The Purpose of Posting

I get a lot of questions about my blog...

Is it dedicated to art?
Do you want it to be dedicated to art?
Why do you post some news stories but not others?
How do you decide what you post?
Why post anything other than art?

And while the answers always shift, I think I can help shed some light...When you first get on the blog,  right below the headline image it says

The Art of Daniel Fleming and everything that goes with it

And, whether you like it or not, that's really the answer to the question. Everything I post here, in some way, connects to the artwork I do. Sometimes a piece is directly based off of a news story of a current event...Sometimes it's inspired by a concept brought up in the article...Sometimes I'm inspired by the accompanying imagery.

The basic idea is that the art being posted by me is directly influenced by all of the stories posted here. I read the story, it hits me in some way, and I post it. Sometimes I'll mull it over for a month, sometimes I come back the next day and post a new in-progress piece, sometimes the idea never reaches the execution stage and stays in my head. But the fact remains, the blog and these posts are a snapshot into the way my mind works.

When I post a piece and talk about it, you get insight into the piece and what it means. When I post an article about something else, say science, politics, or social issues, it's meant to get you, and me, thinking; To get started; To bring up concepts the subjects are dealing with, to think about events that I don't personally experience, to rouse a side of the mind that wouldn't be working if I simply reacted to the things around me. I read articles to stay informed but also to open the mind....to welcome new thoughts and ideas.

I realize that every post isn't going to push exactly the right creative button for everyone...but I think art is more than just the objects people make...it's more than the finished product. The purpose of posting isn't solely to share interesting things, it's to open everyone up to the background of an artwork. To help them understand all the different avenues of inspiration and to bring them a little closer to the process.

Art isn't a magical conclusion, but rather a very down-to-earth process of gathering concepts and ideas from everyday experiences and reacting in a way that the viewer can understand, or at least hope to. The purpose of posting isn't to simply absorb and distribute information, but to activate the mind with new ideas so that inspiration can take hold...