Why Share?

It's fairly easy to say why there is value in creating art. It's a natural expression for some. It's a way to communicate. It's a way to articulate what is going on in our souls without using the confines of words. But why share...?

Why share the art with others? Why show them? After all, there are poets and writers who write for years because they need to, but who never share those words because there is no need - the expression was complete.



I started sharing my art at a very difficult time in my life, filled with turmoil. I had been silent for two years with my pain and when it was time for me to finally admit that I was even in pain I could only do so with imagery. Mostly I spoke with paintings but as I spoke up more and more, I used photography as my means of communication... both are natural for me, though photography is sometimes quicker and once I began confessing my secrets, I wanted them to flood out.





I was able to share these secrets in anonymity and enjoyed the small amounts of feedback that I got from others. I must admit, now that I've gained some recognition (which is always surprising to me), I'm no longer anonymous and it's much more vulnerable... and exciting. I'm at a crossroads now and have to decide where to go with this venture, so I've taken the next three months off of showing and exhibiting and trying to ground myself and figure out where to go next.

People's Arts Festival

Wow... what an amazing experience Saturday was in so many ways.

I was at the inaugural People's Arts Festival at the Russell Industrial Center Saturday for 16 hours and though I'm exhausted, it was all well worth it - so many amazing artists, so many amazing pieces of work, and so many amazing fans and enthusiasts. I had a booth on the street to promote my digital paintings and maternity series and also spent the last two weeks prepping the Streetwise Art gallery on the second floor of Building #2. After talking to Eric Novack yesterday and again today, there were AT LEAST 3,000 people that came through (personally my estimates were a little higher) and the crowds were so diverse and so excited to be there, it was really refreshing.

I was also very surprised that despite the fact that I had nothing at my booth (family friendly art) that really advertised my name, that there were people coming down from the Streetwise Art gallery (erotic art) and recognizing that I was the same artist from my style. That was really nice. It was surprising to me that it made me so excited to be recognized because I was starting to feel a little like I didn't really have a style or a unique perspective to show others.

In fact, one girl came down and found me at the street booth and immediately told me how excited she was to meet me and how much she loved my piece, "What Would Jesus Do?" and would love to hang it up in her apartment. I chuckled and told her to buy it and she replied that she didn't have anything more than a few bucks in her pocket. She was so sweet, a photography student and about to get married next month - so I cut her a deal and she ended up taking home the framed piece with the biggest smile. That felt so good.

I love making art because it's an outlet... a way to express some feelings, emotions and thoughts on topics that sometimes are better articulated in that form versus words. Since I began expressing myself artistically I have never questioned the value in making the art, but I've definitely asked myself a number of times why I share it.

And on that note, I'm exhausted, so this will be continued soon... and more pics to be added for sure.

In the meantime, feel free to visit:

Streetwise Art Gallery at People's Arts Festival

Streetwise Art + People's Arts Festival

Three Times the Charm!

Wow! I woke up yesterday morning to find three messages that made me independently happy in so many ways...

#1 - An online erotic art gallery wants to do a feature on me and we're in the process of selecting images and supplying information back and forth to facilitate this... I can't wait to see the response and the review! I think it will be my first official review and I'm very excited and interested to see what is said...

#2 - A gallery in London, England contacted me interested in possibly featuring my artwork in a group show. I don't know that I would be able to afford the shipping costs and I've already promised myself that I will not be pursuing any shows for the rest of the year, but I'm definitely open to see where discussions may go and moreover honoured that I was even contacted in the first place.

#3 - One of my heroes, Francois Dubeau, contacted me after getting my newsletter and looking up some of my art work and I've had some lovely interaction with him so far and some very positive and encouraging words. What an interesting and small world it is that he was checking out my art only to find that I had confessed how much I loved his work!

So that's it for now... been VERY busy getting ready for the Detroit Erotica Ball and the People's Arts Festival/Russell Free Festival, but I'll post up more about that soon. For now, I'm going to pass out and hope that I wake up to three more great emails!