Why?
Why. The powerful question we learn to ask at a young age, the one that opens our lives to a vast expanse of inquiry and exploration. It suggests a deep, instinctive curiosity, a restlessness that keeps us moving through the world, knowing that with each passing day and each question answered, more mystery abounds and awaits us. In my darkest moments, I become frustrated that we, as finite beings, know and understand only a small fraction of why the world is the way it is. But on most days, I marvel. I marvel at our relative smallness in the grand scheme of things. Paradoxically, I marvel at what power we hold, the power to create, to transform, to influence and to relate to one another. These things are intrinsic to our nature as human beings, and I find them to be most alive within me when I practice art.
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We ask why because when meaning is called out of something, it becomes valuable. As a child, I came to believe in a God who created us with a purpose, and as I an adult, I realized that we, in turn, are meant to create with a purpose. As I've learned more about the nature of God to be loving, good, and true, I've striven more and more toward creating in love, cultivating goodness, and revealing truth. The ways in which I seek to do so are difficult to express both fully and succinctly, but in a way, the logo I designed speaks to my vision for the creative life.
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On a basic, fundamental level, this visual is a seedling enclosed within a hexagon. The multifaceted nature of a hexagon represents a multitude of creative pursuits, because for me, the passion for making and imagining stretches far beyond just one medium. Rather, it is a way of perceiving all of life and experience, and with each learned skill comes new opportunities to be imaginative. The hexagon is also a representation of an incomplete cube --- the seedling sits where the other visible edges of a three-dimensional box would otherwise be. This hints at "thinking outside of the box": seeing in new and innovative ways, imagining and reimagining whenever possible.
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The plant itself is a symbol of cultivating and flourishing. In all that I do, I seek to cultivate goodness, beauty, and truth, and through that, I desire to see the flourishing of the world and of others. It is also a reminder of our fragility, our ability to change and to grow, and the bright hope that we have in knowing that we live a story that is far from complete.
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As Thoreau so aptly put it, "The world is but a canvas to our imagination." Art isn't just a painting in a gallery. It has the potential to speak volumes, unearth stories, solve problems, create change or establish permanence, and facilitate empathy, just to name a few. That's why I create.
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