My Friends and Art

OK, don’t take this wrong but some of my friends are kinda kooky. Your first reaction may be “are you talking about me?”. You know, if the shoe fits…

But really, I have a really diverse group of friends. Some are married June and Ward Cleaver types, they have regular jobs, have 2.5 kids, and are super nice people. Some of my other friends are a bit different. I have some friends that have no idea what normal sleep patterns are (actually I have several friends like this). I have some friends that love tattoos and piercings. I have friends that are computer programmers. I have friends that are artists. I have friends that are musicians. I have friends that are accountants. You get the idea.

Now, why does this matter? Well, I think you need a broad group of friends to keep you challenged. While it’s great to have friends that are much like you, having a diverse group of friends will keep you on your toes.

Art is the same way. As an artist it’s a good thing to look at art that is outside your normal medium and field of experience. For instance, I’m a photographer, while I enjoy looking at and being inspired by other photographer’s work, I am also inspired by other forms of art. I like to look at and be inspired by graphic design, typography, paintings, pottery, music, etc. Be open to inspiration from everything around you. Be inspired by song lyrics, works of art, sculpture, dance, etc. Appreciate what when into creating that piece of jewelry, that flyer, those vases, in general the things around you.

The appreciation and inspiration from having diverse influences (whether it be friends or forms of art) will help make your life a little more interesting and maybe keep you a little more inspired to create.

Thanks for reading!

-Ken