My thoughts on the creative message of this issue have taken broad turns in these recent days of upheaval, crisis, and adjustment. Perhaps the message is even more important now, that we are forced to face our everyday lives with less latitude and more creativity.

Making waves­­––this metaphor illustrates what we do when we introduce something new and impactful to stasis, a placid state of comfort and balance. In fact, making waves is a benchmark of artwork, and creativity in general––some would ask, if you aren’t making waves, what in fact, are you making? Many of our favorite works of art, music, writing, and performance, made HUGE waves when they were introduced. These were new bellwethers in their respective fields, efforts of experimentation, non-conformist thinking, and signs of systemic change.

What I find so compelling about these artworks, is they are products of the artists themselves. Humans, who despite their contemporary circumstances, couldn’t help but push forward and make their work. These were and are the wave makers, the disruptors, the fonts of progression and exploration.

In this issue of Sisu, I set forth to study the wave, and its counterpoint, the line. The line represents stasis––predictable, relatable, formal, and geometric. The wave, on the other hand, is organic, has its own rules, and is really a function of its own energy. For inspiration, I turned to the water, both in subject and in medium. The cover of this Issue is painted on pieces of plastic flotsam (read trash) cleaned from the beach, each churned, shaped, and deposited by waves. The studies on the interior pages are painted with watercolor, a medium ruled by the vagaries of water flow and interaction with the stroke and paper. My vision was to juxtapose order and flow and let the results expose the tension between the two. With which do you relate?

There are many ways to embrace a wave in your ocean. Roll with it, let it shake your world. Capsize under it and come up for air when you are ready. Or just maybe you BE the wave––force indelible change on a complacent reality, shattering the notion of “what is” and forcing it to be “what used to be.”