April 28, 2026

The most enjoyable games have rules

It’s difficult to play a sport or a board game without rules; guides for things you can and can’t do, time limits, a definition of what’s in and out of bounds. These limits make the game or sport fun to play. The same goes with creative work.

I do my best work when I’m bound by rules: a deadline, a limited set of materials, a limited colour palette, a limited surface on which to create. All of these limits are useful boundaries that help guide and inform the choices about what I make and why.

Other observations
July 7, 2026

Polishing the rice

What can I learn from how brewers help or hinder the flavour profile of rice when they’re making sake?

June 30, 2026

14,500 days unnoticed

If I’ve only noticed the sunrise a handful of times out of tens of thousands of daily opportunities. What else have I missed?

June 23, 2026

Ready? Catch!

If we never know when the world will offer us a new idea, how can we best prepare for the moment when it inevitably comes?

June 16, 2026

Brain, Heart, Hips and Feet

If you feel like dancing, you probably wouldn’t book last minute tickets to a Chopin concert. So what’s bad music? And can bad books exist?

June 9, 2026

Exposure matters less and less

What changes in an art practice when the sharing of the work one makes becomes secondary to making the work in the first place?

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