Embracing the weird. Mining old sketchbooks. So many of my daydream drawings hide in closed books on shelves. Where do stories come from? There’s a potent crucible in the connection between hands and mind, where idea takes shape under the scratch of a pencil. A story becomes tactical when the scissors get involved, the magic of the repetition of copying by hand, the firm finalizing of running it all through a copy machine. It was a drawing, now it’s something else. But maybe there’s a mystery in there, a burn mark. A scar on paper that hints, but it’s nothing compared to a squirrel’s winter on the frozen shore of Lake Michigan, high in a tree, watching the patients and ambulances race to the hospital next door. Survival, and now the melt, next, the industry of summer. For now, a breath of air made of mist, the mist of ice thawing.

In August of 2024 shingles snuck up on me. At first I thought it was an ear infection, there was a deeply painful ache in my cheekbone. Antibiotics didn’t touch it, I found myself dizzy and panicked. I wasn’t well, but it was mysterious, hard to pin down. Then the rash appeared. It seemed to be healing up and resolving within two weeks.

6 months later, I still experience pain deep within my ear, worse with stress, fatigue, hunger.

Here is my wish, for spring to help ease pain. And I hope it does for you too, if you are suffering.

Thank you to Fito Espinosa for the cool domestika class on symbolic illustration, I found a use for it immediately.

Holy cats! Prismacolor neon colored pencils are hard to photograph. I really had to putz with the color adjustments to make this one visible to the camera.

It’s satisfying to scribble with a neon pencil, really feels like somethings happening!

Human art for humanity’s sake

L‘art pour l’art ~ Art for art’s sake. A philosophy that emerged from late 19th century France. The idea was that people can make art just because it is wonderful.

Now that we have artificial intelligence many artists are wondering if we are going to be out of a job, or worse a purpose, a role, and identity as creators. Nick Cave put it well in a letter to a fan about using ai to write songs. He states that ai is fast tracking commodifying human creativity, ingraining a concept that human creativity is not needed anymore. Why would anyone pay an artist for a creation when a machine can create in seconds? Why toil on an idea when you can feel like an accomplished creator by typing in a few seed words and having a machine produce a master work in the blink of an eye?

I believe as the French of the late 19th century that we need art and creativity for the sake of creating because it is wonderful. Not only that, we need creativity to tune into our own selves, our souls, and our spirits. It is a well known fact that being creative is a great outlet to improve mental health. Even just a scribble or humming a tune can reduce the stress hormone cortisol.

When we buy a piece of art from an artist we buy their thoughts, their time and their interactions with their material. Many artists will tell you they can never get enough compensation to cover what they put into their creations. Bringing home a hand made piece and enjoying it is an act of reciprocity. Google search gives us this definition:

It’s reciprocal in nature to buy and bring home art because the creator not only is compensated, they also have the joy of knowing their work is enjoyed. For a buyer of art, they support their community near or far and enjoy the benefit of having the thoughts and love made physical in their living space.

Regardless of whether a piece of art is for sale or not, the act of creating is an act that supports the wellbeing of humanity as a whole. More fulfilled, relaxed and reflective people foster the wellbeing of a healthy and compassionate

Music by Ramakhandra

While putzing around in my art space I scribbled a sketch from memory of a leaf related observation. When you look upward through the foliage of a tree in the warm months the sunlight sparkles down between layers of leaves. Nature has it’s own patterns of growth that spread out splendidly. As much as I can remember to I take moments to bask in the supreme innate wisdom of trees just doin their thing!

Usually I’m trying to get deeper into the concept, or making minute details with tiny brushes. When I saw my sketch unfold I thought, might as well just enjoy some leaves. But let’s make them bright on a magenta base. Oh, let’s add harmonious layers (let’s because I become multiple me’s when my art is moving, I’m having a conversation with the different me’s and watching and directing my hand). Let’s add contrast, layers, outlines, mica gold, the blackest black ever made, paint on sparkles with white. Question and consider and make some compromises with promise to do it differently next time if it doesn’t work..

But with all this work, it’s still a simple celebration of one small branch. Trees are cool like that, you can love the whole tree or just a leaf!

I read somewhere a while ago that the modern person is losing their past times. Between the pressures of home and and earning a living many person’s hobbies become side hustles. Something a person once did for fun begins to blossom into something seemingly lucrative. Sometimes this path works out well and provides a venue for a different way of life. But what about the rejuvenation a true past time may provide? In its name we have the words that define it. To pass the time. It’s something you do when there is an open space to fill. It’s an activity to focus your mind and hands on. Maybe during this block of time you don’t listen to anything or maybe listen to music, an audiobook, watch a movie or chat with who ever is present. As your hands and eyes move your brainwaves settle into an altered state of consciousness well known to scientists, Buddhists and mental health experts. At the end of this session of creation you have something fashioned from your hand and thoughts. Quite possibly this creation is pure interest and curiosity made real.

It’s my belief that every person ought to have a place of creativity free from the pressure of being turned into a commodity. The time spent creates a sacred space for calm, meditation or deep emotional work to develop.

What follows creating work for sale is often a new bundle of pressure. Well known to artists and crafters, the pressure entails learning multiple roles of business including branding oneself.

You don’t have to become a brand! You can just be yourself. You don’t need anything extra to become any more special. You’re special and beautiful just because you landed here on Earth at this place and time. Authenticity is a flowing path that leads from one place to the next and all it asks for is curiosity. Allowing ourselves time and space to wander and be curious is a great gift to ourselves and the world. 

Gouache on watercolor paper

I was drawn to this subject matter because of the family’s multi generational affection for this tree at one of Sedona’s famous vortexes. The man has his hand placed lovingly on the tree, and appears to be held by it’s branch.