Tom's Manifesto, 2011, 2017
I wrote this manifesto June 2011. Just found! Reposting as is.
The spirit world is where.
The spirit world is larger than you think.
Art and story let you see it, and make a guess at its boundaries, but much like humanity's limited ability to see all of our universe, our own inner life is too broad to be understood or contained.
Constant art making gets you closer to it.
Careful art making makes you understood. Craft helps other people understand what the hell you are talking about.
Diary comics can get you there, but only if you are flagrantly self-centered and your spirit world IS the people around you. (This is not a bad thing.)
Seeing the themes of your life enables you to live more fully.
Characters and stories direct you to the themes of your life.
The characters and stories which appear when you are barely paying attention are your first cloudy glimpses of what is there.
Your attentive exploration gives you a better sense of the scope and boundaries of it.
It is boundless.
Looking at other work you are reading maps and log books and hearing yarns.
Go into culture and histories asking to be haunted.
The spirit world breathes themes.
Reverberate.
The spirit world is where.
The spirit world is larger than you think.
Art and story let you see it, and make a guess at its boundaries, but much like humanity's limited ability to see all of our universe, our own inner life is too broad to be understood or contained.
Constant art making gets you closer to it.
Careful art making makes you understood. Craft helps other people understand what the hell you are talking about.
Diary comics can get you there, but only if you are flagrantly self-centered and your spirit world IS the people around you. (This is not a bad thing.)
Seeing the themes of your life enables you to live more fully.
Characters and stories direct you to the themes of your life.
The characters and stories which appear when you are barely paying attention are your first cloudy glimpses of what is there.
Your attentive exploration gives you a better sense of the scope and boundaries of it.
It is boundless.
Looking at other work you are reading maps and log books and hearing yarns.
Go into culture and histories asking to be haunted.
The spirit world breathes themes.
Reverberate.
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