What is the first creative moment you remember?
I used to be cute and artsy when I was in kindergarten. I would paint all over the interior with my hands and create imaginary characters. I made a few series of paintings and came up with the stories. They were mostly about ballerinas and unicorns and everything nice. I used to love doing it, now I think itâs just plain weird. Â
Was anyone there to witness or appreciate it?Â
What is the best idea youâve ever had?Â
Leaving Indonesia in 2010. I moved to Los Angeles in the summer and moved to Austin a few months later.Â
What made it great in your mind?Â
Coming to the States with two big suitcases in hand and inadequate English counts as a major leap outside my comfort zone. Three years later, I still have no regrets.Â
What is the dumbest idea?Â
Being a grown-up (and acting like one). Well, I guess itâs not an option, but who doesnât hate it? Â
Iâm not a fan of having the need to be safe, and staying in my comfort zone. Suddenly as we reach a certain number of age, we prioritize safety and security in everything at equal terms. For every saving we make, we expect the same applies to our daily diet. Everything has to be measured to exact or close to the exact designated point that we create on our own. We tend to avoid surprises or being surprised at, opting for planned routines because we can control what we are going to get out of it. We choose comfort food over weird cuisines nobody has heard of before. Â
What is your creative ambition?Â
I want to express my ideas freely and turn them into something that goes beyond the conventional constraints. Bonus points if no crazy amounts of coffee are involved, or when I fear the empty blank white sheet of paper no more. More importantly, I want to influence people with my ideas. I want my ideas to come out as crazy, out-of-the-box and experimental. Iâd like them to stand out in the crowd; I want to make people look twice and laugh about what they see.Â
What are the obstacles to this ambition?Â
The biggest obstacles are my awkward personality, never-ending procrastination and language barriers. I pretty much shine when I write, but Iâm shy when Iâm present. I have a lot in mind but I canât let it flow naturally. Â
What are the vital steps to achieving this ambition?Â
Get that ass off the couch, have lots of coffee and ease the mind. I always make sure that I have pen and paper ready, and write or draw whatever comes to mind. It helps with the creative process. Twenty sheets later, I already know where my creative juices are taking me. Â
What are your attitudes toward: money, power, praise, rivals, work, play?Â
-Money: the root of all evils. It can buy you power, praise, and rivals. But it canât buy you love or profound happiness. If I had so much more than what I already have now, I would be a totally different person (not necessarily better).Â
-Power: something that people are crazy obsessed with, besides money. It feels good to have control over everything, but at the same time it can overrun your brain and heart. Power does not put you on top of everyone else.Â
-Praise: is a reward for self-motivation. Youâre nothing more than a pretentious douchebag if youâre doing everything for the sake of praise (e.g. âI do it for the likesâ)Â
-Rivals: competition is good as long as itâs healthy. Itâs not necessarily a survival of the fittest, or a chance to prove how superior you are. If people dislike you and your work for whatever reasons, donât waste your energy. Haters gonna hate.Â
-Work: If you work for something you hate and you donât get much out of it, youâre wasting your time. If dealing with asshole co-workers, bad office lighting and uncomfortable chairs is too much for you, maybe itâs time to quit. Do what you love, donât do it for the money.Â
-Play: Itâs definitely okay to be a child once in a while and have fun. Whether itâs partying nonstop and getting a massive hangover the next day, playing Rock Band, PBR pong, or a much-needed vacation, you deserve it. Work hard, play hard, and make them both work in sync. Rewarding yourself after a long day/week of work is not a sin. Live a little.Â
Which artists do you admire most?Â
David Sedaris, Wes Anderson, Salvador Dali, Tina FeyÂ
Why are they your role models?Â
-David Sedaris: âI am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.â Need I say more?Â
-Wes Anderson: For his eccentric nature and colorful compositions when making movies.Â
-Salvador Dali: For his insanely beautiful, trippy and bizarre paintings. Thank him for making the trips to art museums ten times more awesome.Â
-Tina Fey: Such an amazing writer/actress. I thank her for being so genuine and funny. Ainât no party like a Liz Lemon party. Â
What do you and your role models have in common?Â
When it comes to making people laugh, itâs almost like we have none since Iâm nowhere near funny. I admire them for their talent, and I think what we have in common is the drive to keep learning and be constantly inspired. I donât know about Dali, but I feel like weâre all humans, normal people who hate laundry. We munch on birthday cakes with excessive icings. Little do they know that they have influenced millions of people because of being so original.Â
When confronted with superior intelligence or talent, how do you respond?Â
I would feel intimidated at first, like any normal human being. I believe that every individual is unique and special in his or her own way. To be special means to stand out, to be one in a million, to be something no one else is, and so by definition, to be different, not necessarily be perfect. I like the word âperfectâ because of its arbitrary nature, and I like that by my definition. There is no real perfection, because nothing is without flaws. Yet, when flaws are reduced to quirks and entirely accepted (but not necessary loved) by an observer, that thing can be called âperfectâ for however long the observer can manage to accept it.
When faced with stupidity, hostility, intransigence, laziness, or indifference in others, how do you respond?Â
Criticism is hard to take for a lot of people, but confrontation is necessary. Itâs a shame to see other people failing at what they do, and I appreciate so much how far Iâve come. Iâm on the road to my dreams, Iâm making it happen and sometimes, I look back down to see just how far Iâve come in those times of doubt. Despite the fact that some people I know havenât come to make anything of themselves, I still appreciate them. Another reason I am trying to make my dreams come true is because Iâm doing it for the people who didnât think they could.Â
When faced with the threat of failure, how do you respond?Â
Iâve been through a lot of phases where Iâm anxious that everything Iâve been working for so far may not actually come in to place. I guess we all get these clouds of doubt at times, but itâs at those times where we just have to keep pressing on. I guess we just have to go through it and see what happens in the end. If youâre just going to prematurely kill your ideas because youâre afraid or follow the boring guidelines because you want to play safe, youâre not getting anywhere. What starts as a cautionary act slowly becomes a barrier. Not even an obstacle, but a fence we build to protect ourselves from experiencing high-risk joy of failing. Itâs all a part of the process. Make mistakes, make more mistakes, make a lot of mistakes. Fail once, fail twice, fail multiple times, fail better. This time, know your shit. Â
When you work, do you love the process or the result?Â
The whole process. Ten cups of coffee later, it will all be worth it. Â
At what moments do you feel your reach exceeds your grasp?Â
Duh, like all the time. When Iâm faced with challenges, I immediately retract and question myself whether I would be able to go through those hard times. What fascinates me is the thin line between following through and giving up. My closest friends always tell me, âThe minute you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on for so long.â Even though itâs much easier to give up, itâs just as easy to get yourself back on track again. We might not be able to change the past or the beginning of something, but there is always an opportunity to give ourselves the ending that we wanted.Â
What is your ideal creative activity?Â
Re-inventing the way you do ordinary things on a daily basis, or doing things that youâve never imagined yourself doing it before. When I finally figured out ten different ways to use chopsticks, thatâs when I know Iâm creative. Iâm also a firm believer in âhappy accidentsâ.Â
What is your greatest fear?Â
Having regrets when I grow old. Iâd rather be disappointed by the things I did than by the things I didnât do. Â
What is the likelihood of either of the answers to the previous two questions happening?Â
Finding other five ways to chew a gum is just impossible to do. We donât know what the future may hold, but I donât want to find myself having regrets later, so excuse me while I book my trip to Africa. #yoloÂ
What is your idea of mastery?Â
Thereâs no such thing as âmasteryâ. Youâre great when youâre good at something you love. Itâs a never-ending process because even if youâre amazing at something, you have to keep learning and be inspired. You can be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none, and still do great.Â