"Portrait of an Artist" was a show that exhibited at the gallery Writ and Vision in Provo in May 2024.
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Biblical accounts speak of the creation of the earth, specifically pointing out in Genesis 1 verse 3, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” An interesting phrase, given that later, in verses 14 – 19, the sun, moon, and stars are put in place. How was light place before there was a source?
There are many good interpretations to this verse, but I present one that I have been thinking about for a decade. Perhaps the earth was bathed in thoughts, ideas, connections. Things to flow through our minds, ideas to plant and develop. This “light” proposed biblically may be represented as the creative spirit – the intangible thing that flows through all of us, pushing us toward creative acts. A “source”, placed in reference to something we would need, something available to us to become one with our own creator.
This pull to create – this difficult thing to explain – is exhibited here by artists as they attempt to articulate the reason they do this. The reason they return day after day, to a profession that can be harsh, isolating, and financially difficult. There must be something powerful that drives them to take on such a difficult but rewarding task. The difference in their answers offers the most complete view of the act of creation.
Why I Create
Rebecca Klundt
I see myself as a vessel full of water or creative juice, that is always looking for a way to leak out into the world. It seeks to address unanswered questions and solve riddles which in my case often come in the form of “what can come of this discarded resource?” or “how can I make the most of what is in front of me?”.
As a mom to 5 fun kids, creativity leaked into everything I did with my children and in my home from making a meal from leftovers or from what I could grow…to organizing an amazing birthday party on a small budget. It was such a happy way to put myself fully into that role of homemaker. I loved those diorama assignments!
In college I was at home in classes that allowed me to draw from a variety of traditional and non-traditional materials. For me, an art supply store was less inspiring than the local dumpster. In the throw away culture that I live in, I am rich in resources, and I have a job to do. I would not be me without this itch to organize the world.
That is why I create.
Why I Create
Justin Hackworth
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Photography has granted me access to places and people otherwise inaccessible. Yet, I never anticipated this outcome when I started down this road, so it is not the driving force behind my taking pictures. Turning my love for photography into a profession has allowed me to make a living doing what I adore; I feel lucky that my hobby has become my job. But that is not the reason I take pictures. While I get immense satisfaction from not only taking pictures but also revisiting my photographs years later, these gratifications are not the primary motivators for taking pictures.
The question of why I take pictures has rattled in my head for years. Although I can itemize the merits of making pictures, the list seems more like byproducts, nice benefits, but they don’t seem to get at the true reasons.
The truth is, I cannot pinpoint the exact compulsion driving me to take pictures. Yet, I am undeniably grateful that this drive to do so is an integral part of who I am.
Why I Create
Nancy Andruk Olson
I use creation like a journal, and I record my experiences in images. I am interested in how we process the challenges in life, and I explore that with my painting. I do this with landscapes that represent an idyllic version of life, one devoid of the challenges, often using color and repetitive and visible brushstrokes to emphasize the vibrancy of this imagined space.
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Why I Create
Kathryn Knudsen
I have been creating for as long as I can remember. I create because I have to. Creating is my way of life. I’m in constant need of discovery. I find my mind has to go somewhere, there is a need I have to fulfill. Whether it’s simply to keep my hands moving or needing to know what happens when I manipulate materials .
The wonder is so strong, it’s very difficult to sit still. I spend very little time planning my pieces. The process is a free fall. It’s as much of a discovery for myself as anyone else. I’ve recognized that the works that seem to challenge me the most often become the works I feel most fulfilled by. I used to get nervous or frustrated if I felt something wasn’t coming together. Now I recognize those moments as leaps in understanding and I think that is what I crave the most.
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Why I Create
James Rees
I create to find meaning for myself and to connect with others through these expressions. Since a young age, I have attempted to navigate the world by exploring my ideas and emotions, translating them onto paper. I’ve always been drawing towards the tactile experience and immediacy of drawing, using a tool to make a mark, have always fascinated me. I love the profound impact that a simple mark can have. My intention is to use art making tools not only to leave a visible mark on a surface but also to evoke a lasting impression upon the viewer below the surface. It’s all about connecting, the art-making process is a journey between two people, an intimate exchange of emotions and thoughts. Art serves as a bridge that connects me to others."
Why I Create
J Kirk Richards
At age forty-eight, I create for a lot of reasons: because I feel motivated to create beautiful things, to make a living for my family, to have a flexible work schedule, to make meaning in a world of pain and despair. I have made artwork that tries to understand religious scripture. I have made work that tries to increase community inclusivity and equality. I have made work that tries to recapture some of the aesthetics of the old world and reframe them in a new world setting. My artwork is an expression of ideals I hold dear beauty in nature and architecture, spirituality and spiritual autonomy, the beauty of the human figure, mercy, charity, equality, inclusivity, love, romance, music, revelation, mythology, history and antiquity. I want to wrap up that feeling I feel when strolling through the Tivoli gardens in the same packaging as the feeling I get when in the Museum of Modern Art and create a new gift to myself and to my friends.
Why I Create
Guy Gibbons
I think I create for many reasons... but today I'll just say that I feel God put it in my heart to do so. He gave me some microscopic portion of His awesome light and I feel deeply that I need to shine it by creating, and then sharing what I make. I feel it a great privilege to participate in the creative act.
It seems to me like one of the most powerful things we humans will ever do.
Why I Create
Camille Wheatley
I am an avid wanderer and a sharp observer. The act of strolling leisurely down an urban street, rain or shine, thrills me to my core. In my wanderings, I notice delicate flakes of paint chipping off of a door frame; tendrils of tenuous light creeping through a dust-covered window; an intrepid weed poking through a cracked concrete foundation; the sunlight eating away at a five o'clock shadow cast from a chain-link fence; lines weaving this way and that in a tapestry of texture on a building wall; the color and composition of a crumbling sidewalk juxtaposed with an elegantly crumpled piece of trash.
I collect images of the mundane.
While some photographers focus on the magnificent or stunning, I revel in the quiet, understated moments in our surroundings. I give the seemingly boring a second chance. My photographic passion lies in finding beauty in the banal, seeking majesty in the mundane, and discovering the divine in the otherwise dull details of life.
I rely solely on my iPhone as my photographic instrument. My photographs are pure, unadulterated scenes pulled directly from my environment. I make no edits whatsoever - no lighting adjustments, no flashy filters, no color highlights, etc. What you see is what you get in my moment of seeing something.
I see with clear eyes the little moments that evade a casual passing glance.
By honing in on those little moments, I hope to open others' eyes to the hidden-yet-not-so-hidden magic that continuously surrounds us. Because, as music producer Rick Rubin says, “Sometimes, it can be the most ordinary moment that creates an extraordinary piece of art.”
Why I Create
Justin Wheatley
I create because I always have. It is what I know. It gives me peace. It challenges me. It allows me to express what I have a hard time putting into words. I can’t imagine what life would be like without being able to bring an idea to life.
Why I Create
Esther Hi’ilani Candari
Something innate to my nature is a desire to improve my surroundings and the lives of those around me: to find creative solutions to gaps, ills, or harms that I see. My art is the actualization of that desire. It is an externalization of my belief that the greatest gift I can give is to preach the eternal doctrine that all souls are known, valued, and equal before God.
Why I Create
Brian Kershisnik
I think as far down as I can go, and I don’t know why I do this. It feels a bit like something trying to get out, and me – more or less – cooperating. It is often rather humiliating really and also encouraging and bewildering. I trip into a lot of good questions. Perhaps my gift is deciding which random bits of chaotic life warrant harvesting artistically. It’s a weird job for sure.
Why I Create
Dottie (age 8)
I create because it’s a way to tell people about myself.
Why I Create
Bryan Beach
Was I created to create? I’ve created pictures my whole life. At home, at school, at play. I’m good at it. It might be the purpose of my creation, I don’t really know. My family encouraged me. It became my job. All day, every day. It’s fun and it provides for my family. I’m good at it. When a hobby becomes a job, you need a new hobby. Sometimes I create songs on the banjo. I’m less good at that, but my family still encourages me.