Thursday Thoughts...

“Do work that feeds your soul, not your ego.” 

Jessica Walsh

For any artist I imagine there is a balance between self expression and the need/desire for others to enjoy or understand or appreciate what they do.  No art work is ever really made in a vacuum; and most work gets looked at, at some point, by somebody, even if it is never shown publicly.

Whether or not one thinks they might occasionally make work for their ego's sake, I think the value of these words is in the first part, where she suggests we should do work that feeds our souls.

Over and over again I return to this idea that it is really the main purpose and the main point of making. To do the work that is your work, to say the things you need to say, to make the things you need to make because they give you joy, because they make you feel brighter or better, or for any other reason by which they feed your soul.

If I ever get caught in the making for others, for viewers, for profit or whatever else can lead me astray, I return to this and realise that feeding my soul matters, and that making art does just that.

I adore this work, and delivered it to an exhibition yesterday. I don't think many people get it at all; but that's OK. My heart fills when I spend time with it.