Message from the Editor

Message from the Editor

Long ago back when I was a hippie and lived in the land of hippies (Austin, Texas), my yoga class was invited to attend a lecture by a Hindu swami. I was in that yoga class, and of course, I went to the lecture. I can’t remember much about what the swami said except this:  When you are doing the works of the gods, you will find many obstacles in your path. It is your task to find a way around those obstacles and to continue the work.
 
What is the “work of the gods?”  For me, the work of the gods is Art in all its many forms.  After all, Art and Art’s mother Creativity are the highest expressions of the human soul. Art’s sibling Science knows something about being the child of Creativity, too. But today we’re thinking about Art, the hungry child in this family

John Coltrane was an angel sent by the gods. Mariachi bands are angels sent by the gods, too, as are our Sonoran Desert painters, our dancers, our book authors, our performance artists, our musicians, our muralists, our poets, our photographers and sculptors, our art teachers, our art administrators, and our art journalists.

After all, Art keeps us on the path of human evolution. Art keeps us out of trouble (most of the time). Art puts a paint brush or a guitar or a writer’s pen in our hands instead of a gun. (No time for war if you are called to the studio to paint). Art makes it possible for an individual to connect with his/her highest nature.  Art creates communities. We have proof of that in the wonderful arts community in Tucson and Ajo and Yuma and Tubac and Nogales and Bisbee and places in-between. We have an abundance of talented artists of all kinds working in every medium you might imagine in our southern Arizona bioregion. And we’re working in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Sonoran Arts Network was established in May, 2013, to provide information about, and support for, the arts community in our Sonoran Desert bioregion. 

Sonoran Arts Network has been a good read every month for many of you. I know this because you’ve told me this. For many of you, Sonoran Arts has also been a way to promote yourself as an artist. How many artists, writers, and musicians have made sure their collectors and readers and fans go to SAN to read your interview or your feature?  Most, I would guess.   But that was the point, wasn’t it? The fundamental idea behind Sonoran Arts Network has always been to keep in the public’s mind and eye at all times the brilliance of the arts and the need for the arts in southern Arizona. There is no other publication like Sonoran Arts Network.

The obstacle that Sonoran Arts Network is facing now is a complete lack of funding to compensate for the money and increasingly large amount of time that it takes to publish this on-line arts journal.  Attempts to get grants have failed (so far, I’m not giving up). Google Adsense advertisements on the SAN website have brought in a grand total of $12.90 in the past six months.  The time it takes to produce SAN has negatively affected my bank account, my ability to generate income from other sources, and worst of all, reduced my time to create my own art.

I’d like to thank sincerely those people who have donated a total of $350 in the past two years. I also want to thank PaperWorks which recently gave me a donation of $200 that will keep the website going for a while longer.  But the expenses and the needs are greater than this.

So I’m appealing to you now.  I’ve added a Donations tab on the menu at the top of the page. By clicking on the Subscribe button, you can pledge to pay a monthly “subscription” fee through Paypal of $3, $4, $5, or $10 each month.  Knowing how much support will be there each month will make it possible to create a plan for the coming year and to carry it out. We are focused on July 11-August 15 to achieve this goal.

If SAN receives at least $400 each month in pledged donations, we’ll continue. If not, SAN will become a website that will add new interviews, features, and reviews only occasionally and only sporadically. If we receive substantially more than $400, we’ll expand coverage and increase frequency of publication.

It’s up to you.  By donating, you’ll be doing the work of the gods.

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