JR Butler is a muralist, sculptor, potter, painter, digital artist…you name it! He is also a good friend of mine and an integral part of the Siler City and Chatham County arts community. I recently asked him for his thoughts on creativity and his creative process. Here’s what he had to say…
To me, creativity is a passion to recognize the possibility of presenting unique, new ideas and using whatever means to bring this vision forward. I feel grateful that I possess this passion. Creativity is like a hypothetical muse that exists in my mind. It is the voice I hear most clearly in my head; it is my voice. When I’m able to use it to speak out loud, it is the truest, rawest expression of me. When I truly expose my creativity through art, I feel the change in energy from people who experience it. I know that my creative energy has caused them an emotion that is real. This is what motivates me above all things to create: to know that I have created an experience that has an emotive quality that resonates with the viewer. That they have felt me for the moment through my art. When someone truly appreciates my creativity and my art, it’s as if that voice has become a part of me that the viewer will take with them…a part of me that will live on with them and in others who view this work.
I am affected by the emotional energy of others every day. This is the best way I know to share those feelings with others. They may not always know what the art is about, but if it has made people feel my emotions like I feel theirs, then I feel good about that transfer of energy.
My all time favorite movie is the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and my favorite line in a film is delivered in that movie by Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka: “We are the music makers and we are the dreamers in the dream.” This is my mantra. So when people want to blame Ozzy Osborne for my actions…(((buzzer)))…the correct answer is Willy Wonka!
As an artist, a dreamer, a creator, I believe those of us who create are on a quest to find what is closest to godliness…and it’s not just cleanliness, folks. It also has to do with the act of creation and the ability to live eternally, just as the pharaohs sought and have so far attained with their artistically elaborate tombs. It is art.
Some would argue that art is one of the differences between humans and animals. However, if you have not seen art in nature made by animals and the forces of rock, you haven’t seen our world. I am an artist and I am here to help open your eyes. Art is not only what we have placed our claim on as humans. I can show you art I have collaborated on with a dog, insects, and nature. We have only just scratched the surface on knowing what art is and what it can be. I have been on this quest for as long as I can remember and I will continue on this path. As long as there’s another breath, I will be reaching for it to make my art.
