In the box, people are protected by the box. Artistic, creative, visionary thinkers are, by nature, outside the box. I was placed in a box with the lid shut as a child. When I became an adult, the box was placed in the recycle bin and never seen again.

Inside the box is void of light, curiosity, imagination, and expanding thought. The box is designed for limitations. Individuals who reside inside the protected corrugated fibers find it difficult to understand an artist’s desire to go beyond and test ideas daily while fully exposing themselves to others and their ridicule.

Being outside the box has greater demands on artists as there is always the internal duality of developing their artistic vision or conceding just a little by stepping back into the edge of the fold. For a split moment, we long to be considered members of the herd. Then, overnight, the confinement suffocates and drains our energy, triggering our departure and return to the artistry wilderness.