taylor & her ukulele.

ukulele

When I started the blog, I wasn’t sure where I was going…I only knew I had to get there.  So here I am… 2.5  years and 4 blog names later.  Change was not only the goal but inevitable.   Sometimes  I wonder why I continue to force the drawing and paint issue…”just paint or draw and and get on with it “… but there has to be a way to open this box with less resistance… to be brave and work with my mistakes and not be afraid to make them.

When it comes to figurative work, most appreciate the similitude of a portrait.  The subjects that I did last year were close and I always felt a need to make them look familiar and to write about their strength to make it all lyrical.   At this point in my quest for change, I want my drawings to become less defined with a few fresh qualities.  To be more Matisse.  “An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc.”  Henri Matisse

Musique by Matisse

Taylor has agreed to be my first experimental portrait for this new year.  She is majoring in Fine art and has focused her senior thesis on realism (she also has a strange obsession with the ukulele).  We have talked about the difficulty in letting go of classical skills to expose more of the process in our work and allow the flow of improvisation.  Most realist painters spend hours getting all shades and shadows correct.  It becomes a copy of source material.  When we copy the old masters, it’s an attempt to absorb the past but it is the responsibility of the artist to push farther and explore an emphasis of the subject.  Portions of figures and heads are often more expressive than their entirety.   As usual, in my drawing, I try to gauge the combination of pencil and paint.  I was hoping to achieve a little more ambiguity with this drawing…maybe next time.

So sad falcons…maybe next time you too.

“There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same; there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” – Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button screenplay

hollywood.

lauren.

In the midst of presidential warfare is an american girl who fights to have a normal heartbeat and a couple of strong legs.  Lauren is not sure what is happening to her body, she just wants to get better.  Growing up an athlete, she was driven and instinctively pushed herself to succeed.  In 2001, she was at the top of her game, with honors, a State championship and a soccer scholarship to the University of Utah where her body began to change everything.   A brain tumor, numbness, convulsions, memory loss, migraines, sick and nauseous episodes, weight loss, seizures, heart attacks, a pacemaker, cardiac ablations, a spinal cord stoke, flat lines, both legs paralyzed and irregular heart rhythms (I’m worn out just type’n about it).   For now she works hard to make her legs work and is counting on another surgery to make her heart beat normally.

I arrived to the small town not only to photo Lauren and find out more about her recent visit to the Mayo Clinic but to work my regular job where she handles reception and administration for us twice a year.  She always has the greatest smile and a real hug to offer when we see her.  She adoringly refers to Larry (her walking stick) as family.  As we drive down Main street, there’s a billboard of Lauren!…promoting the hospital she visits regularly and turns out she has a life size cut-out that’s placed strategically around town.

lauren life-size cut-out

This drawing of Lauren is more like a celebrity posting.  And she has a commercial too…. she is so Hollywood now.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFAOkzSa_V4

On each wrist is a tattoo that alerts paramedics to her pacemaker.  Tattoos have long served as fashion statements, but a small number of Americans are now relying on them for a more practical, potentially lifesaving purpose:  to warn first responders about important medical conditions.   Does a paramedic look for a tattoo if there is no bracelet?  Could a medical tattoo be dismissed as décor?  The American Medical Association does not specifically address medical tattoos in its guide-line’s, however, emergency professionals are always on the lookout for information about a patient’s condition and treatment preferences, and that includes looking for medical tags, bracelets and possibly tattoos.   Perhaps physicians, paramedics and tattoo artists should work together and establish uniform placement so responders will know where to look as part of training.  Lauren has the star of life on one wrist and her medical history on the other since keeping up with jewelry is just not as important as Larry.

During Market, Lauren crunches numbers, creates spreadsheets, takes calls, directs clientele, guards the candy jar and toward the end of day, breaks into song effortlessly …sometimes comedic and occasionally a tone that deserves a double take.  (Seriously Lauren…somewhere inside there’s a singer/songwriter waiting to come out… you should consider a few lessons to accompany that performance ability.)

She is a powerful girl and battles steadily with all that her body competes.  The meaning of life is a question I felt sure she pondered and her answer was quick and simple…….”to love as many people as you can“.

“It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love, it matters only that you love.”  John Lennon

navigate.

Brent on a cool day.

Brent was majoring in Architecture at Georgia Tech when his battle with a Bipolar disorder began.  I’ve never known Brent to be less than a gracious intellectual man.   At a reception for his senior thesis, he presented paintings that tell the story of his struggle with mental illness.   The painting’s navigate the compromised reality of schizophrenia and convey the shame and confusion he endured when he was most ill.   This body of work has been a cathartic review of that time for Brent. There is an understanding for him that comes from applying these ‘ceaseless connections’ to canvas and other found objects.

After incarceration and time in a mental hospital, the Rosalynn apartments offered Brent a foundation of Hope.  The Rosalynn Apartments are a place where they focus on the whole person and not just the illness.  The apartments were named for Mrs. Rosalynn Carter, a lioness for mental health.  It has been her goal for 40 years to reduce the stigma: * “Changing stigmas will change not only the willingness and acceptance to gain access to treatment by those affected by mental illness but also the quality and quantity of mental health treatment options.” 

Ms. Carter has become an advocate for the world with the development of The Carter Center.  The Carter Center is focusing on many projects, from improving agriculture to improving democracy to improving the lives of the mentally ill. One of the programs designed to jump the ‘stigma hurdle’ are Fellowships that provide stipends for journalists to stimulate discussion and inform the public about health care for the homeless, suicide, aging and mental health issues through newspapers, magazines, television, film and books.  Five writers, producers, or editors are selected each year to create projects and increase awareness about mental health issues.  * “There is tremendous potential for journalists to improve the public’s understanding of mental health issues and to play a critical role in reducing stigma and discriminating against people with mental illnesses.”    As one of the recipients of the Fellowship for Journalist’s, Joshua Wolf Shenk wrote about one of our greatest President’s who suffered from a lifelong battle of severe depression.  ‘Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness’, which was named one of the best books of 2005 by The New York Times.

Recently Brent spoke at a fundraiser for Project Connections; a program that enables the homeless to achieve dignity and self-sufficiency while living with and treating their mental illness.  Shown here, Brent shared his story and introduced Mrs.Carter.

“Habits of thought and behavior become blinders that must be removed to see that life is both half empty and half full and when it is either, we’ve decided so, because the level of life and water in our glass has never changed.” Jerome Lawrence

*quotes from Rosalynn Carter

the goat farm.

yolanda.

Artist Workshops are a great way to immerse your-self into the exploration of methods and mediums.  The locations are endless…Taos, Cumberland Island, Tuscany, Vermont, and Barcelona to name a few.  For some, its first come, for others it is a selective process.  Yolanda was awarded a fellowship to a 4 month workshop in Peter’s Valley with a concentration on textile exploration, a 2 week  long work/study at  Arrowmont in Tennessee and a  couple of weeks in Vancouver for felt classes.  For this post, Yolanda agreed to meet in her studio at the goat farm as my next subject.

The Goat Farm, formerly known as The Murry Mill, is a complex full of mystery and history.  It was originally built as The E. Van Winkle Cotton Gin and Machine works in 1889. Walking the grounds is as the name refers.…a few goats here and there, a guinea hen who thinks she owns the place, chickens, roosters, a wild turkey guarding the studios and walls patiently waiting to speak.  There is humor in the irony that Yolanda has a bird phobia and the largest wild turkey on the planet sits on a ledge outside of the studio and the guinea hen will chase you down if she is so inclined only to squawk and flap.

guinea hen watching.

wild turkey glare

Robert Haywood purchased the site in the early 70’s.   He maintained the integrity of its architecture with little renovation as he began to develop studio spaces for sculptors, musicians, painters and photographers.  In 1979, the property and its buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places.   Robert died in 2009 and commercialism was predicted for this prime location.  The property sold for 7 million to Anthony Harper and Chris Melhouse who used residential/commercial complex as a back-up plan for Visual and Performing Arts Center.  By 2010, it was confirmed that The Goat Farm would forgo any conventional real estate.  The grounds would remain dedicated to the arts.  The site would host classical and contemporary music concerts, traditional and experimental theatrical performances, film screenings, contemporary dance, an anchor non-profit organization, art exhibitions and artist in residency programs.  Harper is quoted to say “We hope to make a contribution to the human spirit as well as a profit.  Before the Goat Farm, I would have never made that statement.  I never understood what ‘supporting the arts’ or ‘contributing to the human spirit’ really meant.  I’ve had a crash course in that and the reward that comes with it.  I was never a fan of the arts outside of music.  I know its cliché, but art fills a hole in my soul – a hole I never knew I had.”

Going to visit the Goat Farm has an air of the past.  On the right day with no events scheduled, it’s like a ghost town with the tin roofs, crumbling bricks and old machinery.  Yolanda recently acquired this studio but I’ve known her about 16 years and remember the close friendship and laughter she shared with her mom.  During my visit to the studio, I took photos and we talked about our lives.  Yolanda has a beautiful smile that always makes you feel welcome.  Conversation led to the past and I asked how long it had been since her mom died.   While she answered “14 years”, her new countenance seemed to say “yesterday.”

“When I was a child, my mother said to me, “If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general.  If you become a monk, you’ll end up as the Pope.  Instead, I became painter and wound up as Picasso.”  Pablo Picasso Ruiz

midsummer night.

jake.

 

When everything is still, the soul listens.  To be blind or deaf must be a springboard for the soul.  Helen Keller said that she would rather be blind than deaf because communication is our most essential tool in life.  Through language we enter fully into ourselves.  Without it we may never realize our potential.

Does choosing sight make me naïve, shallow or anti social? Sometimes to see vaguely with intuition is more compelling because you get the essence of something but to see clearly with silence must allow the experience to resonate in your memory.  With modern technology, (4g phones, video cams, closed caption, open caption, internet, social media and email) the deaf are more equipped with communication outlets than years past.  Jake is home for the summer from college and of course my victim for this post.  Jake had a cochlear implant at 6 years old.  He hated what he heard but we forced him to wear the receiver. The cochlear implant stopped working almost one year to the day it was implanted.  We chose not to repair and enjoy our son’s deafness.  With all of the ups and downs of deafness, it is a beautiful culture and I will always have a strong veneration for deaf.

I thought it would be appropriate to post during a Midsummer Night’s Eve.  It is a time to let go of the past, enjoy a post and look to the beginning of new things to come.  In High School, Jake performed as Puck for Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.   I consider this one of his most impressive creative efforts.  I enjoy the theatre and expected this to be your average High school play but it was a spectacular major town event.  Jake was mesmerizing.  He received an award for his lead role as Best Supporting Actor and his photo was on the front page of the Rome Tribune with an article about his outstanding performance that read – One of the show’s breakout stars is sure to be Jake Spencer, who with his sharp features and shaggy blonde tresses, looks like he was born to play Puck.  In the tale of twisted love triangles, Puck clandestinely splashes other characters with a love potion that leads to a cascade of confusion.  ”He’s just got the gift,”   Director, Donna Keller said of Spencer.  Below is the photo of Jake and more copy that appeared on the cover of the Rome Tribune.

Shakespeare performance by Jake.

Bathed in blue stage light, Spencer’s eyes widened as he fanned his fingers forward and boldly swept his hand to just below his chin, his index finger pointing upward – sign for ‘offend’.

“Be careless in your dress if you must, but keep a tidy soul. ”  Mark Twain

katherine with a cat

symmetry.  cats.   vacumn cleaners.  Poems  and Office Depot.   She has lived a couple of houses down since the beginning of time.   She is assertive, fairly predictable, always logical and likes organization.  Did someone say O-c-d… oh yeah, she did.   It should be no surprise that her studies involve numbers.

The house, where she grew up belonged to her grandparents. Outside the house is a very large Camilla tree and in the back yard is the largest, oldest oak tree in the world (well, maybe not the world).  The front door has a fox as a door knocker that her grandfather installed and her grandmother taught piano lessons.  Her dad likes to fish and her mom is one of the nicest people ever.

Katherine doesn’t care much for dogs with the barking and need for attention but she has always had a cat or two or three and sometimes four that made their way from homelessness.  I’m not sure that Katherine thinks of herself as tough ( in general, girls are tougher than we look) but she’s a hard worker and responsible.  Life can seem a tightrope at times but she always has her footing.

at the front door.

Though home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than a magician ever spoke, or spirit answered to, in the strongest conjuration.  Charles Dickens

hello blog.

It seems a long time since I’ve been here.  I thought to change the direction of work to be more familiar with the people and things around rather than be persuaded by the giants before me.  For now, Liz is the most recurring so it seems only right to draw her as the first subject for this new concentration of work.

As a parent, I am their worst critic and their biggest supporter.  My daughter can be the most beautiful person on the planet and sometimes I wonder what planet she is on.   Out of respect for the blog and a few dollars, she has agreed to pose for this post.  She has an exceptional smile and reminds me how important it is to ‘keep it real’ despite the obsession with her hair.  As a kid, she was driven.  I was in awe at her dedication to each morning.  She has a genuine soulful respect for family, food and dogs.   I have always been bewildered by her love of sporting events and she has always been confused by my attraction to art but occasionally we  laugh at the same things and more rarely meet at the same music.

“To affect the quality of the day that is the highest of arts”
Henry David Thoreau