Hey Elliott, I am not a designer but enjoy your advice, commentaries and stories, along with your inimitable delivery, which have relevance way beyond the field of design. Please continue the great work.
The mind is a bit like soil; ideas will come but there has to be a rich substrate of experiences and knowledge, acquired through travel, books, relationships, suffering and so on. And then the best ideas will eventually come at the very moment when you stop looking for them. That is the most difficult and unintuitive part of the process: to acquire a passive attitude and to stop searching and grasping. Like Quaternions arriving to William Hamilton as he peacefully strolled over that bridge.
The paradox of originality-to be “original” is to uncover an origin. There are “new” ideas but only in the sense that ideas (being eternal) lose impact without altered contexts. An idea is never alone but always subject to a frame. It’s often the search for a frame that invites the idea (or so I’ve found).
You gotta get a muse - they aren't easy to attract, harder to seduce, but once you are faithful to your muse, ideas start blossoming. Then you just gotta work your but off.
Ha..I posted similar above. Agree completely. It's all about the Muse, and its a very deep topic. The Muse is creative, but also destructive...Kurt Cobain's muse being one recent example.
As a lifelong meditator, who uses basic hatha, yoga, deep, relaxation technique, I can completely still my mind within about 20 minutes. Afterwords, there are no intrusive thoughts, visions, or ideas, other than shades of muted colors, which float like clouds in and out. I don’t find it necessary to use any mantra or formulaic method to achieve complete stillness. This is not where I search for ideas for I do not search for ideas perhaps it’s because I’m older and have been creating for sometime now, I find that ideas exist in what seems to be, a fountain which exist somewhere above me and constantly showers me with visions of poetic expressions. In my estimation, as long as one is actively searching for ideas, longing for ideas, struggling to come up with ideas, this is getting in the way of the natural flow and delivery of ideas. It’s by letting go entirely, visions ,lyrics, and poetry will come to you.? But that’s just me, perhaps everyone has a different method or means to tap in to the rich, endless well of visions.
I have had a few successes and a few more failures in design, jobs, projects, work, ideas, and after watching this video I have to say, I am frozen solid to my seat. Elliott is absolutely right. things worked out when I had the work in my computer, my garage. when I was a bit lightweight on the work I had, they seemed to fall apart. Thanks Elliott.
I think its important to point out how much discipline it takes to regularly facilitate idea generation time. You cannot expect to strike gold in 10 minutes and then be off working the rest of the week. You have to regularly manifest and record creative thoughts and you need time to reflect on them.
What a privilege to listen to someone deconstruct their creative process. Thank you. For someone new to meditation it might be better to avoid the approach of trying to empty the mind and instead consider this: There are broadly 2 ways in which the mind will become quiet if you meditate for a long time. 1. The internal chatter continues but you become less and less inclined to pay attention to it. A bit like turning down the volume of a radio. 2. The actual quantity of distracting thoughts slowly reduces leaving longer and longer gaps in between.
There's a beautiful moment in "the Norm show" where Adam Eget, as a joke, asks David Letterman: "Where do you GET your ideas??". And David just stares daggers at him, as the production crew breaks into laughter. No one is the author of their own thoughts. It can take a while to reach this insight, but then.. you just sit back and witness the magic as it happens.
WOW, this is just wow, you are like the university teacher i never had but definitely needed. Props to you and your teaching, you opened my mind to a new way of understanding all these process. im only 23 but id love to be like you when i grow up more haha.
Same, except mine is technical, commercial photography. The concept work came in first year, but now going into third year, I'm realizing how integral that work is. It's up to me to reclaim that skill, again and again
Personally I don't look for ideas, I look for problems. Then I ask myself, "How can I most effectively solve this problem? How can I solve it in an interesting way I haven't seen before?" I suppose that's similar to what you mentioned about design/creation through limitation. My most obvious examples come from when I am writing. The problem: I want a close friendship to develop between two characters that would not, under normal circumstances, choose to spend time together. What situations would cause this to happen? The solution: A prisoner and a sympathetic prison guard would be alone together a lot and would come from very different backgrounds/life stories. That was the question that led to the story for my book.
Thanks for this, it came at the right time - was stuck in-between the generative and derivative stage on my latest piece, and you just pushed me further into derivative territory. Btw, nice jacket! Which one is it? 🤩
Just met you today, very impressed! I just wanted to say that before you mentioned meditation I already had a big David Lynch, impression off you... maybe the hair! Cool!
Ive only gotten into that state with meditation a handful of times. I havent figured out how to do it everyday. Wish i did since it feels pretty amazing. Its like im almost outside my body and stuff cant even push my buttons. High emotional control.
This is a great counter to Elkins' Why Art Cannot Be Taught. I would be interested to see your response to Kenneth Steinbach's Creative Practices for Visual Artists. I would argue Steinbach is making similar claims without the emphasis on this particular mode of meditation. Rather he looks at the habits and practices of creatives and sees many common similarities about how they explore different realms. I highly recommend if you have not read it.
Thats funny somehow. As i work 100% analog, for me art is the process always more then the outcome. And things come out by doing and those things i did and see set the spark for the next process. The planning, the concept happens by just beeing curious about so much and love for analysing and processing and to delve constantly, almost by accident. Then in the process of painting, drawing, fotographing, filming, those things i was agonizing over appear before me on paper in one form or another. Sorry if this sounds weird, it is a second language.
It's all about the Muse. The history (Greek) and phenomenon of the Muses is well worth looking into. In your list of 7, you might want to also consider the concept of randomness. Randomness has been very important in occult practices (chaos magic being one of many examples), and is also useful in art imo.
Excellent ideas, truly original ideas, come from nowhere. It is needed. My meditation is necessary. Siri is to be receptive to the idea when it appears to write it down. It may be that many people just do not have The ability to receive original artistic concepts. However this is probably unlikely. Many of the best ideas come naturally.
Hi again! I know you mostly talk about design but it would be interesting to know how you came to use a computer, what programs and soft you use and why, how the computer started to come into use as a tool in design. (although I assume you do most of your work on canvas). ❤
When I throw myself into automatic scribbling and meditative thought, some of my most (imo) creative ideas have come up. But there is no way of governing or harnessing it: if I drift into this zone while drawing someone's portrait, it will usually not become a likeness that is agreeable to the subject...but it will be interesting 😜
Is there a such thing as having a general art talent? This question probably doesn’t make no sense, so I’ll try to add change. Last yr I experienced so much in my head, now I’m at the point where I constantly feel art more and more and more. I wish I knew how to explain what I’m saying😂😂😂 To add to this… I also find art in things that aren’t necessarily art, in a general sense of course. I’ve drawn 4 times recently, and before that I never claimed to be artistic at drawing. I always knew I like to make random things, but they never ever looked like how they do now… I swear this is like trying to explain an unworldly feeling, but something tells me I will have to wait till I can find the answer from within. So if you don’t understand me then I can completely understand why. Hell maybe I could be delusional
I worry that I'm not original enough. My work is primarily non figurative, using pattern and mark making, but I feel it's still derivative. Successful contemporary art seems to need to be edgy, dark and humorous, and I'm none of those things.
The goal is to convince yourself that your idea is unique.. But probably really isn't.. But in order to get the courage to share - you need to brain wash yourself first..
The spiritual world informs the physical world in an expression. I.e. The spiritual reality informs corporeal reality with meaning and purpose. On the other end matter expresses spirit by making it visible and tangible to the universe. This is what the Bible refers to when speaking of the heavens and the earth. Wasn't that ancient people believed that the sky was heaven. But they rightly suppose that heavenly things are higher therefore the sky was the perfect representation. The idea of emptying your mind therefore opens you up to the Divine language of concepts that can be expressed in the physical world. The danger in this of course is where are the thoughts coming from. The principalities you tap into most of the time are not heavenly, but satanic. This is why the biblical worldview is so essential. You have to have discernment. It is why you need the logos, the word of God, Jesus Christ.
Hey Elliott, I am not a designer but enjoy your advice, commentaries and stories, along with your inimitable delivery, which have relevance way beyond the field of design. Please continue the great work.
I appreciate that! 🙏
The mind is a bit like soil; ideas will come but there has to be a rich substrate of experiences and knowledge, acquired through travel, books, relationships, suffering and so on. And then the best ideas will eventually come at the very moment when you stop looking for them. That is the most difficult and unintuitive part of the process: to acquire a passive attitude and to stop searching and grasping. Like Quaternions arriving to William Hamilton as he peacefully strolled over that bridge.
Excellent
'ideas come when you stop looking for them' - yes, this. You need the wheels to spin freely.
The paradox of originality-to be “original” is to uncover an origin. There are “new” ideas but only in the sense that ideas (being eternal) lose impact without altered contexts. An idea is never alone but always subject to a frame. It’s often the search for a frame that invites the idea (or so I’ve found).
nice
You gotta get a muse - they aren't easy to attract, harder to seduce, but once you are faithful to your muse, ideas start blossoming. Then you just gotta work your but off.
Ha..I posted similar above. Agree completely. It's all about the Muse, and its a very deep topic. The Muse is creative, but also destructive...Kurt Cobain's muse being one recent example.
As a lifelong meditator, who uses basic hatha, yoga, deep, relaxation technique, I can completely still my mind within about 20 minutes. Afterwords, there are no intrusive thoughts, visions, or ideas, other than shades of muted colors, which float like clouds in and out. I don’t find it necessary to use any mantra or formulaic method to achieve complete stillness.
This is not where I search for ideas for I do not search for ideas perhaps it’s because I’m older and have been creating for sometime now, I find that ideas exist in what seems to be, a fountain which exist somewhere above me and constantly showers me with visions of poetic expressions. In my estimation, as long as one is actively searching for ideas, longing for ideas, struggling to come up with ideas, this is getting in the way of the natural flow and delivery of ideas.
It’s by letting go entirely, visions ,lyrics, and poetry will come to you.?
But that’s just me, perhaps everyone has a different method or means to tap in to the rich, endless well of visions.
GREAT INSIGHT
I have had a few successes and a few more failures in design, jobs, projects, work, ideas, and after watching this video I have to say, I am frozen solid to my seat. Elliott is absolutely right. things worked out when I had the work in my computer, my garage. when I was a bit lightweight on the work I had, they seemed to fall apart.
Thanks Elliott.
I think its important to point out how much discipline it takes to regularly facilitate idea generation time. You cannot expect to strike gold in 10 minutes and then be off working the rest of the week. You have to regularly manifest and record creative thoughts and you need time to reflect on them.
Nothing is ever created, only discovered. It seems like we are merely vessels for the creation to pass through us.
Well said
Yo, that is is some high level thought.. well said
These are the most valid words of truth!
Big if true 😌
Incorrect. Many things are created especially in art but not everyone has the ability to have it happen
What a privilege to listen to someone deconstruct their creative process. Thank you.
For someone new to meditation it might be better to avoid the approach of trying to empty the mind and instead consider this:
There are broadly 2 ways in which the mind will become quiet if you meditate for a long time.
1. The internal chatter continues but you become less and less inclined to pay attention to it. A bit like turning down the volume of a radio.
2. The actual quantity of distracting thoughts slowly reduces leaving longer and longer gaps in between.
Amazing insight- thank you for writing!
These videos are so incredibly valuable it’s insane
There's a beautiful moment in "the Norm show" where Adam Eget, as a joke, asks David Letterman: "Where do you GET your ideas??".
And David just stares daggers at him, as the production crew breaks into laughter.
No one is the author of their own thoughts.
It can take a while to reach this insight, but then.. you just sit back and witness the magic as it happens.
WOW, this is just wow, you are like the university teacher i never had but definitely needed. Props to you and your teaching, you opened my mind to a new way of understanding all these process. im only 23 but id love to be like you when i grow up more haha.
"everything you need to know about your next piece may be contained in your last piece" - 🙌 that is gold.
This is what I felt was missing from my very technical Advertising Arts degree. So grateful I came across your work.
Same, except mine is technical, commercial photography. The concept work came in first year, but now going into third year, I'm realizing how integral that work is. It's up to me to reclaim that skill, again and again
your best video. been watching a long time, thanks for this one
Thanks for saying so!
You have really cool content! Been watching lots of it since I found it. Lecture-grade stuff, and interesting broad insights.
Personally I don't look for ideas, I look for problems. Then I ask myself, "How can I most effectively solve this problem? How can I solve it in an interesting way I haven't seen before?" I suppose that's similar to what you mentioned about design/creation through limitation. My most obvious examples come from when I am writing. The problem: I want a close friendship to develop between two characters that would not, under normal circumstances, choose to spend time together. What situations would cause this to happen? The solution: A prisoner and a sympathetic prison guard would be alone together a lot and would come from very different backgrounds/life stories. That was the question that led to the story for my book.
a muralist once scoffed at my suggestion that the idea in the work mattered, and to him it was all technique and execution, meaningless visual fancy
Reading too much into VISUAL ART is not the way either
Thanks for this, it came at the right time - was stuck in-between the generative and derivative stage on my latest piece, and you just pushed me further into derivative territory. Btw, nice jacket! Which one is it? 🤩
Just met you today, very impressed! I just wanted to say that before you mentioned meditation I already had a big David Lynch, impression off you... maybe the hair! Cool!
Hello I love your videos can you possibly make a video about the capabilities in the softwares you use ?❤️
Ive only gotten into that state with meditation a handful of times. I havent figured out how to do it everyday. Wish i did since it feels pretty amazing. Its like im almost outside my body and stuff cant even push my buttons. High emotional control.
This is a great counter to Elkins' Why Art Cannot Be Taught. I would be interested to see your response to Kenneth Steinbach's Creative Practices for Visual Artists. I would argue Steinbach is making similar claims without the emphasis on this particular mode of meditation. Rather he looks at the habits and practices of creatives and sees many common similarities about how they explore different realms. I highly recommend if you have not read it.
I haven’t read it. But will now. ❤️
Thank you, Sir. Always a treat.
Thats funny somehow. As i work 100% analog, for me art is the process always more then the outcome. And things come out by doing and those things i did and see set the spark for the next process. The planning, the concept happens by just beeing curious about so much and love for analysing and processing and to delve constantly, almost by accident. Then in the process of painting, drawing, fotographing, filming, those things i was agonizing over appear before me on paper in one form or another. Sorry if this sounds weird, it is a second language.
It's all about the Muse. The history (Greek) and phenomenon of the Muses is well worth looking into. In your list of 7, you might want to also consider the concept of randomness. Randomness has been very important in occult practices (chaos magic being one of many examples), and is also useful in art imo.
reminds me of that one Norm MacDlonald joke
Which one bruv?
Excellent ideas, truly original ideas, come from nowhere. It is needed. My meditation is necessary. Siri is to be receptive to the idea when it appears to write it down. It may be that many people just do not have The ability to receive original artistic concepts. However this is probably unlikely. Many of the best ideas come naturally.
I'm a writer, I got my ideas from Beverly Hills' Ralph's, in the meat section
Warhol stuck to the canned foods department, and cleaning products isle.
Hi again! I know you mostly talk about design but it would be interesting to know how you came to use a computer, what programs and soft you use and why, how the computer started to come into use as a tool in design. (although I assume you do most of your work on canvas).
❤
Thanks for the idea!
Computers are for the lazy and/ or those lacking talent.
This is brilliant! thank you!!
🙏🙏🙏
Solid insight.
Great video Elliott.
Thanks I appreciate it
When I throw myself into automatic scribbling and meditative thought, some of my most (imo) creative ideas have come up. But there is no way of governing or harnessing it: if I drift into this zone while drawing someone's portrait, it will usually not become a likeness that is agreeable to the subject...but it will be interesting 😜
Is there a such thing as having a general art talent? This question probably doesn’t make no sense, so I’ll try to add change. Last yr I experienced so much in my head, now I’m at the point where I constantly feel art more and more and more. I wish I knew how to explain what I’m saying😂😂😂 To add to this… I also find art in things that aren’t necessarily art, in a general sense of course. I’ve drawn 4 times recently, and before that I never claimed to be artistic at drawing. I always knew I like to make random things, but they never ever looked like how they do now… I swear this is like trying to explain an unworldly feeling, but something tells me I will have to wait till I can find the answer from within. So if you don’t understand me then I can completely understand why. Hell maybe I could be delusional
I worry that I'm not original enough. My work is primarily non figurative, using pattern and mark making, but I feel it's still derivative. Successful contemporary art seems to need to be edgy, dark and humorous, and I'm none of those things.
🔥
❤️
The goal is to convince yourself that your idea is unique.. But probably really isn't.. But in order to get the courage to share - you need to brain wash yourself first..
Not detergent. Bleach. Even so it might not be sufficient to cleanse the ingrained dirt in people’s brains.
Creating ideas as a visually oriented human (being) can be exhaustive..
nice
Thanks
The spiritual world informs the physical world in an expression.
I.e. The spiritual reality informs corporeal reality with meaning and purpose. On the other end matter expresses spirit by making it visible and tangible to the universe.
This is what the Bible refers to when speaking of the heavens and the earth. Wasn't that ancient people believed that the sky was heaven. But they rightly suppose that heavenly things are higher therefore the sky was the perfect representation.
The idea of emptying your mind therefore opens you up to the Divine language of concepts that can be expressed in the physical world.
The danger in this of course is where are the thoughts coming from. The principalities you tap into most of the time are not heavenly, but satanic. This is why the biblical worldview is so essential. You have to have discernment. It is why you need the logos, the word of God, Jesus Christ.
Why do these videos work so we'll?
Thank you. I'm year one fashion design student and found your advice to be very applicable and powerful 🤍
I'm so glad!