Original post October 12, 2018
I love to draw. Trying to bring imagined things into concrete, graphic form is the most mentally exhausting, most ultimately satisfying thing that I do. Although every drawing falls short, still every drawing is a small victory.
Art is an effort to communicate ideas. Every work of art is an attempt to spark an exchange of ideas, and every artist is hungry for feedback. The “like” button and the comments function are good places to start. Buying something is good, too. Paintings, drawings, musical compositions, dance performances, poems, stories, all are attempts to communicate ideas. These ideas range from the trivial to the sublime, but they all exact a toll on the artists who work to produce them. If some local artist, musician, dancer, poet, singer, chamber choir, band of rockers, or storyteller has moved you emotionally, intellectually, or spiritually, let them know. They may respond outwardly with reserved expressions of gratitude, but inwardly, their spirits will be soaring. And they might in turn be moved to keep striving to make it even better.
We need art, even, and especially, in times of darkness.