Making art isn’t always a choice.
People assume (incorrectly) that it is.
They think artists are slackers who don’t want to get a “real” job.
There may be the tiniest bit of truth there, but it’s not what the process is really about.
Art is self-expression.
And most artists express themselves because they must.
(Hence Kandinsky’s famous phrase, “Inner Necessity.”)
In fairness, as I’ve been blogging about this subject for the past 12 years, some of you may have heard a version of this refrain before.
All artists, (or certainly art professors) lean in to the depth and mystery of the process, because that’s where most of us get our satisfaction.
Sure, we occasionally get the accolades, or make a little money, but for the most part, being an artist is about developing your creativity, and creative strategies to feel OK in the world.
Or, if you’re very lucky, to actually feel good!
One of the things I love about blogging is thoughts, in the form of articles, connect together over time.
Themes emerge.
Having taught art as long as I have, (including within traumatized communities,) I’ve seen first-hand how expressive outlets help people.
Expressive outlets?
What are we even talking about?
All people have feelings and emotions. They’re the body’s mechanism for communicating with itself. But if the “feeling” comes into the heart, or the chest, some people are automatically dubious, while if the “feeling” comes into the brain, via “thoughts,” they’ll trust implicitly.
It’s why artists are often called too “emotional” or “sensitive,” because certain people think the brain is better than the body.
As if the brain isn’t a part of an interconnected system, filled with fluids and energy transfers and neural pathways?
Most average Americans couldn’t tell you three parts of the brain, IF THEIR LIVES DEPENDED ON IT, but they’ll dismiss people for living too much in their feelings.
Fucking idiots.
I started writing today because I had to.
My life is good, sure, but we all have stress and drama, and IMO, due to the pandemic, we all have some version of PTSD too.
But since I’m trained up, I knew that I HAD to write.
This blog is my art.
It helps me be OK.
And if, as a byproduct, it helps you feel OK too, that would be the best possible outcome.
Catch you next week!
Sunshine and Olly 
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