Maira Kalman- click to view her TED talk.

I came home tonight to finish the last grant I have to write for now but I was sidetracked with TED talks.   If you don’t already know, TED talks are wonderful 20 minute lectures given by scientists, artists of all kinds, technological entrepreneurs, business people etc. typically about aspects of creativity.  If you haven’t seen them, you should check them out.  I just watched one given by Maira Kalman.  She is a New Yorker illustrator and a self professed dreamer.

I think what I truly love from this lecture was the statement that “she doesn’t know anything.”  She went to college to be a writer (however did much knitting).  She began to draw on the whim of “how hard can it be.”  What I love about artmaking is that really…. how hard is it?  I think I can easily rattle around a studio and make pretty things and be done with it.  It’s not hard but I do find that I can make it hard.  Really hard.  I think often we can get in our own way.  She suggests the more you know, the more restricted you become.  There is a sense of truth in that.  Like I’ve said in the past, I’m a trained metalsmith…. perhaps I should suggest that I am a recovering metalsmith.  I often would dismiss ideas that I couldn’t  convey in metal.  Seems strange but for a long time I thought that way and it only took the possibility of not being able to make ANYTHING to snap out of it.  Kalman doesn’t suggest to drop out of school and run from education- I think Kalman’s point is to lose the boundaries we place on ourselves.  We can learn from more than school- allow life things to inform what we do professionally as well and to not pat myself on the back too much, I do think I am professional at that.

I have talked with Karla about this in the past.  I have felt that I have spent much of my post-metalsmith career “catching up” with my colleagues.  I sometimes feel I should have a wider vocabulary, keener eye.  I always think I should be better.  What I love about her talk is that one should value not knowing anything.  Not knowing anything allows you to be the most creative.  But I think what this really is about is the “bogging down” that we do.  People often dismiss understanding art.  They are intimidated by the gallery atomosphere and are mystified by the visual vocabulary.  And often it’s very simple and rather accessible if one just gets out of their own way to see it.  There is a common thread here and it’s outside of the “training” one has to make art.  It is a means of communication one human to another.  It’s as simple as that.  And often time I believe I get into the studio and I bog myself down with what I am doing there.  When really, how could I not know?  It’s as simple as I sit here and write and I don’t need to overthink it (as I have been lately).

Kalman asks “how do we know when we are ourselves?  How do we know that is true?”  Huge question.  And she takes us around a humorous string of visual thoughts informed by her heritage and education.  Surely that informs us however can we really say that is who we are?  We can wander down that road and stop there (and many do) but many know there is more to us than that.  So when do we know….

Creativity, I think, is a clue.  One can’t be taught creativity- one can either invite it to flourish or repress that it’s there.  We can talk ourselves out of anything.  We can make excuses about “why” we can’t do it (we don’t know how, we don’t understand, we don’t have time, we don’t have what we need).  But I think allowing creativity is the key to knowing ourselves.

She simply states “Ich habe genug (From a Bach cantata- she translates this, so watch the link)…. I happen to be alive.  End of discussion.”

PS.  I also watched a talk given by Gary Vaynerchuk and despite the f bombed soaked ‘do what you love’ theme- I would like to quote him when he professed what it takes to succeed: “If you love smurfs, smurf it up!”  That and “Domino’s Pizza, bring back the Noid.”
Heather Fun fact #52.  My first job was as a phone girl for Domino’s Pizza and for extra money, I dressed up as the Noid for birthday parties and publicity events.   Yup, red spandex.