Following the ‘White-hot Fire Inside of You’

How I overcame a fear of making mistakes.

I spent a period of time where my goal was to plow through work in the cheapest and most disposable way possible. My choice was cardboard—sheets of corrugated cardboard from the streets of Manhattan.

I’d haul it up to my studio in big bundles every day, and put it all over the walls, the floor—even on the... See more

Kieran • Following the White-Hot Fire Inside of You

If your work is to have integrity, it must come from the inside. Everything you need to be creative you've probably possessed since you were ten years old. Just show up, regardless of the results, and scream down the well with every inch of your lungs. That’s how you get a career.

Kieran • Following the White-Hot Fire Inside of You

Creativity is something you are, not only something you do. It’s a way of moving through the world, every minute, every day. If you’re not driven to an unrealistic standard of dedication, it may not be the path for you. So much of the artist’s work is about balance, so it’s ironic that this way of life leaves little room for it.

Rick Rubin • The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you’re not.

Rick Rubin • The Creative Act: A Way of Being

But I think of it this way: I don’t make art. I make things . Framing it like that keeps what I’m doing from becoming precious. And that’s a good thing, because to be precious is to be timid—and that’s bad. Creativity requires attention to detail and persistence in the face of failure: that’s why it’s called a ‘discipline’. Every painting fails... See more