Setting Out on a Blogging Journey

What's this all about?

We wanted to give all of our visitors and readers some insight into what has inspired this project and where we are hoping to take it. If you have any questions or are interested in submitting a piece to be featured here, please send us an email at jenandjoshblog@gmail.com. Thank you!

From Jen:

Greetings! Thank you for visiting this space that Josh and I have begun to create. I met Josh in 2008 when he began working in the cubicle next to mine. We never really spoke to one another until one day we began emailing back and forth over something that we had both seen in the office. A few months passed and we realized that so few face-to-face conversations had taken place between us. We sat less than 10 feet apart, but spoke almost exclusively through email. We were both so intrigued by this social environment that our office had created and were equally delighted by what it had shown us. Josh and I both have an incredible amount of creative energy that has been bottled up over the last few years as we've each joined the corporate world. After some thought and consideration, we began discussing the creation of a project that would allow us to work collaboratively on all different types of art. Several brainstorming sessions later (through email and real-life chats), Deconstructing the Muse was created.

Since beginning this project, we have found that the amount of art we are each producing has increased exponentially. We are constantly hatching new ideas and working out ways to participate mutually in one piece, taking two different approaches to create one final experience for you. We hope to make this a constantly changing and growing community for art and those who wish to participate in its creation.

Thanks again for visiting and please stop by from time to time to see the new things we're working on.

From Josh:

The great thing about Deconstructing the Muse is the dynamic that it was born from. Jen and I are both artists who are forced to engage ourselves in corporate employment to "make a living." The question that seemed to be at the root of this collaborative endeavor was, "Where are the muses in a life spent largely confined to a cubicle? " Where does one find inspiration and beauty in a stark white office environment that, by design, inhibits creativity?

For me, this blog is equal parts realism and escapism. Realism in that it is a space to examine the daily cycles of the life that I am living. Escapism in that it is a place to bring art to life from reservoirs of beauty that are kept inside, and perhaps not experienced on a daily basis. Jen and I want this to be an oasis of art for others who are confined to parameters that are dictated by economy rather than aesthetic. We are also eager for all types of art as submissions. Together we can truly deconstruct the muses of our daily lives.

Please incorporate (pardon the pun) yourself into this site. The concept that has bolstered art through numerous different cultures, from Renaissance to post-modernism, is the collective. My goal is to create a virtual gallery that highlights a variety of media, all of which is united by the theme of art as something that is freely given and freely viewed.

To echo Jen's statement, thank you for taking time to visit this site. We hope that you will return often as both an audience member and a participant.