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"If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing." - Marc Chagall

As the late comedy legend Bill Hicks says. "Play from your F***ing heart!"

Over the last 100 years thousands of artists have tried copy the distinct style of Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha, yet they shortchanged themselves shutting their own uniqueness off and creating from the head.

Our creative spirit is screaming to be set free from it's predictable patterns. It's full of explosive chaos, ideas, unpredictability and get bored easily. Yet we cage that precious energy to fit in, gain acceptance or something worse. As history has shown us, the creative rebels we look up to were the one's bold enough to stay true their unique voice, even in the face of harsh criticism externally or even worse... internally. Sadly, the urge for acceptance is so strong that we numb what our heart is quietly roaring, and listen to the logical mind steering us into the wrong place every single time. Everything we enjoy, Slam Poetry, Wildstyle Graffiti Art, a Tchaikovsky composition, 1950s Knoll furniture design, they were products of the soul, the raw human emotional spirit, not logic. Yes they may have seemed strange and shunned at first, but over time were embraced tightly assimilating into the collective conscious. We get frustrated wih "mistakes" while creating, yet those are the very things that will boldly individualizes us with new styles and patterns of though. MISTAKES ARE YOUR FRIEND! They are actually the raw human experience trying to explode from it's lonely self imposed prison.

Speaking from experience those who enjoy my art are actually looking a collection of mistakes that I embraced over the years making my style more distinct. Yes I often get mad because something is not right and I am not getting my way, but then I stop and ask "My heart is bored and wants to play a new game. What new place is it trying to take me?" So far the answers have never disappointed.

Imagine if Alphonse Mucha tried to be like someone else. Imagine if you tried to be like someone else. We wouldn't have him and we wouldn't have you. There is only one you.

Play from your f***ing heart.

Art: Alphonse Mucha "Princezna Hyacinta"

The life of the creative man is lead, directed and controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes. - Saul Steinberg

The reason new sounds, images and new deas comes quickly to the youth is that kids find games in everything. Those playful games develop later into new musical and artistic combinations that become billion dollar industries and they all had their origins in avoiding boredom. All my art styles were products of me fiddling around with my software. Now I make a living from it. The battle is to always stay fresh and new which is never easy. If you are bored or your passion has become stale, perhaps it's time to have fun again. 

Art by vintage Mexican comedic poster artist : Ernesto Garcia Cabral

 

"The most potent muse of all is our own inner child." - Stephen Nachmanovitch

Creativity can be triggered by the most mundane objects. In fact, those are the best things to play around with because people don't see it coming.

In an effort to liven up the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Anderson Augusto and Leonardo Delafuente started what is called the 6emeia project, Sewers and drains feature some very creative and intricate designs.

Do schools kill creativity?

Imagine being a music teacher in a public school and having half of the group THE BEATLES in your own class (Paul and George) and not even seeing their young talent or encouraging it. True story.

In american society, the arts takes a backseat to everything else. It is not valued. Therefore most that grow up do not appreciate its worth and expect you to create things from your deepest soul for little compensation with the ever insulting carrot stick phrase of "you will get exposure". But they are only products of their schooling. In most public education systems, art and music one of the first things to be cut during budget reformations. Schools fail to see or nurture some brilliant minds and try to squeeze them into a shape they were never meant to be and end up falling through cracks as we label them "lazy" or "unmotivated".

I HATED school my whole life. I never did well but I loved learning and came alive when it came to art. This amazing clip explains why.