the whys of artmaking

the other evening, a group of practicing artists met to discuss favorite topics and drink favorite beverages.  the subject arose, "why do we make the art that we make?".  it is questionable whether we should even ask ourselves this, but because the door was open, most of us made an attempt to stumble in.  very interesting how every one of us stuttered along.  we didn't want to hear cliches or delusions of grandeur, which narrowed the field significantly.  just a simple explanation would do.  who knew it would be so difficult and that we would leave without one answer to tuck away.  though the promise of more pondering is appealing...