Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Faythe Levine Response- Handmade Nation
Faythe Levine is an artist as well as an author and film maker who believes in the support and benefits of buying and creating handmade objects as well as used or vintage objects, instead of mass creating disposable meaningless objects. She started her movement with her hand sewn owls, that became very popular after appearing on HGTV. They became so popular that she could barely keep up with the demand because she created each one by hand, and refused to make them any other way. By doing this, it kept each owl different from one another, and special to its owner. They really are one of a kind.
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Ted talk 2 - Steve Jobs : How to live before you die
Steve Jobs is the co founder of apple and pixar. He gave this speech at Stanford Univeristy's graduation. He began is speech with the notion that he was going to tell the audience 3 stories from his life that have made him who his is today. The first one was how he dropped out of college as a teenager, and how that was the best thing he ever did. He dropped out being a full time student, therefore not having to take the required courses that he was not interested in . As a result he took classes that he found interesting and stopped spending his parents life savings. He took a calligraphy course, and learned all about the beauty of font. Although it had no relevance then, what he learned in the class strongly influenced him when creating the type faces for the first macintosh computers. If he had not taken that class, and learned about type, then computers as we know them today would not have the beautiful typeface they do now. You can only connect the dots when looking back. You have to trust your gut and your heart even when it appears they are steering you off the right path.
The second story he told was about failure and love. After he became quite successful at apple, because of creative differences he got fired. Not knowing what to do with himself for a few months he realized that he still had a love for what he did. Therefore he started pixar, which then became known as the greatest animation company in the world. He met the love of his life, and now has a wonderful family. This was all a result of him getting fired, and knowing what he loved. Sometime the most devastating things are the best things for us. Know what you love because if you don't you have nothing.
Lastly, his final story was about death. He stated that as a teenager, he recalled reading a quote that stated " Live everyday like its your last, because someday it will be". There is so much truth in that statement because ultimately in the end we are all going to die. By living by that statement it has helped him in all his greatest decisions because it eliminates any pride, or doubt in a persons head. If you wake up and say no to that statement too many days in a row, then somethings has got to change.
The second story he told was about failure and love. After he became quite successful at apple, because of creative differences he got fired. Not knowing what to do with himself for a few months he realized that he still had a love for what he did. Therefore he started pixar, which then became known as the greatest animation company in the world. He met the love of his life, and now has a wonderful family. This was all a result of him getting fired, and knowing what he loved. Sometime the most devastating things are the best things for us. Know what you love because if you don't you have nothing.
Lastly, his final story was about death. He stated that as a teenager, he recalled reading a quote that stated " Live everyday like its your last, because someday it will be". There is so much truth in that statement because ultimately in the end we are all going to die. By living by that statement it has helped him in all his greatest decisions because it eliminates any pride, or doubt in a persons head. If you wake up and say no to that statement too many days in a row, then somethings has got to change.
TED talk 1- Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity
Elizabeth Gilbert is a popular writer, and is especially known for her book, Eat Love Pray. Her TED talk was about how after her "freakishly popular success of a book" had been published, what was she supposed to do with her life now? How was she supposed to follow such a great success? This idea of failure, and never being able to top your greatest work has been enough to drive many creative people insane to the point where they even would take their own lives. And it is true. Typically you see that most creative people have some sort of mental unstableness to them, while compared to other professions like a doctor or engineer, they don't.
She then began a search to try and resolve why this happens by looking at other cultures. This quest lead her to looking at the cultures of ancient greece and rome. They believed that in thier time, creative people had a "demon" called a genius that lived in the walls of their studios that helped them along with their work. This takes the pressure off of the creative person because they now share their failures and successes with another being. As society evolved and the artist became the genius himself, is when mental instability, or inability to deal with the pressure of creating failure or success is when mental instability began with creative people. Although, the idea of a "genius" living inside your studio wall seems a little crazy to begin with...
Lastly, I really enjoyed how she talked about the spark of a creative idea that really seems to come from nowhere at the most random of times. This creative "thing" whether wanted or not has been experienced by all creative people. Its that random idea you think of in the middle of the night when you are trying to fall asleep, when your driving in your car, or when simply in the wrong place to actually record it. Its in those instances, when chasing this creative "thing" or when it suddenly hits you, that you have to be mentally prepared. Its really a question and a wonder where these creative ideas or "things" come from.
She then began a search to try and resolve why this happens by looking at other cultures. This quest lead her to looking at the cultures of ancient greece and rome. They believed that in thier time, creative people had a "demon" called a genius that lived in the walls of their studios that helped them along with their work. This takes the pressure off of the creative person because they now share their failures and successes with another being. As society evolved and the artist became the genius himself, is when mental instability, or inability to deal with the pressure of creating failure or success is when mental instability began with creative people. Although, the idea of a "genius" living inside your studio wall seems a little crazy to begin with...
Lastly, I really enjoyed how she talked about the spark of a creative idea that really seems to come from nowhere at the most random of times. This creative "thing" whether wanted or not has been experienced by all creative people. Its that random idea you think of in the middle of the night when you are trying to fall asleep, when your driving in your car, or when simply in the wrong place to actually record it. Its in those instances, when chasing this creative "thing" or when it suddenly hits you, that you have to be mentally prepared. Its really a question and a wonder where these creative ideas or "things" come from.
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