Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category
Tuesday, March 28th, 2006
Now that I’ve learned the lesson not to worry about something that isn’t in front of me, I have to learn something more difficult, and that’s how to avoid spinning my emotional wheels with the real task that is in front of me, to stop fretting about how it will turn out and to promptly start making the first permanent marks on top of the sketch that will be erased. This might be the most critical habit I can develop, but it will require vanquishing another that has been on my back for most of my life, and I’m sick and tired of it…
Begin!
Posted in Angst, Art, Creativity, Studio | Comments Closed
Saturday, March 25th, 2006
March experiment—day twenty-four— I rescheduled my ten-miler when I arose to discover a steady shower of wet sleet at first light. Well, at least I didn’t have more than my hopes invested in the proposed venture, unlike other ambitious people. I may be bonkers, but I’m not a madman. Not yet, anyway. However, I do recall running in worse weather during the winter of oh-two. A local man stopped his car and yelled, “You’ve got to be crazy to run in this!” I shouted back, “You’ve got to be crazy to drive in this!”
Today is about dealing efficiently with a multiple of tasks recently sidelined by a critical deadline, which naturally tends to subordinate other priorities. It’s about breaking a habit—temporarily letting go of my discipline or indulging an escape after a major presentation, instead of shifting the same level of focus to a new area of active creativity. Maintaining a momentum of accomplishment is a more desirable reward, if a reward is necessary. I’m tired of having to regain my inertia over and over again. I’d rather keep a more even pace of achievement. I’ve learned this from exercise, but the idea has taken on a new power for me, the more I pay attention to the advice of artists who know how to routinely get things done.
Last night before bed I spent time with Kazu’s description of how he creates his “Copper” strip. This morning I’m “mining” an interview with Arundhati Roy. Some of her thoughts fascinate me because I’m trying to find a way through the challenge of shifting my fine art from a gift-oriented activity to a more self-centric ambition, in order to professionalize it within a desired array of income modules. For reasons unclear, I’ve been getting more out of listening closely to writers and filmmakers (and a dancer!) than I get out of listening to designers or visual artists.
“You know, I always believed that even among the best writers, there are selfish writers and there are generous ones. Selfish writers leave you with the memory of their book. Generous writers leave you with the memory of the world they evoked. To evoke a world, to communicate it to someone, is like writing a letter to someone that you love. It’s a very thin line. For me, books are gifts. When I read a book, I accept it as a gift from an author. When I wrote this book, I presented it as a gift. The reader will do with it what they want.”
Roy’s keen insight applies to all the fine arts—in my case, the applied arts. If I’m to be honest with myself, it’s my identity as an illustrator that I seek to define, rather than as a true fine artist, at least in the near term. Earning commissions for the type of imagery I intend to create involves meaningful service to a customer, and so I must juggle my own artistic agenda while capturing a high level of personal significance for my client—balancing the selfish with the generous—providing pleasure in the sense of legacy, a useful satisfaction. Emerson often draws his distinction between the fine and the “useful” arts, but makes clear that both can lead to wealth.
Why is it that I’ve been more comfortable with dedicated effort toward seizing health and less so with wealth? Is it just cultural conditioning or is it part of my DNA? I wanted health, so I built it into my body. It took time, but I did it. I have goals that require a solid microeconomic platform. Forget wealth. I would hope that I could just free myself from the low-grade financial stress that erodes well-being. But Emerson doesn’t dance euphemistically around the issue. He uses the word.
“Wealth is in application of mind to nature; and the art of getting rich consists not in industry, much less in saving, but in a better order, in timeliness, in being at the right spot.”
Indeed. Let’s get back to the drill.
Today’s sight bite— Afternoon sunlight cuts across a wall the color of thick mucous, as my paint-saturated roller subtracts the distasteful hue—c-l-i-c-k—with white, glorious white, overtaking the wall, swath by swath.
Tomorrow— Running toward the dawn, to share the silence with friends…
Posted in Art, Business, Creativity, Exercise, Nonfiction, Personalities, Priorities, Studio, Time | Comments Closed
Friday, March 24th, 2006
March experiment—day twenty-three— It’s taken me three weeks to zero in on hidden patterns of thought and feeling engraved deeply in the way I prepare for a presentation. These are inner habits rooted in college-era indoctrination. Now I’m beginning to understand that one must not only compartmentalize goal-oriented activity, but also the emotional content associated with specific areas of focus. There is room for concern, expectation, intensity, and enthusiasm with respect to the challenge at hand, but not for worthless anxiety about what is not getting accomplished in other areas of life, no matter how important or necessary it may be. The energy conserved can be used for creativity and poise, the best prerequisites for moving forward on schedule to the next priority.
Today’s sight bite— The geometric designs of his bright red sleeveless sweater—c-l-i-c-k—as our client forms his first impressions of the visual concepts before him on the conference table.
Tomorrow— Ten miles on foot at dawn, Band Festival ideas, new branding for swim attire, and a date with the vacuum cleaner…
Posted in Creativity, Priorities | Comments Closed
Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
March experiment—day twenty-two— When I got back from the gym, I finally finished resolving Tuesday’s surprise request, and shoved it over the wire with a sense of relief. Then I was able to settle back into designing the equine symbology, benefiting from Dana’s help and a bit of synchronicity when the realization struck that it’s never too late to revisit research mode if things get into a rut. Twyla writes about this in her book. By afternoon I had a new momentum of progress. She knows everything!
Today’s sight bite— Freezing a noisy blur with eye and hand—c-l-i-c-k—as gloved fists strike the black speed bag.
Tomorrow— A client’s reaction, after a kick to the finish line…
Posted in Creativity, Dana, Exercise, Personalities, Studio, Time | Comments Closed
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006
March experiment—day twenty-one— Having my morning schedule play out with precision was a source of encouragement, but that was followed by another chaotic stint in the studio. That’s what happens when a client calls and asks you to work with ten-year-old files as if they were created last week. Nevertheless, there were solid insights to gain from the contrast of an impending deadline and the all-too-typical, wild-card elements that seem to inevitably insert themselves into the day. Well, I don’t remember which famous general said that even the best battle plan doesn’t survive first contact with the enemy, but the last couple days have driven home the point for me. Not that my clients are the enemy—far from it—but you’ll probably catch my train of thought. The focus of my 30-day experiment is enabling me to examine dynamics that have always been too obvious to scrutinize. Interesting.
Today’s sight bite— Taking a mental break with page after page of exquisite narrative graphics—c-l-i-c-k, c-l-i-c-k, c-l-i-c-k—temporarily immersed in the flowing talent of Rudolphe Guenoden, Kazu Kibuishi, Giuseppe Ferrario, Chris Appelhans, Justin Ridge, and Herval.
Tomorrow— Mares and foals… foals and mares…
Posted in Art, Creativity, Personalities, Priorities, Studio | Comments Closed
Wednesday, March 15th, 2006
March experiment—day fourteen— Up before the alarm, with my mind too full of typography to postpone the opening ritual. Did I really think I could write and design a point-of-purchase promotion for “Share the Road” and circulate it among the Commissioners before 9 am? Not really. Didn’t think. Just set to work, to short-circuit the doubt.
To just begin, and trust the habit of creation.
“Finished is better than perfect.” Spoken inside without fear, these words from Gene Johnson—who may have swiped them—can be a certain kind of victory for me today.
Tonight’s Kirov concert was a lesson in contrasts. Tchaikovsky’s D major Violin Concerto with Mikhail Simonyan, followed by the Shostakovich 10th. Who wouldn’t find delight in the former? But, if you appreciate a brand of music decidedly in the “spooky” vein, you might prefer the latter.
Today’s sight bite— A carpet of emerald clippings under a sculpted yew—c-l-i-c-k—and the rusted tines of a familiar rake.
Tomorrow— Halfway through the experiment, it’s time to ratchet up my focus in the studio, and to lead a strategic discussion with local cyclists later in the day…
Posted in Art, Creativity, Music, Personalities, Public Service, Studio, Words | Comments Closed
Sunday, March 5th, 2006
Slept just fine on the cabin’s big leather sofa, but I awoke with a complete mental storyboard of action choreography for the climax of a gangster movie that doesn’t even exist.
All the more reason to re-calibrate my imagination when I get back to the prescribed studio discipline tomorrow…
Posted in Angst, Creativity, Movies | Comments Closed
Monday, February 20th, 2006
It took longer than I expected, but my drawing for the Housing Authority was a pleasure to execute. The illustration technique I used was directly inspired by my favorite masters of pen and wash—Jack Unruh, Ken Dallison, Joe Ciardiello, and Alan E. Cober. Dallison is known for his automobiles and Ciardiello for his portraits, but all of them have worked with great breadth of subject matter. I’ve marveled at their skill for decades, but they have a similarity of approach that is close enough to my own capability that I can relate to how they visualize and have learned from their prolific examples. Unruh is exceptional—equally adept at rendering people, places, and the natural world—and I could die happy if I gain a fraction of his ability. Cober, who, of the four, actually did die (happy I hope, although much too young), holds a special place in my personal history. At the height of our indecision concerning what to do about the crumbling situation at Wright State, Dana and I had the opportunity to question him at a workshop. He counseled us to trust and follow our instincts, so the two of us got out together. He was a great adviser to hundreds of talents over the years, and I’m grateful to have been one of them.
Posted in Art, Craftsmanship, Creativity, Dana, Education, Gratitude, Personalities, Priorities, Studio | Comments Closed
Saturday, February 4th, 2006
Twyla Tharp makes clear throughout her invaluable book that creative consistency can only be achieved when the artist pushes beyond talent and desire to infuse work with an ethic of ritual. Not even skill, imagination, research, or planning will compensate for the lack of a daily habit of constructive focus. Emerson calls it “drill.”
Both of them describe a level of disciplined concentration with which I have personal experience, but only for relatively brief spells in my life. I’ve always felt relieved to settle back into a more multi-dimensional frame of mind. I never understood how the focused state could be harnessed as a positive habit pattern because I wasn’t convinced there was any reason to do so. My self-image as a hard worker coexisted with a misplaced desire to indulge my aversion to structured, regimented, predictable behavior. I built an entire lifestyle around it, but, to be frank, I haven’t built much else.
I was talking to my brother James last night and when he asked what was going on with me, I replied without thinking, “You should read my blog.”
I knew it was lame as soon as I said it. His not unkind reply was that he just didn’t have the time. I wasn’t surprised, but I still carried a vague sense of disbelief for the rest of the night until I finished Emerson’s “Power” before bed.
The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil is dissipation: and it makes no difference whether our dissipations are coarse or fine; property and its cares, friends, and a social habit, or politics, or music, or feasting. Everything is good which takes away one plaything and delusion more, and drives us home to add one stroke of faithful work.
The thinker likens the severe limiting of miscellaneous activity to an orchard-man’s pruning which “forces the sap of the tree into one or two vigorous limbs, instead of suffering it to spindle into a sheaf of twigs.”
It’s not too late for me to take the step from knowing to doing. Typically for me, it’ll be easier said than done. Twyla would stomp her foot and shout, “Begin!”
Now that I’ve convinced everyone to stop reading this blog, I’d better quit. Or perhaps I should revisit my own misgivings from my very first entry over a year ago.
Posted in Blogging, Creativity, Family, James, Nonfiction, Personalities, Priorities, Time | Comments Closed
Tuesday, January 31st, 2006
I’ll admit that the aesthetically exquisite “Outside my Window” influenced my color choices for the Carnegie Center illustration, but it’s time for me to take “FLIGHT, Volume One” back to the library and I really don’t want to do it. I feel as if all my ancient desires to become a comic artist will eventually bubble up to actual conviction if I keep looking through it. Oh well, if I stay diligent and get my nose above the water line again, there’s no reason I won’t be able to buy things like this and build my own library. Plus, I can always continue to study these artists on the Web—Khang Le, Chris Appelhans, Catia Chien, Mudron, Bengal, Kazu Kibuishi. They do more than preserve a wonderful genre; they breathe inspiration into a natural part of my creative DNA that I allowed to become dormant.
Posted in Art, Creativity, Studio | Comments Closed
Saturday, January 28th, 2006
• After I got back from a 10k at daybreak, my first Saturday-morning run since the year-end holidays, I put in a session on my digital poster art for Lexington’s Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.
I’m among those who qualified to participate in their “Art of the Alphabet” project. 26 artists were chosen to create the “Carnegie Center Abecedarium,” a collection of illustrated letters of the alphabet. Following an exhibition that begins in mid-February, the Center will distribute the individual 26 reproductions of letters to local pre-school children over the course of a year.
I think that most of the artists will use a more painterly, humanistic technique. or what they consider to be a style of illustration suited to the young child. My approach is intended to be a contrast to what I expect will be the dominant look of the series, and perhaps awaken in children a regard for the graphic arts.
I’m still not clear on all the details of the project, but the honorarium is low, so I’m trying to be economical with my time by recycling some of my previously created elements. I’m using a montage style typical of the way I’ve been thinking visually for some time, but still very much a graphic design. It should be only the first of a series of various works that I’ll be doing this year to boost awareness of my capabilities within the city.
Oh, I hadn’t mentioned, but my letter is H. Try to guess my images before you see the finished piece.
… graybeard prospector …
Posted in Art, Creativity, Exercise, Letters, Studio | Comments Closed
Tuesday, January 17th, 2006
It sent out a beam like a laser sight, hitting my eye sideways from across the library, and I couldn’t believe I was the first to spot it on the new-purchases shelf. I immediately brought home “FLIGHT, Volume One” and consumed it as I would a delicacy—which, of course, it is. I’ve been to Bolt City and other webcomic sites, but savoring this collection plays to my print bias. It makes me realize how much other incredible work I’m surely allowing myself to miss. I’ve got to do something about that. A new golden age of the comic strip is already under way.
Posted in Art, Creativity | Comments Closed
Monday, January 9th, 2006
As Dana and I worked our way back toward Danville, we found ourselves near the Kentucky Theater, with the chance to catch a showing of “The Squid and the Whale” during its last week in Lexington. We hadn’t been in the adjacent State Theatre since the screening of Andrew’s movie last summer. Seeing this kind of film reminds me how much I appreciate the full spectrum of cinema, from the huge spectacles like “War of the Worlds,” to small literary pictures like “Squid.” I’m not enough of a groupie to outline any details, but I recognize the quality of the creative output coming from this particular circle of film makers, including Noah Baumbach, Wes Anderson, Jennifer Jason Leigh (Vic Morrow‘s daughter), the Wilson brothers, and others. The nature of the circle’s connection to talents such as Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Kline are unknown to me, but serves as a clear reminder that the movie biz is a relatively “small world” at the nontechnical level. “Squid” has obvious parallels to “The Royal Tenenbaums,” but it also triggered some reflections on “The Anniversary Party.” Beyond the dynamics of the artistic circle (usually behind the camera, but occasionally in front as well), these kinds of low-budget, quasi-autobiographical pieces tend to fascinate me when well executed, not so much because of the typical, self-reflective focus on dysfunctional relationships, but the way in which the art affects me at an emotional level and stimulates personal objectives. For me, that’s what movie-going has always been about—the lingering internal ripples of the following day (and beyond, if I’m lucky, or did a decent bit of homework before making my choice of feature). For instance, in spite of all the attention to the unattractive snobbishness of intellectual elitism, I come away from “Squid” with the distinct desire to reverse my practice of keeping at arm’s length the major works of great novelists—Dickens, Melville, Proust, etc. It brings to mind the words of Michel Seuphor, which I copied in my journal a while back: “You can never see too many things in a work of art. Itself, the work is a means for discovering what is already within us. The true work of art is more than its creator; it is always behind him; soon it enters another orbit not his, because the artist changes, he dies, while the work lives in others.” Twyla Tharp takes it a step further, examining the potential power of sub-art, with her story about Jerome Robbins: He was “a true man of the theater, who made a point of going to see everything because he could find something useful in even the worst productions. He’d sit there, viewing the catastrophe onstage, and imagine how he would have done it differently. A bad evening at the theater for everyone else was a creative workout for him.” No bad art, only bad observers? I wouldn’t take it to that extreme…
Posted in Art, Creativity, Dana, Fiction, Friends, Movies, Personalities, Theatre | Comments Closed
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006
One of these days we’ve just got to dig out all of Mombo’s photos of the “Blackboard Comics.” How many years has it been? Quite possibly it could take forensic expertise to read the dialogue.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with this long-running series, it just happens to be one of the most awesome collaborative formats ever conceived. Anyone in the vicinity above the age of six is invited to add a frame to an evolving pictorial narrative until the evolving chalk drawing has filled it’s designated space, followed by prompt documentation before anyone in the vicinity under the age of six follows his or her urge to be similarly creative.
There’s nothing like drawing with real chalk on real slate. It’s in my blood. On New Year’s Day we decided to mess with perfection and develop our strip in reverse. It was a space-western vignette, of course, due to the prevailing supremacy of a certain defunct TV show.
Posted in Creativity, Family, Mombo, Television | Comments Closed
Sunday, January 1st, 2006
— Year of 2005 workout totals: Swim-73; Bike-28; Run-41; Lift-22; Yoga-9
— Month of December workout totals: Swim-4; Bike-0; Run-4; Lift-3; Yoga-8
— I’m satisfied with how I was able to maintain a good momentum of swimming during an unsettled 2005 that didn’t exactly lend itself to regular exercise; plus I’m pleased with how I managed to regain regular yoga practice at the end of the year (it helps to be watching Lisa Bennett-Matkin). Nevertheless, an odd tenderness in the right knee will cause a delay in my return to running form, but I’m expecting it to be a huge year for cycling instead. Brian M gave me his “hardly used” Shimano pedals—look out!
— Once again, my family had its annual Hot Wheels car race. When I try to explain this event to the uninitiated, the listener nods politely and probably can’t get past the idea of little boys playing with toys. My description fails to capture the rich generational traditions, the competitive repartee, and the comedic tone, not to mention the feast of delicacies, snacks, and tempting junk-food delights. And we have our announcers—two of them—so jaded and sarcastic that “real-life” fans would have long ago beaten them to a pulp in the parking lot after their summary dismissal by speedway executives.
— I humiliated myself last night by making the classic blunder of bringing a movie that I’d never watched to a get-together with friends. William H. Macy let me down with his dreadful “The Cooler,” and who in the world wants to see his saggy buttocks anyway? I suppose we salvaged the evening to some degree by attending the wildest midnight scene in Danville—the annual three-inches-of-confetti-on-the-floor bash at the Hamlins. It’s rowdy, loud, and lots of fun, if you don’t mind digging the little colored stuff out of all those personal nooks and crannies that WHM so gratuitously displayed to the whole world.
— I finished another Grandy-bo piece this morning (my tenth) that Caitlan ended up getting during the Clan’s Chinese (Chine-Yine) gift exchange. I’m finally achieving the loose, spontaneous style that I’ve been after for quite a while. Rita’s photo show was particularly moving for me, as though my torch had been passed to a new generation of documentarians. She’ll get better at editing down her images to a more focused presentation, but it was the kind of montage that I used to have such a passion for, and I’m happy that someone else wants to pick up where I left off. Now, if I can only convince her to take over the Seitz Reunion portrait…
— Our family gathering today was filled with much love, perhaps more that usual, if that’s possible. The gesture of generosity that was extended to Dana and me took us by surprise, and brought emotional closure to a holiday season that had seemed somewhat diminished by an inability to carry out our usual traditions at the Town House. What a thoughtful, caring thing to do! It made us realize that a tough, draining year was behind us at last, and how much everyone has missed Bruce.
V & S
Posted in Art, Caitlan, Creativity, Dadbo, Dana, Exercise, Family, Food, Friends, Home, Movies, Personalities, Playtime, Priorities | Comments Closed
Thursday, December 29th, 2005
Days of mixed emotions as the year draws to a close…
I’m really excited about the wise, practical advice I’m getting from Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit,” the best book on creativity I’ve ever discovered. Anyone who is remotely artistic or has even a modest hope of harnessing their creative abilities should read this book. I wish I’d read it 30 years ago—a silly thought, since she wrote it in 2003. That she’s been able to synthesize from her life experience such a down-to-earth approach is another form of genius beyond her greatness as a dancer/choreographer. Her counsel is so effective that I’m already getting noticeable results, and I’m only half way through the book.
In a previous entry I mentioned Paula, the state employee who was coordinating the KBBC when I joined the Commission at the end of the summer. I learned today that the cancer has advanced to the final stage and her family was gathering nearby to keep the vigil. My one long talk with Paula took place on what might have been the most exhilarating day of the year for me. She was very nice and very professional, believing she was making a routine follow-up call to introduce herself and offer her help within the Transportation Cabinet. I was totally lost, and it became clear soon enough that I wasn’t yet aware of the Governor’s appointment. We ended up having an amusing conversation after we put the awkward moment of embarrassment behind us. I looked forward to getting to know her and hardly imagined never speaking to her again. I don’t need to go into the memories from a year ago that this news brings to the surface. I just hate to be reminded that another family is facing a new year with the same tide of overwhelming sadness.
With the observance of her 15th birthday, my niece Hayley is on the brink of success as an athlete. She’s put in some hard work as a youngster, but is now poised to commence her career as an outstanding high school ballplayer. I watched her carry her team to a two-point tournament game victory yesterday as a freshman, and I can vividly see the potential, although I’m not knowledgeable enough to analyze her situation in detail. I’ll leave that to others. I just know how happy I am for her and how much I wish her well. A relaxed self-confidence is beginning to blossom, plus the capacity to turn on “the means,” when necessary. A good combination that will improve with more playing time, which she’s certain to get after a performance like her 14-point, 9-rebound effort last night. You got it, Belle— go tear ’em up tonight!
Bruce has improved enough for probable release by the weekend. He’s still experiencing enough dramatic flux in his body temperature, blood pressure, and pulse rate to keep everyone on edge about his prognosis for 2006. It took our friend Nathan two years to recover some level of normalcy in his bout with pancreatitis, presumably a worse case than Bruce’s, and that included multiple surgeries. This gives me reason to have the long-term outlook for a positive outcome, to resist the tendency to fret about the periodic fluctuations, and to recognize that the Father has a purpose for this man that none of us can begin to imagine. It will just take time. Lots of it.
So… I’m juggling joy, sadness, hope, and fear right now, but behind that veneer of emotional energy is a core of Divine Love. I’m grateful that I grew up swimming in a lake of pure love. Not indulgence or sympathy or favoritism or the milk of human kindness. Love. The real thing. And I realize now that it’s the Presence of God in my life, and I’ve since learned how many others have struggled to adulthood without it. That is surely my greatest gift. Not my talents, or my excellent health, or my “good joss,” but the certainty of always knowing I am deeply loved, and it enables me to touch the Heart of Christ—if I remember to pay attention. If I relax, avoid the panic, and float in that vast life-giving ocean—an inner and outer home that’s always been there and always will be.
Posted in Creativity, Family, Gratitude, Nonfiction, Personalities, Priorities, Public Service, Sport | Comments Closed
Sunday, November 20th, 2005
I left Danville too late, so most of the steam was out of the “Hop” by the time I hit the streets of the city. The wine boxes were empty and the finger food looked too picked over. The crowds of hipsters had clearly shifted their collective focus to discussing whatever late-night enticements lay in store for them after the galleries closed.
I was there to see art while I could; it was worth the trip.
• Jeff Rogers is always up to something new and interesting.
• D.B. Westerfield, a prospective Layerist, has switched from ceramics to multi-media canvases, and I like her smaller collages—bright, loose, and full of gaity. I was going to add, “just like the artist,” but how would I know? (I shouldn’t be so rude. I just met her and she’s a very sweet person.)
• Going from the Ann Tower Gallery to the poster art show
at the ArtsPlace building was moving from the sublime to the ridiculous, but that’s what this event is all about (and I liked discovering the work of Mark Daly).
I’m glad I had the impulse to drive up. I was alone and there wasn’t anything else I felt like doing on a Friday night. I saw a few pieces that inspired me, but nothing I encountered in Lexington compares with Sheldon‘s exhibit at the Community Arts Center, only a block from our studio.
Posted in Art, Community, Creativity, Personalities, Studio | Comments Closed
Saturday, November 19th, 2005
— I reconfigured the screen saver on the Mac G4 Mini to display a sequence of abstractions by Kurt Schwitters. I can’t say why, but, as far as motivating me to make art, nothing of late has been more inspirational to me than the rule-shattering creations of this early 20-century master. One could say he basically invented the medium we know as collage (he certainly was the first to perfect it), and it won’t hurt if I can subconsciously absorb a wee bit of his genius. Did KK really go to Newcastle? My God, that’s the repository of the Schwitters “Merzbarn,” one of the most genuinely innovative artistic concepts of the last hundred years! I may never get to see it myself… Go back there, Caitlan; it’s in the Hatton Gallery at the University of Newcastle!
— Don’t know any details, but it seems as though conditions are imploding at the school where my sister Joan has worked for many years. I feel bad for her because I think I know what she’s going through. Dana and I still refer to the “Golden Age” at Wright State University Communications (where we first met) before that department went into a nose dive. Things were never the same. Some of our coworkers saw it coming early and escaped most of the madness. Dana and I saw the handwriting on the wall before many in our group, but we still had to endure six months of collapse until we made the leap and started our partnership and studio. Several of our friends tried to make the best of it and had to experience a lot of nastiness before what was left of our creative “dream team” had been totally dismantled. A few of us from those years started our own companies and continued to work with each other sporadically, and we keep in touch as friends to this day. Since then I’ve learned that good working relationships and situations can rarely be sustained indefinitely. Everything always changes. Undesirable situations can improve, but, unfortunately, great situations inevitably decline, or even crash and burn. There’s been quite an ebb and flow in our clientele since those days (26 years ago). It’s not that existing relationships will sour, but it’s more often a matter of the natural, dynamic flux in any organization’s personnel equation. Never underestimate the wake of change that can occur when outstanding people move on with their lives. It can cause a “brief, shining moment” to fade into personal mythology. The silver lining for me—I still have my “partner in all things” and my Clan, and that’s as close to permanent as I’ll ever know.
— Today Dana told me that Bruce had a bad night, but pulled through without having to go back to the hospital. He gets into vicious cycles of fever, nausea, low red cell count, weakness, low blood pressure, and then sometimes passes out when he tries to stand up, if he has the energy to move at all. I don’t know the actual sequence of it, but he manages to will himself forward, or he relies on his mother or Pam for the encouragement to ride it out when this happens. It apparently has something to do with dialysis, or the lingering infections, or another factor I’m not aware of. He told Dana this past week how much he wants to feel good again, and that he’s not giving up. Dana will stay with him until he improves enough that she can turn her role over to someone else. Until then, she must be there while Pam is at work. Meanwhile, I continue at the home-front and make my effort to get work, be productive, juggle the volunteer commitments that have a momentum I can’t control, and resist the kind of distractions I’ve always invited to avoid facing—right now—the full emotional impact of bearing life’s load (for example, making overly long blog entries).
V & S
Posted in Art, Blogging, Business, Caitlan, Creativity, Dana, Family, Friends, Home, Joan, Personalities, Priorities, Studio | Comments Closed
Monday, November 14th, 2005
I broke away from the Knobs so as not to miss a meeting at Kathleen‘s about the Society of Layerists in Multi–Media (SLMM). I recently joined as an associate member and hope to boost my involvement with the organization as they gear up for a major gathering in Lexington during the autumn of 2006. My goal is to complete enough larger collage pieces by next summer to submit an application for full membership to the Society’s jury. It’s my hope to qualify to participate in the exhibitions connected with the month-long series of art events.
It was a very pleasant, interesting gathering of artists who share a similar orientation to their work, including a few friends from Danville, but mostly a group of people I’d never met. We each had an opportunity to introduce ourselves, show some examples of our work, and talk about our approach. I got to explain how the hundreds of greeting cards I’ve made over the years as a creative contrast to the needs of my commercial practice has enabled me to develop a miniaturist style that I yearn to apply to larger concepts. I told them that, although the aesthetics of my spontaneous compositions are rooted in early 20th-century design and modern art (like the masterful Merz experiments of Kurt Schwitters), I reject the nihilism and pessimism of Dada, and that my process and intent is more in keeping with the uplifting, holistic principles of Layerism.
Posted in Art, Community, Creativity, Friends, Personalities | Comments Closed
Thursday, October 6th, 2005
Experiencing Mark O’Connor last night was the kind of transporting event I needed. Any of the other individuals who appeared with him onstage—Bryan Sutton, Howard Alden, Jon Burr, Roberta Gambarini—could have easily carried the evening on their own. The musical originality and virtuosity was riveting. I love wind instruments, but it’s totally amazing what fingers can do when lips don’t have to keep up.
Posted in Creativity, Music, Personalities | Comments Closed
Friday, September 9th, 2005
I don’t believe I understood to what extent an online discussion could break through to a new level of interactive dynamism until I had the opportunity to partake of this sweet nectar.
Posted in Brendan, Creativity | Comments Closed
Friday, August 19th, 2005
Brendan set up a nice Web-based device for further development of our pirate concepts… better ration myself on that one. Makes me realize I could easily take a two-week vacation and devote it entirely to filling up a similar site with ideas from “The Legend.”
Posted in Brendan, Creativity, Pirates, Time | Comments Closed
