I really like Austin Kleon. Like really like him. I remember reading his Steal Like An Artist years ago and loving that, so this was definitely something I was looking forward to!
Show your work is really a good book to give to anyone in the creative arts tbh. For some reason we all feel as if we need to toil in secret, agonizing over our work as tortured creators and I, for one, don’t subscribe to that idea at all. But ask me if I’d really gone and started showing my work?
Nope.
Until now.
Why?
I guess because I made the choice to start in a real way.
I have a Master’s in Business (specifically entertainment business) and I still feel like this book gave me a bump to get started but like for real.
So here’s the book in chapters:

The first one, You Don’t Have To Be A Genius makes me think of the entire CBGB scene. This idea of scenius works incredibly well in that context. The Ramones, The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, all these pioneers of music hung out there, playing for one another and pushing themselves to make better and better music.
This brings the idea of community and what we can do for one another to the forefront of our minds. It’s not about what others can do for us, but what we can bring to the whole.
This idea of being an amateur, of having limitless possibilities because we don’t know what we can’t do enthralls me. Take up something new and document it. Lose yourself in the process.
Talk about the things you love, you’ll discover yourself along the way.
Think Process. Not Product.
I really like this idea. I’m sick of seeing everyone’s highlight reels. I long for truth. For emotion, for success and failure. This one asks us to document. That’s it. Whether it’s good or bad, whether is a highlight or just a new version of our painting. It doesn’t matter. We connect through showing where we are now. I also can’t help but think of all the people I follow and how much I love going back over their old stuff and realizing how far they’ve come. It excites me, inspires me to keep going.
I love the idea of behind the scenes. I’m always excited to see how people create the things they do. We can use this to help others in their own journey.
Share Something Small Everyday
Share something that you think someone would benefit from. Think of things you’ve learned, think of things that excite you and share those.
Also get a website. Create a little space all your own. Ghost.org has actually been super amazing once I figured it out lol
Open Up Your Cabinet Of Curiosities
Look at what’s inspiring you. Share it. Tell the whole world about the things that have helped shape you, or what’s currently shaping you. And don’t forget to credit. Always give credit.
Tell Good Stories
We also long for good stories, so learn to tell them. Tell them online, tell them in person, type ‘em in your phone, on your iPad.
Learn to tell a good story. He even gives nifty diagrams like the one below.

Most importantly learn to tell a good story about yourself. Don’t be afraid of telling people who you are, what you do and why it matters.
Teach What You Know
As artists I think we have a duty to help those who come after us, the same way we’ve all had some sort of mentor. So begin teaching what you know. There’s this idea that if you really want to see how well you understand something you have to be able to teach it to someone else. The more you teach it, the more you begin to understand it in ways that you wouldn’t have before.
Don’t Turn Into Human Spam
We all know that social media isn’t always the best place for us. The Facebook studies show that it can be incredibly harmful to our psyche, but it can also connect us with people who truly understand want to see what we’re doing. It’s better to have 500 friends who interact with you than 15,000 who barely even see you.
Don’t associate with energy vampires. See how you feel after you’ve spent time with someone, if you feel reenergized then they’re good people to be around. If not, well, I’m sure you get the idea.
Learn To Take A Punch
This one. This one is probably one of the most important lessons to ever learn as a creative. The ability to take criticism and turn it into something will set you a part from the rest. Allow yourself to be vulnerable, to show yourself, and then let go of the results. Inevitably there will be those who’ll find fault in what you do but how you respond to that criticism will define how well you do. Do you take it and turn it into something productive? Or do you allow it consume you? Or worse yet, to stop you? Remember that the more criticism you face, the more opportunity you have to grow and connect with others.
Just remember to take into account where this criticism is coming from and to only take that which serves.
Sell Out
Money is not a dirty word. Money is not a dirty word. Money is not evil. Money allows you to paint, to make music, to eat, to afford the Dr.’s office. It is NOT romantic to be a starving artist. There is more than enough to go around. Charge for your work. Don’e oversell your work but don’t undersell yourself either.
Start a newsletter, keep a mailing list, and don’t spam people.
Don’t be afraid of of being ambitious. If you shoot for the moon and miss, you’ll still end up among the stars.
Stick Around
No matter what there are most definitely going to be bad days, bad weeks, maybe even bad months. But there will also be good ones. Our careers, like our lives, are filled with mountains and valleys, as long as we stick it around we can see what comes next. Fall in love with the process, with the journey, it’s good to have goal markers, but as long as you’re doing what you love, growing, and doing good for others, you’re on the right path. Do the work and when opportunity comes, say yes.
Don’t sweat the idea of taking a sabbatical. You don’t have to work crazy hours all the time, allow yourself the ability to have a life, to have balance. The work will still be here when you get back and who knows, maybe you’ll be able to see things in a different light.
Begin again and again and again. Finish old work and start new work. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be completed.
So here we are, this is my journey.
I have no idea what I’m doing.
But I really did dig this book.