Selvage design for Cheryl (Creativity Rant)

The bold border on these stamps was a logical way to add a design element. I think Cheryl is a more traditional style calligrapher so I enclosed a  note with some more traditional penmanship. While I like to address envelopes with nibs and ink, I was having a string of bad luck - so decided to go with my trusty PITT brush markers.

A Morning Rant

OK, someone left this comment on an old post:
What kills me is that I see other peoples' work on envelopes and think, "why couldn't I come up with that?" And i certainly don't want to copy anyone. I feel like the creative gene skipped a generation.

The comments come to my email and I have to OK them before they post and sometimes, the commenter does not have a name - so I do not know who said this. Comments that appear on old posts probably don't get read very often as I doubt any of the regular readers go back to look for comments. This particular comment is one that I keep hearing or reading over and over. I feel as though I need to make a point of reminding readers that those of us who SEEM to come up with good ideas are almost always recycling ideas that we have seen. 

There are endless books and articles about how the creative process starts with your eyeballs. Everything you see has a chance of being stored. Later, when you start to make something, those things that you have seen start coming out. You may re-run something consciously -or- ideas might filter through without you even knowing. So please don't DON'T don't say anything like "I feel like the creative gene skipped a generation." I just watched the PBS program on Carole King and there was a ton of talk about how much musicians are influenced by the things they hear. After a few years of work that is influenced by earlier music, they start to find their own style. That is just the most recent example I've seen - but it's the basis of pretty much every story about someone who grew their love of something into a creative career.

People who think they have to create something completely original from the very beginning are setting up an impenetrable brick wall. You have to start with copying ideas and merging ideas to figure out where your natural talents are centered.

Yes - there is the occasional genius who is just born with all kinds of original material. But that is the exception. Most of us have to copy the stuff we love and explore everything that catches our eye - and eventually we find some ideas popping up that are original. 

I hope I have some readers who will chime in and agree with me. If someone (or everyone) wants to voice the opposite view - go ahead and do that. Maybe I am completely off my rocker.  

As always, I recommend the book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.
And of course, when you are copying ideas, you do not take credit for them.
And you do not turn around and sell things that are exact copies.
If you want to tap into your creativity that you think you don't have - a good way to start is by copying the things that you love the most. So - go forth and copy.

There is always one-more-thing to add to this rant. Everyone has seen a picture of an artist with a canvas in a museum and they are making a reduced size replica of a masterpiece. It is a completely valid and respected method for learning. So if they are doing it at the Louvre, it's just fine for us to do it on envelopes. So there.