The artist is a collector. Not a hoarder, mind you, there's a difference: Hoarders collect indiscriminately, artists collect selectively. They only collect things that they really love.
Austin Kleon
Look around you. What influenced you today? Your phone notifications? The endless scroll? The noise of a thousand voices? None of them yours.
Here’s a way to tune into to one clear voice, to catch your vision.
Start an Artist Book.
Not a sketchbook – though you'll sketch in it.
Not a journal – though you'll write in it.
Not a diary – though you'll record in it.
An Artist Book is simpler than all of these. It's a space where you choose what influences you, instead of letting the world choose for you.
The practice takes just ten minutes: Fill two pages with whatever catches your spark that day. That's it. No rules about what goes in. No pressure about what it becomes.
I discovered this by accident. I started the year with a sketchbook, making daily drawings with notes alongside. Halfway through, I switched to a notebook – more words, fewer pictures. Then one day, I realized: these pages weren't just recording my days.
They were shaping them.
Think of it as building a library of influence – one spread at a time, ten minutes a day. Your art might be making picture books, raising kids, designing gardens, or teaching math. Whatever it is, this book is your compass.
Ten Minute Artist Prompt:
Start an Artist Book
Choose a book that feels right. On the first page, write: "In these pages, I collect what influences me. Ten minutes a day. Building a library of inspiration. Making material for my art."
The world is fighting for your attention. Your Artist Book is how you fight back – gently, daily, ten minutes at a time.
I absolutely love this idea! I’ve been wrestling with how to combine words, sketches, and other musings from my day into some kind of book, but I’ve struggled to describe or define what it is—which has held me back. Not anymore—an Artist Book it is, and I’m starting on it!
This reminds me of the Commonplace Book! I first came across this idea in Tiago Forte’s Build a Second Brain. It was a popular practice for thinkers starting back in the 17th Century (apparently it was a way for early Victorians to deal with their version of information overload 😅). Anyway, having one place to collect all of your influences/inspirations was very useful for not forgetting what’s important (having a second memory). I’m sure you start to recognize patterns in yourself that way too. An externalization of your thinking ☺️✍️✨