06. ❝ New Directions

Being able to look back is important, but not enough. Old art, whether magnificent or mundane, is always the raw material of new art. The artist’s job is to build on it or transform it, not offer up comforting familiarity as a talisman against the void. That was the problem with my glass project. It was a bridge backward. Much later, painting became a path forward.Written by Anne Ayers Koch. Find more of Anne's writing on Substack.Edited and produced by Geoff Koch and Amanda BarrancoMOREOne January years later, I scanned my new spring term last period class list, fearing the rumor I heard in the faculty room was true. It was. One of the most disruptive high school seniors was in my elective, “The Short Story.” He made his first appearance by swinging into the room off the doorjamb like Tarzan dropping from a tree. Six feet four inches of uncontrolled energy, he electrified the all-boy class with his defiance, his arrogance, his slick BMW in the student parking lot and his athletic scholarship to the University of San Diego if he passed every class the last term. The first week was a nightmare. Get full access to River Journeys at anneayerskoch.substack.com/subscribe