Stealing like an artist

According to Austin Kleon, David Bowie, Jay Z, Goethe, Ecclesiastes 1:9 and a whole host of other artists and creators there are no new ideas - just rehashes influenced by what's already been.

I can live with that - as long as we build on what's gone before and make it better (or just different) by adding our own special ingredients and flavour.

Seth Godin says that to be successful we should connect with one another. So, with both of these trains of thought in mind tunnels, for my blogging endeavour today I am borrowing Seth Godin's post as I rather like it. Here it is in its entirety.

Two kinds of mistakes

1. There is the mistake of overdoing the defence of the status quo, the error of investing too much time and energy in keep things as they are.

2. And then there is the mistake made while inventing the future, the error of small experiments gone bad.

We are almost never hurt by the second kind of mistake and yet we persist in making the first kind, again and again.

He's right is Seth. He's right.

Do what you've always done and get what you've always got.

I like to bend the rules. Experiment, push a few boundaries.

This is what you get when you mix a painting of a girl with a photograph of a chicken. It's also a reminder for us as artists not to be afraid to step out of comfort zones - to mix carrot with chocolate just to see what it tastes like - just because we can... Break the rules! You might just like what you get - I kind of like this! I randomly selected two images from my folders without looking and then mixed them up in Photoshop. Go break some rules my fellow artists!

Why don't you have a go. Come on now - don't be chicken!

I'm also sharing with Take a Word this week where they ask what Art means to us. I thought this post was quite appropriate.