Hello there! It's Jocelyn Mathewes from my studio in Appalachia. And I spent some time this past week looking way back into my old college notebooks.
Here’s what remains the same since my early 20’s:
I’m still asking and wrestling with the same questions about art—what is its purpose in culture and in my individual life? What is excellence? Does [insert medium here] “count” as Art?
An artist’s unique origin story remains essential. I’m not sure I fully understood that when I first wrote my notes on the subject. Diving more intentionally into who you are will pay off, and I see how valuable it is to spend time going deeply, expressively, and wholeheartedly into my loves.
The shape of the art world remains ever-changing, but the game is still the same. It’s a strange mix of fate and intention: who you know, how often you put yourself out there, what’s suddenly popular, a lot of small opportunities, or one or two really big shifts.
No one knows how the story is going to play out.
Am I standing still, or just returning home?
what i know now that i didn't know before
The economics of art shape what is possible for us individually and collectively.
You can’t control it or ignore it; you have to persist and dance with it.You can work at the edge or the center: both are valid.
Just be somewhere you find fun, engaging and meaningful.Every one of us has an individual ecosystem where our creative work grows.
Don’t play the game of “grass is greener,” or question the validity of your medium.The hardest part really is to just keep showing up and centering your work.
It sounds so simple! But simple things are hard to do.
in the studio
My library of cyanotype toners is officially at v1.0! This means I’ll be able to get a wider palette of colors through the magical chemistry of botanicals.
Here's a video update of what it looked like to work through toning all of my control prints—