this morning with still a full belly at the coffee shop, i read an excerpt from a chapter of of “about this life” by barry lopez. the chapter was called “learning to see” and was a bit meandering, but the last paragraph seems to sum up how i feel about this blog and artist communities in general:
“It is correct….to believe in a community of artists stimulated by and respectful of one another’s work. But it is also true that without an audience (of which we’re all part) the work remains unfinished, unfulfilled. A photographer seeks intimacy with the world and then endeavors to share it. Inherent in that desire to share is a love of humanity. In different media, and from time to time, we have succeeded, I believe, in helping one another understand what is going on. We have come to see that, in some way, this is our purpose with each other”.
thank you to each person who has helped inform me better, and to those who continue to inspire and be an audience, in this figuring out of life.