Visual Jazz

This is the next book I'm going to read: "Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life" by Wynton Marsalis and Geoffrey Ward.

That is, when I get done reading "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell.

In the meantime, here's a quote from Mr. Marsalis:
"Our desire to testify through some type of art is unstoppable. A palpable energy is released when inspiration and dedication come together in a creative art. The energy is transformative in an individual who is innovative, but it is transcendent when manifested by a group. There are no words for the dynamic thrill of participating in a mutual mosaic of creativity."
— Wynton Marsalis

Interesting he uses to term "mosaic" here, a very visual reference. There is also something really special about art made by multiple people, or individual works seen together. This is part of the inspiration of my presentation "How to Draw Nothing." When kids draw, often they want to be seen. They are saying, Can You See Me? Which incidentally is the title of my next presentation. More on that after the new year!

Make Your Own Whiteboard!

In the past I've gone on about how great whiteboards are for drawing, because you can reuse them a zillion times and not be left with a giant pile of paper - if you like something, you can always take a picture of it.

Turns out some folks have come up with ways to make whiteboards, which is neato since whiteboards can be kind of pricey.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Low_Cost_Lettersize_Office_Whiteboard/
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Homemade-Whiteboard-on-the-cheap!/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Recycled-Mini-Dry-Erase-Board/ (this one is made from CD cases!)

Take a look - in fact, take some time and kick around the Instructables site some. I love this site. It's fascinating what people have come up with. I look up how to make things like puppets and stuff for my classes. Enjoy!

How to Draw What's Not There

Try this - close your eyes, and then imagine your closet door from when you were a kid. Imagine that it's just a little bit open - and something is lurking inside! That thing that's lurking - it's pushing the door open - it comes out and,...
Quick, draw what you see in your head! Is it big and scary? Or is it furry and cute? Or is it the Tooth Fairy? Is it your clothes come to life? Nobody would draw this picture the same way.
Here's a presentation on how to give yourself the opportunity to draw What's Not There. This is great way to jump into your imagination. Have at it!

How to Draw What's Not There

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: draw drawing)

Ten Great Uses for a Pencil

It's so easy in our digital world to forget how wonderful a pencil is... so here are some thoughts on ten uses for a pencil that might help you get more in touch with your scribbly side.

Ten Great Uses for a Pencil

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: cartooning humor)

Joy IS Practical

Enough with the division between things that have practical value and things that have value because they give us joy. They are one and the same. In the US we have the right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Happiness and Joy drive everything. If a movie gives a lot of people joy, it may make money. If a person is hungry, food is joyful. So if something gives you joy, go for it. It has value for just that reason. Period.

Benjamin Zander gives a Music Lesson

Take the 30 minutes and watch the music lesson that Benjamin Zander gives a 15-year-old cellist. The magic here, I think, is how he keeps an artist in touch with the deepest, greatest reasons to make music in the first place, and gets his student to put those reasons into every note. This philosophy applies to any art form. When you deeply feel why you do your art, it puts truth into your work - and truth is what people respond to. And get out of their seats and applaud for. Artists make the world bigger for everyone their work touches.

@ Yahoo! Video

The Making Of An Illustration

This was fun - I photographed my process for making my holiday illustration this year, from start to finish. You get to see the scribbling, the interruptions, the rough sketches - all of it. A whole lot of the work takes place before I ever get to the actual drawing. Then there are times I have to go away and do research. Anyway, take a look for yourself...

The Making Of An Illustration

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: snowbot pencil)

Do Animals Make Art?

Look how fabulous this is. This morning it was wet and foggy, so this spider web on my car got all, well, silvery. I felt bad I had to get in the car and drive, but spiders eat their webs and make a new one every day so it's not as tragic as you might think.
Anyway, Beethoven often said he drew his inspiration from nature.
I mean, just look at that! It's so cool.
I can stare at the veins in a leaf for a really long time, too. There's something about an elegant, repeating pattern where everything works together that is really soothing and inspiring.
I hope you agree.
Sorry, spider. I hope you get to make a new one in a more advantageous location.