Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Part 0 Art, the Comfort Zone, and the Chance of a Lifetime 1

Art is the truly human act of creating something new that matters to another person. The only refuge left, the only safe path, is to be the one who makes art.

Part 1 The Connection Economy Demands That We Create Art 20

The industrial age had little use for art because it decreased productivity for the organized factory. That age is ending, and we need to clean out the cruft it leaves behind and build something more valuable in its place.

Part 2 Myths, Propaganda, and Kamiwaza 73

The gods are us, yet we've been fooled into thinking we have no right to act as they do.

Part 3 Grit and Art and the Work That's Worth Doing 108

The path available to us is to gum up the works, stand firm, and pick ourselves.

Part 4 Shame, Vulnerability, and Being Naked 117

Of course it's difficult and frightening. When we do art, we put ourselves at risk, because risk is part of what makes it art.

Part 5 To Make Art, Think Like an Artist. To Connect, Be Human. 143

More than eighty-seven ideas to chew on.

Appendix 1 True-Life Stories of Fourteen Real Artists 221

Could be you.

Appendix 2 V Is for Vulnerable: An Artist's Abecedary 235

An alphabet for artists.

Acknowledgments 241