The Holiday Spirit

The holidays are an interesting time for reflection. We stop and think about how quickly the year flew by. There are questions about how we’ve spent our time and whether it was for the best. It’s this kind of introspection that I find drives the art I create. Art can come from looking out into the world or from inside yourself but in the end the point is for it to express an idea or feeling. The expression of this is representative of the fact that you are communicating something to other people. It’s a connection that reminds us that we’re all human, we all feel, and we’re all in this together. That’s the holiday spirit to me. I recognize that in my work the goal is always to tackle an idea I’ve been inspired or scared by in the hope that I can show it in a way that means something to me and to someone else. Joyful or melancholic, there is always a beauty in these themes that link us. Whatever the holidays mean to you, I hope that you remember the importance of these bonds. It is these relationships of love and empathy that we need to celebrate and encourage.

- Amanda J.