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Hi,

Recently, I’ve realized something about art making that has put things in perspective. I’ve always wondered why we make these things, and whether we should only make these things when we experience some hurts. It bothered me that it might mean I had to throw myself into difficult situations, but I felt that was silly. It was experience I needed, to live my life the best I know and to take risks, not find trouble. I found that these sentiments were echoed in the words of Leonard Cohen.

“Good work is produced inspite of suffering” -Cohen from this

  

And Charles Bukowski,

“Let them get on the cross, I’ll congratulate them. But pain doesn’t create writing , a writer does.”

I’ve come to realize that all these little drawings, have been a way for me to get by, so more than planning the next exhibition or letting people see the work, making the work has become something of a matter of survival. And because the act has become more personal, I’m finally enjoying the act of creating! It’s crazy! I get really encouraged when I see the works of artists and often times I’m humbled by their output and I think I’m starting to understand what’s behind it. An associate of mine once said to me that good art is all about presentation, the way you frame it. Yeah sure, sure, stop lying to yourself buddy; good art is about hard work. Spiritual labor and … Joy. 

More Bukowski, “Even at my lowest times I can feel the words bubbling inside of me, getting ready. I am not in a contest. I never wanted fame or money. I wanted to get the word down the way I wanted it, that’s all. And I had to get the words down or be overcome by something worse than death. Words not as precious things but as necessary things.”

//Jon

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