October 31, 2021
It’s Halloween today. Summer ends, Winter begins. For me, anyways, a time of thinking about change. I’ve thought about all the “careers” I’ve had and how they’re related to each other. What does making art have to do with studying history, trying for a doctorate in literature, and trading stock options? For me, they’re all a series of pattern recognition and manipulation. Recognizing and categorizing the patterns of historical events, linking patterns between literary texts and their social milieu, manipulating and recombining visual patterns in art, and perceiving the web of patterns in the options and equities markets.
I recognize and manipulate patterns. I’m not really changing what I’m doing for work; rather, I’m changing the material that I work with. Some of these materials pay much better than others. So, now I spend most of my time manipulating patterns in the stock market. I am grateful for this opportunity.
Pattern recognition is satisfying in itself. But art lets me have something more than pure puzzles to solve. There is something in making art that is a transformative and mystical process. It’s satisfying to the soul. It’s a connection with the nature spirit, the one soul of the universe, the divine.
I still make art, but I don’t make it for sale anymore. I still make art, but I make it for myself. I hope the pictures of my art can help contribute to humanity’s cultures.
My body is breaking down. I have many old injuries. Repetitive stress injuries in my fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. I know the resources of my body are not infinite. I have to save my body’s resources for the art that really matters to me, the art that pushes me forward and through the veil.