MANIFESTO

The Gutter Artist’s Oath and Manifesto

We vow to destroy all that ought to be destroyed;

To nourish all that needs to be nourished;

And to speak up when we are so called.

Gutter Artists are no longer afraid of anyone or anything; they have nothing left to lose.

Gutter Artists are self-proclaimed artists; they become artists from the first moment they begin to freely create and record deliberate sounds, movements, and images.

Gutter Artists live fully every day; they remember to greet each moment with gracious receptivity, grateful for The Presence that is both Life and Death.

Gutter Artists respond consciously to The Muse; they find ways to express their experience to others through sight, sound, touch, smell and taste, including movement, dance, color, and music.

Gutter Artists have no secret expectations; they are unattached to specific results or hoped-for outcomes.

Gutter Artists uncover ways and means that make it possible to create art on a moment-by-moment basis, no matter what obstacles they encounter, no matter the ridiculous or tragic circumstances in which they find themselves, sometimes in the midst of suffering or difficulty (whether physical, emotional, or spiritual).

Gutter Artists have learned to make distinctions between things they need to take responsibility for and things they absolutely must not.

Gutter Artists pay attention to how they invest their time and resources; they reevaluate outcomes on a regular basis.

Gutter Artists have learned to balance the pleasures of day-to-day living; they find people, places and things that encourage and support expression of their artistic vision.

While there is no “formal” organization whose membership consists entirely of Gutter Artists, Gutter Artists are not necessarily hermits.

Gutter artists want to share their creative joy with others.

Gutter Artists are spontaneous; they invite others to come play with them at the drop of a hat.

Gutter Artists tend to have small, intimate gatherings where they exhibit their work to each other.

Gutter Artists persevere; they meet regularly with like-minded others and welcome Newcomers into their ranks.

Gutter Artists encourage others to share their talents, thus saving them from the darkness of oblivion that is the fate of many closet artists.

Gutter Artists are content with a select group of friends with whom they can share their art; they do not crave or demand a large audience or require a huge fan club.

Gutter Artists are truly generous with their fellow human beings; they share their time and hard-won insights into the Great Underbelly of the Subconscious Muse.

Gutter Artists admire and respect each others’ work; they have learned not to be stirred up to jealousy, envy, or fear by witnessing the free-flow of spontaneous creativity in their fellow human beings.

Gutter Artists consciously refrain from giving unwanted advice or mean-spirited critiques.

Gutter Artists choose to live simply; they thrive by word of mouth.

Gutter Artists have learned to slow down; they allow the creative process to unfold at a more sane and gentle pace.

Gutter Artists know that in the Universal Eternal Now, there is time enough for all things.

Gutter Artists judge success by their own criteria; they have learned to trust their own perceptions and are not tyrannized by the expectations or opinions of others.

Gutter Artists may remain unrecognized by society during their lifetimes; they do not expend precious resources (time; energy;/or money) seeking success in the conventional sense of the word (fame, fortune, prestige, power/or immortality).

Gutter Artists are attractive to other human beings not because they project a false persona but because they are authentic in most circumstances, in any chance encounter, at home, at work, in school, as parents, as marriage partners, as teachers, as friends, as global citizens.

Gutter Artists nurture artistic expression every day--no matter what, no matter what--and encourage others to do the same.