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Deborah Jordan's avatar

My goal has been to make art that is ? not art in the outer world but creative enjoyment, learning, and fun for me in my own world. I have never even touched watercolors before and that is what I want to use. Your writings provide a bridge that somehow makes this reasonable, possible, maybe essential. Just in case you wonder if all your readers are really artists...I thought I'd send this along.

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Anna Brones's avatar

I very much appreciate this Deborah! It's exactly what I hope all this writing does, so thank you.

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Antonia Malchik's avatar

I went and read this three times today! I hope it gets shared widely because it rang like a bell for me with so many people worrying at me about artificial intelligence -- humans are art-making, story-making beings, we can't help it. We'll do it no matter what. "I mean being an artist in the sense of being alive and awake in this world, of taking things in and translating them into something new, of being open and curious and expansive." YES! I am here for the everyartist! Thank you. 💖

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Anna Brones's avatar

Oh gosh, THANK YOU!!! And thank you for everyartist inspo :)

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Sabrina Y. Smith's avatar

I totally have a “commitment problem with stickers” too! 😂 I like them a lot but don’t think I’ve ever stuck one on anything!

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Anna Brones's avatar

yet another reason why we're friends!

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Antonia Malchik's avatar

I have all these lovely reward and inspiration stickers that come with my planner every year and I admire them and stick them in the back folder and there they sit until next year’s come.

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Anna Brones's avatar

Yeah, but think about ALL the reward and inspiration you have on hand at all times!

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Antonia Malchik's avatar

😂 but but but ... does the inspiration exist if you don't use it??? (There's a question.)

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Anna Brones's avatar

Kind of reminds me of this post: https://aliv.substack.com/p/somebody-burned-my-200-candle

Which I guess is to say... maybe you should use the inspiration without abandon?

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Antonia Malchik's avatar

After reading that, I feel more like I might need a sticker-using-avoidant self-help therapy group. What more is going on here?!

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Sabrina Y. Smith's avatar

Wow so this is truly a thing! I also got a planner with stickers and they got me so excited that I actually went to a sticker store to purchase more batches.. and then keep them in their paper bag forever.

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Anna Brones's avatar

HAHAHA this is INCREDIBLE

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Antonia Malchik's avatar

😂 I'm glad to know I'm not alone, honestly! There is literally a part of my brain that notices the stickers on occasion and says, "What is *wrong* with you that you can't even use stickers?" What a stupid thing to be myself up about!

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Anna Brones's avatar

we probably need a whole essay about this.... The Non Committal Sticker Club

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Sabrina Y. Smith's avatar

YES we do! 🙌

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Antonia Malchik's avatar

1000% yes please! 😂

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Kirstie Lorelei Willean's avatar

Make thy art! Thank you for starting today with these thoughts.

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