art | J.R. Johnson

Posts Tagged ‘art’

Moon Magic

Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, art, Artemis II, beauty, creativity, inspiration, movie, music, NASA, public domain, space on July 31, 2026| 1 Comment »

One of the (many) great things about NASA is that the images it produces are public domain. What might a curious and creative person do with such imagery? Why, cut it together as a moon mission movie, of course!

Filmmaker Turns Artemis II Footage Into Cinematic Short Film

“I have been completely spellbound by the images coming out of NASA’s Artemis II mission,” Boswell wrote on YouTube. “NASA / ESA deserves best cinematography at the Oscars! I dropped everything to put together a tribute to the mission, piecing together the best, highest resolution footage and mission photography with a custom eight-minute score.”

In case you could use a little space-based inspiration today. Thank you, John D. Boswell!

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Cherish Your Gifts

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, action, art, artists, creativity, eschew vanity, talent, Thoughts, work, writing on July 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

I see no particular merit in the fact that I was an artist at the age of eleven. I was born with an ability, with music in me, that is all. No special credit was due me. The only credit we can claim is for the use we make of the talent we are given. That is why I urge young musicians: “Don’t be vain because you happen to have talent. You are not responsible for that; it was not of your doing. What you do with your talent is what matters. You must cherish this gift. Do not demean or waste what you have been given. Work — work constantly and nourish it.” — Pablo Casals, Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor

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What to Write Next

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, art, creativity, inspiration, Writers, writing on May 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Write what you love to come upon. —Anne Lamott

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Entertainment and Connection

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, art, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“Your fans, the ones that exist and the ones you have yet to make, will appreciate that what they get from you is from you. That’s what people mostly want from art: Entertainment and connection. You will always be able to do that better than ‘Al.’” — John Scalzi

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Write Your Own Rules

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, art, creativity, rules, Thoughts, Writers, writing on May 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

It’s understandable that a lot of beginners at any art want rules for how to do it. But there comes a time when one has to make one’s own choices about how one’s art is structured, how it’s executed, what you want it to do. There is no rulebook that will help you with that, you just have to step up and decide. That’s scary! But there’s no getting around it. — Ann Leckie

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Permission Granted

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, art, creativity, inspiration, life, Thoughts, Writers, writing on April 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“I gave myself permission to care, because there are a lot of people in this world who are afraid of caring, who are afraid of showing they care because it’s uncool. It’s uncool to have passion. It’s so much easier to lose when you’ve shown everyone how much you don’t care if you win or lose. It’s much harder to lose when you show that you care, but you’ll never win unless you also stand to lose. I’ve said it before. Don’t be afraid of your passion, give it free reign, and be honest and work hard and it will all turn out just fine.” ― Tom Hiddleston

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On Art and Commerce

Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, art, creativity, Thoughts, Writers, writing on March 9, 2026| 4 Comments »

It’s Monday, which seems like a perfect time for a bit of wisdom on the intersection of art and commerce. This quote comes from sci-fi author John Scalzi, who has famously taken a stand on the importance of being paid for creative work, and knows a thing or two about building a viable living around art.

As a writer, and as a creator, nothing one ever does, professionally or personally, needs to be wasted. It’s all fuel for the creative engine…

Anyway: If you’re a writer or creator, never be ashamed of what else you do. It’s 2026 and this special flavor of gilded age we live in at the moment means that what qualifies as “selling out” has an extremely high bar. Making a living was very rarely “selling out” in any era. I think these days the phrase should be mostly reserved for writing things you absolutely don’t believe, for the sort of people you would in fact despise, with the result of your work is you making the world worse for everyone. Avoid doing that, please.

Short of that, get paid, have those experiences and develop new tools. All of it will be useful for the art you do care about. That’s not selling out. That’s learning, with compensation. — There Is No Selling Out Anymore

Now I’m off to do some more learning!

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