What shows
how little
we know?
What can be is
oft far less than
what we expect.
What is now
has never been
what it was.
07/25/2024 j.g.l.
value beyond
Simplicity.
Is there emotion in austerity?
Humanity?
What do you see when attempting
to define your limited visibility?
Minimalism, abstract impressionism
or incorporeal thought.
Less is more, but is it enough?
Texture, tone, and value beyond
your current scene. If you take it to an
extreme, you will question
what it means.
What is really there?
What line do you cross?
Can simplicity be complicated, or
should it even be attempted?
07/23/2024 j.g.l.
Mondays are just young Fridays
Things will not go as planned. Intentions will be disrupted, even overlooked, in the aftermath of an unexpected reality.
Where you are headed will not be the place you end up, undoubtedly or undeniably. No matter how hard you attempt to make each gesture, brushstroke, promise, prayer, or pastime as perfect as you believe it can be, many times you will not arrive at a perceived destination. All too often your endeavors never hit the mark; at times your work may be better than expected (celebrate those moments), but everything (even your judgement) is subjective.
You are not limited to, or by, the colours in your paintbox or progression of your process.
Imagination is as limited or expansive as you want it to be. Give it time to blossom; in certain instances, you may even have to reel it in. This is all about possibilities, no matter which media, method, or style you are beholden to.
You owe your art (or life) nothing but your presence; the value comes from the practice, as rudimentary or spontaneous as it is or will become.
07/22/2024 j.g.l.
I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
Mondays are just young Fridays
Posted on October 24, 2022 by j.g.lewis
Leave a comment
It’s graffiti I have been walking by almost daily for a couple of months; a message of protest from the days leading up to Ontario’s last provincial election in June.
The message disturbed me then, as it does now. The words “Don’t Vote” go against what I believe in and strike at the core of democracy and our right to participate in the process.
The message, then, seemed to strike a chord with a majority of Ontario residents and less that 45 percent of eligible voters bothered showing up at the polls in June. As a result, we ended up with a majority Conservative government whom, among other things, seem intent on stripping down a healthcare system already in crisis and gutting public education.
Ontario is not getting the government it needs (and deserves) because people didn’t exercise their rights.
Today is municipal Election Day in Ontario and, if advance polls are any indication, we seem headed towards disgustingly low voter turnout.
Now municipal elections, traditionally, never seem to get the attention they deserve anyway, and that bothers me. These votes, directly, affect where and how you live. Votes today are about the community you should care about. Mayors, city councils and school trustees control a great deal of tax revenue and influence decisions going well beyond the four-year terms they are elected into.
Your vote matters; so vote, if you care.
Don’t vote if you don’t care, but be assured not voting is more of a problem than it is a solution.
10/24/2022 j.g.l.
