words and images by mk swanson
 
Ass to Chair

Ass to Chair

My niece, a budding artist and musician, said today that it has been months since she has picked up her guitar, or drawn more than a few drawings. She had some suppositions about why she wasn’t accomplishing more: she only liked to learn the guitar directly from a teacher; she felt that she should be able to learn music strictly by ear; she had learned what she wanted to know about drawing the human figure, so she didn’t feel challenged.
She mourned her lost interest; she wondered how to find inspiration again.
You’ve got to apply ass to chair.
Art, music, writing–it doesn’t happen without sweeping back the mundane world, clearing off the clutter, and offering your creative side a little room.