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For years I’ve kept a dog-eared copy of an old Lynda Barry comic taped to a wall in my office. The first panel shows one of the artist’s iconic, primitively penned women hunched over her desk with a cup of coffee, pencil poised in midstroke. Two thought bubbles hover over her head: “Is this good?” and “Does this suck?” “I’m not sure when these two questions became the only two questions I had about my work,” Barry writes beneath the image. “I just know I’d stopped enjoying it and instead began to dread it.” As the strip unfolds, Barry describes the easy pleasure she took as a child in drawing and storytelling (“Look out! It’s Dracula! What’s that smell? He’s pooping! And the mummy is pooping back! But it’s lava!”). It didn’t seem special, she recalls: “Every kid I knew could do it.” That’s because children are naturally driven to understand their world. They live by that incessant, creativity-inspiring “why?” Why does the grass grow? Why is the sky blue? Why can’t I fly? And to answer these questions, they experiment, imagine, and explore. Their minds are free to wander and to wonder. Then, usually around the time they enter school, that loopiness disappears. They begin to compare their work to others’. Will they be judged as better (“Is this good?”) or worse (“Does this suck?”)? Suddenly there are right and wrong answers. Expressing their own tentative understanding of an idea becomes less important than figuring out what the teacher makes of it. Beghetto, who studies the ways in which early experience influences creativity later in life, found that by first or second grade, students realize that “the game of school requires replacing the question ‘Why?’ with ‘What do you want me to do and how do you want me to do it?’” In his work with teachers and older students, Beghetto found that most had vivid memories (from both inside and outside the classroom) of what he called creative mortification, a term so evocative I will carry it with me to my grave. “They were moments when people were developing their experience in something—music, sports, science—and were having a personally meaningful insight, which is the catalyst of creativity,” he told me. “But when they shared that insight, they received a too-harsh evaluation. And once they’d experienced that moment of shame, they often stopped doing what they’d loved.” ”- -Peggy Orenstein, from the article: How to Unleash Your Creativity, From the February 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine I caught this article last week and this whole passage really stuck with me. I just wrote a whole blog post about this passage, reclaiming creativity and my own issues with it. You can read that here, if interested.
OK look. Everyone who has seen this and been outraged and reblogged it REALLY REALLY needs to read this: http://www.regretsy.com/2011/05/27/urban-outrage/ right now. This isn’t a cut and dry story of Urban Outfitters ripping off an artist (although they definitely have a history of instances of exploiting and ripping off artists before, so I’m not saying they are not deserving of this rep to some degree). But that isn’t what happened here. Check that link, there were several really similar designs just like that on etsy before the artist in question made and posted hers. So several people had the same “original idea” (possibly including an artist contracted with Urban Outfitters) OR there was a lot of copycatting going on, including the artist in question. Either way, this isn’t a simple David and Goliath story and everyone should know that. I also want to note, that I have known and heard of artists who have contracted with Urban Outfitters and were pleased with their designs being marketed and reported being treated fairly and respectfully. Not saying Urban is great here, but it’s a side of this argument you don’t hear often. So just food for thought and context and all that. In this one case, it’s not necessarily what people think it is/are saying it is/are outraged about. (via jjarichardson) 
Diane Arbus instant reblog. She was so incredible. 
this was one of my favorite films of last year. I loved it so much. It’s streaming on netflix and Hulu, btw! everyone watch it! 
(via Seven Questions with Theatre Artist and Professional Lesbian, Leigh Hendrix | the list of now) The hilarious and ambitiously-named solo show How To Be a Lesbian in 10 Days or Less opens next week. Hot ticket writer/performer Leigh Hendrix dishes about identity + gender in theater, the artsy lovefest that is Providence, RI and song selection for Karaoke. 
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