Why Outsider Art

I've always had a fondness for Outsider Art - also called Art Brut, Self-taught, Folk, and so on.

I think part of the affinity is I feel like an outsider myself.

No, not in any self-pitying way. But I have always been an outsider. Shy. Private. Not quite fitting in. A quirky way of looking at the world.

I think the impulse is linked to my fondness for the hermit life. Or Saints. Or obscure kinds of poetry (slug haiku, for example). Or with being Santa.

Even as a child I never did quite fit in. I rarely felt comfortable with my peers - and even when with them always felt as if I was not really part of the group. I was easily put off by language, physical violence, crudity. I was bored by many of the things so many others seemed to like.

Those I felt most comfortable with were the marginalized.

And I function best in society when I am playing a role. Santa. Teacher. Folk musician. Parts of me, yes, but still not fully me. Masks.

After 60 years, I don't see it changing much.

In fact, I embrace it.

What should I create next?

A slug among weeds
celebrates Christmas morning
in blessed silence

Pax et bonum