Tag / artists

by Nathan Coumbe

We need the dreamers

A friend of mine wrote to me the other day telling me that my “realistic views” helped to balance out her “daydreaming” ideas. 

But we need the dreamers. 

Without them, nothing changes. Nothing improves. 

No new ideas means the world never gets safer, cleaner, healthier, or more just.

Without the imagination, suppositions, and oulandishness of some humans, we stagnate. 

Sure, we also (sometimes) need the realists and the doers to make the dreams come true. 

But without the people who are willing to say, “Is this anything?”, the rest of us have nothing to work with.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Have mercy on the critics

Julia Cameron writes that every critic she’s ever met was, in reality, a blocked artist who couldn’t bring him- or herself to create art of their own…

So they tear down other people’s work because that’s what’s easier.

I remind you of that to say this: absolutely, let’s hear it for all the amazing and brave creators…

But also have mercy on the critics and encourage them to create something of their own.

(Also, make sure you go through The Artist’s Way at least once in your life… It’s truly life-changing for creators of all sorts).

by Nathan Coumbe

Artists Pay Attention. Are You an Artist?

What does an artist do? What makes her an artist? It’s simple: she pays attention.

I think I’ve been overwhelming myself with ideas, people, information, podcasts, audiobooks— too many different inputs to count. If we want to be creative, we have to shut out the noise, turn off the devices, and start paying attention to the world around us.

Paying attention might be something as simple as going for a walk outside. Head to the park, and be fully present in the moment. 

Paying attention means smiling at the people that walk past you and watching their entire demeanor change. They walk a little taller; they smile back; they pick up their pace. A smile generates energy.

Pay attention when you walk past two women speaking to each other in Spanish. What happens when you say in their native tongue, “Hello! How are you?” They chuckle, both pleased with your willingness to try and humored by your pained accent. 

Paying attention is noticing the difference in sound a few dozen yards can make. One side of a park is dead quiet, while the other—less than a football field’s length away and located close to a busy road—is roaring with the cacophony of motorcycles and sports cars. 

When you pay attention over a few weeks’ time, you notice the subtle change in attire worn by those walking around you as social and health issues become more prevalent. 

Perhaps you’ll notice two small children, obviously strangers and of wildly different cultures, run towards each other on the playground to touch hands, embrace, and play together as if they weren’t the least bit different. Afterwards, you might realize that it’s all invented, the differences we’ve created that cause such terrible strife in our world. 

If you listen closely, you’ll notice the gurgling, deep-throated rumbling of a large vehicle puttering past behind you. You’ll hear the sounds of leaves underfoot and voices across the fence. 

So this is what it’s like to pay attention. This is what we miss with our headphones in and our phones out, heads down and eyes fixed, always distracted and never present. 

We miss the face of a Star Wars alien created by a fortuitous arrangement of knots on a pine tree. 

We miss the sheer exuberance of a child as she first lays eyes on the playground and sprints past. We miss her zigging and zagging and the father’s apology for her child’s excitement. Why does Dad feels guilty? Why should he apologize for his child doing exactly what a child should do?

This is what we miss when we fail to pay attention.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Art and plumbing are more similar than you think

Zig Ziglar relates a story in one of his talks about a man traveling through Native American tribes early in the 20th Century. What the man discovered was not a single person he encountered in those tribes stuttered. 

This phenomenon fascinated him, but he could never find a reason why. Finally, he asked one of the elders in the tribe why this was so. The elder informed the man there was no word in their native language for “stutter.” 

No label, no problem. 

In a fantastic article in The New Yorker, the author writes about the phenomenon known as “writer’s block.” What’s most interesting is this problem is not world-wide. The idea did not penetrate Europe until the 1800s, and even today, most Europeans don’t know what it is. It seems to be almost strictly an American issue. 

No label, no problem. If you don’t have a way to identify something as a problem, it can’t be a problem. 

We are all creative at something. We don’t get blocked: we get scared that what we create isn’t good enough. We feel there is some ethereal muse that must speak to us before we can make anything worthwhile. 

That’s crap.

Seth Godin has, what I believe to be, the most profound podcast episode I’ve ever listened to called “No such thing (as writer’s block).” One of my favorite sayings in the episode is this: “plumbers don’t get plumber’s block.” No plumber says he’s feeling too overwhelmed or uncreative enough to fix a pipe. They just fix the pipe. Surgeons don’t wait until they hear the muse speak to them to operate – they practice their craft every day and perform when it’s time to perform. 

Your art, whether it’s writing, music, painting, communicating, or leading people, is a craft – it’s a trade! Like blacksmithing, welding, or some other trade, it’s something that you learn, practice each day, and use to make something. 

If you’re a writer – write! Every day. Write something. Set a timer for 30 minutes and write. If you can’t think of what to write, write “I can’t think of anything to write,” over and over again until a new thought pops into your head. When that thought pops into your head, write it down too. Don’t worry about it making sense, being fantastic, or winning a literary prize. Just write. 

Insert your own art into the statement above and adapt it to your own situation. 

You aren’t blocked – you’re scared. Don’t wait for the muse. Do your work. 

It’s a trade like any other. 

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by Nathan Coumbe

One hundred

There is something magical about the number 100. Nothing that comes before it really has the same feeling of meaning associated with it.

Think of the first time you had $100 in your hand. Today, that really doesn’t stretch very far, but do you remember the feeling? It was powerful, a feeling of wealth, of richness, of feeling as though you could do anything and buy anything you wanted.

Or what about Napoleon’s 100 Days? He escaped from the island of Elba, rallied 1,500 men, marched on Paris, and became emperor once more. Of course, he was defeated at Waterloo and kicked out again, but he still had those hundred days.

Or maybe working out? Have you ever done 100 push-ups or pull-ups? Have you ever put 100 pounds on a bar and lifted it for the firs time?

United States has exactly 100 senators. And the other important thing to many Americans: there are 100 yards between end-zones on a football field.

100ºF is extremely hot for humans; 100ºC will boil water into vapor.

100% is total, complete, a perfect score.

Most great lists of music, actors, artists, influential people, and books are lists of 100.

There is truly something special about one hundred.

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