I’ve been a bit reluctant to share these. Something about revealing my inspirations leaves me feeling a bit exposed. I’m not really sure why.
Why did I rearrange the stacks of boxes in the garage so I could reach the heaviest on the bottom? Why did I spend all night sorting through cables to find the matching adapters from a bygone era to spin up hard drives from 15 years ago? Why did I think I needed yet another hard drive just because my creative crush who practices a completely different discipline uses them in a very particular way?
What in the world convinced me to make the audacious claim that this one video is the only worthwhile thing in all of youtube? What could have possibly cracked a 10 year writer’s block?
The spirit isn’t a physical thing. It’s not an invisible, intangible, yet somehow real thing. It’s a feeling, a desire, a compulsion. It’s the reason I get up early, or stay up late, or climb that mountain, or experience that low, or wonder why I do any of this. It’s the searching, and it’s the finding.
And apparently, it’s my job to preserve it.
Andrew Lavers of the
seems to be a bit less reluctant in sharing his inspirations. Maybe it’s bravery, maybe it’s spirit, maybe it’s worth a look.
Thanks so much for the recommendation Mark! I really enjoyed this post too. I love your drawings. I share things reluctantly. I entirely hold your same feeling of being exposed when revealing my creative inspirations. But I've come to recognise that hoarding my inspirations to myself doesn't do anyone, myself included, any good. Artists are supposed to see the world differently, then share that with others, so that's what I aim to do (although I still don't know if I'm an artist or not). I've also found that the more I share the easier it gets. I've certainly built the muscle for it now. Anyway, thanks again for shouting me out. Looking forward to checking out more of your work.
Keep going,
Andrew