Help For Creating Your Art.

January 22, 2013 / Erin Kirk / 2 Comments

John Lavery painted this portrait of Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova in 1911. The painting is on display at a museum in Scotland, and this photograph rocketed all over Facebook last week. There’s no photo credit, so I’m guessing the tiny dancer is a Scottish lass.

The image is a heartening reminder that the purpose of this blog and ultimately our lives is to create something so lovely and compelling that people dance in the face of it.

“Yes. Yes. I want to do that. But how and what?”

Author Seth Godin helps answer that in his recent book The Icarus Deception. In it, he explains our purpose in this warp-speed, post-industrial world. Are you ready?

Make art. Not merchandise. Art.

“Creating ideas that spread and connecting the disconnected are the two pillars of our new society and both of them require the posture of the artist.”

The rest of The Icarus Deception exhorts us with the how. How to deal with haters, writers block, blank pages, nakedness, resistance, fear and all the other things that prevent us from creating something raw and good, and shipping it to the world.

Godin insists artistry is not the domain of a chosen few. Think of all the art on YouTube and Kickstarter and in the app store. That was impossible a decade ago. Sure some of our art is no good, but we find that out, then go make better art. It’s a process.

But creating something authentic and beautiful is hard because nobody can tell you exactly how to do it, you have to sit, mine your internal landscape and figure it out. It takes faith and huevos. I’m exploring that process here.

I know I’m on the right track when I feel like a pumpkin and somebody is scooping out my guts and sorting through them. Some of it is useful and can make a tasty snack and some of it isn’t, but when it’s done, I’m left feeling clean and prepared for whatever carving comes next.

So what makes your heart race and are you doing it?

Chatting With NYT Bestselling Author Bob Goff

November 2, 2012November 2, 2012 / Erin Kirk / 3 Comments

I’ve been crowing all week about my new favorite book Love Does – Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World. Do yourself a favor and buy this book, if for no other reason than the proceeds go to build schools in Uganda.

Love Does made it to somewhere around #12 on the New York Times Bestseller list and in keeping of the book’s spirit of whimsy and adventure, the author, Bob Goff, put his cell phone number in the back. That’s crazy. Do you know what’s even crazier? He answers it.

“Hi, This is Bob Goff.”

“Wow, you answered! Hi Bob, this is Erin from Texas. I just wanted to call and tell you how much I loved your book.”

“That is so sweet, thank you.”

“I can’t believe you answer your cell phone, I barely answer mine.”

“Don’t you think we all need to be more connected, instead of less connected” he said.

Bob had just stepped off a 27-hour flight from Uganda. He turned his phone on moments before I called. I asked how many people have called since the book came out and if I heard correctly, he said at least a thousand.

“It’s the best thing I ever did,” he said.

I’m going to Los Angeles next week (more on why later) and I asked if I could bring him a cup of coffee on Tom Sawyer Island. He gave me his email, so we can set it up. He said to make sure and email him because, after three weeks in Uganda, he’ll be walking into a wall of stuff when he gets home and doesn’t want to forget.

Love Does is the reason I decided to go to LA, where I’m going after my own secretly incredible life by doing something new, something that’s a leap of faith for me – or as Bob would put it, a caper.

I told Bob, I had blogged about Love Does (here and here) and he said he was really happy to talk to me. He reiterated how surprising or lucky it was I caught him. But I don’t think luck has anything to do with it.

“When you write your book, you should put your phone number in the back,” he said.

That’s funny, I didn’t tell Bob I was writing a book.

Why Not Say Yes?

October 31, 2012 / Erin Kirk / Leave a comment

Last night, I finished Love Does, Bob Goff’s treatise on how to discover your extraordinary, whimsical, adventurous, purposeful, love-filled life. One key to doing that, I decided, is saying yes a lot. (Spend 77 seconds and watch the video)

What that meant for me yesterday was shooting guns. Lots of them. Multiple times.

We were visiting the ranch of a new friend to look at his excellent fishing ponds. When we were done, he asked if we wanted to shoot. Right away I said no, because I don’t really like guns and despite Sam’s best efforts, I’m scared of them. But most of all, I don’t like to trouble people when they offer to do something for me.

Then I thought of Bob jumping off his deck into what is probably 50 degree water in British Columbia and I changed my mind.

“Sure, if you guys want to, I will.”

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I learned to load and shoot a shotgun by doing it about 100 times and I managed to shoot many more of the flying orange things than I expected. When we tired of that, we grabbed pistols and shot itty bitty targets until dark.

I learned like ten things I didn’t know about guns. I learned how to be safe and competent around them, and now I’m less afraid.

All because I said yes.

I told you in my first post about Bob that he put his phone number in the back of Love Does and I plan to call him. I’m afraid to do that too, but I’m going to do it today because I bet something interesting will happen.

And yes, I’ll let you know.