recent posts

Independence. Pass it On....

Posted by James Hart on Dec 2nd, 2009
So many artists, following graduation from school, flee to either New York or LA. What a shame. These markets are so oversaturated. Artists have been flocking to these cities for decades and there are, in these cities, tons and tons and tons of under...

How Arts Schools Can be More Competitive...

How Arts Schools Can be More Competitive
Posted by James Hart on Nov 30th, 2009
Education is, first and foremost, a business. As is exemplified by rising tuition costs, educational institutions are not charity organizations. There are a vast number of arts education schools in the states and the competition between schools...

Be Honest. Is Your Goal Celebrity?...

Posted by James Hart on Nov 30th, 2009
If you crave celebrity, this post is for you. It is no surprise when I say that our country is obsessed with celebrity. Celebrity sells and celebrity images are pumped out to the point of exhaustion. I think that most young artists, if honest with...

10 Deadly Mistakes Creative Start-Ups Make...

10 Deadly Mistakes Creative Start-Ups Make
Posted by Lisa Canning on Nov 29th, 2009
I have been around many individuals who have launched, and failed to launch, successful creative enterprises over the last 25 years. Those who succeed the most quickly and easily usually have sought out support in the form of education and/or have...

Turkey and Transformation...

Turkey and Transformation
Posted by James Hart on Nov 28th, 2009
Uncle Eddie is drinking a little too much and grandma can’t hear. The kids tore the hinges off my office door and another took a crap behind my daughter’s playhouse. Yea! It’s Thanksgiving time! That time of year that many of us cling to the...

The Simpsons and TV Breakthroughs...

The Simpsons and TV Breakthroughs
Posted by Adam Shames on Nov 27th, 2009
The incomparable Matt Groening (his self-portrait, below right), creator of the Simpsons, spoke here recently as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. Alongside cartoonist and former college friend Lynda Barry (who frankly overshadowed him with...

What Would You Trade 3 Years of Your Life + $30,00...

What Would You Trade 3 Years of Your Life + $30,000 for?
Posted by Lisa Canning on Nov 25th, 2009
What is personal freedom, for the rest of your life, worth to you?  What would you be willing to pay right now to know you can have it?  Would you trade 3 years of your life plus $30,000 for it? What would your life be like if you were 100% in...

Timely Test of Creative Thanking...

Timely Test of Creative Thanking
Posted by Amy Frazier on Nov 25th, 2009
I’ve been thinking about creative thinking. And then, given the season, this led me to thinking about creative thanking. This then led me to an idea: the “Timely Test of Creative Thanking,” a riff on the Torrance Test of Creative...

Would You Trade 4 Hours for One Million Dollars?...

Would You Trade 4 Hours for One Million Dollars?
Posted by David Cutler on Nov 25th, 2009
“Would you trade four hours for $100,000?”  That’s a question I recently asked a class of musicians.  Most raised their hand.  A few wanted to know what they’d have to do.  “Nothing hard or illegal,” I assured.  Then the ante was...

Matching Personality to Entrepreneurial Choice: Pa...

Matching Personality to Entrepreneurial Choice: Part II
Posted by Lisa Canning on Nov 24th, 2009
So Which Type Are You? If you took The Self Directed Search, as I recommended from Part I of this post, while you may have had a strong hunch which personality traits were most dominant for you, I bet you were also surprised by what the tool revealed...