Fiji Island Mermaid Press

So I've been thinking recently about the urge to create something, and the urge to share this creation with an audience, and the relationship between these two urges, especially as the ego is involved. If you read my blog regularly, you'll know where this angst is coming from.

And I came accross this "Free For All" at Fiji Island Mermaid Press. Here eight artists offer mini-books that you can print out and fold up and have for your very own for free. This morning I printed out and assembled How To Draw Jean-Paul Sartre With Genuine Human Dignity by Marc Snyder. And it's delightful. And it's generous, to offer these pieces for free. And they are whimsical.

(I found this press by being amazed by artist Marc Snyder's work at the current issue of Brevity Magazine. If you like his work, check out his illustrations accompanying each piece at Brevity. )

So that's what I'm thinking about, the crossroads of generosity and devaluation that can unfairly come as a result of generosity. How to make sure your work is taken seriously while getting an audience for your work. And things along those lines. And I have no useful conclusions thus far.