To simply be.

I think every human being holds the creative energy needed to create art. I do believe some are better at harnassing this energy and using it to express In whatever form that may be. For example, I don't think I could function without music yet hand me an instrument and I'd resemble my toddler discovering keys for the first time.
My personal preference is art objects, any and every material I can get my hands on. I make to simply BE. Without the creative process constantly flowing through my body nothing else in the world would make any sense. I use material and conceptual ideas to speak in a way words would leave empty space. I connect myself to my work in a lot of ways and some projects are much more personal than others. Some works are fleeting thoughts while others are life experiences I know that only through my own creative process that I can love, accept, and share those experiences.


Amanda Songy

The dichotomy of making.....

There can be skill and craft in production, even in the midst of consumption. 
So a celebration of craft that denigrates industrial manufacture is an act of hypocrisy. 


Daniel Miller 2012(Power of Making)

Are these two ( craft and industrial manufacture) in opposition as the comment above suggests?

The process of making can inform the content. For example, if we filled a room with 1000 similar bowls from the Pottery Barn, the work might be about consumerism and the choices we have as consumers. But, if we make 1000 similar (or ideally identical) bowls in an art school studio (rather than a factory), what does that mean? It seems to question the hierarchy of authorship over team work, labor, and production. (It brings to mind the lyrics of "Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes.") Regardless, it feels good to participate in this project!

There are many reasons why we make. Here are some I thought of:

• for self-expression (i.e. making is one of the ways we can effectively communicate thoughts and feelings) 
• as a form of therapy (i.e. "it feels good")
• for provision (i.e. you have to "make money" somehow. And historically, some people had no choice but to make the things they needed because of the time period [i.e. food, clothes, shelter, utensils, tools, dining ware, etc] )
• to bring a vision/idea/need into reality (This applies to a lot of things other than art, i.e. schools, programs, buildings, etc.)

These sum up what I currently think our reasons for making can be. If I come up with anything else, I'll try to post it.