This is what it looks like when an incredible musician teaches the world how to listen, despite being deaf. Sidenote: a friend told me about this TEDtalk because we were talking about how incredible it feels to lie under a piano while someone is playing and he was reminded of Evelyn Glennie talking about someone …
Artists have built for themselves, or had built for them, this stereotype of absent-minded creative abandon. Whether it’s the writer who forgets to eat, drink, or sleep while coming across the next plot point or the painter who can’t find where their paintings are in their over-stuffed house, artists are seen as thriving in creative …
Whenever I tell people what I want to do with my life, what I’m studying, they always end up asking, “what is community art?” This is a hard question to answer. On the one hand, it’s self-explanatory: a group of people come together by creating some form of art in a way that strengthens their …
I’ve been playing classical music since first grade and for the first eight years I hated it. My mother, who was usually not a particularly strict parent, put her foot down when it came to music. She loves the arts and has always regretted the fact that her mother let her quit piano when she …
The thing about inspiration is that it can come from anywhere. Earlier this year I was just beginning the idea of making some sort of creativity program. I was thinking about who it would be for, how I’m going to get people involved, and (most importantly of course) what I’m going to name it. Usually, …
Good books are medicine to a creative mind. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to just drone out in front of TV but instead pick up a book and turn my evening from sludgery to inspiration. My latest book binge came on the employee discount day at the Museum of Fine Arts. …
Read more “Paul Arden’s “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be””
I have shared this TED talk with so many people. When I first watched it I had one of those moments where I realized that someone had already said exactly what I have been trying to find the words for. Every once in a while this happens and I have one of two reactions. The …