Where there is art there is hope

Give up the need to give up.

I started work on a new book.

By that I mean, I created the doc in InDesign. I know the size I want it to be — and that’s about it. A6. A “pocket book”. There’s something about a book you can put in your pocket or your bag.

50 pages long, I think. What will go in these pages?

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Yesterday I watched American Symphony. I was struck by Jon Batiste creating in the face of personal tragedy but then, isn’t that the point? Creating is an act of faith. An act of hope. What you’re saying is I believe there is something here that wants to be told and I’m willing to tell it.

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My chihuahua Bean likes to torture the squirrels in our backyard. She’s only 4 lbs and those squirrels are almost as big as she is. They’re trying to gather for the winter and she’s clocking their every move because that’s what she was born to do — hunt.

Chihuahuas were also bred for religious ceremonial and sacrificial purposes. For real. They were bred to give up their life.

Is there anything you’d give up your life for?

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You often hear stories about artists who forgo everything else for their art. They don’t eat, don’t sleep, don’t marry, don’t have kids.

I don’t know about giving up those things.

I do know about giving up perfectionism, certainty, comfort, the need for validation, the need to be understood, the propensity to compare.

And I know about giving up the need to give up.

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I did a google search of “art” on my phone. This is a chalk drawing my daughter did when she was 6.

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Where there is art, there is hope.

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Jump + Pray,

Joce

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