The Path of The Village Idiot

The Path of The Village Idiot.

I was working on The Resurrection of the Village Idiot, which I sincerely hope to be the final book of The Village Idiot series, when I thought about making one big beautiful collection of all the books. After thinking about this for a while, I saw the entire body of work as a trauma path that I have been traveling on for the past twenty-five years, so I named the collection The Path of The Village Idiot. The process of doing this over the past few days, and coming into a new year like we are, really put a lot of things in perspective. And not just in relationships and in my artwork, but in the overall sense of my life. 

For one thing, I really never had the tools to deal with childhood trauma, and I never had the understanding on how to deal with relationship issues. What I did know, however, was when things were good, I didn't write. And when things were bad, I wrote A LOT. I suppose that's pretty normal to have a muse like that, and heartbreak is a pretty powerful inspiration. But it can't be everything to an artist or a writer. There has to be more to inspiration than heartache!

Going into 2024, I've come to terms with the fact that I cannot write only when I am hurt. I cannot paint only when I feel unloved or unwanted. I need to be creative and find my own personal inspiration and keep writing and keep creating art no matter what is going on in my life. 

I don't do new years resolutions as a matter of principle so this isn't a resolution. But in 2024 I am going to start a new journey. I'm going to take the writing projects that have been collecting dust for so many years and I am going to share them with the world. When I'm not writing, I'm going to be painting. 

It is my hope this new year brings balance to the past two years I have dealt with. I am going to try to be as diligent in my artwork as I can and create as much as I can for myself. I hope you share this journey with me as well. 

I will be giving a lot of things away this year, from paintings to books to downloads, for no other reason than it's time I move on from that thing so I can make another thing. 

So stay tuned and come by often. Oh. And don't forget. 

Live long and get Naked. 

- Natey