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Think Like An Artist

Think Like An Artist Think Like An Artist Think Like An Artist

Wisdom, inspiration and creative problem-solving from 67 Canadian artists. Draw a card to begin.

Start and complete an unrelated task, then return to the one that eluded you. Repeat as necessary.

– Rajni Perera, artist

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Describe in detail what exactly you are trying to do. Then wait. The answer will present itself.

– Max Dean, artist

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Consume existing artworks voraciously and sloppily. Take your wildest misinterpretation and make that piece.

– Jon Sasaki, artist

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Can I stand the ways this may be misunderstood?

– Michael Dumontier & Neil Farber, artists

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Give each action a symbol: write it out. Rework: as poetry, as algebra, as music.

– Jessica Eaton, artist

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Imagine travelling through time. Thinking from the future, examine the past to shed light on the present.

– Camille Turner, artist

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Add pleasure to your obstacle.

– Kelly Jazvac, artist

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Pay attention to what you pay attention to.

– Evan Penny, artist

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Be aware of your two feet on the floor.

– Walter Scott, artist

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Forget about who is looking.

– Kapwani Kiwanga, artist

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Leave yourself. Invent “another” and watch them do what you don't dare risk or try. Then claim them as your fictitious character and go into their service, creating things that will surprise you.

– Iris Häussler, artist

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– Micah Lexier, artist

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Listen to beings other than humans.

– Christi Belcourt, artist

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How does this obstacle look from the perspective of your most supportive friend? What about your most determined saboteur?

– Luis Jacob, artist

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Treat your project like a lover and ask it what it wants. Listen to it carefully and fulfill its needs.

– Sandra Meigs, artist

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Describe what you just drew with words. Then draw what you described.

– Geoff McFetridge, artist

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Embodied knowledge is the key to enminded matter.

– FASTWÜRMS, artists

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Brainstorm a list of the most bizarre, confounding or foolish images, gestures or statements that you have yet to encounter in this world. Follow the path from the one you like best.

– Bridget Moser, artist

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Yield to resistance to the degree where a neutral position is reached. Reformulate the nature of the resistance and reapply a new strategy with a greater understanding. Repeat until you've achieved your goal.

– Edward Burtynsky, artist

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If you encounter an obstacle, take a break from the medium and switch to a new one — it opens you up, makes you think without restrictions and helps you see the problem with new eyes.

– Marcel Dzama, artist

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Think of the majority response to a problem. What would be a better response than the majority response that would also be the shortest path toward dealing with the problem?

– Ken Lum, artist

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Shake your body. Expend to expand. Jump, dance and move around, preferably outdoors. Sit or lie down. Breathe deeply.

– Elizabeth Zvonar, artist

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Go shopping for materials (hardware, art supplies, magazines, books) without a list — especially in a new city or country.

– Vikky Alexander, artist

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Champion process over outcome. When the outcome informs the process, we only ever go to where we've already been.

– Nep Sidhu, artist

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Step outside yourself by changing environmental stimulants — be that scent, sound or space. Become a different version of yourself and allow your mind to sit in that place.

– Alex McLeod, artist

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Read a boring book so your mind will wander to more interesting things.

– Janet Cardiff, artist

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Take a big breath, lay down your tools and go out into nature! Being in nature can open up your mind, body and heart.

– Adrian Stimson, artist

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Remember, in every process there is a swamp phase, where everything stinks and falls apart. Tell yourself, "This is just the swamp phase!" and carry on, trusting you will get to the next part.

– Diane Borsato, artist

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Categorize your research.

– Dave Dyment, artist

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Remove what's quintessential.

– Roula Partheniou, artist

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Your body is the monument; it is seen, it is visible, it can move forward.

– Brendan Fernandes, artist

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You know that idea you've had for years but haven't brought to life yet? Now is the time. Frankenstein it.

– Tarralik Duffy, artist and writer

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Stare at the wall
until it turns to fog,
then proceed.

– Kim Adams, artist

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Put your dog on a leash. Go for a long walk. The colder, the better.

– Shelley Niro, artist

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Allow the moment to unfurl.

– Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, artist

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Fighting the block makes it worse. Stop and let yourself rest.

– Beverly Glenn-Copeland, musician

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Standing (if possible)
Shake your whole body non-stop for two minutes.

– Peaches, musician

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Surround yourself with inspiring people who bring out the best in you.

– Lido Pimienta, musician

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Get opinions from those you love and trust to ensure all necessary considerations were thought of.

– Haviah Mighty, musician

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Sing it again.

– Owen Pallett, musician

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Assume the truth can express itself only as either a joke or a poem.

– Shad, musician

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Tap into the sources of inspiration that led you here in the first place — revisit a movie, book or soundtrack that inspired you. Look for ways to make it fun again.

– Jay Baruchel, actor

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Fumble around in the dark and don’t turn on the light too soon.

– Sarah Polley, filmmaker

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Collaborate.

– Chase Joynt, filmmaker

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Keep the reason why you’re doing what you’re doing as a compass.

– Jasmeet Raina, comedian

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In documentary filmmaking, plans are subject to change. So have a plan, but be ready to abandon it at any moment. This is harder than it sounds.

– Jennifer Baichwal, filmmaker

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Write a short eulogy for your work: What were the circumstances of its death? How long did it live? What did it do with its time on this earth? Who mourns?

– Omar El Akkad, author

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Calculate the distance between the earth and your body. Write something in order to shorten that distance.

– Billy-Ray Belcourt, author

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Take a break and watch TV, guilt-free! It’s part of the work. Promise.

– Sam Maggs, author

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Nobody cares if you don't make art.

– Pasha Malla, author

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Not all stories can be fuelled by pain — look to the otherwise. After all, we're approximating, through language, horizons of freedom.

– Joshua Whitehead, author

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Start a new project.

– Vivek Shraya, musician and author

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Make the problem harder to resolve.

– Christian Bök, poet

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Leave a loose end dangling.

– Cory Doctorow, author

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Imagine you are the person who has already figured out what you don’t know.

– Mariko Tamaki, author

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Try cooking a recipe that's new or challenging to you. Problem solving in another context helps.

– Michael DeForge, comic artist

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Embrace boredom. Don't be afraid to be uninteresting. Be brave. Risk turning off your "audience" by indulging slowness, dullness and as much tiresome digression as your heart desires.

– Seth, comic artist

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Lie in the dark alone, like I do when I put my kids to bed. It's like being in a sensory deprivation chamber, where your thoughts just roll. The trick is not to fall asleep.

– Kate Beaton, comic artist

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Just go outside, I’m begging you.

– Chip Zdarsky, comic artist

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Try something bold: a new colour, filter, setting. Play around with it. Have fun!

– Sweeney Boo, comic artist

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wait. do a crossword puzzle. see a movie. the distracted brain solves problems the focused brain can't sort out.

– david yee, playwright

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Nothing is created, simply listen and describe.
The messages within you are clear unless denied.

– Omari Newton, actor and playwright

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Embrace obstacles. They are meant to be endured — preferably with gin.

– Amy Lee Lavoie, playwright

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Find something that makes you laugh.

– Megan Follows, actor

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Do what’s in poor taste. Whatever you think is contrived or gross or offensive. Go into it and come out the other side.

– Hannah Moscovitch, playwright

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Drawing is seeing.

– Bruce Kuwabara, architect

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Only take what you need.

– Sage Paul, fashion designer

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Illustrations by: Nolan Pelletier

Every artist gets stuck once in a while, even the biggest and the brightest. Roadblocks are a natural part of the creative journey, and sometimes, moving past them just requires a new approach.

CBC Arts asked some of Canada's best-known visual artists, musicians, filmmakers, actors, authors, playwrights and other creatives: What is a simple trick you use when you encounter an obstacle in your work?

Find out how an Oscar-winning screenwriter handles her creative quagmires or what an experimental poet does when he greets a problem. Draw a card and let chance inspire you, or browse until you find the wisdom you seek.

This deck is a tool to promote creativity. Use it as a guide to help you Think Like An Artist.

With wisdom from:

Produced by: Chris Hampton and Michelle Villagracia | Editing: Chris Hampton | Illustrations and Design: Nolan Pelletier | Web Design and Development: Jeff Hume | Additional production from: Leah Collins | With contributions from: Chris Dart and Peter Knegt | Social media: Shuli Grosman-Gray | Project Management: Michelle Villagracia | Senior Producer, CBC Arts: Aaron Leaf