The residue of creativity

In this week's newsletter: rules for being an artist, the risks of sharing, and more... 

In this week's newsletter: rules for being an artist, the risks of sharing, and more... View this email in your browser Hey y'all, First off, some of y'all have asked if there's going to be a 2019 wall calendar — no, sorry, here's the deal on that. (For a replacement: I'm really into this lunar calendar.) And here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:  Keep Going is in the can, so to speak, so I'm clearing off the bulletin board, starting a fresh banker's box, and thinking about the residue of creativity.   Art critic and failed artist Jerry Saltz's 33 rules for being an artist. (Some of these will sound familiar!)   This week I read Edward McClelland's How To Speak Midwestern and Charles Simic's Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell. (The most valuable book on my nightstand is often the one that puts me to sleep.) Oh, and I finally finished I finished Edward Carey's illustrated novel, Little, which was terrific. (If you're in Austin, try to see his show at the public library.)   What can be lost when we share what we love.    I've decided to make watching The Last Waltz a Thanksgiving tradition.    Fresh Air host Terri Gross on how to talk to people.   Want to remember something? Draw it. (Drawing is part of a cure!)   Why is Japan still so attached to paper? (Answer: because paper is a wonderful technology!)   Ear candy: Music from Saharan Cell Phones. (So far I've only listened to volume one.)   RIP Spongebob creator Stephen Hillenbrand. (I missed the show the first time around, but love watching it on vacation with my kids. I also love that there's a drawing of Hillenbrand's in John Baldessari's studio.) RIP Farmerbrown. RIP magician and actor Ricky Jay. (If you have a New Yorker subscription or can access it through your library, check out Mark Singer's 1993 profile, "Secrets of the Magus," which contains the amazing line, "a Ph.D. is just a sign of docility." Or, read his letter to the Secretary of Defense or listen to his voiceover for the opening of the film Magnolia.) Thanks for reading. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it to a friend, tweet me some love, or best of all, buy a book! If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo,  Austin PS. Those are Sheila Ghidini's pencil shavings above :) Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2018 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 4301 W. William Cannon Dr. Suite B 150 #241 Austin, TX 78749 You're getting this email because you signed up for it at austinkleon.com. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Amazon Affiliate links offset the cost of sending these missives. (And pay for diapers.)

The 2018 Kleon Holiday Gift Guide

In this week's newsletter: my favorite books, movies, music, art supplies, and other recommendations...

In this week's newsletter: my annual gift guide and other links... View this email in your browser Hey y'all, Here's a list of 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:  You know what Friday it is. I am not above it, so I updated The Kleon Holiday Gift Guide for 2018. (Here's an archive of my old gift guides, and if you have young ones, I love this gift guide for kids.)    Unlike the NYTimes and others, I don't make my favorite reads of the year list until the year is over, but here are some 2018 contenders: Eleanor Davis, You & A Road & A Bike; Denis Johnson, The Largesse of the Sea Maiden; Duncan Hannah, 20th Century Boy; Eve Babitz's Eve's Hollywood, David Sedaris, Calypso; Patricia Lockwood, Priestdaddy; Agnes Martin, Paintings, Drawings, Remembrances; Heidi Julavits, The Folded Clock; Chris Ware, Monograph; and Luke Pearson's Hilda books.   I didn't see a lot of movies this year, but, like everyone else, I adored Won't You Be My Neighbor? And probably unlike everyone else, I watched Phantom Thread no less than four times.   I'm hopelessly behind with music, too, but new releases I loved: Parquet Courts' Wide Awake!, Mary Lattimore's Hundreds of Days, Chilly Gonzales's Solo Piano III, Numero Group's Basement Beehive comp, and the remix of The Beatles' White Album.   Thoughts on close listening and my teenage adventures mapping music.    Louis Armstrong's collages and pasting images in your diary so you always have something to write about.   Eye candy: Alexander Girard's boxes.   Ear candy: The Beatles vs. Wu-Tang Clan.   For your streaming pleasure: the film distributor A24 has put its films on Kanopy. (Check to see if you have access through your local library!)   RIP Cleveland journalist Nikki Delamotte. Here are some links to her stories. I'm reading her book, 100 Things To Do in Cleveland Before You Die, which, though it's a straightforward guidebook, is infused with her wonderful taste and voice. Thanks for reading. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it to a friend, tweet me some love, or best of all, buy a book! If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo,  Austin Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2018 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 4301 W. William Cannon Dr. Suite B 150 #241 Austin, TX 78749 You're getting this email because you signed up for it at austinkleon.com. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Amazon Affiliate links offset the cost of sending these missives. (And pay for diapers.)

We’re not nouns. We’re verbs.

In this week's newsletter: the magic of diner booths, book recommendations, ear and eye candy, and more...

In this week's newsletter: book recommendations, ear and eye candy, and more... View this email in your browser Hey y'all, Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:  We're not nouns, we're verbs.   Books I'm reading: for fiction, Edward Carey's novel, Little, and for non-fiction, Beastie Boys Book. Also, I finished an advance copy of Rob Walker's The Art of Noticing, and it was even better than his original post, "How To Pay Attention." (Rob's about to revamp his newsletter, so now might be a good time to subscribe!)   The magic of diner booths. (Related reading: The Mystique of the American Diner.)   Books I want to read (among many others — see the bottom of this email!): Tom Hart, author of the stunning & heartbreaking graphic memoir, Rosalie Lightning (one of my favorite books of 2016), now shows us how to do it in his new book, The Art of the Graphic Memoir: Tell Your Story, Change Your Life. Maria Popova, the brains behind Brain Pickings, has announced her first book, Figuring. And Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy just released a memoir, Let's Go (So We Can Get Back). (Here's a good profile of him and the music that shaped him. I've had this quote of Tweedy's hanging above my desk for over 15 years.)   What I learned reading Thoreau every day for a year.   Open tabs are a time machine.   Ear candy: the new mix of The Beatles' White Album is pretty wonderful. (Here's an interview about the album with producer Giles Martin.)   Eye candy: Artist uses jigsaw puzzles, with the same die cut pattern, to make terrific mashups.   A reminder: The world's more interesting with you in it.   RIP comics legend Stan Lee. Thanks for reading. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it to a friend, tweet me some love, or best of all, buy a book! If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo,  Austin PS. I was sick in bed yesterday, and after I posted a picture of my makeshift office, a follower asked to see all the books on my nightstand. I was bored and bedridden, so I figured, what the heck. (And yes, I've heard of Tsundoku.)  Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2018 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 4301 W. William Cannon Dr. Suite B 150 #241 Austin, TX 78749 You're getting this email because you signed up for it at austinkleon.com. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Amazon Affiliate links offset the cost of sending these missives. (And pay for diapers.)