Denise J Herman

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I have a sharing problem...

It’s been a week since I outlined my three projects for 2024—and this is the first effort to share progress since. I’ve completed my Moleskine pages. I’ve been working on my Iterations project. I’ve added to my visual art journal. But nothing shared.

I’ve been grappling with the question of why share my work online. I pretty much didn’t share on instagram or here on my website all of 2023 because I decided I didn’t have a compelling answer.

But the desire to share didn’t leave and now I know for sure that I DO want to share my work on Instagram and my art practice here on the Studio (b) Log.

Why? Well, let’s see if I can articulate this.

It comes down to connection and contribution. To give an experience of what I make is connection—art is meant to be shared. I love sharing my work and I love it when others love it—of course!

But also, the more I create the more I uncover my own creative BE-ing, such as it is—not as I would prefer it to be, not in comparison to other much better artists than me, but just as I am.

And as I learn to judge less, compare less, be more curious and open to what it is to BE my creative self, well, the more I get surprised—and delighted—with what I can do and with who I am. And the more I grow, the more I create—and the more I know to be true:

human creativity is sacred.

We are all creative beings living on this earth to express our creative selves in all the myriad forms humans express themselves. We each create with different materials and expressions, but we are all creative, and it’s important to experience our own creativity. In fact, I believe it’s absolutely vital to our own—and the world’s—wellBEing.

And I hope by sharing what and how I create that others will find their way to their own creativity too.

That is my truth.

So - since I have more clarity about why, I need to address why not.

What is stopping me?

First, taking the pictures. I swear, I really resist taking pictures of my things. And three ongoing projects make it even harder to photograph things in real time.

And the other thing that gets in the way of sharing are the words. It’s easier on Instagram because I just don’t have to say much—but here on the (b)Log I want to document my process— to be useful to myself and to others—which means I have to go in more detail.

Okay, so as I say this I see the solution. A sustainable plan. Right now, it’s all available for the sharing and I think I’m overwhelmed with the possibilities for sharing each day. Should I share this, this or this?

But if I sit down and identify what to share for each project and when, over the course of a week, both on instagram and here on the Studio (b) Log—and if I don’t get too ambitious with that sharing plan—keep it to what I can actually do—maybe I’ll do it.

No, not maybe. I will!