An interview with an Australian musician about art & roses. Writer, guitarist and visual artist, John Hardaker
Janice: John: I first became aware of your work as an artist through your sharing of your visual diaries.What outlets do they provide for you. John: I have been keeping my journals since 1981 and their function has gone though changes as I have. Initially they were notebooks to keep ideas I had from disappearing into the ether. These included visual ideas, musical ideas, recipes, quotes and even short stories. As i moved on in my life they became a fun place to go to draw and write lyrics and artistically experiment with a view that the works were now just for the journals. After I had children they became much more reflective and a space where I could work through ideas about life in all its new challenges. Re-reading those pages now is partly embarrassing (what a serious young insect I was!), partly quite touching (I really sweated the small stuff!) and also unintentionally funny. Prior to the pandemic I found I was using them mainly in visual and literary experiments with...