I was talking with some friends last night about Create / Consume and I jokingly mentioned that I'd be picking up an Etch-A-Sketch to have on me at all times so that I could invest a few quick minutes into something if I was low on 'Creation time' for the day and wasn't necessarily in the mood (or didn't have a nice chunk of time set aside) for doing any writing, which is my likely go-to for creative output next month.
My friend Dan laughed at the idea and quickly said: "that'd be a real waste of time, wouldn't it?" And at the time I shrugged, but since then I've been thinking about the idea of mini/side creations - things like doodles, iPhone camera pictures and the like - things that under the letter of the law count as "artistic creations" that are not exactly works of art with any real passion behind them. Should they count as highly as anything else? Is creation time still creation time, no matter what is being created?
When I initially ironing out the details for Create / Consume, I had a few items that fell under the area of '1/2 consumption,' like watching tv or playing video games with friends (since it was somewhat social). I also had items that counted as '1/2 creation,' like rehearsals and classes (since we were just learning and not technically creating anything to be presented). In the end I decided to just draw a hard line in the sand and count everything as all or nothing, if for no other reason than I didn't want to have to deal with a lot of annoying math all month.
So I'm not really interested idea that some creation counts less than other kinds of creation (this is me personally - like I've stressed in the past, everyone has their own priorities with this project). Especially since I'd like to be open to the idea of discovery over the course of July. Maybe after drawing ten crappy doodles of Batman, I rediscover the love for drawing I haven't had since I was a child. Maybe after taking a few barely-artistic shots of the view outside my bedroom window I'll discover a newfound love for photography. Who knows what thirty days of semi-forced artistic expression can do to a man.
Still, I also don't want the month to be about me finding clever ways to avoid doing the things I know deserve my focus. If I spend the same (or less than) eight hours a week writing as I did before, and the rest of my free time making a Play-Doh village featuring miniature models of all my enemies that I will eventually stomp into oblivion, well...actually that sounds pretty awesome. Bad example. Point is, I definitely want to focus the majority of my attention on my writing, my performances, and the game I'm designing, so those things should and will get priority.
My friend Karen actually came up with a great suggestion, which is allowing for "creative exploration" each day, but putting a cap - say an hour - on it so that ultimately I still have a focus. I actually think it's a great compromise (and no real increase in math, just time awareness). And that mean the Etch-A-Sketch is still on the table. Now, if only I was able to draw something better than this:
What do you guys think? Should Create / Consumers have a focus with what they want to create? Or let their imagination flow...even if that means lots of time spent carving their name into windows on the subway?
-Matt
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| Jesus. I couldn't even draw the circle surrounding the Presidential seal with this thing. |
When I initially ironing out the details for Create / Consume, I had a few items that fell under the area of '1/2 consumption,' like watching tv or playing video games with friends (since it was somewhat social). I also had items that counted as '1/2 creation,' like rehearsals and classes (since we were just learning and not technically creating anything to be presented). In the end I decided to just draw a hard line in the sand and count everything as all or nothing, if for no other reason than I didn't want to have to deal with a lot of annoying math all month.
So I'm not really interested idea that some creation counts less than other kinds of creation (this is me personally - like I've stressed in the past, everyone has their own priorities with this project). Especially since I'd like to be open to the idea of discovery over the course of July. Maybe after drawing ten crappy doodles of Batman, I rediscover the love for drawing I haven't had since I was a child. Maybe after taking a few barely-artistic shots of the view outside my bedroom window I'll discover a newfound love for photography. Who knows what thirty days of semi-forced artistic expression can do to a man.
Still, I also don't want the month to be about me finding clever ways to avoid doing the things I know deserve my focus. If I spend the same (or less than) eight hours a week writing as I did before, and the rest of my free time making a Play-Doh village featuring miniature models of all my enemies that I will eventually stomp into oblivion, well...actually that sounds pretty awesome. Bad example. Point is, I definitely want to focus the majority of my attention on my writing, my performances, and the game I'm designing, so those things should and will get priority.
My friend Karen actually came up with a great suggestion, which is allowing for "creative exploration" each day, but putting a cap - say an hour - on it so that ultimately I still have a focus. I actually think it's a great compromise (and no real increase in math, just time awareness). And that mean the Etch-A-Sketch is still on the table. Now, if only I was able to draw something better than this:
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| That's PRESIDENT Squiggle-Mess to you, friendo. |
-Matt
If you visit my website and scroll down a few posts you will see a truly terrible drawing I did while at Starbucks, I really think you will like the very short post because it relates that art comes from beauty, art doesn't become beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I feel when I see your etch-a-sketch. It is art, it is creation, it is something different and well worth putting towards your creation percentage.
Although, I do agree on a time cap to it. Then again, could you really etch-a-sketch for more than an hour? I don't think so haha