blog assignment 3

Go to http://changethis.com/ and read Seth Godin's "Brainwashed"
  Godin talks about seven layers of reinventing yourself in this article. One of the layers he talks about is generosity.  Godin says that generosity rewards people go out of their way to be generous, giving examples in his essay, and that we should all give even if we don't immediately get anything in return.  Another layer he talks about is that everyone should make art, since it is something everyone can do, doesn't have rules or guidelines, and taking the risk of doing it can lead to rewards.  A third layer he discuses is the ability to ship things.  He says that the person who can get things out the door and deliver goods on demand, you not only beat the competitor, but you also become a commodity that is needed.
 
     I think the layers discussed above are very relevant to this blog assignment.  For example, we are putting out art in this class and through this blog, so that is already taking advantage of one layer that Godin mentions.  The fact that we are putting ourselves out there by posting on this blog is a bold step, and although we are not getting anything immediately from doing this, we have no idea where what we learn from this blog and this class will take us.  As he writes in his essay, "art doesn't follow instructions or a manual," which applies to this class.  Although we are graded on whether we completed the assignments to the assigned requirements, there are no rules on what is art and what is not.  For our first blog assignment, on characters, there is no way to say that someone's character they created is not artistic, as it is their own creation.  This just proves that Godin's points about art are true, and how important it is.  
     Which leads into another of his layers, generosity.  We as students are not getting anything back from doing these blog entries, besides a grade, but that it is still important to do so, as it spreads our creativity.  Godin talks about the "economy of generosity," where rather than always getting something back for being generous, people learn to support one another.  I feel that this specifically applies to this class, as our group projects are a great example of everyone being generous with ideas, and people supporting each other, just as Godin says should happen in order for reinvention.  I do think it makes us better artists and creative thinkers, just by simply putting our ideas out there.  Concerning his layer of shipping, we are also learning how important it is to get things done, such as our creative assignments,  and although it is not in a real world setting, it still teaches us the importance of sending work in, and as Godin says, that can make you a valuable asset in life.  I feel that his ideas of layers of reinvention are relevant to our class and by practicing them we become more creative and forward thinking people, with little restraint on the layers of making art and generosity in particular, as these apply to our blogs and creative assignments quite well.