the point is joy

I’ve made countless, random, art projects over the course of my life. They run the gamut from pieces that are actually useable, pieces that are purely decorative, and pieces that serve absolutely no purpose. Like the time last year I carved and painted a dozen artificial pumpkins to look like venus fly traps for Halloween. Or the time when I was 10 and I saved a bunch of Starburst wrappers, cut up perfect squares of cardboard, and then put them in the wrappers and hid them in the candy dish.

I used to wonder “what was the point” of the random art and craft projects I would do in my free time, especially when it was very limited as an adult. Ok fine, maybe the point of the fake Starburst was to prank people! But why did I make these things that mostly just took up space in my house until I worked up the courage and emotional space to purge it?

The point is joy. The joy of conceiving the idea and envisioning how to do it. The joy of making something with your hands. The joy of admiring the finished product, if even for just a brief moment. The process is the art.

And so with that, here's a 7 minute video of me redoing a claw machine I found at Goodwill. I hope it brings you joy!