Step 1: Find A Host

I gotta tell you, I have lucked out BIG TIME in having a hostess in the beautiful city of San Francisco. While owning a smartphone makes it possible to navigate the city easily with maps, the MacWorld|iWorld agenda app, and Yelp’s mobile app for finding the best places to eat and drink after hours, there is no truly respectable interface that can replace the wise and entertaining eyes of my friend Violet (see her NSFW website, Tiny Nibbles, if you are unfamiliar with her powerful sex education work. She garners bows of worship from me as a psychtherapist and relationship advisor in my other life, as well as a fan of all kinds of art, including exhibitionistic art and erotica).

Pieces of my Macworld 2012 experience

Violet has graciously extended an open invitation to join her each year at Macworld|iWorld, and I consider my time with her as much a part of my MacWorld experience as any part of the agenda of the Apple-inspired conference. Besides filling up on coffee and cucumber water, and unlimited kitteh snuggles from the ever-adoring @dotkitteh Alex, I have a unique home base from which to think, create, percolate, and network. I have deeply appreciated how her friends are not only connected to the tech and media industry, but they are normal human beings [and not Social Media douchebags] with so much to offer in terms of insight, interesting conversations, and future predictions. They can also expose the  soft underbelly of so much of the industry [none of which I will share here!], which helps me keep things in perspective no matter what you hear in the news [thank you guys, you are purrfect]. They also are the same kinds of people who have the power to shape the industry into something more respectable, including Ms. V’s writing and influence in holding SoMe giants responsible for their foibles, fumbles, and social  ineptitude on the back channels.  My thanks to Victor of TUAW (@superpixels) for also hanging out with V, especially when I was geeking out  in some seminar during the conference, and Richie of Hapa Ramen (because your food rawks, and you’re just so sweet!).

I could NEVER have the complete experience of MacWorld without people like Ms. Violet. Why? Because conferences were never about sitting at desks taking notes. It is about an interactive experience free of evangelization per se, and people overflowing with passion for who they are and what they do in life that rawks their world as well as my own. This gets me to my next point.

Step 2: Make Friends

Admittedly, most of these tech and SoMe conferences are getting some serious reputation disses for being geeky excuses for hookups and bad boy/girl behavior. If you’ve never been to one of these geek gatherings, you might assume that people are staring at computers all day, geeking out with their gadgets. But geeks like to party, drink, and socialize too!

Instead, I encourage first-time conference attendees to make friends like rabbits… well, you know [get cuddly, that's what rabbits do!]. Meet all kinds of people. Say hello to people you might not otherwise feel drawn to. Don’t worry: not everyone wants to get into your pants! [and if they do, well, you'll handle that gracefully when you get there]. You never know who you might be talking to. I ran into Rod Roddenberry at least five times during the course of the three-day event [and I have to say, he's just an all-around nice guy that's fun to hang out with]. No matter where you go, or what you’re seeing, comment, start conversations, and draw people in. Before you know it, you’ll be exchanging business cards or “Find Your Friends” information on your iDevices.

I had the extreme pleasure of spending some time with a man I’ll call P [Editor's note: P just DM'd me on Twitter and said it was AOK to use his first name, Paul], the man who convinced me to attend MacWorld 2011. A veteran of the conference, I could easily weed through the plethora of choices of events just by looking at what peaked this man’s interest [translation: he has good taste]! Paul also spends a good amount of his time networking and catching up with friends. This is the way to go: make a conference like this an annual event, and you will get more out of attending than you would if you simply dabbled.

Incidentally, I asked V. about SXSWi 2012, as I had not been back to the conference since 2010. I explained that I didn’t think I knew anyone there. She laughed at me, and in her knowing way, declared, “You’d be surprised how many people you know, and who know you.”. Well, one of these days, I’ll return to SXSWi, perhaps as a speaker. Who knows?

Unleash Your Artistic Potential

A million little pieces of Macworld 2012

From a consumer’s point of view, the exhibitor’s hall of MacWorld|iWorld can fool you into thinking that this conference is not artistic. The joke on the street is that the expo has become a place to buy iPhone/iPad cases. Last year’s show was a major disappointment on that front, and to a certain extent, if the Expo was nothing more than the exhibitor’s hall, I’d have less reasons to attend [i.e. why not throw an expo at each major city in the U.S., if that was all it was?].

What if you put on you artist’s thinking cap, and you planned your attendance around one of these tracks:

digital music creation

digital photography and innovation

digital film making using the iPhone/iPad

drawing and painting

art distribution to the masses (accessibility)

collaborative art projects [mass participation tv, projects that crowd source the input and the output, contests]

For all its emphasis on tech, I think Steve Jobs would be pleased how much emphasis the arts are receiving in terms of using these devices to innovate and revolutionize the way we make art [still need to work on the distribution part of that. Oy veh, iTunes]. I chuckled at the South Park art gallery . For something that looks so low tech i.e. construction paper figures, there is so much real tech involved. Watching Atomic Tom reproduce their live music version of “Take Me Out” recreated on their all-iphone/iPod band, you get a sense that all things are possible in the world of creativity, if you’re willing to take a risk. They did, and it paid off. What about you? Are you willing to take some risks for your art in 2012? BTW, my next post will have some great footage from the Atomic Tom presentation at Macworld.

As corny as it may sound, I am not the least bit surprised that shows like Beats Antique, Cirque du Mac [replete with trapeze artists, stilt walkers, and face painting], and a tribal drum circle to end the conference were some of the better attended events. Why? Because people are artists, whether they know it or not. The dish you “curate” for your home is an artistic choice. The beat you make on a  hand drum or a cowbell is an artistic pursuit, even if a temporal  one. The fact that we choose to do these things in the presence of others is an artistic choice connected with a desire to BELONG. The drum circle ended up feeling like a scene from The Matrix Revolutions, when all the people have a tribal dance to celebrate their power and their authority to exist, to create, and to thrive in the face of what appears to be insurmountable challenges. We have significant challenges too: mistrust, war, economic adversity, moral distress in our corporate environments, misuse of power and knowledge, every day disrespect from our news sources and media.  Beating a drum in unison with hundreds of others proves that we can have a voice, a dream, and a collaboration, provided we are willing to lead and to follow, to give and to receive. Which leads me to my motto: it is never the “thing”. It is what we make it to represent.

Having a host, making friends, and choosing an artistic track are my three keys to having the best MacWorld attack plan ever. And why share it a year before the next one (slated for Jan 30 – Feb 2, 2013)? Because the execution of a good plan really can take a year in advance to milk it to advantage. When time is more precious than money to you, you’ll know exactly what I mean. Plan your Macworld|iWorld 2013, and you’ll have the best experience ever. See you there next year, and be sure to curate your experience beyond the expo floor and the networking after parties.

Next post: the Best of (and the Worst of) MacWorld|iWorld 2012.

While reading Steve Job’s official biography, I was intrigued at the author’s mention of Job’s admiration of Pablo Picasso’s quote,”Good artists copy, but great artists steal.” I had to wonder about Job’s adherence to this philosophy since the world has seen the early days of the development of Apple software and hardware that did not appear to a copy or a steal. Still, I believe Jobs was a type of artist — a consumer artist, if you will — and he did steal ideas from the world around him, such as rounded corners on square icons, which he saw everywhere in design.

From my previous blog post entitled Lusting for Brand Spanking New Art, I’ve already shared my opinion about the lack of new art forms being created, especially in music. What I see is artists who copy and steal, and I believe that good artists do steal. Personally, I don’t think all of that is wrong. If you lift something word for word without credit and without due, that’s plagiarism (and that’s wrong). If you make a tune, write your own lyrics, and put it to the same beat as another popular song, your end product may sound like a copy, but it wouldn’t necessarily be considered stealing. Instead, it’s called pop music! Popular musicians often listen to the music of others and readily list their inspirations. Within their albums, you should be able to trace a lineage of previous musicians; the artist applies his or her style to make it her own sound and give it her own distinctions.

In response to a crowd-sourced question I launched about Picasso’s quote , Twitter friend Paul Sogge wrote this: “It’s a clever statement, whether it was really said by Picasso or not. To me, “stealing” in this case means to make an idea or technique one’s own so that it can be incorporated into something brand new. I think there are really two important distinctions implied here. The first is to differentiate great artists from those who are technically proficient enough to mimic good art, but do not add anything new. Vapid beauty. The second is a response to artists who only want to create something completely new. The unreadable novel. To take an idea from the past might be stealing, but it isn’t shameful.  To take something from the past without adding new value is petty theft.”

On Being A Thief: Shameless Stealing VS. Petty Theft

1. Ask permission. While many artistic ideas are free flowing and often un-trademarked acts, I generally think it’s a good idea to get permission to copy an idea you saw in someone else’s production. In the process of asking, you show your respect to another artist.

2. I promote shameless stealing. Several Seattle area dancers have already encountered my practice of writing them with a note like this: “Recently I saw your performance of ____________ at __________. I’d like your permission to use your idea and take it in this direction __________________. If I were to perform this in public, would you like to be credited by name, or any promotional materials added to my show?”

3. Study the concept you are stealing thoroughly. A technical copy of something known may be

You don't have to be quiet about this kind of stealing. You do it all the time.

boring. A radical adaptation, contrast, or enhancement of the idea could be divine. An example: I have always admired how certain Middle Eastern dancers were true entertainers. She would use expression and comedy to get her audience “with her.” Simply copying her moves from Youtube videos would be a boring and overplayed steal. Practicing “being in the moment” using Butoh and meditation are ways I stole the spirit of these artists, and when I need this spirit, it’s available to me.

During a recent bellydance performance with a live orchestra, one of my zills fell off at the end of my opening number. Instead of picking it up and breaking the routine, I didn’t give it a care. At the end of the song, I turned to the side, drew my arms in the form of holding a rifle, and gave the zill an imaginary bullet! And when I looked up at the audience, they were laughing with me. They were with me.

The point is not whether I played the zills perfectly. The point is that my audience was enjoying this moment with me. Did I steal that idea? Probably. Do I know where I stole it? No, I don’t. Have I studied the concept of humor and comedy in dance? Absolutely. Why do you think I have been attending local dance performances at On The Boards (Zoe Juniper) and Intiman Theater (Whim W’him)?

4. Copy, but don’t paste. Many of us learn to draw, play instruments, and write by studying and copying others. My first poems seem like copies of other poets. Their meter, flow, and energy lack my personal stamp, but that’s why they are a copy, and that is why they stayed in a folder, unpublished but not useless. It’s perfectly fine to spend hours copying others. Classical piano practice was entirely an endeavor that begins with copying, finger movement for finger movement, known works. I just did not expect to get up on a stage and have anyone willing to pay to see me practice scales, just like I did not expect anyone to pay to see my student performances in dance. These were still a stiff and uninspired copy of my teacher’s choreographies. They lacked improvisation, style or personal flair, and the essential energy or spirit of the Artist. That would only come with time and investment.

5. Avoid petty theft like the plague. You see this in the tech world all the time. One company makes something incredible, and later, several other companies try to copy it (with a few changes). Even when the copies are less expensive, the market tends to reward the original creator. Why? Likely, the original creator is more passionate about its product in a way that the copy cat is not. The copy cat is chasing the market, often like the copy cat artist is chasing an audience for attention. They will find a few willing to throw some dollars at a cheap thrill– a copy.

If you focus on creating something you are passionate about — that you believe in, and can’t stop thinking about — you are invested in making your art a reality. You are not focusing on copying someone else’s idea, even if your original thought began with a “steal”. You are then making something “new”; you are adding your own distinction to your endeavor (or as Sogge said above, you’re adding value).

When a band member once said to me, “Keyboardists — you’re a dime a dozen, and you can be easily replaced,” I laughed. Does she really believe that? Similarly, there are over a hundred bellydancers in the Seattle area that could try to dance at the professional level (i.e. employable), but does their sheer numbers and the limitations of venues make any of them replaceable? I would argue, this would only be true if they were copying each other. If they stole ideas from the greater world of art — better lighting, better audio, appropriate costuming, spectacular timing, and physical agility — their dances would only be that much more improved and enjoyed by the masses. If they watched – and stole- other forms of dance in order to develop their own style of movement, they would be adding value to the form. If they studied the Masters, and then added their emotional expression, they would have something to contribute.

Watching other performances and styles is not petty theft: it’s research. Listening to other bands and playing their tunes as covers is not a rip off: it’s an act of expressing one’s own style while walking on familiar path.

We’re living in a digital age where many artists are afraid of being ripped off, having ideas stolen, or being copied. The longer I think about this, the less I worry. If you’re any good, people will copy you. This is just a reality. As an artist, you have already done your own share of copying and stealing, consciously or unconsciously. That cannot be stopped. Nor should it be.

What you want to focus on is what element YOU add to your art that makes it your own. You will know this when someone copies you, and the copy is flawed. You will never have to worry about how good you are, or if there is too much competition. You will be unique. Your art will be sought after. You will be respected for what you do. You will find your niche.

A few years ago, my cousin took me to see one of the many houses I grew up in California during the time my father was working in Silicon Valley. I knocked on the door of this home, still familiar by all appearances: Spanish-style courtyard, fruit trees, and even my mother’s green and white patterned wall paper in the front landing below the staircase. The family living there now thought it fascinating to meet the daughter of the owners who did these improvements. But I know they were scratching their heads.

Why travel back in time to our beginnings? And what does that have to do with living artfully?

1. Remembering how it all began helps us remember where we were headed. The seed inside of us knew what we could become, even if it didn’t know specifically. As young as eight, I knew I would be in healthcare. And here I am. I knew I would be an artist. And here I am! Seeing the earliest traces of that knowledge empowers me to keep going, like the assurance of a map (only an unfinished one).

2. Touching a part of our childhood helps up realize we still know how to play. I still can remember hanging out of that cherry tree, placing those cherries in my mouth, and spitting out the pits on the road. I can feel my skinned knees, tanned skin, and the smell of fresh grass. We caught toads and learned about anatomy (sorry froggies!). We played with a microsoft, slides and slipcovers, and knew what our blood looked like under the biggest “eye” ever. I see myself as I was a child, and I get back in touch with my curiosity, which is the same mindset that drives me to deconstruct music, anatomy of movement, and expression of art in the abstract.

Do you have childlike curiosity? You can re-learn it from kids and kittehs, because both have this built-in!

<—If you can’t remember what curiosity feels like, maybe you should ask this critter, who was at the Old Rainier Brewery artwalk on Jan. 14, 2012. This little guy came right up to my camera to say hello, and looked at me with this face.

3. Seeing where we’ve been (i.e. my family’s humble immigrant beginnings) helps us remember we don’t need much to be happy or to be creative. I learned to play piano not on a shiny new eight-foot Steinway grand, but on a faltering piano painted a hideous green, and untunable in the upper and lower register, with two keys that would get partially stuck when the note was struck.  Yet I played several hours every day until my second year of college. No matter what you see around you — people spending money thoughtlessly and aimlessly, banks unaccountable for what they’ve done, hungry people standing outside the doors of restaurants while other gorge themselves past obesity — you do not need much to be happy. You do need yourself: awake, present, focused, hungry to produce art.

4. We’re reminded how we were sometimes shielded from the harsh realities of life in order to focus on the task at hand. I was not aware of my family’s financial struggles as immigrants until I was much older. I could concentrate on being a good student. While I’m not saying we should be ostriches with our heads in the sand, but it’s appropriate to invest in your artistic pursuits with undistracted time, resources, and attention. Unplugging from your TV, Internet, and your job increases your chances of giving that attention to your art projects in a way that a divided, frantic “you” cannot attend.

I sometimes wonder what would happen if I took time off to just concentrate on my art (besides neglecting my own financial commitments!). Other artists wonder this too, which is why we do things like take retreats and sabbaticals,  and going offline for weekends to unplug from our response-abilities to the world.

As my locum position for my day job winds up soon, I’ve been thinking about my own artistic travels. How much time do I want to plan to take off from work to free myself to concentrate on my art, and to do these trips responsibly? This is an important question for those of us artists who are not funded by a spouse or partner, or do not have artistic pursuits typically supported through grants.

Somehow, I think the child who was me — and who is me now, just a lot more grown up — has the answer. I’m looking forward to my times in 2012  (particularly mid-February in Santa Fe, NM, April in Vegas, and August in Nevada) to press into more artistic adventures.

What do you think? Can you tap the child who was you, and inspire your own artistic journey?  How can you overcome the roadblocks you anticipate from becoming a better artist this year?

I know people who like to stick to the same circles. It’s comfortable as warm cocoon. But it’s horrible for your art over time. While you may need some things to stay the same — your paints, brushes, place to create art, devices, etc — a change of scenery can be just the ticket to jolting your sluggish brain from its artistic fog or lethargy.

Did I share with you the time that I crashed an actor’s party in Vancouver BC? I used a fake name, “Trixie BonBon,” and I managed to convince the door person that I really knew the actor who was throwing a party for his friends (I didn’t). They gave me bottles of champagne to hand out to everyone, and by the end of the evening, some random guy told me he was in love with me. While none of that did anything for my dance art, I’ve always wanted to write that scene into a script. Regardless, that experience has helped me talk my way into just about any event I’ve ever wanted to attend without an invitation.

I took on a role. You can too. What if you were to travel somewhere no one knew you, and you simply practiced the act of being the artist you were meant to be? Not aspiring artist: just “artist”, as in present tense, IRL, “here I am in the flesh”, “what you see is what you get”, Artist, as if that were the most natural thing to be.

Adlerian psychology has a tenet similar to this thought, called “pretending as if.” I have noticed when under-confident artists who have not experienced the level of success they have wanted start “acting as if” they had already become the artists they want to be, they believe themselves, and thus others believe them too. They get hired, their art is purchased, and they are commissioned for new work.

This isn’t an act of Tom Foolery in manipulating reality. You aren’t changing anything but your own attitude towards yourself, which creates a shift in your energy from insecurity and doubt to confidence and exuberance, which is often more palpable than you think. When I believe people find my services valuable, I shouldn’t be surprised that they ask me to help, and they are willing to pay for those services.

Are you struggling with telling others about your artistic work? Do you love what you do, but you have a hard time communicating that with others? Chances are, you may need a little help in shifting your thinking.

As for me, I’m going to do a little think-shift in San Francisco during MacWorld 2012 Jan. 26-28, as well as into the weekend with a friend. Be prepared for my return, exploding back onto the scene with energy and ideas for your artistic life.

Clear Out Your Closets

If you have items that are collecting dust or sitting unused in your closets, you may want to think about selling, regifting, or donating these items to someone else who can use them more. Just in clearing two items in my closet, I banked $235 without having to pay for advertisement [of course, that money will be used to pay off the Las Vegas flight to visit my mum for NYE].

By clearing your closets, you are getting rid of clutter, and making room for things you really could use in your artistic pursuits.

Update

Tired of getting pop-ups on your computer reminding you to get the latest software? Maybe it’s time to update that old software to something that works more efficiently, quickly, and with more features that will make the creative process smooth. Updates may not be costly — some are free! — but they take time. If you have an older computer, maybe it’s time to update the computer itself. See what it might be worth on the market (Craigslist, Ebay, etc), and see if you can purchase what you need with the sale of your old stuff plus the money you collect from clearing out your closets.

I will often crowd source questions about what others use to organize, create, or share my projects. I scan articles to see what themes people use on WordPress, what cool apps are “getting it done”, and what items have seen its day and need to go.

Innovate

My beginning-of-year look at how to innovate my life is more difficult. This involves looking at my calendar for the past year, evaluating what I’ve accomplished, and seeing if anything is lacking. Innovation involves new ideas and new thinking, and most of us know that neither of these are easy to find. Maybe there really is nothing new under the sun, but just new ways of looking at life and art. By looking at my calendar, I can often detect through the bird’s eye view what areas of my life received generous attention. I can see what things were important, yet received too little attention, time, or money. Sometimes innovation can look like changing the way I interact with that area of my life, a relationship, or a project.

For example, since I took a temporary job as a nurse to fill a locum position, my energy has been massively absorbed in the world of healthcare — that is, the health of others. And suddenly, I noticed in my calendar that I had hardly scheduled any health-oriented activities for myself! I began asking, “How can I get smart about how I think about taking care of my health, and think innovatively about how I use my time so I have more of it to attend to my own health?” Innovation involved how I cooked more efficiently, socialized more effectively, and scheduled my activities so I could get the most out of my hours not dedicated to my work. It may not sound like an earth-shattering discovery, but simply making a declaration to friends and family that this otherwise night owl needed to be in bed by 11:00 pm in order to get up at 5:00 am to workout made a difference. Researching the best nutritional food bars to eat on the run and ordering three months’ worth to save money was also a part of thinking innovatively about my health and my time.

Create

I am all about creating. But like many of you, my creations can lay limp and unattended without both tools and motivation to get my creations finished. I learned my lesson recently. After having my Snuggie pinned to turn it into a walking jumpsuit, I left the Snuggie limp and unattended on a table. Returning home from work, I discovered that my newest kitty Lumi had urinated on it, then slept on top of it [Eww].  After washing it with the appropriate enzyme to remove pet urine, the Snuggie is now in my queue of projects, hanging in a place that Lumi can only dream about being able to shoot urine, and I am back on track with my creative projects.

Sometimes creating in your genre requires the motivation and inspiration of a few new tools. If you’re a painter, maybe it’s a book, new paints, or a group class that will help you get back into painting on a regular basis. If you’re a musician, maybe you need a fresh desktop free of project clutter,  light, or (drum roll) taking a walk outside to clear your mind. I’m a bit weird about this, but when I clip my nails, I know I’m ready to sit at the keyboard and start playing music [my nails grow exceptionally fast, requiring a clipping every three days to prevent the clicking sound of my nails against the plastic keys].

The ultimate creative booster for me is investing in a big spend on equipment. There is truth to this statement:  put your money where your mouth is. If you keep saying you want to make a film, and you have a sub-standard camera and a poor microphone, what does your equipment say about your seriousness to make films while you spend the money you have on stuff you don’t need [and I'm not talking about basic subsistence expenses like food, shelter, insurance, and utilities]?

I’ll be the first to admit, I have enough toys. I have some really good ones. At the end of the year, I’m usually not buying new equipment as much as maintaining what I have to get the most out of it. If I have an extra $300 – $1500 to spend on music-related creation, what would I buy? [choices, choices, choices]

Do you know what you would buy that would enhance your artful life? In my next blogpost, I will share with you what I’d be willing to spend money for — and save up for, because I don’t like debt! — that will enhance my art-filled life. This is BEFORE CES Expo, because I’m not necessarily talking about new items that might not have bwen tested, but items thwt are improved and standing up to good use. Watch for it!

In the meantime, do you have ideas about what you would purchase with that extra budget? How will you make it happen for you this year?

2011 An Artful, Art-full, Year

Fan veil workshop

Alauda Bellydance and Skinny Dip

MacWorld 2011 (including Cirque du Mac, and bands)

Film screening, “Shine”

VocaLive Launch, Ben Union

Boost Dance Show

Tux and Tails presentation

Taiwan – drum school, aborigine dances, arts and crafts, cuisine, video, karaoke

Jack Quartet  - experimental music performed in the dark, Sorrento Hotel

Alexi Murdoch

Psychedelic Furs

Med Fest 2011

Life Art Drawing and Yoga

Intiman Theatre – Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs

Degenerate Art Ensemble – The Red Shoes

MB Orchestra

Naseem Band

Salon of Shame

Comic Con 2011 in San Diego

Psychedelic Furs, Devo, Tom Tom Club

Screening for Beginnings (SIFF)

Kansas

Burning Man 2011

The Go-Go’s

Sade

Skirmish – Haruko and Christian (Butoh)

Pat Methany (and the Orchestrion)

Chick Corea (Zappa Forever, Trio)

Ryan Adams

Rene Marie

Keith Jarrett Trio

Hooping classes

Act Theater –  A Lie of The Mind

HF at OtB

Luminous Exhibit – SAM

Rickie Lee Jones

Act Theatre – Double Indemnity

Carolee Schneeman – Henry Art Gallery

Zoe Juniper – A Crack in Everything

Act Theater – Wisemen

Taj Mahal Trio at Jazz Alley

Andre Feriante (Flamenco and Spanish Guitar)

And the list goes on. I attended a number of readings, artwalks, and spontaneous “happenings” related to art performances. Add in my own weekend performances in dance, and you get the picture that this has indeed been a rich year in art. The goal was to expand my repertoire, try new things, and never get locked into any one style. Watching other artists has inspired me to work harder at perfecting my own performances, and the result of attending many more performances was to actually be more reticent about cranking out new and unfinished material too rapidly. I’ve entered a short season of deeper introspection and critique, which I believe will also sharpen my ability to choreograph and instruct.

I highly encourage those of you who wish to live a more artful life to look ahead into 2012 and begin filling your calendar with the experiences that will keep you inspired. It takes considerable planning, thoughtful budgeting, and organizing a calendar in order to not miss out. One thing I learned is that I’d often only hear about a concert after the tickets have sold out. To avoid this, you have to join a variety of artistic websites, “like” your favorite groups on Facebook, and actively canvass the Internet to events coming to your city. I missed some experimental/exhibitionist art performances because they were poorly marketed. Perhaps someday someone will make a customizable app that helps direct more of the information you’re looking for instead of the usual application that shows events sponsored by one ticket-selling site.

Now it’s your turn: did you have an artful year? What could you do to make it better? Anything missing? Share your thoughts on what you plan to do in 2012 to make it an artistic year.

When it comes to music, there hasn’t been anything truly brand spanking new in terms of a music genre since perhaps hip hop. After rock, after pop, after hip hop, there’s only been pretty much rehash, retro, and auto tuning. It’s enough to make me consider carefully that by the time I’m in an assisted living home, the administrators are going to be playing auto-tuned versions of Rebecca Black’s, “Friday” song in the effort to keep me happy and calm, when in fact, this non-music will signal my greatest efforts to lobby for assisted suicide so I can save myself from fate worse than an earlier demise.

Do you see what you see? Do you look for brand spanking new art, or rehash and retro?

According to Jaron Lanier, author of “You Are Not A Gadget“, the digital age could have ushered in a wild and beautiful age of new music. Instead, it appears to have given the dullards and the cookie-cutter kids a clever tool to suffocate the masses with talent-free goop, right along with viral Youtube videos containing cats, and “aww”-provoking art targeted towards the 25 to 35 year old’s who have never known anything but MIDI-generated sound. [If you don't know what MIDI is, I suggest you start with Wikipedia, and then find your way back to Lanier's description of the effect MIDI had on the music industry].

But you know, it’s our own damn fault [you know, anytime you want to blame just about anything on anyone else, there's always a few of your fingers pointing back at you for your inaction].

When we had a chance, we chose the technology instead of the band classes. We got excited when the first MIDI controller let us create endless, perfect loops of sound without distortion or variation. We trained a generation to prefer these undifferentiated, auto-tuned cold tones over the warmth of a human voice that quavers with emotion, or breaks and squeals. We voted up the double rainbow video. And we didn’t spend our dollars at local play houses. We didn’t even tell them how they could get us in their doors before they went belly up financially.

We applauded when photographers edited, removed, air-brushed, and changed the lighting. We gave our nods of approval when the squeak of fingers on guitar strings were removed from an album. We forgot what records sounded like. We positively reviewed bands who performed their music just like the albums we owned.

I use the inclusive “we” because even if you are finding yourself saying, “I didn’t agree, I didn’t do that,” you might have not done anything to stop technology from chipping away from the creative process that might have brought us brand spanking new art in this age. Like myself, you probably didn’t protest loudly enough when you had a chance. Now, I protest, and no one’s listening. They are too busy cutting band class out of schools, and making modern dance something only the rich can afford to teach their children as a hobby, and not a career boasting reasonable pay.

It’s not too late.

When you see really innovative art, dance, and music, get it in your mindset that you owe the world an obligation to tell others what you’ve seen. Don’t leave the world drowning in the most lost era of music ever. Perhaps with your help, we actually will discover and promote new music and dance styles, and new forms of art. They will find their way to Kickstarter.com. They will emerge. They will be seen. With your help, they will not be lost.

Have you seen something truly innovative lately? Do your part, and please share. The world will be a better place. And if you disagree, then tell me why you think I’m wrong. Supply us all with evidence to the contrary, and show me where new art is thriving enough that it can support the people who make it. Show me the numbers. Show me the money. Show me the art, dammit.

When working with difficult topics, get it off your chest quickly. Try these tips, below.

Ways to Get Stuff Off Your Chest (And Into Your Art)

1. Watch other professional artists at your craft, and take notes. I’ll be attending a Zoe Juniper performance at OtB (On the Boards) Sunday Dec. 4 for a well-received modern dance performance by distinguished NY area dancers, “A Crack in Everything”. The interview by Zoe details her interest in conceptualizing sin using props, contemporary music and costuming, and providing a demanding choreography that gives the audience a sense that if one were to let go, all the “cracks” might appear, just as they do IRL every day.

2. Write it down. I used to carry a Moleskin pad in my purse, but with the invention of the smartphone, you can write those things down in a memo on your phone, or make a note using Evernote for you best ideas. Even if you wrote, “I feel f*cked off every time someone says (fill in the blank),” that note is telling you to attend to how many times you feel it, what exactly you’re feeling, and begs the question of what you want to do about it.

3. Free associate. Once you have a idea off your chest, take it out, shake it out, and hold it up to the light. Free associate other ideas. Name the first five ideas that drop out of your head after you “look” at the thing: grease, cat poop, jazz, environmental rape, despair. [OK, don't send me to a shrink for those words connected to one idea].

4. Imitate, journal, and then create your own. If an idea is particularly difficult for you to conceptualize, try imitating something else. For example, if you want to express anger, watch angry animals on Youtube, such as this kitty cat:

[Just as a mental exercise, have you ever tried to embody the energy of a frightened, and then let it uncoil out of your spine?]

5. Use a different medium. Since I don’t know how to draw, drawing is one of the first media I’ll try to express a difficult concept. Why? Because the effort required makes me slow down, economize my words or ideas in one frame, and rethink what is fundamental to my concept [someday I might show you a six-frame comic strip I've started on, starring my cats Lumi and C-M].

6. Watch other professional artists from a different medium. I saw Carolee Schneemann’s “Within and Beyond the Premises” exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery (showing until  Dec. 30, 2011).  Viewing this collection of filmaker, photographer, feminist, and performance artist in the exhibitionistic stream,  participants are exposed (no pun intended) to a wide variety of works including the pulling of a scroll from her vagina, to black and white photographs of kisses on her cat that one would be deceived if one tried to describe it short of intimate. The exploration of difficult themes (i.e. rape/assault, fury, repression, death, sex and gender) The pieces that grabbed me in particular involved the clawing of hands in heart-shaped paintings to conceptualize the violence and anguish of a physical assault.

7. Read. [Do I need to say more?]

8. Join a community with a message board to bounce ideas around. While the group,”Artist Study Hall” met in late Fall 2011, we shared our ideas out loud, used each other as surrogate muses, and drank a lot of coffee. The accountability and flow of ideas will help you get your ideas down, putting you closer to getting your ideas “out there”.

9. Be Lloyd Dobbler (except video yourself). In the movie, “Say Anything”, Lloyd drives around at night with a portable cassette recorder, rambling to himself. Think of it as a night time audio version of Julie Cameron’s “Artist Way” morning pages. While rambling to yourself, your mind may drop ideas like precious gems, and a great way to archive these ideas is to keep your phone camera rolling.

10. Do it. Every artist knows there comes a moment where you need to just shut up and get to work. Do it. Don’t dawdle, procrastinate, or start cleaning your house. If you’re picking lint out of your belly button instead of pulling out the camera and lights for that photography idea that has bounced around your mind like a ping pong for days, nine of ten guesses say you will end up with a pile of lint rather than a finished photo. Put the lint down and get to work.

Have you ever tried to communicate an idea through art that was very difficult? Share your ideas on how you got the idea off your chest and into the world.

Step 1: Read the account of others who have done this more than you

I really liked Lifehacker’s article on the topic. This particular article shows you how to prepare for the eventual sale of your device from the very beginning of the process: the purchase day of your iDevice. Because of articles like this one, I already knew that some people really like having the original box. By protecting the phone from any damage from Day 1, I have a pristine iPhone4 with no scratches.

Step 2: Find a market, and focus on buyers who are ready to purchase

What I found is on places like Craigslist, there are people are people who insist on trying to negotiate you under the table, or continue to ask too many questions beyond the standard info and pictures you might have already placed in an ad. No worries. When you sell an iDevice in demand, there will be other interested buyers. Let it “settle out”, and what remain are serious buyers.

You’d be surprised how many people will ask if they can “see it”, even when you’ve supplied photos and description. Usually, a flurry of other questions may follow, and what this usually means is the person has not done his or her homework. A person who has done his/her homework will know what s/he wants, what s/he is willing to spend for it, and how far s/he is willing to drive for it. You do not have to make those decisions for them.

Step 3: Set up a clean deal

Be honest about any flaws, damage, or problems with your iDevice to the prospective buyer. Don’t promise anything more than the product and the packaging. Clean the device, wipe its memory, charge it properly (and include the charger that comes with it), and agree to meet your buyer in a public place with good lighting and a lot of people. Do not accept anything but cash, and don’t feel bad about asking to count the money as well as inspect it for counterfeit cash (I knew someone who was present at a transaction where counterfeit money was given, and she was so furious!).

Now, with the iPhone, you have to consider the cost of the item as a locked phone versus the wishes of the customer to get an unlocked phone for less [unlocked phones go for $400 more in the Apple store]. While it isn’t the sellers responsibility to unlock the phone for the customer, most customers will begin asking questions about your iDevice, such as, “Which carrier is it on?” or “How do I unlock it so I can use it on XYZ carrier?” You should decide ahead of time how you will address the question. I personally refer the customer back to Internet, allowing the choice to unlock the phone to rest solely on the buyer. Otherwise, a customer could ask you to jailbreak the phone for them, and then quit the deal at the last minute, leaving you with a jail-broken phone that Apple will refuse to fix in the future unless you sold it back to them [and it was resold as a "refurbished" iPhone]. Leave the jailbreaking to the customer. I disagree with Lifehacker that you could take cash for the jail-breaking process; you could still get “stuck” with your item if the customer is disgruntled for any reason [even buyer's remorse for the cost of an iPhone]. Again, think about this as setting up a clean deal, start to finish.

What I’ve learned is that I should never have a problem selling an iDevice that is still usable and has no damage. A good product can “sell itself”, but a little professionalism goes a long way.

BTW, the camera on the new iPhone4S is everything they said it would be, and more. Pictures of my kittehs Lumi and C-M will be forthcoming.

Now it’s your turn. Do you have any tips on selling your iDevices and upgrading to the next generation without losing a ton of money? Please share your tips.

Isn't there more to Thanksgiving than the turkey? Find out what you can do on Thanksgiving Day if you need to stay put.

Things To Do For Thanksgiving Day (If you can’t go anywhere)

1. Cook a turkey and feed the homeless the day AFTER Thanksgiving. Hey, there are usually lots of people who volunteer to help the homeless and hungry on Thanksgiving Day. What about the day after? I hear volunteers are needed on other days of the year. Got the free turkey  from Fred Meyer? Go cash that coupon, pick up your turkey, thaw it when you’re ready, and cook it with no pressure at all.

2. Invite friends over for a pre-Thanksgiving drink. [that's what I'm doing right now, and I have three attractive males sitting in my home, sipping drinks and goobing on my cats].

3. Offer to bring wine to a friend’s celebration. You will not be denied.

4. Sync up your iDevices to prepare for Black Friday sales. Make a list of all the things you need to shop for that you’d like to save $$, and line them up BEFORE the sales start online. After the stroke of midnight (Friday 12:01 am), start shopping for a half hour, and then get some zzz’s before work. Set alarms for breaks to check on sales, and make sure all your credit card information is up to date, including the date to pay everything off so you have no interest incurred.

[Now, I am well aware that many feel that all of us should join in solidarity to not buy ANYTHING on Black Friday to send a message. I just don't buy anything directly from a store, but I do try to support smaller businesses. Think it through, and make your own choice.]

5. Watch a movie. Thanksgiving Day usually has a matinee worth seeing.

6. Knock off one project off your “to-do” list that you were meaning to do all month. You’ll feel better that you did at least one thing before you descend into your food coma.

7. Wash your cats. [Be sure to film that for Youtube if you do this. Wrap your cats in gift wrap if you wish].

8. Go to a local, small establishment, and plunk down some cash for food and drink. They need your business, and you need the cheer.

9. Exercise to your heart’s content. I mean it. Go move your body. A lot. I suggest doing something that doesn’t feel like exercise. You don’t need to go to the gym to dance like a fool in your living room.

10. Find an art project to support. If you don’t know of any, do a search on Kickstarter.com. Find an interesting project that could use your help, and donate.

Got some good ideas for what to do on Thanksgiving Day? Send ‘em in, kittehs. Sharing is good!

And most of all, whatever you do, do it artfully, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!