Kudos: Make Good Art

Kudos: Neil Gaiman's writing and Chip Kidd's art in the book, "Make Good Art"

In May of 2012, beloved author Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Anansi Boys, The Graveyard Book, Coraline) stood up in front of the graduating class at Philadelphia's University of the Arts and dispensed some timeless advice on the creative life. While his words were potent and meaningful – the art designed for the accompanying book "Make Good Art" by artist Chip Kidd is contemporary, expressive, and just plain good.

This is one of those books you buy, read, leave sitting out for others to read and eventually leave in the seat pouch on an airplane for someone else to discover and love. The writing is superb and the art is truly great. This would be a great gift for a young artist or creative.

From the book:

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever."

And also:

"When things get tough, this is what you should do: Make good art. I'm serious. Husband runs off with a politician — make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by a mutated boa constrictor — make good art. IRS on your trail — make good art. Cat exploded — make good art. Someone on the Internet thinks what you're doing is stupid or evil or it's all been done before — make good art. Probably things will work out somehow, eventually time will take the sting away, and that doesn't even matter. Do what only you can do best: Make good art. Make it on the bad days, make it on the good days, too."