"Before a thought becomes a thought, there’s just a flash of color, a shift in rhythm, the feel of breath in your chest. Art pulls us into that space."

Hey everyone,

This last week, I’ve been thinking about how we’re taught to experience art —how galleries, museums, the art market, our own education shape the way we interact with creativity. Somewhere along the way, many of us were conditioned to believe that meaning in art is something external, beyond us. That it’s something we have to earn access to, rather than something we already hold within us.

My new essay, Art Isn’t For Everyone., is part personal essay, part art-world exorcism, part field guide to direct experience — to trace the invisible structures that have kept people at a distance from art and to point toward something deeper. A direct, visceral, non-conceptual participation that has always been available to us.

You can read the full essay here.

I’d love to hear what resonates with you, what challenges you, what you need to push back on, what new thoughts emerge. I’d particularly love to hear stories of how you’ve felt while moving through these spaces, either as observer, participant or somewhere-in-between. Hit reply—I’ll read every response.

Next session:
🗓️ Monday, Feb 24
⏰ 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM PST
📍 Google Meet

And here’s the circle’s playlist if you want to add some tracks for Monday. It’s basically me and my cousin Gabi just swapping tracks, so please someone join us. Lulz.

Hope to see you there. Bring whatever you’re working on (or thinking about working on).

J.x