plus a touch of fundraising
I believe in the importance of public institutions, especially Public Libraries, Public Education, and Public Art. And I understand the value of artists of all kinds to their communities. The arts have always uplifted us, brought us new perspectives, fostered community around ideals and aspirations, AND helped heal deep wounds in mysterious ways.
Public art is important because it engages the most ardently curious and deep-thinking among us. It can prompt new questions, it can calm what concerns us, it can challenge our stale thinking, it can bring people together, and it can help new creatives to emerge; all regardless of income level or access.
And I have always believed public art should not limited to public buildings, open spaces, and parks which have geographic requirements. That’s one of the reasons I took so positively to the internet as a realm for makers of all kinds in the late 1990s.
I feel it is increasingly more important to treat the entire digital realm as an art-form too, because it is still reasonably accessible to most people most of the time. That’s how I’ve always treated it anyway…
The digital realm was, in my early maker days, ~90% creativity and knowledge, rendered in code, inclusive of words, graphics, with the weavings of hyperlinks between websites, concepts, communities, functions, and platforms. Creating new meaning and connections while pulling these strands together beautifully with a sense of PURPOSE is an artist’s work. And that’s why I’m still working on it today: I care about the quality of this space.
The Internet’s earliest purpose was sharing and connecting. Sharing of knowledge and creating easier pathways of communication among people. Basically, the web was about helping researchers and other humans find what they need faster, not about creating need. The web was technical, practical and metaphysical too. It sped up information flow… and so, one could say, it sped up manifestation too.
Honestly, I feel disappointed about the web’s culture now, and the way many use it. But am still holding hope out there with my own work in hopes light and love will prevail. I’m sure this sounds overly “epic,” (my kids roll their eyes regularly about what they call my boring TED talks), but that’s how I experience life, epically, and like an artist tying realms together using digital media, images, words, and a sense of what could be, then bringing energies down into form via commerce, events, and gifts to the viewer in new ideas, approaches, and inner awakenings.
Sorry to harp on the bummer, but…
As templates, AI, stats, greed, and strategies *compile and optimize* original thought and practices, the web feels like it is becoming more a tool of pushing folks toward commerce, emotional states of outrage and wanting, and algorithmically pushing people into reductive boxes. Just like real people, real content helps restore our connections to each other and our culture, just like literature and music does.
Mindful intent with lovingly shared information is still the way to go here, at least it is for me. Can AI do that? My guess is no, but of course, we’ll try anyway.
Since of-the-moment art & letters matters in helping humanity move forward, don’t hide or hoard my best stuff.1
I also enjoy being (as a few friends have kindly said) a beacon of light on the darkening of the web. If you are a white hat kind of web worker, an ethical operator and creative, you know exactly what I mean… Well made anything can help break us out of the ordinary, activate our senses, help us see and hear things anew, give us hope and kick off vision.
That’s what I do. I make public art in digital realms, because every realm needs more light. So I’ll keep shining mine here as best I can in a place I’ve stewarded for years. I hope you do too.
The Tipping Point – a fundraising request
I work hard to serve the greater good, and if you are reading this, I bet you do too. I have been serving in this way for my entire life, with love and smarts, and spirit, both inside and outside of my paid profession. When I charge for pro services, it is lower than market value, because even my professional work never been all about the money. Its about creativity and service. I’ve wanted my web work to be affordable to other light workers and good organizations, and have been happy to collaborate with those who do good and recognize value too. But for me to produce work, pay for web hosting, living, and creative expenses (phones, Photoshop, a car that gets me places to walk and roam, quality foods to sustain my body, travel, and yoga), I need cash.
So should I start charging for my art? Shoot, this doesn’t yet feel good to me given my feelings about public art. Can I ask for financial support? I guess I can try:
Do you feel like you’ve been served, helped, or inspired by my work? Or illuminated? Or gained something of value?
If so, please tip.
Any amount is appreciated. I don’t know how to tie the invisible support of treating marketing like art and creative honesty to a dollar amount, because it is priceless. Tipping shows me you appreciate what I’m doing, and would like to see more, and it makes it practically possible for me to continue.
A tip here is loving financial feedback.
Your gift also helps me keep this work accessible to the public, with no paywalls, algorithms, manipulations, or ads, because this feels extra important right now.
My goal is to grow my independent maker income to $3,300/month in subscriptions and one-off donations by July 31, 2025, which will enable me to carry on this endeavor and stewardship across Mommess.com, EMWe Art, LitterProject, and Substack too. It’s always been a labor of love.
Thank you so much,
FOOTNOTES & SUB-SUBTEXT 😉
- To be clear, I also do not give anyone permission to steal or take credit for my writing or images work. You may enjoy viewing and sharing my work (with my name and/or mommess url included) and get inspired freely any day of the week, but you may not take credit for my work by rewriting (with or without AI), repackaging, or by image theft, or any other common sense intellectual property offense. Basically, do your own work! You can! Just because I share freely, doesn’t mean I accept theft. Capice? ↩︎
