For academic, professional, and personal reasons this school year has been moving at breakneck speed for me; so fast at times that I\u2019m often afraid I can\u2019t keep up. I genuinely enjoy reading, but lately I\u2019ve felt like I\u2019m reading to save my life\u2014like the bus in the movie Speed, if I let my pace fall behind, the whole thing is going to blow up with me in it.<\/p>\n
Because of that it was refreshing to read the short work Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/em> by Austin Kleon. For the first time in months, I was able to sit down to read a book slowly, and deliberately, cover to cover.<\/p>\n Or perhaps I should say \u201cre-read.\u201d I read this book 10 years ago, when it was first published. And I told my friends to read it. And I bought copies for my kids. I remember at the time it was so encouraging, and fun, and challenging, and prescient.<\/p>\n Now a decade later, re-reading this was like running into a trusted old friend. Sometimes an old friend can remind you of what used to be (and still should be) important in your life. And I needed to be reminded of a few things; things like:<\/p>\n \u201cWrite the book I want to read\u201d[2]<\/a> (or lead the church I\u2019d want to attend).<\/p>\n \u201cStep away from the screen\u201d[3]<\/a> (or let the creative ideas flow before I start editing them).<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t throw any of myself away\u201d[4]<\/a> (or making sure I hold onto the passion of the punk-rock kid I was before I became \u201crespectable\u201d).<\/p>\n There was so much more. Reading Steal Like an Artist<\/em> was like stopping and taking a deep breath, and, for just a moment, letting the academic tension melt away.<\/p>\n Re-reading this book led me to start wondering if I\u2019ve been approaching this doctoral program all wrong.<\/p>\n Instead of running at the work from my strengths I\u2019ve been defensively compensating for my weaknesses. It\u2019s felt a bit like swimming with a suit of armor, and I\u2019ve been thrashing in the water trying to keep from drowning. What I\u2019ve really needed to do was pick up my trusty ol\u2019 slingshot and see what kind of damage it could do to the academic giant that\u2019s been threatening to feed me to the birds.<\/p>\n In Steal Like an Artist<\/em>, I found some smooth stones[5]<\/a> that are especially valuable and timely for me as I throw myself into doctoral studies. Here are three:<\/p>\n 1. A smooth stone for research: <\/strong>\u201cDon\u2019t worry about doing research, just search.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n I love the serendipity of exploring and finding new things, but instead of joyfully collecting and curating good discoveries, I\u2019ve ended up furiously hoarding everything[7]<\/a>; instead of embracing the freedom of limitation[8]<\/a>, I\u2019ve been trying to take everything in, and that\u2019s left me exhausted.<\/p>\n But to keep the right things and leave the rest alone, I need a system to know the difference.<\/p>\n 2. A smooth stone for notetaking: <\/strong>Kleon suggests cultivating a \u201cmorgue file\u201d[9]<\/a>: Keeping dead ideas you can reanimate later. I need a better notetaking, filing, and retrieval system. I had that thought when reading \u201cHow to Take Smart Notes\u201d[10]<\/a> but that book was so technical and highly specific about the system itself, I think I lost the plot.<\/p>\n Steal Like an Artist<\/em> spoke my native language\u2014the dialect of a creative\u2014and helped me rethink the necessity of capturing, collecting, and curating my research like an artist would.<\/p>\n I just need to reclaim my identity as a creative.<\/p>\n 3. A smooth stone for creativity: <\/strong>\u201cCreative people need time to just sit around and do nothing…take time to mess around. Get lost. Wander. You never know where it\u2019s going to lead you.\u201d[11]<\/a><\/p>\n I was reminded that my very best ideas come when I\u2019m not over-busy, and even more, when I leave home[12]<\/a>, either literally or figuratively. A change of pace where I wander a city to eat interesting food, to step into new environments, and quite literally get lost has always ignited a creative explosion.<\/p>\n Maybe research can be more like that: Instead of furiously looking for a needle in a haystack, leisurely wandering around. Leaving home. Exploring. I know that can\u2019t always<\/em> be the case, but like taking a long weekend to get lost, I need to schedule this kind of reading and research into my life, too if I\u2019m going to stay creative in my academic pursuits.<\/p>\n One of my favorite pieces of art is the last installment of Calvin and Hobbes that was released on Sunday, December 31, 1995. \u00a0In it the precocious little boy Calvin trudges up a snow-covered hill with his trusty stuffed animal-best-friend Hobbes. Calvin says \u201cWow, it really snowed last night! Isn\u2019t it wonderful?\u201d<\/p>\n Hobbes replies, \u201cEverything familiar has disappeared! The world looks brand-new!\u201d<\/p>\n Calvin says, \u201cA new year…a fresh, clean start!\u201d<\/p>\n Hobbes answers, \u201cIt\u2019s like having a big, white sheet of paper to draw on!\u201d<\/p>\n They both get on a sled and hurtle down a hill as Calvin says, \u201cA day full of possibilities! It\u2019s a magical world, Hobbes ol\u2019 buddy…let\u2019s go exploring!\u201d<\/p>\n Is there a way to be an artist and<\/u><\/em> an academic? Or a creative and<\/u><\/em> a pastor? If I\u2019m going to learn to become a non-anxious presence, I certainly hope so.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s go exploring!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Austin Kleon. Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. <\/em>New York: Workman Publishing Co., 2012.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Ibid, 48.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Ibid, 58.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Ibid, 68.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> 1 Samuel 17:40<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Ibid, 20.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Ibid, 6.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Ibid, 137.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Ibid, 22.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Sonke Ahrens, How to take smart notes<\/em>, Create Space, 2017.<\/p>\n