro 18.08.2019 Newsletter - Curated Links 0
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They Did It This Way
Did you know?
Ludwig Van Beethoven religiously took walks in nature to find new musical ideas.
Georgia O’Keefe cultivated her garden for improved health. Upon hearing that John Marin had completed three canvases in one day the first thing she asked him was what he ate that day.
Agnes Martin’s rigorous meditation practice helped her manage her schizophrenia and find inspiration for her paintings
Ernest Hemingway stopped writing before he didn’t know what to say next so that he knew where to pick up in the morning.
Thomas Edison slept upright with a metal ball in his hand to wake him up so that he could record the ideas he found during light sleep before he lost them in deep sleep.
You Do It Your Way
No two artists do it quite the same way. Your art is your own. So are the daily rituals that propel your life. Like you, they change over time. The time you spend reviewing your habits, casting aside old unproductive ones and cultivating new productive ones will ensure greater fulfillment and success and quite possibly new breakthroughs.
Habits … they’re the keys to achieving your life goals. Habits are powerful because small things build up to something much bigger over time. Are your habits serving you? If you haven’t reconsidered your habits recently, it’s time. I know it is for me. We don’t have to do this all at once. We just have to get started. And make it a habit to consider our habits.
In this set of resources, you’ll find all kinds of great food for thought including what worked for famous artists like Leonardo, Beethoven, Hemingway, O”Keeffe and many many more.
A Toolkit To Help You Improve Your Habits
Don’t think of these resources as a to-do list. You can’t do it all! What’s most important is making time and space for the things in your life that are the most important to you.
Think these resources as toolkits to help you craft the life you want to live!
 

Schedule

How To Schedule Your Day For Peak Creative Performance

Exercise

Why Exercise Makes You More Creative

Why Walking Helps Us Think

Can A Simple Walk Improve Your Creative Thinking?

Beethoven’s Daily Habit For Inspiring Creative Breakthroughs

Diet

Need A Creative Boost? Take A Look At Your Diet

From Picasso’s Rice Pudding to O’Keeffe’s Green Juice, the Favorite Snacks of Famous Artists 

Sleep

Taking a Nap Could Make You More Creative

Scientists Agree – Coffee Naps Are Better Than Coffee Or Naps Alone

Can Sleep Make You More Creative ?

How Famous Artists Dealt With Insomnia

Stress

Artists Share Their Rituals For Dealing With Stress

Meditation

Why Meditating Might Make You A Better Artist

How Disconnection Boosts Your Creativity

Want to Be More Creative At Work? Stop Working !

Artists

Legendary Cellist Pablo Casals, at Age 93, On Creative Vitality And How Working with Love Prolongs Your Life

The Daily Routines Of 12 Famous Writers 

The Daily Routines Of Great Writers

The Morning Routines of Famous Artists, From Andy Warhol To Louise Bourgeois

The Daily Routines Of 10 Women Artists, From Joan Mitchell To Diane Arbus

7 Famous Artists Who Made Great Work Late At Night

Quotes

41 Great Quotes About Habit

 

That’s a lot! Don’t eat it all at once! Savor it over time!

Start here.

Can Sleep Make You More Creative ?

How To Steal Like An Artist

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Copying isn’t bad; it depends on how and why you do it. I recommend you try copying – and be clear about why you’re doing it. Though I rarely share these kinds of studies with anyone, I make them frequently – and I learn a lot.

I’m not fond of phrases like, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” (That phrase itself has a history that borders on theft. Read it here.) They can be interpreted as a legitimization of plagiarism, as long as your sources are unknown or you hide them well. A lot is lost when this happens; the original author goes unfairly unappreciated; the plagiarist tragically passes up the opportunity to find something of their own; readers are deceived; we all lose. The biggest trouble with phrases like this is that so many fail to go further after pronouncing them.

The best thing about phrases like this is that they memorably raise an important set of questions about the wide variety of purposes for copying: forgeries rob money (except the ones museums and collectors commission as insurance policies for exhibition); plagiarism robs intellectual property and content; studies educate the development of artists; appropriation references culturally important touchstones (best done with attribution like a quote); working in the manner of someone can be both a sign of respect (homage) and a way of fanning those flames of inspiration; and making new authentic work after being inspired by another strikes new sparks carrying the torch further.

Follow phrases like these with a rich conversation about the possibilities and you will be richly rewarded every time.

Here are a few resources that will help enliven your future discussions.

30 Quotes On Stealing

Copying Is How We Learn

Study Finds Copying Other People’s Art Can Boost Creativity

Why Artists Are Allowed To Copy Masterpieces From The World’s Most Prestigious Museums

From Craft to Art – Leaving Dafen

Kleon – How To Steal Like An Artist

Things get really gray with appropriation.

When Does An Artist’s Appropriation Become Copyright Infringement?

Appropriation In The Digital Age – Richard Prince Instagram & The $100,000 Selfies

Who Actually Shot Richard Prince’s Iconic Cowboys?

Forgery has a fascinating history.

A Brief History of Art Forgery From Michelangelo To Knoedler & Co

How Museums Handle Forgeries In Their Collections

Orson Welles Movie F Is For Fake

 
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