How to Steal Like an Artist (Part 2)

Here's part 2 of revisiting some of the key points from Austin Kleon's 'Steal Like an Artist.' This time, we'll dig deeper into the importance of making an effort to learn and saving what resonates with us for future use.

I plan to keep this one shorter as things have been really tight recently. Moving forward, I'll make things bite-sized so that you can digest these bits without experiencing reading indigestion (lol).

🤿 Going Deeper

As Austin Kleon emphasizes, it is always your responsibility to actively pursue learning. Regardless if you are in school or not, doing research can often lead you to places. If not places, but interesting links that are worth sharing with people (just don’t click any suspiciois links, please).

The entire knowledge is at your fingertips, as the saying goes. Nowadays, everything is searchable through Google. Long-form and short-form contents sprawl across the digital space, waiting for you to extract value from them.

Personally, I find short-form content to be somewhat shallow, yet it sparks my curiosity and motivates me to explore the topic further. This is where long-form content reigns supreme 👑.

The key to meaningful learning and going deeper is to be curious and look everything up. Search every reference you find and relate them to one another. Make sense of everything you learned so far and make Googling stuff a habit.

🔖Save for Later

Most of the apps you've downloaded offer a 'Save' option, allowing you to revisit later when you need them. The same approach can be applied to creative projects or when you come across something inspiring.

Alternatively, you can resort to the old yet effective pen-and-paper method of jotting down ideas and keeping them visible and easy to access. Even capturing a screenshot of artwork or an article works as well. If the traditional method doesn't work for you, consider creating a digital album on your phone to store relevant artworks and articles that inspires you to create.

Here's a tip to make saving effective and help you move forward with future projects: Save with the intention of using it.

By this, I mean creating folders, albums, or categories for items related to a specific project you're working on. Being intentional to what you save adds clarity to your objectives, as opposed to saving indiscriminately.

Although there's nothing harmful in saving things along the way, this method of saving intentionally brings focus to your future projects.

Diving deeper to maximize learning and saving items for later use are some of the key practices help you become a better artist in the long term. As artists, we are responsible for our own education, and our collections of saved items can serve as a valuable pieces of information that we can craft into something better. Dig deeper and save what matters.

See you next week!

Ran

xx

📄 Journal Prompt (from Day One App)

🎶 🖌️ Music and Art Corner

Art Community Spotlight: Pasundayag Sa Dabaw

Pasundayag Sa Dabaw stands out as one of my favorite and most anticipated growing art communities in Davao City. This art community is committed to bringing diverse art and culture to Davaoeños, and they have consistently proven their dedication since its inception.

I had the chance to reach out to Loel Balangauan, an awesome photographer and a friend of mine, who is alongside fellow individuals who are also creatives that are responsible for establishing this art community. You can learn more about him in one of my earliest blog posts.

History (How Pasundayag Sa Dabaw Started)

One remarkable feats of this art community is its creation in January 2023, just a month ahead of the celebration of National Arts Month in February. Loel recalled that he was aware of the country's annual celebration of National Arts Month in the following month, but he observed that Davao City had only a few art community events during this time. Inspired by other art communities, he crafted his own idea of celebrating it and pitched his concept to his close friends.

His closest friends, who are also creatives, embraced and supported his idea, coining the term pasundayag, which means "to present."

Loel highlighted the challenges they faced, particularly during the preparation phase. With only a month for preparation and lacking experience in organizing events, it was a challenging phase for them. But, with the support of local artists, they persevered and eventually they successfully established the community and hosted their first art fair on February 19, 2023. The event drew nearly 400 participants, marking the beginning of their impactful journey. The rest, as they say, is history.

Purpose of the Art Community

The art community shares the same vision as the National Arts Month which celebrates the talent of Filipino artists across the Philippines.

In Davao City, this local art community is specifically established to support homegrown artists. The organizers recognize the importance of creating a space for underrated artists to stand out and showcase their skills. They are dedicated to bringing the art and passion of these artists closer to the Davaoeños, encouraging them to exhibit their work, expose their talents to the public, and ensuring inclusivity for all walks of life.

Recent Events

February 2023 - Pasundayag sa Dabaw: Ang Pasiunang Duyog - the Debut Art Fair

This local art fair is their first art community event where they have successfully pulled off. Aside from digital artists, they gathered speakers for various topics for creatives, local performers, micro-to-small businesses and partners. I was fortunate enough to be part of the artists who exhibited the works alongside amazing artists and participated in the Art Talk where they share their expertise in the art production and social media storytelling. More info here

November 2023 - Pasundayag sa Dabaw: Hadlukanay - The Halloween Art Fair

This art fair is the successor of the first art fair that was held in the month of November with a Halloween theme. This time, they invited guest drag queens and DJs that filled the event with ghoulish glamor alongside the bazaar for the small business owners as well as artists who exhibited their in-theme artworks.

Upcoming Events

Pasundayag sa Dabaw: Eksena sa Eskinita

This is an upcoming event for this month. According to Loel, this year’s theme evolved into the streets of Davao City. The art community aims for the locals to appreciate the arts in every corner of the city. Upcoming events include a photowalk, live tattoo art, , pop up market, local art performance, and many more.

To stay updated with the events, you can follow them on their Facebook page

📘 Readers Delight

• Aesthetic Pomodoro Timer

• Are you a Multipotentialite? Read this Substack post from Creative Hackers

• Write a Breakup Letter with Catherine Price to let go of your phone usage addiction

• From Kia Abrera - How to Start Charging More as a Freelancer

• Morning Brew - How I keep up with daily news (referral link)

• Notion - All my notes are stored here (affiliate link)

🖊️ Words to Live by

🙏 A small favor

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