Excerpt from What Art Can Do: A Conversation with Janet Morgan
by Heather Sanderson
The full-color version of What Art Can Do updated (from the black and white version that came out a couple of years ago) with new info and 80 images of Janet Morgan’s work. True to the content of the conversation within the pages (which includes the importance of making a mess, stepping into the unknown, and problem-solving through creating art), it’s the first book I’ve ever done all of the layout for in InDesign. I had no clue what I was doing, really. And, through trial and error, best guesses, YouTube tutorials, and some way-back memories of using QuarkXpress for a newspaper job over twenty years ago, it all came together!
I’m laughing as I only just now realize that I do truly walk the walk of everything I share through my writing. It wouldn’t have been in alignment (or possible financially) to hire someone to do this. I like learning. I like thinking through things. I like creating. I like coming out at the other side of a project with a new set of skills. It takes more time. It presents a lot of challenges. It requires patience. And it is all part of the process and learning which Janet shares in the story of her journey with art. She’s done a lot of wild and outrageous things through her work and, I believe, wouldn’t have it any other way. I hope you’ll be inspired through our conversation to take a look at your own creative journey, whatever it may be!
This unique book also includes a plant-spirit reading in a true spirit of collaboration not just with one another and other humans, but with the plant world and has a set of prompts for self-exploration. You can even draw or write in the pages at the back of the book to make it interactive and your own.
I wanted to share a brief excerpt from the conclusion here to help inspire you to consider getting a copy and exploring even more.
From the Conclusion of What Art Can Do:
Success isn’t about acceptance or rejection; there are so many ways to live a life and to find ways to bring your work into the world even when other people say “no,” or “you can’t.” What Janet has shown me is that when you start to put yourself and your work out into the world; to own who you are, your voice, and share yourself with others—that is a big part of what success is. However, it is not the only part. Success, as we tend to see it, is centered on the individual and the ego being satisfied. It’s often measured by money and celebrity. If that is the only definition of success, then most of us are unsuccessful at life. This I do not believe.
Success isn’t centralized, fixed, or measurable. If I were to redefine it right now, based on this conversation, success is about connection. It’s about teaching, sharing, trying something new. It’s encouraging and supporting one another as we all step into the unknown again and again every day. Success is a web, not a mountain. And because of that, true success is often invisible, intangible, and hard to feel or believe in.
Our current views of success also create separation. For example, while seeing pieces of art in museums is valuable, it also brings up many questions—whose art is allowed in those spaces now and historically? What are the barriers of entry to view it? How does it inspire others to create and how does it shut people down? When making and experiencing art is accessible, meaning it doesn’t require money, much time, training, or supplies, then it is available to everyone. Art becomes inclusive and unifying.
To read more get your copy of What Art Can Do. Available as:
Full-color paperback book with 80 images of Janet’s artwork. For more info and to buy now visit the book’s page.
Black and white version with six images of Janet’s artwork is also available as a paperback (more info here) and an eBook (more info here).
Different options with different price-points and accessibility helps the book also be in alignment with our message. All of my books have been created on a zero-dollar budget and edited on a basis of exchanging skills. There is always a way forward… in art and in life.
