Okay, so after being pretty much studio-less for a year what with moving and settling in and handling the unexpectedness of the unexpected and so on and after a few fitful starts and stops at finding the time and rhythm to do some art, I’m back.

I think.

Which brings up the question: So what?

I mean it’s not like I need to do art. I’ve got a day job doing graphic design that I (mostly) love. I get to exercise my creative abilities and make a few bucks. Understand I’m not at all opposed to earning some extracurricular cash from commissions and so on. I’m just saying I don’t need to do art as a job… at this time.

I’ve got lots of other stuff to fill my non-job time. Let’s start with the new house. And the yards that surround it. I get a great deal of enjoyment working in the yards. Really. Especially this time of year.

I’ve never enough time for family and friends. You know how that goes.

And all those backlogged series on Netflix to binge watch…

And books to read…

And places to go…

I don’t need to do art just to, you know, do something.

A bigger question is: Does the world need more art? Or, I guess more realistically for me, can my garage hold more? But really, why make art?

On his Patheos blog, Cultivare, Daniel A. Siedell writes:

“A painting is a weak and vulnerable thing because it is just not necessary.”

Now there’s a motivating thought. But there’s more…

“That art is ultimately gratuitous, that its existence is a gift to the world, creates anxiety and insecurity in the art world. Everyone involved, from art collectors and dealers to critics and curators have to justify their interest in this seemingly “useless” activity—and justify the money they make or spend on its behalf. Art simply cannot be justified.”

So why occupy my limited time with a useless activity making weak and vulnerable things that aren’t necessary?

I don’t know.

I don’t need to.

I have to.