Stick Stick, Bang Bang

Longboarding in Toronto (Yonge & Dundas)

In the late 80’s I spent many reluctant summer months in Florida, separated from friends and bored of all the things people work 50 weeks to experience. Sun, sand, surf, I could care less, I just sat in a refridgerated motel room and waited. One summer was different though. I was 12 and I met another boy; he was into skateboarding. He had a couple of them and was equally exhausted hanging with his folks so he gave me one and we spent the next couple weeks riding around Treasure Island.

It was such a great time that when I got home I bought my very own Tony Hawk. Over the next few years I skated alot and got pretty good, learning kickflips and good high ollys a foot in the air (simple stuff by today’s standards but this was the 80’s and I was twelve). As I got older, new things caught eye and my riding tapered off until my once prized Tony Hawk found a permanent spot in the shed.

It wasn’t until late this summer that I stepped onto a board again. I met some friends who were longboards and as before, one of them lent me a board to kick around the city on. That first ride I was lucky to return with teeth intact. I wobbled and shook up and down the streets like a baby learning to walk, just praying I didn’t come across a teenager on a board to bring into focus how bad I was.

Over the weeks though, I continued to ride, getting better each day I stepped on. The wobble disappeared and the stiffness turned to flow. Relative to other riders I was still horrendous but there was a great deal of satisfaction from the improvement. My first time riding in over a decade I anticipated being rusty. I knew I would get better. When it comes to physical activities we expect that, don’t we? Practice makes perfect.

So why, for creative activities, do we have different expectations? With inward skills like drawing, writing or even mathematics, we tend to give up if success doesn’t come quickly. You’ve surely heard people say, “I’m can’t write” or “I can’t draw.”

Pable Picasso said, ” I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” Pablo Picasso was a genius and few people will achieve his greatness, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not a good writer but I really enjoy something about the act of writing. So I practice and fail and practice some more, knowing that just as with my skateboarding if I keep on it I will get better.

So perhaps instead of “I can’t write” say “I don’t want to write.”  The latter is a choice, the former is giving up. If there’s something you enjoy: practice, struggle, fail, push on. You may not become a Picasso, but you will become better and, more importantly, will be doing what you love.

Creative Commons image courtesy of jef_safi (click through to Flickr)

Because of the close relationship between change and creativity I wanted to share this passage with you. It was written by Ted Simon on the final throes of his journey around the world as he looked in on himself after 4 years and 60,000 miles. It helped me to understand the need for solitude at periods of turbulence and change in my life, I hope you find it as helpful as I did.

The vital instrument of change is detachment and traveling alone was an immense advantage. At a time of change the two aspects of a person exist simultaneously; as with a caterpillar turning into a butterfly there is the image of what you were and the image of what you are about to be, but those who know you well see you only as you were. They are unwilling to recognize change. By their actions they try to draw you back into your familiar ways.
[...]
It was chilling to realize that the sentimental qualities most valued between people, like loyalty, constancy and affection, are the ones most likely to impede change.
~ Ted Simon, excerpt from “Jupiter’s Travels”

A self portrait of Ted Simon with his Triumph somewhere on the his 60,000 mile journey around the world, notice the smashed headlight and turn signals.

When was the last time a friend told you about a great movie they saw, or a phenomenal book they read, or a killer band they just dicovered? Probably sometime this week, even today. But when was the last time someone told you about a cool illustrator or photographer or painter they found? Probably not too recently.

The Twilight franchise is unarguably the biggest novel series since Harry Potter. Although it hasn’t sold as many books as the little magician, 42 million is nothing to sneeze at. This number (and those of Harry Potter) are especially interesting when you remember the kids buying these books are part of the Google generation who are commonly believed to be shelving books for more electronic and instant forms or entertainment. While there is evidence to support that kids are reading less, there is another dynamic at work here.

Books like Twilight, music and movies rely heavily on word of mouth in their marketing campaigns. It’s no secret that the enthusiastic recommendation from a good friend weighs much heavier than that of a passerby or advertisement. So is it any wonder that the forbidden love story between an awkward highschool girl and good-looking vampire boy is laser focussed directly at teenage girls who also happen to be a the chattiest demographic the world has ever known? A segment where burning through 3000 text messages a month is commonplace.

But what is the boon of books, movies and music is also the Achilles heel of the another medium, visual art.

Visual art doesn’t spread easily in society because it is not served well by word of mouth. A piece of art is extremely difficult if not impossible to describe in words. It’s similar to trying to describe how someone looks, which goes something like this,

“They have short brown hair, tall, average body…”

Hardly helpful. Most revert to making comparisons to celebrities or others both people are familiar with. This is because it’s critical for us to differentiate the subtleties in faces, but unnecessary to verbalize them. So we don’t and we can’t.

Movies and books, on the other hand, are described by telling their stories, something humans are very good at. Music, while also hard to describe is all around us on the radio, commercials and iPods so it spreads more easily. But visual art is not which is why it’s extremely rare for art to achieve the cultural popularity on a scale of those other creative mediums. Art has to be seen to be appreciated and it’s just not common around us during our social activities.

So how do visual artists overcome this disadvantage? There’s no single answer but the more public exposure the better. Galleries are good but intimidating and foreign to the masses. There are many art blogs but they too attract a niche audience. Designing event posters and CD covers for bands is cool, T-shirts are great too.

At Stickstickbangbang.com we’re trying another medium we believe will help spread artwork, the iPod. By using devices like iPods (and other personal electronics) as canvasses, the art becomes public and social, where people can experience, enjoy and share it with others. The iPod is the staple of the next generation’s pocket inventory, right there with keys, wallet and phone. And with over 160 million sold, they need to be customized.

But most importantly, the skin eliminates the word of mouth disadvantage because now people can show… not tell.

Creative Commons image courtesy of marcobellucci (click through to Flickr)

“It is what we think we know that keeps us from learning”

1. Comfort with Novelty and Change: Move your watch, ring, keys, cell phone, etc. to a new place regularly.
2. Generating “Next Right Answers”: Brainstorm 25 alternative uses for a toothpick, newspaper, rubber band, etc.
3. Living with Complexity: Do puzzles. Count to 100 by 2’s and 3’s at the same time (2/3, 4/6, 6/9…) Or up by 2’s and 3’s and down by 4’s and 5’s.
4. Awareness: Identify all the geometric hapes you can see from whereever you are.
5. Curiosity: Come up with uncommon answers for why traffic is slow, why school is closed, why it’s foggy today, etc. How come?
6. Improvising: Carry on an imaginary conversation between a fishing lure and a fish; a bee and a flower; a racket and a ball.
7. Doing Life Differently: Take a different route home. Dial phone calls with your non-dominant hand. Sit in a new place. Check out a different style of music or a different political point of view. Sleep in a new place or position. Read the paper in a different order.
8. Stimulating the Right Brain: Introduce colour into your routines. Use coloured pens or pencils as well as coloured paper and paper clips if possible.
9. Honoring Ideas: Practice telling what you like about an idea before expressing any concerns you might have.
10. Upside-Down Thinking: Invent some impossible ideas for the products, services or changes in your own life.

With the instant gratification that comes with being connected to the internet, we are rarely 30 seconds away from whatever information, entertainment or time-wasting flash games we desire. That environment inevitably changes the way we act and has probably made you a more impatient person. Louis CK, during his appearance on Conan O’Brien, had some great observations of kids getting frustrated when their phone doesn’t respond instantly to a command, saying “Can you give it a second… it’s going to space!” While most phones don’t technically go to space, the point is made; and it’s not just the kids acting this way, it’s all of us.