Keep Calm and Make Art

“Keep Calm and Make Art,” photo of my recently arrived t-shirts, by @aforgrave

So here’s a bit of a backstory.

When I entered grade 9 and had to select my courses, I filled up all of my available slots with courses but didn’t have any room left for Visual Arts. By the time I got to grade 13 and saw what a lot of my artist friends were doing — and when I learned of OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design — now OCAD University) — I was saddened that there hadn’t been room for art along the way. I’d managed extra credits in English, all of the maths, all of the sciences, 3 OAC credits in music, but no visual art. The next year, when I went away to university, there was no option for any practical music courses outside of the Faculty of Music. So at that point I got a sad face regarding that one, too.

However, as I reflect back, I did spend a chunk of my high school time dabbling in design work. It was all typewriters, white-out, letterset, scissors, and glue sticks back then, as there were no computers in the late seventies. I helped a friend publish a science-fiction fanzine in grade 10 (recalling the Gestetner and cor-flu) but most of my design time went towards supporting promotion materials for my work at the time.

All this to say that I believe that there is an artist inside everyone. We need to believe in that artist, and cultivate that artist, and let that artist express themself, even if our vocation takes us on a tangential path.

My thanks to the DS106 Community for providing a wonderful context within which to explore Making Art.

“Keep Calm and Make Art” are my entry for The Daily Create, tdc1989, five words to impress someone.

DS106 has made a real impression on me.