The Yellow Ochre Newsletter
A weekly curation of encouragement and practical wisdom to turn your art from a hobby into a purposeful blessing for your community and culture.
How to start (and maintain) a conversation
The sermon ended. The marching orders to “love your neighbor” resounded upon your conscious. The next 24 hours, you mentally prepared for how you would jump into action with that co-worker, friend, family member, or neighbor. The next day, the moment finally arrives. Unfortunately, you step on that lego piece called “dialogue” not having a clue how to have small talk. The moment leaves. Not only did you miss that “service” opportunity, your lacking social skills left the other person feeling…uncomfortable….
The sermon ended. The marching orders to “love your neighbor” resounded upon your conscious. The next 24 hours, you mentally prepared for how you would jump into action with that co-worker, friend, family member, or neighbor. The next day, the moment finally arrives. Unfortunately, you step on that lego piece called “dialogue” not having a clue how to have small talk. The moment leaves. Not only did you miss that “service” opportunity, your lacking social skills left the other person feeling…uncomfortable.
On the pendulum between “Extroverted” and “Introverted,” I lean more towards the Introverted side.
Introversion can also be a symptom of another characteristic many artists feel. Borrowing imagery from Beowulf, Makoto Fujimura calls the artist’s role Mearcstapas, or, those who find themselves on the borders of communities.
When artists venture from their borders into the center of groups, that’s where it gets spicy. Manifested in social gatherings, we find all insecurities peek their heads: Awkwardnesses, social quirks, embarrassing remarks, missing of social cues, ill-timed humor, and outside of the inside jokes.
In light of this, any simple, memorable, and practical tips for serving others with our words and actions help.
Probably about 5 months ago, I found myself listening to a story by Jake Parker on the 3-Point Perspective Podcast. He shared a formula his dad gave him which he used to interact with others at artist’s conventions.
Whether meeting someone for the first time or making small talk with someone you know, try following this simple acronym: F.O.R.M.
F - Family: tell me about your family.
O - Occupation: what do they do for work?
R - Recreation: what do you enjoy doing for fun, relaxation?
M - Motivation: what drives you as a person?
In the last 5 months, I have found myself relying on this framework multiple times in my conversations. I’ve tried to keep it natural, not making sure I follow it as a strict set of rules. Keeping the questions open-ended (meaning, no “yes/no” questions) keeps the conversation moving at the pace of the curiosity between both parties.
One Jesus, Many Mentors
What if, instead of attaching ourselves to only one mentor, we acknowledged we have one Jesus?…
What if, instead of attaching ourselves to only one mentor, we acknowledged we have one Jesus?
And what if we, instead, folded many into our lives as mentors?
Did not God create a priesthood of all believers?
Is there a character trait or gifting I want to grow in? What if I found others who possessed those qualities already and apprenticed myself to a multitude of mentors understanding all of their gifts come from God?
Launcing An Art Movement
In his book, Culture Care, Makoto Fujimura says there are three things needed to launch an art movement…
In his book, Culture Care, Makoto Fujimura says there are three things needed to launch an art movement:
An artist-type with creative capital
A pastor (or community organizer) type with social capital
A business type with access to material captist
He says at least 2 are needed. But all 3 are ideal. This makes partnership crucial for artists. If you want to see your art spread, build up relational capital with others.
How Our Mistakes Can Still Be Ok
“I don’t know the key. I don’t have perfect pitch. But I don’t care. Because you’re not gonna dance to the key.”
“It’s the context that makes it right, not the pitch. We teach you pitch when we should be teaching you context. You can put any note into that groove context and it’ll work.”
Let he who has ears to hear, listen.
Chicago’s Hidden Beauty
Aesthetics, as I understand it, is theoretical examination of the nuances afoot in God’s world, especially the human capability to be imaginative. Calvin Seerveld. Chicago beauty.
“Aesthetics, as I understand it, is theoretical examination of the nuances afoot in God’s world, especially the human capability to be imaginative.”
It was close to 10pm. We had just landed in Chicago. Airports don’t usually have the reputation of being “beautiful.” But amidst the stillness of a late night, a brisk quiet coolness, and a few phone-facing bus passengers, sat the bus driver.
I thought of Calvin Seerveld’s idea of art and beauty as this man made the intentional choice to sing to his inattentive passengers. This was a nuance of beauty piercing through a cold Chicago night.
I love Chicago. I love the architecture. I love the grand things the tourists love. And I love the hidden gems only I and the city’s natives know about. But I couldn’t help but think that this nameless bus driver’s small gesture was a thing of beauty that only the 6 passengers could receive as a gift in that moment.
What a beautiful welcoming to a favorite city.
Art Gleanings: Creative Vs. Non-Creative
Show the verbs
“Don’t [draw] the actual verb. Show the character about to do the verb or having just done it. ”
Creative Vs. Non-Creative Behavior
In his art education book, Art and Adolescence: Teaching Art at the Secondary Level, John A. Michael observes this difference between academic and creative learning in schools. I find this relatable to my own experience:
Creative:
Work from knowledge to the unknown
No model to follow
No right or wrong answers
Open-ended response
Trial-and-error, discovery methods
Tolerance for frustration, ambiguity
Noncreative:
Master a body of knowledge
Model/example to follow
Right answers
Fixed responses
Imitation, memorization methods
No tolerance for frustration, desire security
Etymology of “Create”
"to bring into being," early 15c., from Latin creatus, past participle of creare "to make, bring forth, produce, procreate, beget, cause," related to Ceres and to crescere "arise, be born, increase, grow," from PIE root *ker- (2) "to grow." De Vaan writes that the original meaning of creare "was 'to make grow', which can still be found in older texts ...." Related: Created; creating.
What Art Directors Need
““Most art directors need ten pieces of the same quality and same genre to risk their career on choosing you.” ”
Art Gleanings: Big Brush Strokes
What I learned this week about illustrating a Puritan Picture book
Do I self-publish or go with a traditional publisher? Marketing, reach, and distribution are high perks of going with a publisher (assuming they want to publish your work). The cons include pricing, royalties, and overall control of the project.
Do I choose offset printing or digital printing? If choosing the self-publishing route, offset printing has the perks of nicer quality printing, but you have to order in bulk, the start up investment is high, and I’d likely have to run a kickstarter campaign. With digital printing, I can do print on demand, but the book quality won’t be as high.
Do I print overseas or in the US? Printing overseas has plenty of headaches, but it’s do-able. However, at a higher cost, you could remove those headaches by printing in the States with places like Print Ninja.
Do I get an agent? I’m learning that many publishers only accept proposals and manuscripts through agents. But since I’m not doing this full-time, it’s likely not worth it for me.
Do I start a kickstarter? When projects are over 90% completion, many creators launch a kickstarter campaign to help fund the production of a project. This might be the way to go.
I learned more about my book’s original intent. As some know by now, I’m working on a project to illustrate a picture book of an old Puritan’s work (whose identity I will reveal at a later time). I originally thought he wrote this book for children, and so I began thinking of this project as a series of illustrations for kids. However, upon further research, I learned that the “children” he was referring to in his work was a metaphor for the foolish. His book aims to challenge the fool.
The role of social media in marketing as an artist. John Hendrix had some terrific wisdom to share on this matter. He said there is a difference between active and passive marketing. Active marketing is all about one to one relationships with people and networking. While social media takes on a more passive approach. It is passive because you do not know who your work is being exposed to.
“Professionals aim to solve somebody’s else’s problem that isn’t their own. The hobbyist is solving their own.”
This teaching idea is $$$:
Tips on book cover design
Tips on Visual Storytelling
“Instead of making art that trades on someone else’s drawings, make an homage to things that you love...Make that Pokemon drawing, but make it in your universe. Make that thing that you have loved as a child or the story you’ve always read but show Art Directors or people in the audience how that thing looks instead of your head.”
“When you treat your sketchbook like a playground, it turns into a king of treasure.”