Sadness: Part of the Journey

I have indirectly found out that Scott Lightfoot, a life mentor to me through his blog writings, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. I understand it to be this day in Ohio. I started this art blog because of him and gained a deeper understanding of my artistic endeavor and motivation because of his insight, feelings and expressions. We shared similar perspectives, experiences, and struggles in our Journey. Although I never met him personally, I think we were kindred spirits. I did have the opportunity to write some comments to him on his blog from time to time. I offered him one final dedication....apparently shortly before he entered a hospice. One of his best friends and an intermediary to me, Kristen Dukat, told me that she had the chance to ensure that Scott heard my final message to him through her kind intervention before his final rest. Thank you for sharing with him and for sharing to me, Kristen. My comments and letter to him below.

Scott Lightfoot: Artist , Influence, and Mentor
Courtesy of Kristen Dukat: A Time for Art

"Dear Scott, about 12-18 months ago, I came across your blog. It was about art, the quality of life, the meaning of life, unemployment, and daily living. It was about struggle. It also spoke strongly to the theme of what it meant to be a man. To be a provider. To make a difference in the world. To achieve. To make an impact. Many of those issues struck a chord with me during a year of unemployment as a middle aged man, potentially needing to redefine who I was or who I was to become. You are a great writer and in that sense, not just a graphical depicter of images, but a true artist.

Expressing your view of the world and sharing your perspective. Changing the views, perspectives, and values of others as a result of implanting images in their mind that affect how they live out their journey. You have changed the images in my mind not necessarily because of your graphical depictions in a media but because you have affected my worldview because of who you are as a person and what you have done with your artistic endeavor along your life's journey. As difficult as it appeared to be at times against your own true self, you opened yourself up to the world and revealed your innermost vulnerabilities. You have told the story of Everyman and Everywoman in the flow of Humanity. The weakness. The chaos. The search for meaning. The effect of the world against the individual. The seeming lack of control and influence over things that are larger than any of us alone. The deep need to have friends and family. How many artists have there been that perhaps sketched drawings or painted pictures but had no lasting impact upon humanity? They are also artists. But we start out only as practitioners of a skill. Perhaps we are fortunate enough to add some practitioner's knowledge. If we are committed, perhaps we gain experience. And perhaps one day, someone looks at what we have done and says we have ability. But is Art about Knowledge, Ability, Skill, and Experience. Perhaps. But the greatest artists have faced the Void and gone into a Realm where no timid soul has ventured before. Their bravery and bravado put the deep life experiences into their unique expression.

I am only one small witness about you and testimony for you across the country and this globe. I started a blog because of you. It is about Art, Daily Living, the Artistic Endeavor, the Journey, and reaching one's Unique Potential. It is about making an impact during our time here in the flesh. It is about asking the deep questions. Although I have returned to work in Boston, I see things differently now. I have a different balance towards my daily walk. I sketch on the commuter train and the subway. I take photos with a different view towards how they could be used in my artistic endeavor. So how is the world of art changing and what part have you played in today’s art? You have been part of the Daily Painting initiative. Art is a more "democratic" experience whereby many more people practice the craft. It is a movement. You have been a part of its early formulation. And perhaps it can be said that the daily artists influence others through their art and that they enjoy being appreciated. But perhaps you have shown it is more than that.

As you know, the truly great artists changed the world by affecting the worldview of others through their expression. And like the Olympic champions of old, we observe that the torch gets passed from generation to generation. But the Olympic endeavor message has similarities to the artistic endeavor, the triumph of humanity over the struggles of life, the noble message of pure things that are to be aspired and expressed rather than the base things, the physical/mental/emotional struggle to be the best, to reach one's unique potential, to leave a legacy, to get it right, to be remembered in the flow of humanity. We each have a part to play. I am part of your legacy. You have made a difference in my life and how I see the world and what I should do in my time remaining however long that should be. I also am preparing to pass the torch along the timeline of the artistic endeavor. But it is not just about art, is it? I am more sensitive to my frailties and my weaknesses. My limits are more known to me today. I am bounded and constrained. For me, much of your message is about how short a time we have here in this life. To surmise otherwise is a fool's errand. There is great wisdom about the human condition in your story, Scott. So I endeavor, in my small part to play on this stage, to pour myself and my life's experience into others. And may attempt to do just a little art along the way as one medium of expression. But the true artists have changed the world. Just as you did for me. Thank you. jim"

I bid him adieu and will carry on my Daily Walk one small step at a time.

No. 1: Positive Beats Negative: Unique Potential - Art is Like a Pair of Jumper Cables

Today is Sunday. Traditionally for some, a day of reflection and introspection about who one is in the realm of larger things.  And so it is for me today. A listening to the Inner Voice.

The Journey of Completing 120 Paintings to learn about the Artistic Endeavor and the Creative Pursuit starts with the first painting, Number 1. I am going to suggest that I completed that first painting four months ago.

Herein are two energetic tales connected four months apart. In this exposition, the end comes before the beginning. I shall entitle the first tale "The End" as you, dear Reader, shall soon discover why.

The End. On March 14 of this year, my wife was working late at the office. When she went out to start her vehicle to return home for a late dinner, the battery was dead. She noticed that an interior dome light may have been left on for a protracted period, perhaps even due to the daytime play of our beloved five-year-old daughter who enjoys pretending play in the car in the driveway at home with open windows and her dollies placed and buckled in the carseats. My wife ruminated that was the cause. She called me and I ventured downtown to offer an assisted start with well-known black-and-red jumper cables. We were able to get her home for a late dinner in a fairly straightforward manner.

After use, I placed the cables on the front passenger seat of my vehicle. The next morning, when I transported my very observant five-year-old daughter to day care, she noticed the cables and asked "What are those, Daddy, Chomper Cables?" That expostulation tickled my fancy! But where did that come from? 

I surmise that she had heard her parent's phone conversation the night prior and not knowing the details of the event in her innocence, had kept her quiet repose at the time but had attached some thwarted meaning to partially heard words with which she had no prior experience. She held any commentary in reserve at the time. When she was able to visibly see the cables the next morning, however, it all came together for her. Her memory of the conversation was immediately assisted by the now visible objects draped over the seat in front of her declaring their ferocity with copper teeth and she was able to attach her word label to the event. See for yourself. The interface clamps ARE armed to the teeth in an anthropomorphic sense. Jumper cables. Chomper cables. I get it.  ;o)

Original Photo: Chomper Cables - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

In March 2012, I was attempting to move towards understanding the discipline and effort required for a Daily Painting initiative. No small feat amidst a busy schedule of multi-tasking and numerous projects on my To Do list. The above-mentioned photo was a still life arranged by me after the comic event to instill some artistic meaning to those recently humorous anecdotes into otherwise mundane objects utilized in our daily lives. One of the genres I have noticed about the Daily Painting initiative is that the artists may select objects or scenes from their daily lives to practice their skills, approach, or develop a style. The genre clearly and concretely illustrates their Creative Pursuit while expositing the stories and script of their world perspective, their life's Journey and therefore their Artistic Endeavor.

Original Painting: Chomper Cables - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

It was a different experience for me as well to document this rather simple anecdote and potential memory in this manner. As the Reader will note in my now re-constituted blog history, I stopped my daily art blog entries two days later on March 16 and, at the time as I thought best, removed the history from the web. Too much going on at the time with some critical events that required my complete focus and attention. Art was laid aside. The blog was laid aside. Perhaps as a permanent decision. It was a sad day for me. "Chomper Cables" was my last painting in my first 90-day period of ramping up to an un-declared Daily Painting initiative. It was my end. So now, dear Reader, we shall return to the the second related tale.

The Beginning. I have been thinking recently about re-starting my art journey with some trepidations. I intend to re-frame the next part of my artistic journey by declaring to myself to paint 120 paintings to pattern my progress in a new phoenix. Of course, it's obvious that the declaration is now shared and is not at all a private one. The saga continues.

Last week offered mid-summer seasonal hot weather and high humidity. As I was dropping my young daughter off at day care, I returned to my vehicle and it groaned a bit at start-up. I got it back home to the driveway in prompt recognition of the matter and attempted two more ignition starts in a safe haven and it failed to turn over at the second try. I needed a new battery.

My dear wife had been up late at home and again early with work-related endeavors, and we agreed that I would use her vehicle that day to share a breakfast at a local restaurant, and I would drop her off at work and use her vehicle to settle my battery replacement endeavor. Sounded like a great plan. Later, I proceeded to a well-known department store to acquire a battery but they no longer carried the items in inventory. Darn. I left the store to proceed to another well-known department store that surely must have the desired item. Unfortunately, my wife's vehicle failed to turnover at start-up in the parking lot heat with what seemed to be a dead battery. No pre-indicating symptoms! Just a clicking of the solenoid. Yikes. Two vehicles down and now far from home.

I purchased a 350-amp quick starter from the department store hoping it might just offer enough margin to get me going. No such luck. Requires 48-hours of charging to enable effective use as per nominal warnings and instructions. Rather than call emergency roadside service, which by the way we have, and wait for an indeterminable time period for rescue in the heat, I decided on a Plan B to walk the perceived considerable distance to a known battery store, lug the battery home, and at least get my first vehicle going. I could return later to revive the second vehicle.

As I started out on my journey homeward in late morning, admitting to myself that I didn't really have any otherwise truly urgent business to attend to or to re-schedule and could work this solution at my discretion, lo and behold, there was an unanticipated battery and tire store in the proximal area. Returning to Plan A to get her vehicle restored, I purchased a battery for my wife's vehicle, borrowed some jumper cables from the friendly store manager, and proceeded back to my wife's vehicle in a rather short stroll to execute a jump start without changing out the battery per se. It didn't work. I tried everything, checked my assumptions, and then tried it again. I went into the department store and bought a couple of tools to change out the battery, surmising that perhaps the cable interfaces needed cleaning. I switched out the batteries to no avail. The vehicle wouldn't start. Could I possible have an even worse and more expensive problem with her vehicle? Although it crossed my mind that the new battery might be defective, I concluded that it was a quite remote probability. But the clicking solenoid and general car symptoms were sure acting like a weak battery. I called my reliable car mechanic to see if there was anything I wasn't thinking about. He affirmed that I appeared to be covering all the possibilities.

I decided to return to Plan B and get my vehicle at home repaired. I set out to walk the journey in the heat, taking some water bottles with me, and called a neighbor for a possible transportation assist to pick me up, purchase a new battery, and get me home to switch it out. The neighbor was able to assist after a food shopping maneuver and eliminated a long potential walk for me with some of it lugging a heavy battery. I revived my car late afternoon and returned to revive my wife's vehicle in early evening. My vehicle promptly jump-started her vehicle with our reliable chomper cables.

Yikes! I had been given a potentially defective new battery. What are the chances of that? What are the chances of three bad batteries, one of them brand spanking new, in the same morning? After starting my wife's vehicle, I returned the defective battery, had it tested, pronounced defective by competent authorities and calibrated measurement devices, then replaced the unit, and all was back to normal with two now operating vehicles after a long day's endeavor.

The Moral of the Stories. Of course, dear Reader, this a somewhat round-about long story of two interconnected, jumpered tales to get to the moral. You have been so patient with me to get this far in the stories. My last completed painting was four months ago of a pair of "chomper" cables where "Positive Overcomes Negative". I deliberately and literally put away the paints and supplies. Four months later, I started thinking about reviving my commitment to the art blog and Daily Painting activity, and I encountered three dead batteries in one day!  The chomper cables were involved but weren't the main character in the second story. The tale of "A Defective Energy Source" is one of remote probabilities not daily occurrences.

Perhaps the morals of the stories are tried and true. (A) "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again."; (B) "Check your assumptions and run them to Ground [pun intended]"; (C) "Carry emergency and rescue equipment with you"; (D) "Don't Ever Give Up the Ship"; (E) "A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed".

But all in all, I would like to think that Painting Number 1: "Positive Beats Negative" is where I would prefer to start my "120 paintings" journey of discovery. It is therefore an Alpha. But it is also an Omega. It is where I left off "Once Upon a Time...." [and all good stories start that way...].

I am not yet ready to declare for myself that the Artistic Endeavor and the Creative Pursuit are my sole reliable energy sources. To be realistic, I think that assertion would be a potential defect in my overall energy commitments and understandings at this time. But I have concluded that Art is a jumper cable in my life's path. It is a very important part of how I see the world around me and is part of that perspective. It connects the energy sources that I tap into and that I have relied upon and keeps the energy flowing among the necessary imperatives. And it is therefore required in my vehicles. And I have concluded that Art, in the form of the Artistic Endeavor and the Creative Pursuit, needs to be ready, available, used frequently, displayed, talked about, drawn, painted, and represented as a part of myself in my Daily Walk and in my Life's Journey. No. 1: "Positive beats Negative" is part of my Unique Potential. Now that's a decent moral to the stories. The moral is "Art is like a pair of Jumper [Chomper] Cables". It helps definitize one aspect of Unique Potential. Who would have guessed that I would learn these things over four months after painting a fairly mundane, straight-forward, serendipitous painting? And that I needed to deliberately lay Art aside for a time to find that I could not Leave It Be unless I would deny Self. Not me, to have planned these things, please be assured.

The journey of 120 paintings begins. My eyes are wide open and my ears unstopped. My legs are a bit weary and unstable but I will put one foot in front of the other. My heart and mind are in it. I am "chomping" at the bit. Ouch.

Lavender in Profusion: Busy Bees

Recently I purchased some macro lens filters for my digital camera. I have been wanting to conduct some closeup photography for some time. I was reviewing an older SLR photography book that referenced these filters and went looking to purchase a set. It doesn't require the purchase of an expensive macro-zoom lens since I can use the zoom lenses I already have. With these attached combinations of 1-, 2-, and 4-diopter filters, they definitely offer some new perspectives in the Creative Pursuit.

I would like to say I have been busy as a bee but in comparing relative persistence and productivity, they have me beat hands down. The lavender is in profusion.

 Original Photo: Lavender in Profusion - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

And the honey bees and bumble bees have each blossom covered. I have spent a few moments in sunny mornings chasing bees to capture the appropriate depth of field [pun intended]. They move fast and I have to get within 8-12 inches of them and focus based on my precise distance to the object not by adjusting the lens. It's a chase.

Original Photo: Busy Bee 01 - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Each spring and summer, I watch for the return of the bees to the flower and vegetable gardens and their prodigious behavior throughout the season.

With the advent of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), it's nice to know how the pollen gatherers fare. Entire economies are founded on their successful activity in pollination of our food sources. The study of the worlwide supply chain for honey collection and distribution is a fascinating one. There are interesting effects in the system dynamics because of the effects due to inventories, pricing, long term storage, reconstitution of honey, food labeling, high volume pollination services, cross-country bee transport, and contamination along the production process path that affect the consumer. Honey is considered one of the best foods for general preventive health. Using honey produced from local pollens presumably protects against allergies. For health reasons and to support the local economy, I became convinced to source and use nearby small business and hobby producers. It's all interconnected.

Fragile Weave of Earth's Bounty: Interconnected

In February of this year, I had a dream about a certain set of brushstrokes, couldn't shake it upon awakening, and played with that idea painting small tradecards throughout the day. I developed numerous experiments that were quite abstract compared to anything I have ever done. It was a very serendipitous moment based on a tiny dreamt inspiration. The artifacts were almost more craft than art and I chose not to re-post them in this latest blog phoenix. But in reviewing the works, the original idea about brushstrokes had morphed into topological representations of left-and-right, step-by-step, chains, networks, particles, patterns, hidden wholes within segmented patterns, innovation with methods, different-but-equal, similarity, diversity, sizing, and finally, a small multimedia piece about conflagration of separated pieces. The resultant overall theme, however, was one of Interconnectedness.

During my three month respite from blogworld, I had to wrestle with numerous personal challenges that required my complete focus. But along the way, I read quite profusely as my sole recreation. About a lot of things affecting the world, the USA, the economies, the role of businesses, the peoples of the world, religions, governments, certain countries, certain events, certain issues, beliefs, cultures, group dynamics, the role of the individual, etc. I do not normally engage with political theory and dynamics but have increasingly been reading in that area over the last two years.

I have some ideas and conclusions I am not yet certain what to do with them. Somehow incorporating them into my art seems the most reasonable thing to do. Talk is cheap. So I won't do much more of that for now. Perhaps it will become part of a artistic Manifestoa and commitment in the future?

The very last artifact that I constructed out of the Connectedness journey in February I never posted but I offer it today after this prolonged respite. It characterizes my thoughts and feelings this morning as I get started.

Original Artifact: Fragile Weave of Earth's Bounty-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Can we craft our future?