Today at Michael's I observed two teenagers quite invested in a heated conversation as they waited for their turn in the checkout line. The discussion was about LIMITS and CONSTRAINTS that prevent budding artists, cartoonists or sculptors to pursue ART as a full-time career. Thanks to the journal I was carrying in my backpack, I listened attentively, took some notes & thought about doing a rational analysis later. Here are salient points of the conversation I heard:
- In kindergarten we always spot few kids who exhibit creative abilities and would make great artists if given the right education. But as these artistic kids leave kindergarten and start chasing the usual goals of getting a job, means of road transport and may be a house or two, that childhood passion for ART usually eventually takes a backseat.
- ART Concepts can be applied almost everywhere-but society doesn't give much weightage to it since immediate returns (tangible and monetary) are not visible.
- And then there are always so many constraints (Lack of concrete goals, supportive environment and guidance) that it just doesn't seem logical to even think about investing time in studying and understanding art!
and so on.....
The conversation sure wasn't of the type that would give you positive vibes; but it reminded of a similar kind of chit-chat I had with one of the members of Fablevision team during their Open House event in Oct 2009. In retrospect, I was amazed to see Fablevision Studios, meet Peter's energetic team and I was 100% convinced of the fact that limitations actually drive (and not impede) creative thinking. In short here's what I learned after talking to Peter and Bob that day (What a splendid evening it was!):
- Given fewer resources, we are forced to focus and thus make quick and better decisions.
- Given limited time, we learn to distinguish between what is important and what is not.
- Given the limits, we perceive the fine line between applying ourselves to ONE key task sincerely instead of overworking ourselves with dozens of tasks.
- Given the right team/environment, we tend to think out-of-the-box, come up with radical ideas, visualize happy endings and attain seemingly impossible goals in no time.
But yes like everything else in life, the key is to START! As you set out to finally write those tough resolutions/goals down in your journals, blogs, diaries or sketchbooks, take a quick look at Peter's 5Bs poster-you might find it helpful and outright cool!
A L E R T -Extend your helping hand towards HAITI natives; some avenues are-a, b, c and d
