Spirit

Stock art is a certain vibe, which can be summarised as:

“Stereotypes of a genre without its spirit”

And when we take superficial details from a genre without really understanding the spirit of it, we’re probably just making stock art.

Approaching a new genre starts with understanding its spirit.

Artefacts

I often think of sound passed through analogue circuits like photos on film.

The noise floor, pitch fluctuation, harmonic distortion and tapered high frequencies.

It reminds me of that romantic, nostalgic quality that only comes with those imperfections.

It’s made me wonder why so many of us are drawn to these old mediums.

And I think it’s because these rich artefacts are great metaphors for how nothing in reality is perfect.

Which feels beautiful to me.

Perfect

Perfect only exists as a concept.

The moment conceptual perfect is manifested, it’s eroded by the fabric of reality.

And so a mistake is to apply the parameters of conceptual perfect to define finished.

A more liberating approach is to assess unexpected quirks and accidents in your work to see how it can serve your message.

And if it happens to serve your message well, then there need be no reason to continue clinging onto conceptual perfect.

It already is.

Chisoku

Do you have enough?

How would you know?

Because it’s easy to pick an unrealistic standard to conclude our lives are lacking.

Chisoku is the Japanese word to feel sufficient, to be satisfied with what we have.

When we are never Chisoku, we live a dystopia where nothing is ever ok.

And the good simply falls by the way side.

Beyond our basic needs, enough isn’t a matter of abundance.

It’s a matter of choice.

Moments

Some moments engulf us.

Some moments need us to notice them.

And when we notice subtle moments others miss, we appear to have an insight others don’t.

Profound artists make a habit of noticing tiny moments.

Kintsugi

We are all broken in some way.

And we’re doing our best to repair it.

Kintsugi is the Japanese technique of repairing broken pottery with golden lacquer.

When we repair our breaks and celebrate them as part of who we’ve been, we glow in a way that confounds perfectionism.

It’s a beautiful sight to see someone overcome crisis and wear their scars on their sleeves gracefully.

We can still glow after we break.

Imperfection

Everything about you is imperfect.

Your face isn’t symmetrical. You have a weird laugh. And you like that hat way too much.

And that’s okay, because that’s what people like about you.

Wabi-Sabi is the Japanese philosophy on aesthetics that reminds us imperfect is beautiful.

It’s the rustic edge that gives you depth. The vulnerability that makes you relatable. The honesty that makes you real.

You are imperfect and that is what feels perfect.