"it’s not arrogance to not engage in criticism in art. it is my right to refuse to engage in critique. it is my right to not believe in this pedagogy of art. especially in a social culture where critique is often a violent ego driven act dressed up as a necessity to invalidate art or an artist. it is a system that has developed into feeding the critic and starving the artist. it holds the artists own art for ransom. in a limbo. it strips the artist of agency and the rights as creator to guide, direct, and protect their own work. i do not have to submit my art to your approval, for it to be valid. if my art comes from me. it’s mine. i birthed it. if it smells of my breath and my bone, that is all the validity it needs. i honor the gift of being an artist by embracing and respecting what comes through me, not judging it. i respect my work as it is, for who it is. i trust it. i trust myself. i trust my soul. first. always. creating is not a comparative process for me. it is not an arduous process for me. it is pure joy and blessing to have the ability to express myself and hone my craft. i come from the practice of only feeding my creativity. i come from the practice of solicited feedback (asked for when I need it) from my trusted contemporaries, elders, mentors, and others. feedback is a different vibration from critique as I have experienced it. it is born from a place of respect, not interrogation. feedback honors and engages with the work, it respects the art and the artists. critique in the ways that I have met it, often comes to discover what is wrong with the work. how is it flawed. and how should it be better. this is not an interaction i agree with. i create from my being, from myself. i do not understand asking someone to determine the worth of my work, as creativity is a sacred relationship between myself and my soul. It is very odd to me to say ‘please tell me if the way i am expressing my soul is okay to/ for you.’ for me, that is a very nonorganic and disrespectful act against myself, to centralize others feelings about my art, inside of my relationship with my art. i am central in my art. as i should be. as I am the artist. my art must first make me happy. if it does that, then I am satisfied. folks call this arrogance. to not adopt a position where my work must be dissected and shredded to be accepted. i call it love. respect. love and respect for who I am and what I create. you are free to love it or not. like it or not. i am simply not opening to hearing why you don’t like/love it. because just like my children, you not liking something i love, will not make me love it less. so why tell me. why bring your negativity to me. what do you think will happen. what do you want to happen. what is the end game of someone saying ‘I do not enjoy what you do.’ folks presuming and dictating to me an understanding of art that I must have, will never work. if you believe all art must be critiqued, in order to be considered valid art that is your belief. if i believe that it does not need to be critiqued to be considered valid, that is mine. we all have a right to our beliefs, but you don’t have the right to disrespect me, my work, or enforce your belief systems on me in my space or in a space that includes me. I don’t make disrespectful posts and tag names, or roll up in peoples inboxes to tell them what they should or shouldn’t do/believe. because it’s not something i consider to be my right. so just know, for me, it represents boundary crossing and it won’t be welcomed here."