29. You are an Artist: Assignments to Spark Creation

In You are an Artist, Sarah Urist Green writes about different artists, and gives an art assignment based on each of them. I’m a longtime Vlogbrothers fan (I started watching their videos in 2007, which was roughly half my lifetime ago. In other news, I am elderly.) and Sarah Urist Green is married to John Green, and The Art Assignment is somewhat connected to the Nerdfighter universe, which is why I picked up this book.

I found this book to be really interesting – it broke the mold for books bout creativity, because it wasn’t centered on getting better at any particular craft, or on becoming a great artist – just on being creative, making art. I feel like the closest author to Green I know of would be Austin Kleon – not any of his books in particular, but the attitude he his on his blog – that everyone can create, and finding value in making art, even if it is not perfect.

You are an Artist would be a worthwhile read for anyone who wants to be more creative, but doesn’t know where to start.