To Age 100: Live Today Deliberately

When my third daughter was born at my age 50, I thought how wonderful it would be to live to age 100. To see how her life matured into age 50 would be quite a Journey. I understood that to some degree, I had to do certain activities like Art activities in the present working years instead of in some future planned retirement. What if I didn't make it to those years. We never know our own timeline. We can only live today, in the moment, and make the best of what today has to offer. That perspective changed my enduring view and my daily priorities.

After about 90 days in a new job, new company, new role-responsibility, I have been brainstorming about what my next year should be about occupationally. But avocationally, I also have been thinking about how my Artistic Endeavor should, will, or ought to inform my life's outlook.

So in Living the Moment this morning, a bearded character of distinctive visage was sitting at a cafe table scribing notes. The South Station timepiece was in the background. A setting for Father Time. The result fit my thoughts and perspective. This Art is Living the Moment. Perhaps it is Painting the Future.

Daily Sketch: To Age 100 - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Who Am I: Inward Journey Through an Outward Traverse

The sun has settled on our week of tent camping across the eastern United States.

Original Photo: August Sunset - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

The tent camping endeavor this past week was enjoyable. I can't say that one of my objectives in life has ever been "the pursuit of happiness". Particularly in later life, its attainment has been elusive amidst the responsibilities of perceived "duty". I would not assert that I have had a lot of "fun" necessarily along my Journey for several years and various assignments. Except where I was having fun with my professional technical work achievements. But I have numerous daily joys particularly as it relates to my immediate family, my five-year-old kindergartner, and a very small group of close friends. My satisfactions have always come from commitment to my values and working towards goals and objectives.
 

This week's Journey was fun. I enjoyed adapting to events and circumstances as they presented themselves and working to make the best of things as they happened to be. I guess that is Living in the Moment. Surveying a camp site, making simple choices to optimize the orientation of the daily home base, and relaxing with simple pleasures like a morning coffee around a campfire were part of the satisfactions. Simple dialogs with spouse and daughters in a different venue was fun and valued. Although I did not have the time and availability necessarily to paint or sketch along the way, I had numerous photo opportunities to feed the daily painting pipeline when I so endeavor. I enjoyed each quiet morning before the rest of camp society woke up.

To some degree, I feel as if the achievements have been many thus far in my life but not necessarily set up in an orderly fashion for presentation. A cairn and waypoint has been established at this point in time but things may be different going forward and thus require a different approach. Things will look different. Things will be different.

Original Photo: A Cairn But Disorderly - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

My wife and I recently attended a wedding for two of my young, former co-workers. It's always nice in a certain way to renew one's own vows in the presence of another new ceremony. It's a reinterpretation of sorts. After the wedding and reception, we took the next day to travel the New Hampshire beaches from Salisbury to Hampton to Rye Beach along Routes 1 and 1A.

The small, balanced and orderly stone stacks were appealing on this entire trip. We made one of our own stacks of stones on a New Hampshire beach along the sea wall. I say "we" but my wife chose five stones and stacked them...one for each member of the family, I guess. We are at the bottom with the three daughters above [Big Bit, Little Bit, and Itsy Bit].



Original Photo: An Orderly Balanced Cairn- Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Along our beach walk, one set of older kids was visiting with their Mom on her birthday. They had found and partitioned off a small portion of the beach with beach pebbles and engraved in the sand surrounding it - "a perfect portion of beach" since the water had smoothed the sand with no ripples or imperfections. They had retained the segment of perfect beach for Mom's view during the day. A very special gift, I must say. 

 

My present task is not dissimilar in that I must apportion a part of the shifting and imperfect sands around me and set aside a portion of the day that is perfect for me for that day. The daily tide may erode the reserved area after the day is done or the rain may dribble it's imperfection upon the surface but each day brings a new day and a new perfect apportionment. It's a nice anecdote and mental image for a Lesson Learned. Thank you, Beachcombers! A pleasant gift.

 

 

Original Photo: A Perfect Beach Preserved - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

So this week was a semblance of a return to core values from younger days. It has been an Artistic Endeavor of daily photography not of daily painting. The Outward Travel molds and shapes the Inner Journey.

"You can imitate,
but at some point,
you have to start identifying
who you are as a painter -
the 'who am I' of the inward journey
that every artist must take".

Camille Przewodek

Reflection: Light After the Storm

"Art becomes a spiritual process depending upon the degree of commitment that you bring to it. Every experience becomes direct food for your art. Then your art teaches you about life" - Nick Bantock

That is how I feel on this day of reflection. That spiritual benefits such as "insight into life's meaning" accrue from commitment to a purpose. But I always come back to the resolution that I must Live the Moment.  And that focusing one's life energy on the important things through a disciplined, day-by-day journey is one of the keys to happiness, fulfillment, and reaching one's Unique Potential.

The most beautiful and dramatic light in the sky and clouds above comes after a storm.

Original Photo: Light After the Storm - Copyright James E. Martin 2011

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?

Life is Like a Carnival:

Perhaps life is like a carnival....

Original Photo: (1) Choose a Friend-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

 We choose a friend to share it with. And head towards the advertised attractions.

Original Photo: (2) All For the Same Thing-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We are probably all in it for roughly the same reason(s). There's a payoff in there somewhere isn't there?

Original Photo: (3) Get In The Game-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We figure out how to get in the game. Each in our own way and manner. Given our circumstances. We pretty much all step up.

Original Photo: (04) Gain Refreshment-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We load up on refreshments for the foreseeable future.

Original Photo: (05) Check It Out-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We check out the rides before making a total commitment.

Original Photo: (06) Round and Round-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We go round and round on occasionally uneven slopes. But it sure seems like fun.

Original Photo: (07) Up and Down-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We go up and down.

Original Photo: (08) New Heights-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We scale new and lofty heights. 

Original Photo: (09) Faster and Faster-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We go faster and faster.

Original Photo: (10) Try Our Skill-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We apply our knowledge, abilities, skills, and experience along the way.

Original Photo: (11) Precarious Predicaments-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Sometimes we get into precarious positions. Sometimes we have a safety net. Sometimes not. And the view is nice if we keep our head up.

Original Photo: (12) Tossed and Turned-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We get tossed and tumbled. Sometimes with safety equipment. Sometimes not. 

Original Photo: (13) Collect  Rewards-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We gather rewards along the way.

Original Photo: (14) One More Time-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Sometimes we even convince ourselves and others that we will go around one more time.

Original Photo: (15) Rearview Mirror-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

It's nice to have a vehicle with a rearview mirror to see where we have been. And to take advantage of that perspective occasionally.

Original Photo: (16) At the Controls-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Since we are in the drivers seat, we even surmise that we are at the controls and have all the necessary indicators to assess the status of our vehicle and the progress of our journey.

Original Photo: (17) Carousel Blur-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

When we get off the Carousel of Life, as sometimes happens, and have a chance to not be in the Round-And-Round Up-And-Down motion, it's interesting to assess whether we really got anywhere. In certain moments of observation and reflection, it does seem somewhat of a blur what the ride was all about. What with the motion, the lights, and the cacophony around us.

Original Photo: (18) Simpler Times-Copyright James E. Martin 2012

There are alternatives. Different. Quiet. Away from crowds. With a chance to relax and reflect.

To everything there is a season. But I do think life may be like a carnival.......

Torn Between Two Things: The Struggle Continues

Once Upon a Time.... [all good stories start this way], I saw a movie, the title of which I completely forget. Only one line in the movie was memorable to me.  While seated in a convertible, a man and a woman are discussing life-changing events that effect each other and the line is: "I will always be torn between two things....like living in the country and living in the city....."  And that phrase has stuck with me ever since. It is suitable to build a novel around.

So today, dear Readers, I re-posted the first 90 days of blog entries [which were previously removed] as a way of re-entering the blog world. There is a large part of me that is reticent to do so in that I am aware of the commitment and follow-through required to sustain the blog effort in continuing to build and share. There is a part of me that says so to do. I recently perused the book "14000 things to be happy about" by Barbara Ann Kipfer and found that many of the items I rated as satisfying from her given list had to do with creativity associated with visual art. But I am having difficulty verbalizing the level of commitment I am willing to make in the near term. It is very much about who I am and/or who I am to become. Torn. A struggle.

Since this blog is a visual arts venue, I feel compelled to provide a somewhat suitable graphic to depict my feelings. This one comes to mind. And I don't have time to paint it in a timely manner to blog it promptly so the photograph must suffice for the moment.

Original Photo: Moonlight Motorboat in Maine - Copyright James E. Martin 2009 

I thank you, dear Readers, for your forbearance.

Harbingers of Springtime: Early Seasonal Color

Unseasonably warm weather for the Boston MA -Providence RI corridor in March at 60+ degrees F but breezy. The first harbingers of Spring have blossomed forth with crocuses poking out of the mulch under the birdfeeder.

Original Photo: Harbinger of Spring 07 - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Been wanting to decorate a holiday wreath by adding on forsythia for years. Today is the day. Winter may appear to be but a shadow on the wall but I remember the adage about the month of March - In like a Lamb then Out like a Lion!

Original Photo: Spring Fever 01 - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

We may not be done with the wiley ways of winter yet. This was the year that our only snowfall worthy of a snowman roll was back in October 2011!  But what fun was to be had to roll 'em and build 'em! Two Artists in Endeavor and Creative Pursuit of multimedia sculpture below and obviously Living the Moment. Snowman stylish in Abercrombie wear, don't you think? Fun to demolish and destroy as well.

Original Photo: Winter Fever 01 - Copyright James E. Martin 2012

So I start wearing my wild color Hawaiian shirt collection today while attending to the outdoor forsythia work.

The Creative Pursuit: Driven Through Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water

We are Human and we are Artists.

We are of the Earth and return to dust, born of Water, cast about by the spirit Winds, and walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death lit only by daily Fires scattered among the Ruins of Chaos. We desire Light amidst the Darkness to establish Order from Chaos. We want to rise up, accomplish much, and Have something different. Which requires that we Be something different. Which requires that we Become something different. Which requires positive Change.

We are Artists and have been given to Believe that if we live our lives in the Artistic Endeavor through the Creative Pursuit, we will attain our ultimate and final Unique Potential which is the reason to Be and the reason to Become. Therefore we shall Create. We must Create to achieve our Unique Potential. We are driven to Create.

But what of Talent? Thinking of the biblical Parable of the Talents, we should avoid burying our one or two or five or ten Talents. To not use the talents we have been given? To Not Do? Oh, the horror! Could we even live with ourselves, never mind others with us? We pay the Price of Sacrifice to create or the Price of Regret to not create. To the biblical adherents, we are then guilty of failing to increase our Talents. There is something inferred here about the Accumulation of Wealth and Worth through Producing. As servants of the absent Master, we may incur His wrath when he returns after having given us those apportioned Talents.

Maybe I won't ever call my artifacts "Masterpieces" to maintain an appropriate position and posture of humbleness. Maybe if I call them "Talent-pieces", I can assuage some guilt. And maybe it is true that I have been given only one small Talent while others have been given many. What am I to do with that one? Bury it and endure the consequence?

And so the Daily Walk continues. It's like pushing a heavy bag of gold coins uphill in the dark in the similitude of Dante's Inferno. But I hope for inspiration and strength from above and outside myself. Illumination along the way. A clear head illumined with the right thinking. I fear the green of envy in my Hoarding consumerism and the red fires of hellish judgment for falling short in so many things along the Spendthrift way. I need focus for my Life's Energy to direct my hands and feet to trod the path and work the works in so short a time that is left. I am out of breath in only the thought. So I am Living the Moment at Idle Acres. Methinks I am leaking gold coin along the way to accumulating Wealth and Fortune. It is a transient farce.

"Now canst thou, Son, behold the transient farce, Of goods that are committed unto Fortune, For which the human race each other buffet; For all the gold that is beneath the moon, Or ever has been, of these weary souls, Could never make a single one repose. 'Master', I said to him, 'now tell me also, What is this Fortune which thou speakest of, That has the world's goods so within its clutches?'" Dante's Inferno Canto VII, lines 61-69

From Dante's Divine Comedy: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise

Wealth and Fortune - The Transient Farce - Study 01  Souvenir of Dore

Copyright James E. Martin 2012

Art is the human Act of Creation. As humans, we Endeavor through our efforts and wish to have Control for their direction. We desire to have a Voice and speak our World View. We desire to Live Forever. We desire to Overcome our average and ordinary limitations. We desire to avoid living and dying into Obscurity as if we had never been. We are tempted perhaps to lead and have followers. To Build something special. Oh, the many Temptations and Desires that lead us astray from our Endeavors!

The Creative Pursuit and the Artistic Endeavor involve the design and the making of a never-before Artifact springing forth from the unique life experience, observation, insight, heart, mind, soul, and hand of the Artist in a moment of Time. No other soul can truly replicate it because the Artist is THE source of the artifact's creation. It's the grand ah-ha in the eureka moment of inspiration.  It's the grand ha-ha in the divine comedy. Beware the comparison and the contrast!

It is a type of assertion that "We can be as gods" or even that "We can be God". We can create from nothing. We make Light from Darkness. Our Light is separate from the Darkness and our Light will keep Darkness away. It's the eating of the fruit from the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We see what others cannot see and hear what others cannot hear. We walk among the invalids. We are the Genesis.

And who are we that reply against God in this audacious Artistic Endeavor? No small matter then that two of the ten Biblical commandments are "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." Warnings and admonitions indeed!  How auspicious then that the Artist might say to the Maker, "Why hast thou made me thus?" as the hand of the potter upon the clay.

As mortal humans, none of us escapes crossing the deathly threshold between Time and Eternity. The work of Art may persevere after our earthly stay is finished and it can no longer be replicated or edited by our hand. Are the artifacts of Art a way to cheat Death by leaving a part of ourselves behind? We can still influence and inspire others through our Works even after we no longer remain in the flesh?  We can be as gods and have a semblance of immortality and truth. People will still talk about us and think about us. We can escape Ignominy. Few knew who Van Gogh was in his day. Look and see his works now. It's a kind of worship with pilgrimage to his haunts.

What of the natural man and the spiritual man? What sayest we in these roles? We are guilty of creating images and likenesses of things seen in heaven and earth. That's fairly self-evident. The natural man wars against the spiritual man. Yikes. Perhaps in different degrees among us. Perhaps in different flavors between us. But Yikes.

Each moment we lay hand to brush to paint to canvas, we create. We speak our Voice. We wrestle with principalities and powers. We wrestle with things unseen as yet. We dream dreams. We wrestle with natural and divine things. We suffer slings and arrows. We take arms against a sea of troubles. We attempt to oppose and end them through our creation. We would like to end the heartache and thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. And perhaps, there is something in us that declares we may someday be capable of a masterpiece. To express Self. Now are those consummations devoutly to be wished?

If we choose not to lay paint to canvas, we are destined to live and die in Obscurity and Darkness. It's as if we never were. Our personal Darkness will be on the face of the deep. The creation will be without form and void of our Creative Pursuit and Artistic Endeavors.

This Daily Walk is an auspicious and audacious Journey through the natural and spiritual realms. Artists are driven in a unique manner. So I commit to tread lightly but deliberately. And prepare for the coming Judgment.

Today is the Leap Day of the Leap Year. An extra day apportioned in the plan to catch up the clocks for Timekeeping. Given time, can we paint our future, I ask?

The Best of Friends: A Mentor of Stuff n'Such

Every year during the summer, we have taken some time to coordinate a visit with long-time friends in Sangerville Maine on a lake called Center Pond. When I was an undergraduate in college out in Illinois, I became friends with one of my college professors and worked for him and his family doing some construction projects in Illinois or in Maine. Over time, we became best friends. In fact, Bob has defined for me what a best friend is about and that hasn't always been easy for me...a very private and independent person. Bob is chuckling now.

A few years ago, I decided that I would do at least one piece of art each year during the time that I went up to Maine. In my mind, it would be imperative for me to do SOMETHING at SOMETIME no matter what other activities or imperatives might be at hand...and it hasn't always been easy. One of my first Impressionistic waterscapes was At the Lake, Sangerville Maine. I remember the challenge of the wind changing the waves, the clouds, and the light so quickly. I was able to experience where the Impressionists in France would then try to capture the feeling associated with the essence observed of the motif based on the exact moment's accidental experience captured during the artist's en pleine aire session. Looking North with a late afternoon sun in the west and wind from the east, I tried to capture the churning of the water and the light filtering through the shallows with the late sunlight backlighting the tree's at high level but the low shrubs at water's edge shrouded in cool, dark shadow. My vantage point included left foot on the beach and right foot in the water so there is a bright and warm sun and a coolness in the wind and water challenging each other and me.

Original Art: At the Lake, Sangerville Maine, Copyright James E. Martin 2009

For all those past thirty years of visiting Maine, through my eyes, Bob Cassidy, my friend and mentor, has always done some creative artistic thing in some shape or form. I don't think he ever really retired after finishing his occupational endeavors because he soon emphasized his art full-time and got a street-side studio.....Stuff n'Such in Illinois. I have been fortunate to have Bob as a mentor in that I have seen him develop over a long period of time as an artist, he has given me insight into the lifetime curve years ahead of my time to arrive there. I am watching his art career emerge and evolve because his example as a lifetime learner has helped me see what it is to return to one's roots, understand one's self, find one's center of balance, begin and walk the artistic endeavor, and follow the creative pursuit even amidst adversity and life's challenges. He is still asserting self expression with an intense personal drive to continue his art journey each and every day with a sense of urgency. And he has such a wonderful family that I have been privileged to know and love.

Thank you Bob for showing me that I have an Artistic Endeavor and a Creative Pursuit to accomplish during my life's Journey and the deep satisfactions that are possible. I just talked with Bob and he filled me in on his art accomplishments conducted today and his outlook for the near future that he needs to get done. He is a fine example of the artist Living In The Moment and ambling through the Daily Walk. Here's to achieving one's Unique Potential this day.