This blog piggybacks off the previous one about originality. However, I think this would still be useful if you haven't read the last one. This thought came to me as I was thinking more about how our thoughts and ideas connect, and I realized that there was one thing I did subconsciously to create pretty much everything I've made.  

The concept is this: find two things you like, and put them together. That's it. I know it sounds obvious but thinking about it intentionally has been helpful to me, and maybe it will be for you as well. If you take one idea that you like and try to make that, you'll end up just making an imitation of that idea. If you combine that with something you like, you'll have a greater chance of creating something new and potentially interesting.

Doing this practice doesn't necessarily mean you'll be making million-dollar ideas every time. It isn't a quick fix or a one-way ticket to fame. Instead, this strategy is more of a skill to exercise to help you generate more ideas and discern between ideas you like versus those that you might like less.

 "A good artist copies, a great artist steals."

This is a quote that is often attributed to the painter Pablo Picasso. In this quote, he says that to make something great, you need to start somewhere. Find something that you think is great, "steal" it, and take it in a different direction. Make it something new. Too often artists can get hung up on trying to make something so unique and unlike anything the world has ever seen before. More often than not, this causes creators to lock up and not be able to get past the brainstorming phase because they are effectively trying to draw inspiration from nothing. 

Intentionally drawing from two ideas helps pave a new path that you organically curated with your personal tastes. Doing so will also help propel you forward into the creative process with solid starting points. Now here's another amazing part of this idea. You don't even have to keep changing both things to make the process work. In Picasso's case, one of the ideas he liked was cubism, which he eventually became famous for. The idea of cubism remained constant throughout much of his work, but he would continually pair it with different subjects, emotions, and themes to convey. 

One good way to practice this strategy is to come up with a list of things you find interesting at the moment. It could be an object like a chair, an idea like being late for the bus, or even an artistic technique you recently learned. Then, try putting those ideas together. Mix and match your new concepts and explore what they might become before dismissing anything as dumb. For example, an impressionist painting depicting a chair being late for the bus might sound dumb, but it could also have potential. 

In college, I made a video that initially started with the idea of losing socks in the dryer. Then, I combined it with the concept of a psycho-crime thriller. This pairing would probably get shot down right away as a bad idea, but I explored it further. I eventually shot it in the dorm one afternoon; it turned out to be a unique and fun project.

So, your challenge is this: throughout the week, collect 10-20 things you find interesting, cool, or simply accessible (I know you have a chair). Then, next time you settle down to work on your craft, try to mix and match items from your list and try to invent something new. Worst case scenario, you learn something new by working through the idea you just made. The best case-- you discover something that you enjoy. 

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