Artistic Accomplices

It has been a strange and wondrous few weeks since NCCAT, and my head still seems to be spinning. The idea of connection has been on my mind lately - for the last few months, and with some time off away from teaching school, I have been thinking even more about it as I have been working in the journal and on my own art more this last week. Art is an amazing way to connect with others, and I am a firm believer that anyone has the capacity and the creativity to create visual art. Too often I hear people spout off about not having talent. But I believe that "talent" is just an excuse not to try. "I don't have the talent, so why bother even trying," these people seem to tell themselves. But that's another topic for another post.

But it seems that more and more, we are coming into contact with people who simply have not created in a long time, and the visual journal has allowed them to reconnect with the creator within. It seems all too easy for people to lose touch with their inner artist, crafter, or creator. Inertia has them running here and there or simply vegging in front of the tv or simply neglecting that part of themselves. It has always been a great gift to have Dave as an Artistic Accomplice - to keep each other motivated - to urge on the creator - to help each other stay moving artistically. The above two-page spread in one of my small Moleskine was a collaborative piece between Dave and myself. It was probably started at some restaurant with being passed back and forth while waiting for food to arrive. It's nothing grand, but it is a way to stay connected with each other and with art.

Finding artistic accomplices and creative collaborators is a key component of the Journal Fodder Junkies, and this, in part, drives this blog. Unfortunately, I don't post as often as I wish I could, but inertia is difficult to overcome whether it's working in the journal or posting to the blog. But it is my sincerest wish as 2008 winds down, that I can be an Artistic Accomplice to others out there, and urge on the artist within. We do not create art in a vacuum. We create art as a way to connect to ourselves and our humanity.