Think Creative

There sitting in front of me was one of my students. Young and innocent. Looking for some answers to their prospects as a graphic designer. Then came the dreaded question. The question that strikes through me every time a novice asks me it. A question that is hard to answer, and therefore maybe the reason I dread it so much; "Can you give me some advice on what it takes to be a graphic artist?" I looked at her and at the same time another student turned with interest to see what I was to say. Where can I start, I thought. Funny thing was I did reply, and the sort of things I answered were also reflected in a sentence I had in a discussion with my very close friend, about the very same subject. Now, I started my trek over thirty years ago. Didn't know at the time that it would lead to much. Didn't know at the time that my parents would not like the idea of my career choice and my insistence in going to college. Didn't know then that there would be ups and down ...

People in this day and age seem to have this notion that you walk up to a computer, find the application of choice and press a button and all should come out as they want it. Then, they find themselves saddened by the fact that the end result is far from what they imagined. And there lies the crux of the problem. The simple fact that the imagination has the greatest ability to be so wonderfully creative, expressive and without bounds that the translation into this mortal world has some faults. Or does it?  I spend a great deal on my time sitting in front of students in academic form, trying hard to be an educator. In some ways I am, however I start my day, my career and more importantly my life, as an artist. That is who I am. That is what I practice, and more importantly above all else, that is what I desire. I look on the faces of these students, year in, year out, as they find ways to think of a convenient excuse for the reasons their work is not complete, not as good as they ...

A friend of mine at school was very good at art. It seemed inherent, as his father was good at art, therefore seemed to run in the family. It kind of made me like the idea as well, so at Sixth Form I walked into the art class and asked if I could do art as a subject. The teacher, Miss Parker, allowed me to join the class, but after some weeks took me to one side and politely told me that I would not make it as a creative person and I should think about leaving the class and doing some other course. I wouldn't accept this, and with several other similar comments from family and teachers alike, I set out to prove them wrong. I guess in a way I have. Also saying that however, I have always had the feeling that I could be artistic. Still today I get up and want to create. Sometimes more than get breakfast, or sort the house out. I say this little ditty at the start as I wanted to mention perseverance. If I had listened to my art teacher, all those years ago, where would I be? Wo...

Things just pop in there; occasionally. Had some feedback on a post I did some days back. Has been ticking in my mind for these past days. Or maybe bouncing, rattling or crescendoing around. Anyway, waking up this morning and starting to layout all the project briefs for Creative Thinking for the new semester,  Norman McLaren  popped into my mind. First, if you are not aware, he was an established Canadian animator, winning an Oscar for his piece " Neighbours " in 1955. Why did he pop into my head? Well gathering those strangely connected fragments together it was based on the fact that some years back ( and is now in my collection ) I saw a documentary about the artist in question, called "The Creative Process" This was linked to something that was on my mind as I woke this morning. Thinking about the initial talk that will be given to the induction of students. The college I work at is associated with a University in the UK, that has coined the phrase; ...

This is a double edged sword when the debate about the effectiveness of the internet comes into the arena. How does a creative person sell their wares, or even advertise their wares, without the fear of being copied, ripped off, or having work stolen and reuse. Well, it is an increasing trend in today's creative society to copy/paste concepts and ideas from the more talented and claim them as one's own. Look at the recent news of the Microsoft equivalent to the iPad, due in 2011. It is a simple reflection of the fact they replicated the iPod into a Zune, and replicated many feature from the OS X system interface into the Vista interface. This is just one example of high end reworking of the twists around copyright and patent laws. On a smaller level, and more creative level, how can one defend against someone stealing ideas. An interesting site to look at is this one;  plagiarism.org/ . They state that the terms copying is a weakened description of the more serious aspec...