Lake Aldar-Kul, Northern Uzbekistan, 1991

1991:  After spending a long day travelling over unbelievably rough roads and seeing wild Karabair horses running free on the northern Uzbek steppe, I found myself in a strange world walking with a strange man who speaks no English toward the shore of Lake Aldar-Kul, nestled between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.  The lake proved to be only waist deep, covered with reeds as far as the eye can see, but produced fish for this camp as large as sharks.  

The man’s name was affectionately coined as Kutchkar, which we were told means goat, and his eyes were as kind as his soul, which made it uncommonly easy to communicate even though we shared no common language. He was taking me to share a tradition that was as refreshing in body as it was in the fellowship that resulted:  a mudbath on the shore of the lake, followed by some time in the steam hut, after which a self-inflicted flogging with stinging nettles across the back ensued.  ”For good circulation,” was the implied reasoning. 

Seeing me looking down and struggling to walk along the gravel road in my bare feet, Kutchkar touched my arm and pointed to his eyes, then to the horizon ahead.  I understood:  don’t look down.  I straightened up, put my eyes forward and began to walk with confidence.

As unimportant as this little exchange would seem, it has become one of the most memorable moments for me of my time in that place.  Why?  Because that lesson becomes more significant to me as each year passes:  to look straight ahead, and keep your eyes on the destination.  It’s a philosophy I am repeating more and more these days- not to go around the mulberry bush, but go through it.  If you have a specific goal, take the most direct path to it, not wavering to the left or to the right.

Distractions abound; once in a while a potential opportunity might feel golden, only to realize upon closer examination that it’s simply a rabbit trail- a deviation from the ultimate goal or an investment with minimal or no return that will only prolong the journey.  These are moments to consult the map and make sure you’re on the right road.  Not to say that we shouldn’t enjoy the surprises that life can bring;  success in life should certainly include a sense of adventure.  Compromise in the right places, and keep your compass with you.

When setting goals, like so many of us do with each renewal of the passing years, keep it simple.  And remember that nothing is achievable without sacrifice.  I have specific goals for this year, and I know that I won’t reach them without discipline and dedication.  It will take time from other things, and I know there will be times that I will just have to push through doubt, disappointments and multiple failures.  To fail to try is the only sure-fire way to not find your destination.

So when the distractions come, and they will, be firm in your walk.  Don’t stray from the map.  The key is in keeping your eyes forward;  like walking in your bare feet.

artboy68

Above is an excerpt from Laughter Is The Best Medicine: my number one go-to section of Reader’s Digest Magazine… and since I’m confessing, I always leaf through the newspaper to the funnies first.  And I still like watching cartoons, (just the oldies, because there are no good cartoons anymore). Does this make me shallow? Or does it mean my priorities in the right place? I prefer to think the latter…

With so many stresses in life vying for our attention and so much bad news incessantly bombarding us from every direction, a daily dose of  laughter may well be one of the best drugs on the market- and the best part is it’s available with no prescription. Yesterday a small yellow information sheet caught my eye at our local community rec center:

At first, I thought- “oh, yet another yoga fad to follow”, followed with an involuntary mental stereotyping… but I found myself smiling at the words ha ha ha ho ho ho hee hee hee, and thought that just maybe these people might have something here.

So I looked it up.  Laughter Yoga International is the website of Dr. Madan Kataria, who claims on this site to be the founder of the movement he refers to as ‘Social Laughter Clubs’.  The premise is self-triggered laughter, not necessarily involving humor or comedy, combined with yogic breathing (pranayama). The claimed health benefits are vast and varied, including physiological, mental and social well-being.

Now, being the somewhat shy guy that I am, I’m probably not going to go out and sign up- but I do know that laughter is contagious, and it feels damn good when your gut aches and you have tears streaming down your face because of uncontrollable guffaws… and having no long depressing list of side effects, I find myself fully endorsing this idea of laughing as the new drug of the day.

So please excuse me, it’s Sunday morning and I have some Looney Toons to catch up on…

The realization that I have recklessly committed to 20 weeks (that’s 5 months) hits me with foreboding.  Already, I feel that extra hour (ok sometimes 1/2 hour) weighing in.

However, I am finding that this committment is driving me forward and forcing me to be more disciplined with the rest of my time- I’m actually getting way more done than I was before!

So I think, 17 1/2 weeks from now, when I am putting the final touches on the last, the 100th portrait, I may find myself looking for ways to fill the extra time I’m going to have…

Check out my progress!  artboy68project.  I could use your face.

artboy68

no shining aura behind the curtain

no genie in the bottle

just a tiny pill that is hard to swallow

medicine, it seems, with no point

lost potential

lost achievement

lost friendship

lost love

only deficit of intended days

______________________________

Our small town has recently suffered its third teen suicide in the last few months.  Loss of that nature is hard to categorize in words.   Sadness is a feeling we all hope can be reserved for rare occasions, but it will show its shadowy face now and then.

My heart goes out to those lost and those left behind.

I used to be a morning person. My wife, however, is a night owl. So now I’m both. My doctor says I need to take B12 vitamins for low energy. But I know the truth.

Common sense dictates that there comes a point when sleep deprivation for the sake of productivity becomes counter-productive.

I am, however, too busy for sleep. You see, I’m putting legs to a lifelong dream, and if I pursue it long enough and stay disciplined, I do expect to see the balance begin to tip in the intended direction.

Things are starting well for me, and with every small success, adrenaline drives me forward. Occasionally, however, I become weary from effort.

So do I sleep? No. Bring on the wonder drug. The miracle elixir. That joyous, steaming black cup of rescue.

And my B12.

artboy68

Most of these artists seem to exude some sort of ‘coolness’ that has eluded me for all of my wishful years.  How did they get so cool?  Could I be that cool?

“Ah,” my wife says, “don’t deny who you are;  you do people.  You’re a realist.  Maybe you should define yourself as a portrait artist.”

No!  It’s not true!  Realism isn’t cool!  I don’t want to be a portrait artist!  I want to be cool!

So I looked back at all my drawings and (a few) paintings- it’s true.  Every single one of them is representational with somebody at the centre of the story.  Even my carvings are of human figures.

So I guess I have to be who I am, and I suppose I’m coming to terms with who I am as an artist.

Maybe I can be a cool portrait artist.

artboy68

One day high, another below ground

Full of promise, pregnant with confidence

Then dashed, filthy, downtrodden

Sleep or push on?

Push.

artboy68

Art is real.  It’s imperfect, just as people are imperfect.  That is what makes it so appealing;  the unique fingerprint of each artist, complete with flawed and quirky personality, working out their identity on paper, canvas, stone, in pixels or words…  I for one eagerly go through my tweets and blogs every morning hoping to find bits of artistry shared- it’s my morning paper.

It goes beyond branding and self promotion;  sharing creativity is an intimate and a vulnerable act, sort of a self-exposure to the world, a revelation of defects.  But that’s the point.  Art would not be interesting if every piece was perfect, or made from a universal point of view.  It needs to be flawed.  I don’t know a single artist who, when finished a piece, looks at it and says, “it’s perfect,”  unless of course they are comfortable in the perfection of their imperfection….

We love to look into other people’s lives and minds.  Inspiration.  Wonder!  I am always honored to see into the mind’s eye of other artists through their work- it is an awesome experience.  The encouragement is this:  knowing that as different and strange as we are, we are not alone.  So don’t be afraid to share- it’s fun.

artboy68

I started doing these little portraits (based on public profile photos) once before, a year ago.  At that time, I also wanted to get to 100, but I was simply doing them and filing them away- I faded at #19.  So this time, in the spirit of true networking and being interactive and all that, I decided to send the actual drawings to the person who is in the profile picture, (if they want it).  OK way more fun.

The added bonus?  One of my miniature portrait subjects, also an artist, replied with the intention of sending me something in return!  Of course, the implications hit me right away:  how cool would it be to set up a network based on an art exchange;  sort of like a freecycle concept- you put something in, you get something in return…

I’m way too busy to start something big like that, so I’ll just continue sending my little drawings around the world…but is anybody else up to the challenge?  Or, (like most of my great ideas), has it been done already-

artboy68

Take block printing, for example.  Today I was working on a 5 colour woodcut, which takes some planning:  there’s a bit of math, cutting the blocks, making the key, colour mapping, carving the image, careful registration of blocks and paper….

Half way through block 3 I was checking some lettering under the light when like sudden a onset of arctic forehead I realized I was reading the text forward….  I had forgotten to reverse the image.

I wasn’t too upset;  the print is fairly small and (horseshoes) the first two blocks had very little detail in them.  The temptation is to say that it was a waste of a day, but I think I’ll say that I just got a little better at block printing.

And I have a shiny new checklist.

artboy68