Stepping Through a Void. January 19, 2025.

I have not posted a blog in several months. If you're here and reading, as always I am grateful.

Moments ago, I deleted my facebook account (owned by company Meta) and I intend to continue moving away from social media. I will spare you all my long tirade of how abusive and exploitative Meta's products have become, but that is my stance. The internet used to be this fun and amazing place of possibility and connection, but that has been diminishing over time. I have a business to run and art to share, and I don't want to subject myself or anyone else to the endless addiction-injected scrolling that inhabits social media.

In my view, this is going to be a dark time for me, people I love, America, and the world. I will continue to do art but my lifestyle and attitude towards the world is different. I will be distancing myself even further from principles of consumerism. I don't believe it is good for a person or society to just buy something new all the time. It's unhealthy for us and it's terrible for the planet. The excuse of "everyone is doing it" or "it's normal" is fucking bullshit. Harmful consumption and has been normalized and celebrated in the name of selling us crap for decades. And no one is immune to it's effects entirely, we need stuff to live. But do we need so much unnecessary crap?

Some of you may have noticed and complained that I don't offer prints of my paintings except for the yearly calendars. This is not an accident, I do not want to participate in making printed copies of work that I have already made. If you want a painting, please ask for it! I want to share my work with others and would be thrilled to work it out. If someone wants art, I am willing to trade, negotiate, and discuss it's value and commission work going forward. Yes, I do like being paid for my work, but let's re-introduce the human element of "doing business." By that, I mean the parts where we don't have to just go from sticker price so to speak.

I have spent the vast majority of my life doing work for free or at great cost to myself for others and have been uncompensated. Most of the time, I was happy to do so because it's how I can give to those around me. This is not a complaint, it is a fact. Capitalism is what we do here in America and apparently we live in an oligarchy more loudly than we did before. It is an act of resistance against the abuses and exploitative nature of our world to continue to do things we love and share things we love with others.

Some entities out there would have you believe it's a dreadfully lonely world out there. Did you know that fear and loneliness are exploited so you'll spend more money? These influences don't have to decide for you or me. I implore anyone reading this to not let the current state of noise in the world dictate how they want to live. I question the status quo, always wondering what forces stand to benefit from certain agendas. Especially if those agendas stand to profit from people's misery, loneliness, and fear. I encourage you to make your own decisions and live accordingly.