Creator's Manifesto

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There is poetry in decay and an authenticity in layers of weathering that cannot be duplicated by a deliberate hand.

There is meaning in a spontaneous sketch, in a quick assemblage of detritus and gnarled sticks found on the same day or found years apart, as if meeting at long last.

There is discovery to be had in creating without knowing what the final product will be or why it even exists at all.

We embrace the amateurs, the outsiders, the impatient ones, those who create just to create, with no regard for commercial viability or success

We abjure polish and shine and will merely tolerate meticulous craftsmanship; we value dust on our objects and take spiderwebs as compliments

We are unbowed in our roles as Jacks and Jills of all media, masters of none. We prefer variety to specialization or consistency, understanding that the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts.

As with the evolution of life from the primordial ooze, let complexity arise out of simplicity by its own accord; begin with nature; collaborate with nature; let nature do the detail work.

The value of a created object comes from its meaning, its creativity, and its ability to inspire creativity in others; not its craft, its precision, its cleanliness, its scarcity, nor the fame of its maker.

Collect and arrange, plunge in and create; if your collected objects have personalities, arrange them into mysterious narratives; explicate the narrative later if at all; step back in space or in time, observe what you have made, and tell stories about what you have made.

Be unconcerned that what you make has been made before; likewise be unconcerned that it may be made again by others; it is your own uniqueness that is the essence that cannot be duplicated. As Qoheleth said millenia ago, "There is nothing new under the sun." If it is meaningful to you, it has value; if it inspires others, it has value.