Take the Easy A

Playbook? Are you out of your Musing Mind? Well, yes, as usual. After a year of Tuesday Musings and a slight hiatus while I work with my partners and team to transition our agency to RAVE Collective, I thought it was high time to return with a little rebranding. This is still a place for creative inspiration and cool stuff, but I wanted to open the pages a little more for an inside look at how I make things and how I live a creative life. So let's go.

Anyone remember the SATs? Oof, that's a kick in the memory shins.

My son's currently sailing the choppy waves of his junior year in high school. That means paying attention to grades, building up his extracurricular CV with relevant activities, and taking the dreaded SAT -- all in the service of getting universities to say YES next year.

About a week ago we were visiting family up north, and my son was detailing his heavy workload and intense school schedule. When talking about his 4.0 GPA (unweighted), he kind of hesitantly admitted that one of his classes was such a joke he didn't have to do any work at all to get an A.

That's when his uncle said, "Take the easy A."

Such a simple, obvious response, one that almost feels dirty, like cheating. But it's profound because the easy A is NOT cheating.

One of the biggest myths I always look to dispel is that of the struggling artist. Good art doesn't have to be hard, and you don't have to suffer for it. There are definitely times when it IS hard, when the thoughts and ideas don't rush flowing out of you. Sometime the best concepts need the work, need the muscle put behind them. But other times, it's okay to take what the universe gives you.

When you're stuck on a creative problem, look around for that easy A ... and take it.

Good luck, seniors, on those acceptances; and good luck, juniors, on doing the work! Let me know if you (or your child!) get any good news.

love,

jpp

Pillow Cake? Yes please.

I was proud to be a part of the Sora Alpha Artists program, and recently I went to an AI film festival called Sora Selects. Great, interesting, inspiring filmmaking. One of my fave’s was Nik Kleverov’s strange and wonderful noir, “The Somniloquist.”

OMG I love runway high fashion. Do you know the work of Robert Wun? His Fall 2024 Couture collection, titled “Time,” is a testament to his unparalleled creativity.

The magic mirror on my wall never tells me I'm the fairest one of all -- it usually tells me I need to lose weight. What a jerk! But I don't need a magic mirror to tell me that it was a blast working on the new live action Snow White. Check out three pieces we recently finished at RAVE Collective here, here and here!

Do YOU have a cool project you would like me to share with my readers? Hit me up and maybe we’ll see you in an upcoming Playbook.