Art Rabbithole

Art is never simply a finished product hanging on a wall or resting on a pedestal. It is, first and foremost, the outcome of a process — a dynamic interplay of thought, experimentation, emotion, intuition, and technique. This process may begin as a vague notion, a conceptual question, or even a visceral response to the world around us. Whether the approach is intellectual and structured, emotionally charged, or formally investigative, the method an artist adopts ultimately shapes the artwork that emerges. The decisions made along the way — regarding material, method, and subject matter — are not arbitrary. They reflect the artist’s inner world, curiosities, and persistent preoccupations.

Materials are not just tools of convenience; they are extensions of intention. Whether one chooses oil paint, found objects, digital media, or performance art, each medium offers its own unique language and possibilities. The texture of charcoal, the fluidity of ink, the rigidity of steel — these qualities affect not only the final form but also the journey toward it. Methodologies, too, define the nature of the work. Some artists follow deliberate, rule-bound processes, while others surrender to spontaneity. Some spend years refining a single technique, while others constantly reinvent their approaches in search of the unexpected.

The source imagery and reference points that feed the process also speak volumes. These might stem from personal memory, collective history, literature, science, popular culture, or purely abstract thought. The sources you return to — again and again — often reveal your deeper artistic identity more than the finished pieces themselves.

Importantly, the process of making art does not end when a work is completed. Each painting, sculpture, photograph, or drawing is only one part of a continuum. Every finished piece informs the next. Successes are built upon; failures become lessons folded into future attempts. Artistic growth is not linear — it moves in spirals, digressions, loops, and breakthroughs. What appears to be a conclusion may actually be a pivot point to a new direction.

Over time, this accumulated practice forms a body of work — not just a collection of isolated pieces, but a narrative of progression and transformation. The body of work is where coherence and evolution are evident. It reflects both the artist’s consistency and their willingness to change. It reveals how concerns deepen, how methods shift, and how an internal logic begins to take shape.

To understand an artist, it is not enough to view a single work. One must witness the unfolding of their process across time. Art, then, is not merely about what is made, but how it is made — and more profoundly, why it is made. It is in the commitment to process, in the quiet persistence of making, that meaning is often born.