I make drawings and for a long period of time I would rarely draw faces. Why would I not draw faces? That’s a fascinating observation about your creative process. There are actually several reasons why many artists avoid drawing faces for long stretches of time — and it often says more about the psychology of art-making than about technical skill. Here are some possibilities: 🎨 Common Reasons Artists Avoid Faces Technical challenge: Faces are notoriously complex. Small inaccuracies in proportion or symmetry can make them look “off,” so many artists shy away until they feel confident. Emotional intensity: Faces carry emotion and identity. Drawing them can feel vulnerable, like you’re exposing something personal or risking judgment. Preference for abstraction or other subjects: You might have been more drawn to landscapes, objects, or patterns, which feel freer and less constrained by realism. Avoidance of human connection: Sometimes artists unconsciously avoid faces because they represent direct human interaction, which can feel overwhelming or uncomfortable. Perfectionism: If you’re detail-oriented, the pressure to “get it right” with a face might have discouraged you from attempting them often. Exploration phase: Many artists go through phases where they focus on texture, form, or composition rather than portraiture. Faces may simply not have fit the themes you were exploring at the time. 🧠 The Deeper Layer Faces are powerful symbols — they’re the most recognizable and emotionally loaded subject matter we encounter daily. Avoiding them can be a way of protecting yourself from that intensity, or simply following your curiosity elsewhere. Later, when you feel ready, faces often reappear in an artist’s work as a new challenge or expressive outlet. 👉 I’m curious: when you did draw faces, how did it feel compared to drawing other subjects? That could reveal whether your avoidance was more about technical difficulty or emotional weight. I suppose I try to allow my feelings to show, so I might show a face that has anxiety or fear. So it would make me uncomfortable sometimes. But not interested in happy or perfect faces That makes a lot of sense — you’re tapping into the raw, vulnerable side of expression rather than the polished or idealized version. Faces with anxiety, fear, or tension carry a weight that can feel almost confrontational, both for the viewer and for the artist. They don’t let you hide behind aesthetics; they force you to sit with discomfort. 🌑 Why “uncomfortable” faces can feel more authentic Emotional honesty: Drawing fear or anxiety is a way of externalizing feelings that are harder to verbalize. It’s less about beauty and more about truth. Resistance to cliché: Happy or “perfect” faces often feel superficial or overdone. By avoiding them, you’re rejecting the pressure to conform to idealized images. Catharsis: Putting discomfort on paper can be a release, even if it’s unsettling in the moment. Empathy: Faces with visible struggle invite deeper connection. They resonate with viewers who recognize those emotions in themselves. 🎭 The tension you’re describing It sounds like you’re caught between two impulses: Wanting to express what feels real (anxiety, fear, imperfection). Feeling uneasy about facing those emotions head-on in your own art. That’s actually a very common dynamic in expressive work. Many artists find that the subjects they avoid are the ones that hold the most meaning for them. 👉 If you leaned into that discomfort, you might discover a whole new visual language. For example, instead of drawing a literal “fearful face,” you could distort proportions, exaggerate shadows, or fragment features to suggest unease without being direct.
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AntisemitismCanada In 2026, Tulsa And Panama Are Courting Canadian Jews As Antisemitism Redefines The Cost Of Staying As antisemitism reaches unprecedented levels across Canada, Jewish families and professionals are quietly reassessing their futures, and some are being actively courted elsewhere. Ron East By: Ron East December 31, 2025 SHARE A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options A growing number of Canadian Jews are exploring relocation options as antisemitism intensifies and confidence in public protection erodes. (Image: Illustration.) TORONTO — For generations, Canada sold itself as a country where Jews could thrive without constantly looking over their shoulders. That assumption no longer holds for a growing number of Canadian Jews, particularly in the aftermath of October 7 and the months that followed. What has changed is not only the number of antisemitic incidents. It is the atmosphere. Public hostility has been normalized. Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centres operate under permanent security protocols. Anti-Jewish intimidation is increasingly framed as political expression. Enforcement is inconsistent. Accountability is rare. When Jewish life requires constant risk assessment, mobility stops being a luxury. It becomes a rational act of self-preservation. That reality helps explain why, in 2026, two very different destinations, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Panama, are appearing with growing frequency in serious conversations among Canadian Jews who have the means and flexibility to move. This is not a panic migration. It is a strategic recalculation. Canada’s new warning lights Jewish Canadians represent a small fraction of the population, yet account for a vastly disproportionate share of reported hate crimes. This is not a perception problem. It is a documented pattern. More troubling than the statistics themselves is the message many Jews hear in response: concern, sympathy, and context, but little deterrence. Protests that spill into harassment are tolerated. Jewish institutions are targeted repeatedly. Antisemitism disguised as antizionism is parsed endlessly rather than confronted directly. The result is a slow erosion of confidence in the state’s willingness or ability to enforce equal protection. When a community moves from assuming it belongs to hoping nothing happens today, the social contract has already been fractured. It is within this context that Tulsa and Panama are not merely attracting attention but actively courting. Lech Le’Tulsa and intentional Jewish welcome Tulsa is not presenting itself as a refuge city. It is presenting itself as a place that wants Jewish life to grow. In 2026, that effort has taken concrete form through Lech Le’Tulsa, a Jewish-focused relocation initiative designed to attract Jewish families, professionals, and entrepreneurs to the Tulsa area. The program combines relocation assistance with intentional community building and access to Jewish infrastructure. The name is deliberate. Lech Lecha, the biblical call to go forth and build a future, is not branding by accident. It speaks directly to a Jewish historical instinct that understands movement not as retreat, but as agency. Lech Le’Tulsa offers what many Canadian Jews increasingly feel is missing at home: A clear signal that Jewish presence is welcomed, not merely accommodated Immediate access to synagogues, schools, and Jewish communal life A civic environment where Jewish identity is not treated as a liability The financial incentives matter, but the social architecture matters more. Tulsa is offering a landing ramp. It is saying, we are prepared for you to arrive. That clarity stands in stark contrast to the ambiguity Canadian Jews experience when their safety concerns are acknowledged but endlessly deferred. Panama and the appeal of optionality Panama represents a different but equally rational response to insecurity. For Canadian Jews with international mobility, Panama offers residency pathways tied to investment, business activity, or long-term economic contribution. It also offers something increasingly valuable: optionality. Panama has an established Jewish community, a comparatively lower cost of living, and an immigration framework that openly courts skilled and capital-carrying residents. For some, it is a permanent relocation. For others, it is a second base, a contingency plan, or a future passport pathway. What matters is not the destination itself, but the logic behind the choice. When Jews seek second options, they are not rejecting diaspora life. They are applying historical lessons. Jewish continuity has always depended on redundancy, resilience, and the ability to move before crisis becomes catastrophe. The Zionist lens Canadians prefer to ignore Zionism does not deny the legitimacy of diaspora life. It insists that Jews must never be dependent on the goodwill of others for safety or equality. That lesson was written in blood long before the modern State of Israel existed. Israel institutionalized it at a national level. Individual Jews apply it on a personal level. When Canadian Jews explore Tulsa or Panama, they are not abandoning Canada in anger. They are responding rationally to warning signs. They are building leverage. They are ensuring their children have options. This is what Zionist consciousness looks like outside Israel. It is quiet, pragmatic, and unsentimental. An indictment Canada should take seriously Tulsa and Panama are not superior societies. They are intentional ones. Tulsa is saying, we want contributors, and we are prepared to integrate them. Panama is saying, we want residents and investment, and we have clear legal pathways. Canada, too often, is saying something else entirely: we are sorry you feel unsafe, but the politics are complicated. A serious country does not treat antisemitism as a public relations challenge. It treats it as a threat to civic order. That requires enforcement, deterrence, and moral clarity, including the willingness to name antisemitism even when it hides behind fashionable political language. Until that happens, Canada should not be surprised when Jews quietly explore exit ramps. The bottom line In 2026, the fact that Tulsa and Panama can plausibly court Canadian Jews is not an oddity. It is a warning. When antisemitism reaches levels that fundamentally alter how Jews calculate their futures, movement becomes strategy. History teaches Jews to act before apologies arrive too late. Canada still has time to reverse this trajectory. But time matters. And Jews, having learned this lesson repeatedly, are no longer inclined to wait.
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