STEAMed Magazine October 2016 | Page 24

You're a graffiti artist...what made you choose that medium to share your "creative genius"? I was initially drawn to street art because it was art for the people. It was not commoditized or certified by a system of meritocracy. Street art was an expression of philosophy. It has only been the last 100 years where the term “graffiti” has been labeled and disabled as deviant behavior or canalization. Prior to that “graffiti” is how we etched and scratched our history into cave walls. We shared stories and expressed our identities by carving into nature. Speaking of creative genius...that's part of the tagline for your best-selling book, UNThink.  What was the spark for this book?  What do you most hope people will take from your writing? Writing for me is painting with words. In 2013 with UNthink, it felt important to write about how to unleash our minds’ potential and unlock our natural ability to create. I have just finished my newest book, The Spark and The Grind, to be published in early 2017, is about the unexpected and often undocumented discipline of creativity. It explores the relationship between the sparks of creative genius and the grinding hard work, structure and discipline that becomes innovation. It deconstructs how breakthrough thinking works. STEAMed Magazine 24 October 2016 Edition