art ideas process

A Drawing Exercise from College

Anita Mills, one of my college professors, posted this marvelous New York Times article about blind contour drawing on Facebook. I remember blind contour drawing well. The exercise has students, using charcoal and large pieces of newsprint paper, draw a subject without looking at the paper. The results are always laughable, but the exercise makes students see their subjects differently and frees them from trying to draw the “perfect” picture. This is what Sam Anderson,…

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ideas process writing

Improving Your Writing

There are loads of books, blog posts, and web articles about ways to improve your writing. Google just returned 152 million results to the search query “how to improve your writing.” 743,927** of these online articles are listicles: 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Writing – http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/05/22/5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-writing/ 10 Quick Tips to Improve Your Writing – http://grammar.about.com/od/developingessays/a/quicktips.htm 21 Ways to Improve Your Writing – http://www.writingforward.com/better-writing/improve-your-writing 8 Simple Scientifically Proven Ways to Improve Your Writing – http://www.fastcompany.com/3023616/work-smart/8-simple-scientifically-proven-ways-to-improve-your-writing…

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Working in Secret

In case you haven’t heard, Sony Picture’s computer system has been hacked due to the imminent no longer imminent release of the new movie “The Interview,” which features a plot to assassinate North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un. With the hack attack, Snapchat’s emails were leaked, revealing strategic business maneuvers the company was making. Snapchat’s CEO Evan Spiegel was upsetĀ about the release of this sensitive information and he released a letter regarding how he felt. What’s…

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