Consumer vs Creator

One thing I notice about my own computer habits is that increasingly I sit there waiting for the internet to spontaneously spit out some gem of information or inspiration. Of course, it doesn't work that way. Even though the internet is ever increasingly controlled by corporate interests, we still can contribute content. That is a big reason blogging, especially by creative types, is important.

Remember back in the early days, ten years ago or so? There was a great groundswell of internet content generated by individuals. For a moment there, we might have changed the world, or at least it didn't seem too crazy to try. Too soon, the internet became just another venue for marketing, a tool for rendering people into passive consumers.  It's a powerful thing, and I notice myself succumbing.

Then I remember: "You are a creator, not a consumer. Make Good Art, Dammit!"

So, lately I find myself obsessed with salal, the ubiquitous understory plant of the Pacific Northwest, and beloved by florists everywhere. I had this idea I would hook a mat with an image of salal growing out of a nurse stump, a very common sight around here. But then when I went to draw the salal, it confounded me. A single spray doesn't tell the story. A whole mass of it is impossible. Even Emily Carr didn't address it.

Well. Maybe she did. In her way.

I'm still working on it.