Quiet Rebellion

creating for the sake of creating

“Making art now means working in the face of uncertainty; it means living with doubt and contradiction, doing something no one much cares whether you do, and for which there may be neither audience nor reward. Making the work you want to make means setting aside these doubts so that you may see clearly what you have done, and thereby see where to go next. Making the work you want to make means finding nourishment within the work itself.”

- David Bayles

It’s not easy, is it?

Creating for the sake of creating, making something without a reward is part of any creative’s life, for better or worse.

However, as much as we deserve acknowledgment and reward for our work, I believe making work without expectations or worrying about the results is one of the purest ways to create, the most life-giving way to create. Because it is only then that the work itself becomes the nourishment you need.

Creating for the sake of creating is an act of quiet rebellion against the noise of the world falsely promising happiness through consumption, accolades, and money. Making art in the face of uncertainty is a rebellion against the destruction and darkness we see everyday.

In fact, creativity takes brokenness and turns it into something whole; it takes on control and fear and turns them into joy.

We need it now more than ever.

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The quote above came to me while working on these five diptychs I created this week. They are made from old family photographs laid out on mixed media paper. I tore the edges and then experimented with different pairings. Once I found the right pairing, I glued the images onto the paper, then arranged the red thread in the right places and sowed the button onto the last photograph.

The words are inspired by my imagination, stories, and fragmented memories of my maternal grandmother’s life and some specific events that had an impact on my own life. The torn edges and the metaphorical arrangement of the red thread expresses an attempt to bring all the pieces together.

I would like to express how grateful I am to you, the reader, for taking a look at my work. Every week, there is a moment of uncertainty and the question comes to mind “Should I click the send button or not?”. It continues to feel vulnerable.

When someone opens an email and takes a few minutes to appreciate the work that goes into each post, it means everything. So, thank you!