Hi Art Aficionado,
Here are some links I want to share with you:
• A book by Kevin Ashton titled How to Fly a Horse, tackles romantic prejudices about creative invention. (This topic was also examined in an excellent TedTalk by Elizabeth Gilbert). I love everything that dispels the myth that creativity is magic, gifted to a chosen few, when really, creativity is simply conviction to get back to work.
• Stanford University opened the David Rumsey Map Center last Spring. You can peruse the collection of 67,000 maps from the 16th through the 21st centuries, online, and you can download them - in high resolution! Are there any map lovers out there? Brew a cup of something delicious, and have fun exploring the What, Where, When categories here.
• And speaking of topography, a giant iceberg roughly the size of Delaware has broken away from the Larsen Ice Shelf, fundamentally changing the profile of Antartica, which will have to be re-drawn on maps. I wonder what topographic artists think of this re-do? :)