Book Review: Don't Call It Art by Austin Kleon

This is a great little book focused on how to treat oneself with the care of a loving parent so that one's wild, creative child within -- comes out to play!

The book includes a chart about how to talk with your kids about art.  It has some suggested questions (using a curiosity approach) that can prompt 'real' conversation versus questions that can come across as if the child isn't doing something right or his/her work looks unrecognizable.  (The suggested questions would work great to aid in real talk between adults as well.  I'll be trying some of them out soon.)

Austin also includes a number of photos of his sons as they play-work and some of the art they've made.  In addition, there are a number of Austin's clever newspaper blackout poems that I happen to  like for their wisdom.

One of my favorite quotes in the book is attributed to Caitlin Moran, and it reads, "If you eat enough books, you start pooping out words."  I'm just tickled by this saying.  So what could a comparable statement for the visual artist be?

The book title is perfect for the vibe the author is trying to set--in that we (artists) get too wrapped up in working to create a satisfying product when we call what we make art.  In that regard, the art must meet an imaginary standard we set for ourselves.  So, if we don't call it art, then there is no standard.  So, we can just have fun, play and delight in whatever imagery shows up, thereby recovering that childlike freedom in the creative process.