"After being discharged from the Marine Corps in 2007, I moved to Burlington to escape from the realities of military life and society in general. Due to my deployments to Haiti, Fallujah and Ramadi, I suffered from post tramatic stress from the atrocities of war as an infantryman. Although I have turned down the wrong paths before, art, poetry and performances have now become my way of letting go of my past; a time in my life that was filled with hate and destruction. Even though I was misplaced for 4 years, my writings (as harsh as they can be) and artwork have made impacts on the people who care to observe. They also have reminded me of who I was before I signed on that solid black line. I will never be able to go back in time to change things. All I can do is look back, learn and progress forward.
Since I started working at the Green Door Studio in August of 2007, I have been able to start a new chapter in my life; a chapter that is filled with smiles from letting go. From the first snip of scissors to my uniforms, I knew that paper and book making would turn into one of the many positive paths that I now follow. Taking a piece of clothing that was created for something negative and turning it into something positive, something beautiful, something that other people can understand, is my way of letting other people know my story. A story that needs to be heard. Not just by the art community, but by everyone.
We, as veterans of all wars, have seen what really happens. And though not everyone can experience this, (nor should they), it is up to us to get the truth out. My way of doing so is accomplished through my art. My books and paper are made from the uniforms I wore on my deployments overseas. I only have so many uniforms that I can transform; but it is my job to teach others what we do at GDS, that life should be filled with beauty and not hate. In paper I find beauty. Minds are blown away when they become aware that us radical veteran artists are making paper from our clothing. Some may not see it as art, but in my eyes, as well as many others, it is. Different people have different talents, be it sculpting, woodworking or film making, but paper and poetry happen to be the art forms I choose to embrace."
Jon Michael Turner
February 2008
| 
