The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

One Click — One Masterpiece?

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“Seeing” your subject and capturing the moment. (Photo by Josh Kaplan)

So… I want to talk about what really annoys me about my husband. Here it is..this photo. I was walking down the hallway the other day and he was behind me and suddenly said “Don’t move!” He grabbed his camera and took the shot. I love it so much. The composition is perfect, the colors and shapes, and light and shadows.

So why is it so irksome? Because when I want to create a piece of art, it can take days/weeks, sometimes months of painstaking effort, usually involving second thoughts, insecurities, and often trashing what I’ve done and starting over. You know how long this piece of art took him? According to the metadata from his camera — one eightieth of a second. 1/80th. Factor in the editing time, the careful tweaking of the final image, and maybe — maybe — this masterpiece took 5 minutes to create. I can’t even lay my paintbrushes out in that amount of time.

It’s not fair. He would say the difference is that I am an artist and he is not. He would insist that I create something purely from my imagination, while he only documents things in front of him, things that catch his eye. But I would say his finished product is a work of art, and he can bite me.

Happy New Year!

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Join me in ushering in 2025 with intention. Not a list of pointless resolutions we won’t keep for a week, but a commitment to approach everything in a fresh new way. Allow your artist within to find its way out. A minor shift in thought — that can lead to radical results. You may surprise yourself. Just imagine.

“Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.” — Bruce Garrabrandt, artist

Wishing you a spectacular year ahead!

When The Creative Bug Bites — Let Him

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(Pic #1) Left: Living room wall yesterday. (Pic #2) Right: Living room wall today. Amazon box series.

It’s called answering the “artistic need.”

It came through like a brain-bending tornado. And I don’t know why it hit exactly when it did. I had been immersed launching a new small business this week, and felt a bit choked by the complexities of our tech and marketing tasks. I had promised my art partner that I’d stay focused on our business, and try to meet the deadlines in front of us. I felt the pressure and knew that at any minute the dam could break.

Suddenly, I felt sucked into a dizzying vortex. I became defiant, practically childlike in my need to express myself — NOW. It went beyond urge — it felt more like panic. If I didn’t start making art — in some form — I would blow. F**K my promise — I had to make something.

(Pic #3) Detail, Amazon box wall sculpture.

So I ran to the trash and rescued a load of Amazon boxes. I started ripping (therapeutic on its own) and then with absolutely no plan in mind, started squirting and splashing paint all over them. It felt so fantastic, I ripped more and splashed more. Pretty soon I had a multi-level cardboard structure in the house, (Pic #2) and while flimsy, it satisfied me completely. I know it’s not great art. But, as I share in my creativity workshops, that is 100-percent irrelevant. What matters is that I got to answer the call. I soothed a part of my soul and remarkably, came back the next day stronger than ever in my pressing work.

Many studies show that it is critical for human beings to create. The benefits of making art (in any form) are infinite. Art can: 1) Boost our brain function and our immune systems. 2) Improve our mental and emotional health, and 3) Help us process trauma, express difficult feelings, and work through stressful experiences. Case in point: During this year’s pandemic, sales of art and craft supplies jumped by over 200-percent.

It’s a basic human need, and one we should never ignore. Today, I had one of the most productive days I’ve ever had — and I know allowing art back into my routine enriched the hell out of everything else.