Over the Fourth of July weekend, I was staying with family in Lake Placid and working out in the garage. Between sets, as I was catching my breath, I wandered over to the workbench and noticed something I somehow missed in dozens of visits: "How to Be an Artist," by the artist and author SARK.
I read it several times, not just because I needed an extra breather.
Invite someone dangerous to tea. Make friends with freedom and uncertainty. Do it now. Have wild imaginings. Play with everything. Listen to old people.
What struck me most was that nothing on the list is about technique or craft.
She wrote it in 1989, long before screens became both something to escape and a canvas for creativity. Looking at it now, I read it less as a guide to making art than as a reminder to be fully alive.
With my phone out of sight, I noticed a list that had been there for years. Maybe that's why I finally saw it.