Joy has been a cornerstone of festive season imagery, with bright colours, happy faces and celebration taking centre stage. But to the artist, joy may hog the stage, forcing one's talents into the backdrop.

The Problem with Joy

The creative mind can transform emotion into image or words, no less than it can forge raw materials into invention. And where necessity is deemed mother of invention, hardship is all too often the mother of art.

Hardship, however, is individualistic in nature, with perspective defining adversity far more accurately than circumstance. Thus, though many artists may share the same adversity, each will interpret and value it differently, resulting in a wide assortment of product expressions. In other words, though the fuel may be the same, the fire is much different. 

Dousing this flame is quick work for many, as the spiritual imbalance of passion need only find resolve - resolve that is traditionally expressed in the form of joy. All too often the release of sexual tension or a lifting of depression will kill the artist's wand. This is not to say that joy is an artistic condemnation, only that when joyous, many simply find that they have nothing more that they are interested in sharing. For them, misery loves company, but joy is a party pooper.

Vincent van Gogh reportedly suffered from bipolar disorder, producing artworks during both the depression and the manic phase. The resulting difference in his choice and treatment of subjects can offer insight into how one artistic state of mind may slam the door on another.

As teens, our emotions run hot and cold  as well, with the ink flowing from the bubbling Fountain of Youth through to the dregs of the river Styx. It would be difficult to connect the writings from a single teen in each state, as the imagery is in such stark contrast as to appear from two entirely different personae.

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