Whenever I find myself
In a creative rut
I take out my deck
Of Brian Eno’s
“Oblique Strategies” cards—
Slips of paper stamped
with cryptic aphorisms
Designed to help artists
Generate new ideas
And come at vexing problems
From innovative
And imaginative
Angles
Here are some examples:
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt]
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt]
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt]
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt]
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt]
So when I’m blocked
I pick a card
At random
Read the message
Try to grasp its meaning
And then I apply it
To my endeavor
If that doesn’t work
I just pretend the cards
Are fortune cookies
And I mentally add
“in bed” to the end
of each message
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt] in bed.
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt] in bed.
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt] in bed.
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt] in bed.
[Copyright ©1978 Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt] in bed.
Boom
Back in business baby
Look what I made
It’s mine