Making Art

I saw a film recently that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.

It’s called Paterson and it’s about a bus driver who shares the same name as the town he lives in and who devotes most of his time to writing poetry.

What struck me about this film is how much value is placed in the quiet pursuit of creativity and art. It is an ode to making art for art sake even if it never sees the light of day.

For someone who shares a lot of what I make, I think about the motivations behind the impulse to create. On one level, it is the rush of exhilaration from using my voice and wanting to be seen. But on another, it is about finding connection and seeing ourselves in others. It is about pointing at things and inviting others to wonder with you.

Perhaps my motivation is closer to that of Kurt Vonnegut’s when he said:

Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.

Writing, making photos, cutting hair, doing the things that I’m doing is not to show what I can do but to share what is here.