Why do I make art?
The answer that immediately comes to mind is, because I’m messed up in the head, but I fear people won’t find the intended humor in that. The truth is I have to, I’m a maker. Visual is the language I know best, and I am at my most content when I am blissed out, lost heart deep in a project.
A brilliant art therapist once told me: “Art doesn’t lie,” and when I am working from the heart my truth is what comes out. It’s hard to face at times, because all I see is my body dysmorphia and past traumas, but I love finding the beauty in that pain. A Professor once told me: “You’re making weird shit, keep making weird shit!” and I took that to heart like the Bible. I love making painful, yet beautiful work, often with a solid dose of dark humor, because you have to laugh at the darkness sometimes.
I’ll leave you now with another quote from a Professor, and one I live by as an artist: “Don’t amuse yourself, amaze yourself.” -Doug Jeck