So I have been off air for quite some time. Sorry!
I have been having this major argument with myself, mainly, about how to deal with the concept of ‘art’ and ‘creativity’…and how/why equate art and creativity with money, marketing and a career.
My instinct tells me that all these creative things which are now multi-billion industries; music, cooking, baking, fashion, sex, gardening, writing, painting and sculpting – to name but a few – should not be subject to censorship, thought police or market forces.
I have for the longest time struggled to align myself to what I consider to be a toxic patriarchal capitalist system set up to control and make money out of what belongs to us all naturally.
So I talked myself into a corner, big time. Closed down the studio, put my house up for sale and decided that the best thing to do was probably to move to Costa Rica, join a permaculture co-operative and grow mangoes. And do Kundalini Yoga on the beach every morning. Seriously. I might still do that.
But then this goddess of a woman called me a month or two ago and asked me to create a sculpture of her and her little baby – still inside the tummy. She had seen my work somewhere and felt that I could somehow explain/interpret/capture her own process of creating this child – she wanted a lasting memory of her pregnant body.
I, of course, said no. My studio is closed down and I am prepping Mango cultivation.
But she insisted. We met up and she explained her situation and I fell in love. With her, with the baby, with her partner and with the entire situation they had created around this little child.
Then, almost at the same time, several different people contacted me for pottery lessons. And since I was back in the studio anyway…well.
And I began to feel that what I have to offer is of value to people. In a practical sense. At least sometimes.
So until the house is sold and I move to Costa Rica…or wherever… I am happily back in my studio.
So come on in. Just do not call me an artist.
Annakeiller's Blog 
What an amazing commission – I hope it goes/went well.
I agree with you about art and commerce – always has been an uneasy fit and made a million times worse by rampant capitalism and globalisation.
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Thank you, Agnes. It is good to know that many of us feel the same way…and yes, the commission is done and the lady is happy with it – I’ll update the blog with pictures soon xx
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Pleased to read that. Always adds a little boost to one’s life if somebody appreciates your creative endeavours.
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