try this at home 	      theresa venzke

"one night a gentleman said to me:
`artists are nothing but children'"
--Emile Nolde (1867-1986), German Painter

what if hitler
dipped 6 million paper towels
in colored tempera
and threw them as hard as he could
onto vast white space
and however the image splattered and expanded
he could exclaim
"I made it!"
and then a gentle voice might whisper
"can I hang that up for everyone to see?"
and he could nod yes
or shake no
(he wouldn't even have to speak)
Maybe he wouldn't even care if
Nobody
ever saw it
because if felt so good to throw color
onto Emptiness
from his Insides
with a different mark each time
and he might even show Someone Else
how to dip paper towels in colored tempera
and throw as hard as it feels
and maybe he wouldn't even think
of stealing Someone Else's tools
or burning Someone Else's brushstrokes
(no matter how angry the lines)
because he would know about filling a void with your own mark.
so instead he might whisper
"can I hang that up for Everyone to see?"
and they could nod yes
or shake no
or exclaim
"I made it!"