Book Notes: “Creativity Sucks”

BOOK NOTES

“Creativity Sucks”

Book by Phil Hansen

Notes by Sarah Verno

20 MARCH 2021

Creativity sucks… well, actually it’s what it requires to be a professional creative that sucks (or even to be a dedicated crafter). It’s the pressure to produce, the sacrifices of time and resources, the exhausting mental games that come from wins and dissapointments and competition and comparisons. 

At the same time, creativity is beautiful and glorious and inspiring. In his book, “Creativity Sucks,” Phil Hansen breaks down the common misperceptions for creative professionals to achieve “success”, how to work past creative blocks, and why it’s all still worth it.  

sarah's mockup of Creativity Sucks

Phil Hansen, author of “Creativity Sucks”

Stay curious.

Be an information sponge. Learn new things. The more you discover about the world, the more you will spark your curiosity and,  in turn, spark your creativity.

At the same time, don’t let an obsession with learning get in the way of actually creating. Stockpiling information is only so beneficial. In fact, collecting piles of information can actually cause creative paralysis.

“Constantly learning is essential… this is how you will begin to see the world in a more nuanced way, which will help you create more intelligent and nuanced art.”

Phil Hansen, author of “Creativity Sucks”

Success and failure are actually the same thing

“There is no such thing as failure, since after every hit and miss, you have to move in and create more work anyway.…

And never forget that the one thing this project has in common with every other project you’ve done is – it always leads to the next project. Trust your process and just keep creating.”

Phil Hansen, author of “Creativity Sucks”

Embrace your crazy.

As artists and creators, we’re all a little bit cray cray, and that’s completely ok. A little irrational confidence can help you move past the roadblocks you’ll quickly and frequently encounter as an artist.

“Luck is possible, but usually there is hard work and certain things that actually take place to make it possible. It requires staying dedicated to your art, willingness to take risks, and relentless passion and courage to see things through.”

Phil Hansen, author of “Creativity Sucks”

Fail more & Fail often.

If you want to be successful as an artist, no matter how you define success, it requires staying dedicated to your art, willingness to take risks, and relentless passion and courage to see things through, even if they don’t turn out the way you wanted.

“Risking failure helps keep your creativity from stagnating, so you’re not falling into the success loop and ‘selling out.’

Your mind is your greatest commodity. Keep investing there.”

Phil Hansen, author of “Creativity Sucks”

Give yourself a break, for crying out loud.

It takes guts and grit to put your art out there. Compare and despair. Self-loathing is not tough love – it only lowers inspiration and destroys self-esteem.  At the end of the day, it is completely counterproductive to anything good. 

“’Waiting for inspiration is a game that’s not rigged in your favor.’ If your goal is to produce work, waiting is just going to hold you up. You don’t need inspiration to create art. Waiting for inspiration means you are relying on something outside of your control to influence and get you going.

Phil Hansen, author of “Creativity Sucks”

Book Notes: “The Art of Taking it Easy”

BOOK NOTES

“The Art of Taking it Easy”

How to Cope with Bears,  Traffic, and the Rest of Life’s Stressors

Book Written by Dr. Brian King

Notes by Sarah Verno

10 FEBRUARY 2021

The market for stress management books is undeniably over-saturated, but a Colorado author with a comedy background and a psychology degree… I had to check it out.

While the insights on stress and its impacts to our bodies were not new, the way in which the author framed the topic was extremely well done.

Market saturated or not, when I came across this part of his story I realized I could probably learn a lot from this guy:

Waking up and finding a stranger sleeping in your car seems like one of those events that only happens to somebody once. Yeah, not this guy. About a month or so later, it happened again.

Once again, I came out of my apartment all ready and eager to go to stressful graduate school and train some rats or something. Once again, I saw the familiar image of a lone dude using my car to catch some Zs. This time he was up front, sleeping in the passenger seat. I knocked on the window. He didn’t answer. I knocked a little louder. He didn’t answer. Great, the last thing I need is to start my day dealing with a dead guy in my car. I opened the door, checked his breathing. He was alive, just passed out cold. So cold that he wouldn’t respond to anything, not even being nudged or tapped on the cheek.

I couldn’t just leave him on the sidewalk, so that was the morning that I drove to school with a passed-out stranger riding shotgun. He slept the entire drive. I arrived at campus, found a parking spot, and left him there while I went to class.

Damn.

Pervasive negative thinking. Assuming the worst. Defaulting to worry. Toxic behaviors like these substantially impact our health and happiness. If we want to make significant changes to our lives, we must change the way we think. The smaIl steps we can take each day to improve our ability to handle stress make a difference for our ability to break the behaviorial cycles that keep us a prisoner to it.

The Art of Taking it Easy by Dr. Brian King

“In the simplest terms, changing a behavior usually involves understanding why you do it and finding a suitable alternative. Because worrying relieves inactivity by giving the brain something to do, if you want to worry less you should find something else for your brain to do. But then what could possibly be a suitable alternative to worrying? How about literally anything else!”

Dr. Brian King, author of “The Art of Taking it Easy”

Learn to tell the difference between bears and traffic.

Learn to assess your stress. When we start to recognized perceived threats versus actual threats, healthy stress management becomes a lot more realistic. It’s easy to find ourselves getting worked up (subconsciously or consciously) and making choices based on what could happen rather than what is actually happening. As soon as we encounter a “bear” (i.e. a potential stress-inducing problem) we need to stop and ask ourselves 2 important questions:

  1. Is this an actual threat?
  2. If it is an actual threat, then can I do anything about it?

If your answers are “Yes,” then make a plan and do it.

“We begin responding to stress before we have a chance to think about it. However, we have the ability to overcome our initial response.”

Dr. Brian King, author of “The Art of Taking it Easy”

Worrying does nothing to prevent bad things from happening, so stop that shit.

Worrying is counterproductive. The best thing you can do if you are inclined to worrying is to understand why you worry – what leads you to repeatedly engage in this behavior – so you can do something to overcome it. The next best thing you can do is get your mind busy. Worry is the brain’s way of relieving uncomfortable “inactivity” – it gives the brain something to do.

So, before you lose yourself to worry, remember you have options. “…it probably doesn’t matter why you react that way, only that you start actively choosing another reaction.” (Dr. Brian King)

“Worrying does not affect the outcome of a situation, it doesn’t make adverse events less likely to occur, it just makes our life less great…”

Dr. Brian King, author of “The Art of Taking it Easy”

Adversity is good for you.

Studies continue to show that happiness is strongly associated witihpsychological resilience. I.e. If you are happy, you are typically managing your stress well, and if you are stressed, you are probably not happy.

If you start treating stressful events like problems that need to be solved, your brain will get better at problem solving. In turn, the next time a similar probelm arises, your brain is more likely to respond as if it is has a solution (and the less your reactions will be influenced by feeling stressed).

Resilience is our ability to recover from adversity, to bounce back or return to equilibrium after experiencing an adverse event. It is a major component in coping with and recovering from stressful events… Put simply, our thoughts make us resilient. How we process information and what we think following an adverse event has a great deal of influence over how quickly we will recover.”

Dr. Brian King, author of “The Art of Taking it Easy”

Grow your appreciation for humor

Humor helps us keep our brains from becoming unnecessarily stressed. 

“Humor is our brain’s ability to recognize a potentially threatening stimulus as amusing or nonthreatening. It involves initially perceiving the stimulus one way, and then immediately reinterpreting it as something else. The brain recognizes this process as humorous.”

    Having a sense of humor means being able to understand things in multiple ways, and this is incredibly helpful in overcoming stress.

    Dr. Brian King, author of “The Art of Taking it Easy”

    Even the physical act of laughing helps relieve tension and increase feelings of happiness (check out the James-Lange Theory of Emotion for more info on this correlation)..

    “From the electrical activity in the brain as you process the humor, to the facial muscles that make you smile and laugh, to the diaphragm that forces the lungs to inhale and exhale, to the arm and leg muscles that are engaged when you clap and stomp your feet, laughter inspires a tremendous chain of bodily activity. Laughter is a profound release of stress, which reduces cortisol and has the added bonus of making us feel good.”

    A few more quick takeaways for better stress management:

    Learn to react to what has happened, not what almost happened or what could have happened.

    Plan something to look forward to.

    just imagining a possible solution can help you cope.

    Stress is almost always linked to control.feeling in control is key to remaining calm and reducing the overall impact of stress in our lives.The more we feel as if we have influence, the more stress we can handle.

    Sometimes a change in environment or activity is precisely what we need to kick-start different activity in our prefrontal cortex.

    Positive thinking really does make a difference. Positive people are more happy, and happy people are more positive. Optimistic people are also more resilient, are less affected by stress, and worry less often.

    Travel. Traveling presents a lot of opportunities to problem solve and build resilience. You don't have to go far, just go outside of your the comfort zone.

    Repeatedly practice the behavior we want to exhibit.

    Book Notes: “Vanlife Diaries”

    BOOK NOTES

    “Vanlife Diaries”

    Finding Freedom on the Open Road

    Book by Kathleen Morton, Jonny Dustow, & Jared Melrose

    Written by Sarah Verno

    8 NOVEMBER 2020

    “Vanlife Diaries” is a celebration of the nomadic lifestyle, the community that forms through it, advice for living on the road, and gorgeous photography.

    #Vanlife has become a universal term for anyone living or looking to live an alternative lifestyle in any shaped vehicle. The book lays out the benefits and beauty of vanlife:

    • for family
    • for love
    • for nature
    • for art
    • for play
    • for work
    • for community

    Fair Warning: Don’t check out this book if you aren’t prepared to experience extreme wanderlust.

    “Adventure comes when you stretch yourself beyond what you ever thought possible, look over to new horizons, and take a little leap of faith.”

    Amber & Keenan Badger, Vanlifers

    Vanlife leads to intentional living

    Life on the road takes equal parts planning and dreaming. Everything you bring, create, and leave behind – you have to pay attention to it all. 

    “Vanlife looks like a dream. And in many ways it is. But dreams take time to build and can appear quite messy in their conception.”

    Bring others into the dream with you.

    Adventure doesn’t have to stop when you get a “real” job, or start having kids, or take on other responsibilities. You can find ways to integrate and share your dreams, and letting others be part of them. 

    “Vanlife families don’t let anything stop them from living their dreams and sharing these dreams with their children.”

    Vanlife opens the door to new realities and new possibilities

    “Living tiny opened up my eyes to time and space for being in nature and pursuing creativity.”

    The best dreams propel your life forward

    “We are not hiding behind our van; rather we are using it to deliver us to the places where we can encounter our fears and then conquer them by moving forward.”

    Hawk Tennis & Kenz Kraut, Vanlifers

    “When you live in a van, your backyard is ever-changing.”

    Movie Notes: “Stuffed”

    MOVIE NOTES
    “Stuffed”
    A Documentary that Pumps New Life into the World of Taxidermy
    Written by Sarah Verno
    22 October 2020
    It’s more than working with “dead stuff”. It’s artistry. It’s natural history. It’s storytelling. It’s science. It’s protecting, archiving, and honoring species. It’s fashion. It’s passion. It’s taxidermy. 
    “Taxidermists don’t do what they do because they see death. They do what they do because they see life.”
    Following its outstanding debut at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, “Stuffed” is now available on Hoopla (for FREE if you have a library card). The documentary takes viewers inside the uniquely beautiful and rather engrossing world and subcultures of taxidermists.

    From the studios of individual artists to renown museum curations, through the artistic processes and mastery required to win the World Taxidermy Competition, this film was nothing short of fascinating.

    Here are a few of my personal takeaways along with my favorite quotes from the documentary.

     

    A FEW THINGS TO NOTE.

    *Taxidermists love animals. A lot. In fact, many modern taxidermists only work on animals that died of natural causes and/or in captivity. None of the artists featured in Stuffed work with anything that hasn’t died naturally and been acquired ethically.

    *All of the pictures and quotations are property of the documentary film 

    the heart of taxidermy is deeply rooted in respect for & admiration of nature.

    “It’s not about just identifying something, but when you start to know what things are and identify them, you start to care about them.”

    Allis Markham, Prey Taxidermy

    Details make all the difference.

    “The art of taxidermy is recreating the animal precisely… breathing life into it. Because if you just take all the measurements, the casting, all that references you get from the specimen and assemble it, you got a dead animal. You’ve gotta know the animal. You’ve gotta know nature. You’ve gotta know how they behave, what they eat, where they live…”

    Taxidermy is not for the faint of heart.

    “We get so involved in these pieces. It’s this pouring out of everything. Every fiber of your being. You’re feeling the highs, the lows, the anxiety, every emotion you could possibly go through as an artist being poured into this piece and hopefully this euphoric moment at the end.”

    George Dante, Taxidermist

    artistic expression + scientific preservation.

    “Maybe you [a taxidermist] do end up like Van Gogh, a tortured artist cutting off an ear. But if we cut off an ear, at least we’d make something from it.”

    Allis Markham, Prey Taxidermy

    Book Notes: “Oh Joy!”

    BOOK NOTES

    “Oh Joy!”

    60 ways to create and give joy

    Written by Sarah Verno

    18 APRIL 2020

    Well-designed book covers urge you to pick up a book – this one hollars at you with a bright, fun, and captivating cover. It’s why I picked it up at the library, and it did not dissapoint.

    “Make someone happy! A colorful, inspired guide to help anyone bring joy and whimsy into their lives, ‘Oh Joy!’ is filled with quick, fun, and stylish projects… I want to help you make your world a happier, prettier place, and give you inspiration to make beautiful and joyful things for others as well.”

    Joy Cho, author of “Oh Joy!”

    In this beautiful curation from Joy Cho’s design business, “Oh Joy! 60 Ways to Create and Give Joy” translates beautiful interor design and crafts into tangible, doable concepts that inspire even the most un-creative people to consider what they can make that will bring joy for someone else.

    This book is bursting with pro tips and creative (but fairly simple) craft ideas. I especially appreciated the design know-how Joy included to help give readers a basis for how to think about creating “happy” design around them.

    Below are a few of the design tips I found to be really helpful (thanks, Joy!):

    Analogous Colors Are Your Friend

    “I love using analogous colors (those that are next to each other on the color wheel). Using varying shades of blue, green, and yellow offers a fun array of colors that naturally work well together.”

    Joy Cho, author of “Oh Joy!”

    Keep it interesting by adding a Pop of color

    “After putting together the base palette, I always like to add an unexpected pop of color… whether it’s a super bright color, a metallic (shiny gold is my fave), or a hint of something sparkly.”

    Joy Cho, author of “Oh Joy!”

    Be Bold with mixing patterns

    “When you mix two patterns, one should be a little more simple, so you are not creating an optical illusion…Using two patterns with an overlapping color helps tie them together while giving the eyes room to breathe.”

    Joy Cho, author of “Oh Joy!”

    Embrace Whimsy

    whim•sy

    noun, plural whim·sies

    /ˈ(h)wimzē/

    1. playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor.
    2. capricious humor or disposition;
    3. extravagant, fanciful, or excessively playful expression

    “Art prints and interesting vessels can give that extra wink to any room. If it makes you smile, it will make others smile, too.”

    Joy Cho, author of “Oh Joy!”