A blank page is a restless wind beneath my paper wings.

James Coda is a story artist from the Pacific Northwest.

The Story Arts is my mixed-media outlet including all the arts. Many of the artists I’ve known have several art forms they work in. A painter plays piano, a dancer keeps a camera ready. Whether they are multi-media or stick to their one calling. Whether they evoke with their hands, their voice or their feet, they have one thing in common, they have a story to tell.

It may be that the best guitarist in the world is sitting on the front porch, no one but the dog is listening, that’s okay. The best story ever written is gathering dust in the closet, never to see the light of day, and that’s okay, both served the story arts.

But if you want to be commercial about the craft, then I guess you need to play by the rules, even as you bend them to your needs. Finish it, promote it, write the next one. Sooner or later all the pieces will fit. If you want to get rich, see what sells and do like that. If you want to express yourself, find your voice and tell it your way. For me, it’s the story, long or short, serve the story.

Storytelling seems to be essential to our nature. It’s been with us from the beginning as song,  prose, poetry, art, cave drawings and more. Where did we come from? Where are we now? Where are we going? Ask the storytellers, the possibilities are endless.

Electric Tone and Color

Electric Tone And Color has been my commercial graphic arts production arm since the early eighty’s. The Story Arts split off from it to focus on songwriting, narrative fiction, and visual arts.