Austin Kleon is a neverending spout of advice. Whether it is his inner monologue speaking out loud, or just sharing his tips to jolt your creative spirit, chances are you practice some of his mantras. One of his lessons is to write the books you want to read. And his series on the creative process is what I needed in my life when I first picked up his book, Steal Like an Artist, nearly five years ago.
Kleon is a great follow on Twitter and his Friday night pizza nights with his family are something I envy at the week’s end. HE has sourced quotes from history, other creatives, musicians, actors, and everyone in between that are spread throughout his books.
The notion of stealing your work obviously doesn’t sound like the proper thing to do, but I take the underlying point of it as to learn from everything. Art is something to be admired, and most famous artists influence each other in one way or another. The Beatles and The Beach Boys did this all the time with their albums. I also like to think of it as propagating a plant - taking a little cutting from the stem, watering it for a period of time, and letting it blossom on its own. While the original piece still exists, you have used that kernel as a piece to inspire you. Collecting inspirations is one of the things that brought me to start this section of my website - along with Kleon’s advice of keeping a blog over just using social networks.
I highly suggest his trio of books for any creative. It will help give you a jumpstart when you are feeling burnt out and help you to Keep Going.
