Over the past few weeks I’ve been of an ill humour.  My countenance has been riddled with an atrocious scowl.  After much reflection and a bit of intuition, I finally figured out what was wrong.  Like so many of my fellow bloggers, I’m a very creative person.  I have to put my artistic talents to use or pay the consequences.  In the last few weeks, I”ve worked so much that I’ve not had time to write poetry or short stories, take or edit magnificent photos that boggle the senses, or draw the things I love.  It is imperative that I do these things no matter how trivial they seem to others.  I’d lose my sanity without my crative outlets.  My prose would drive me mad!

I’m a dreamer, a fantacist of sorts.  I dream of a better world in which people actually get that which they deserve.  Good or bad.  About halfway through an incredibly boring workday, I caught myself doodling characters from a short story I started writing but never finished.  I had everyone at work laughing at the drawing of the auld witch and the squirrel innocently encamping in the eve of her house.

So, to keep from going mad for the twenty-three days I have left at my job, I’m setting aside time to do what I do best.

Speaking of work, I’ve got to be there in twenty minutes.  Have a grand week all…

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That wondrously kind Vanilla has bestowed an Art award upon me.  I am honoured and quite blushed that she’d include me in this award, especially since I’ve been so quiet on the blogosphere lately.  I can only hope that future post will enhance this fête.  It is the little things that people do for one another that gives me hope.  Thank you, Vanilla.

So, here’s the blurb:

Art Prize and Award
"This prize has arisen from the daily visits that I dedicate to many blogs which nourish me and enrich me with creativity. In them I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain me day to day and to share this prize with those who enrich me every day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few, the people I will name today deserve this prize, as do the very long serious list of bloggers I also enjoy to read, but I will name the first 10 and will leave the rest of the work to all the bloggers that visit other’s blogs and are nourished by them."

The standard rules apply for this award.  I will pass it on to five of you and expect you to do the same.  If you are not on my list, please do not be insulted.  I might have just forgot ’bout you or somethin’.  Have you ever heard of an absent minded lensman?  Well, that’s me in a nutshell. 

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Here’s a lovely meme for the lot of you.  This one has been around the blogosphere for a while, but it is fun and easy.  This one consist of taking passages out of a book on a certain page.  It is quite hilarious as to what you’ll find.  I may have cheated a wee bit, but it is really close to what it is supposed to be. 

The rules are:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

"She aroused them, and soon the assembly ground and seats were filled with curious men, a throng who peered and saw the master mind of war, Laërtes son.  Athena now poured out her grace upon him, head and shoulders, height and mass – a splendor awesome to the eyes of the Phaiákians; she put him in a fettle to win the day, mastering every trial they set to test him.  When all the crowd sat marshalled, quieted, Alkínoös addressed the full assembly."

Most of you can probably tell from whence this passage came, but I will tell those of you that have never read it.  Shame on you!    Tis "The Odyssey", by Homer and translated by, Robert Fitzgerald.  Whenever I need advice about life, I dig deep into the works of Homer and Sophocles.  We can learn so much from the past.  At times, I think they knew more about the intricacies in life than we do. 

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So, I’ve blabbered on about drawing and painting enough.  There is a very logical and respectful reason as to why I don’t display my work.  I am a great admirer of the female form, so a lot of my drawings are risque.  I enjoy drawing faces more than anything, but sometimes I like doing the entire body.  After doing the podcast yesterday with Brian and Dr. Don, an image popped into my head, and I commenced to drawing.  The drawing is purely from my psyche.  Please do not be offended by it.  I am a fine and honourable young man that just so happens to enjoy drawing the female form. 

It is a study drawing more than anything else.  The finished piece will be on a recycled medium surface acid free 483x610mm. sheet.  I have no formal education in art, but I do have an eye for it.  Notice I said “eye’, instead of eyes.    I have already fixed her hair, arm, and nose since uploading the image last night. 

As I said, please do not be offended.  Think of it as art instead of me just being an amative fecker. 

Here’s the link.

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I came home this evening in a creative and as the kids would say, a slamming mood.  While reclining and watching the end of the news, something caught my eye.  An old mason jar filled with brushes, some of which were new and others were frayed and stained.  Still, they happily intermingle in the jar.  They don’t bicker and fight over religion, colour, or differing views.  They just exist.  Hmm..perhaps we could all learn something from a brush. 

As I sat and studied the brushes, a mist of colours spiraled through my head [insert joke here].  So, I grabbed all of my supplies and commenced to painting.  I certainly hope to hone what little skills I have over time, but I do that along with drawing as mediums to express myself that I wouldn’t do otherwise. 

After putting on the base coat, I put on a new Lenny Kravitz album and painted nonstop for two hours.  Music is another love of mine.  I listen to everything from soul to classical.  Lenny is a cool cat that I’ve been listening to since he had dreadlocks.  Admittedly, I go to more classical concertos than soul concerts.  I love it all, except rap.  Any eejit can put two one syllable words together and make them rhyme.

I am usually dumbfounded by the result, as if someone else created it.  Just like when I write poetry or draw, I go into another realm of consciousness that is almost unbreakable. 

Along with all of my other activities, I’m going to work on painting more.  It is a boundless expression of the sprit. 

I’ll have a proper post for you tomorrow evening, hopefully. 

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Last Sunday, I very cautiously locomoted to a well know local Seminary, Bob Jones University. They have the largest collection of Christian art in the world, only second to the Vatican. The girls must wear dresses, and the guys have to wear dress slacks and shirts at all times, while on the premises. Even I, being a normal Joe, had to wear the proper attire in order to be allowed to view the art.

At the time, I had an encroaching project due the following day in Art History class, in which I had to pick paintings that had certain characteristics. I had visited this place before, when I was in high school. You see, I went to a private Christian school, so they, being the faculty of Bob Jones, invited us to visit for a day, hoping that our parents and us would be so enthralled by the place that we’d enrol as soon as we graduated high school (second level – senior cycle).

I went with the rest of my graduating class, and I’ll have to admit at the time, I was quite captivated by the place and the people. We talked to a lot of the students and faculty and had lunch in their cafeteria. All was well, until I sat down across from a mom and dad that were scolding their daughter for not wanting to stay and for quietly weeping in public. The father even went as far as to say that he was ashamed to be her father. It reminded me of my own home, so I decided that I’d never go to school there.

When are we and where are we? Hmm… Back to last Sunday, I guess. As I traversed the grounds, I couldn’t help but get the feeling of something menacing afoot. You know how you get that feeling in your gut, as Bush gets about terrorism, when you just know something isn’t right, but you just can’t place it. The young adults that I met were all serious and drab, devoid of any humour or liveliness, which is rare in the 18 to 22 year range. Heck, at my university, kids are always cutting up and laughing. Oh, I forgot that students at BJ are not allowed to dash a glance at a hot chick or hold hands, while on the school property. The sad thing is that these younglings live on campus.

Even though the place was making the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I treaded forward, went to the Art Museum, and took some fantabulous shots.

By the way, Baino has a fabulous post about religion on her blog. And, please have Absolute Vanilla in your thoughts. She’s a Sick Parrot.

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Ladies and Gentleman (the few of you that visit for something besides pictures of Jefferson Davis), I have much studying to do. Post over the next two weeks will probably be sporadic at best. I have two term papers to organise and finish writing, plus one more Final Exam. Aaarrghhh…

The reason I titled this post, Entertain me, please, is that I really need entertainment! I love art history class, but the fact that I have to sit in the same room as the little conniving…Oh drat, I’m too damn civilised to say how I feel or what I think of her!

Starting a relationship with someone in a class atmosphere that I have to return to every week was a major error on my part. Now, I wonder what the giggles and snickering when I’m in her presence is about. I wonder exactly what she is sharing with the other women. Something about me? Eh? We all make this mistake, whether it is at school or work. We think that this person is the one, or that they’ll never hurt us. Ha!

It’s all good though. I work harder and achieve more, when I have either an arch nemesis or when someone mocks me. So, go ahead and beleaguer me! Call me names! Tell me I’m no good and not worth the air I breathe! I’ve made asses of people that have belittled me and called me names. I’ll make Equus asinus’ of them all!

I’m not angry, just ‘bout to pull my hair out. Ah, the joys of finals and working six days a week.

Now, I’m going to watch Bear Grylls, in Man vs. Wild. Tis my favourite show on the telly. The dude is my hero. He is paid to travel the world and “survive” in the wild for a few days with a camera crew. I know how to start a fire without a match. I know how to build a shelter. I was taught what plants and berries are edible. I know which way is north, without a compass. I’m fully skilled in fishing and hunting. Heck, I can even tell you what insects are edible. Can I get my own show?

P.S.: I have a ton of new photos on my flickr account of my trip to the High Museum and my journey around Bob Jones University yesterday.

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Yesterday, I went with the Art Club down to the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. On the way down, I sat in the window seat on the bus and a pretentious – egotist bloke sat beside me. He blabbered on about different pieces we were going to be observing and buttered up one of the instructors in the seat directly in front of us, while I mutely sat and read the New Yorker. It was a pleasant trip filled with laughter.

After we arrived, all of us entered the Louvre section of the museum. We were all captivated and awe struck by “The Tiber” and other gorgeous sculptures and pieces from France, Roma, Greece, Egypt, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Babylon. Chills rained down my back, while gazing at clay tablets over four thousand years old. I pondered about the people that crafted the pieces and the lives they lived.

The “Winged Victory of Samothrace” bewitched my spirit. The implied motion – how the fabric of the garment flows over the body of Nike, the goddess of Victory. And, most importantly, the story behind the sculpture. Most of the students put on headphones, which told them about each sculpture, piece, or painting, but I chose to read the plaques and interpret everything in my own way. That is what I love the most about art and literary works. We can each interpret a novel or a painting differently.

Another sculpture that called to me was “Crouching Aphrodite”, from the Roman Imperial period. I kneeled down beside it and glared into her face – a countenance weighed with thought. Sculptures from the Hellenistic period have always captured my imagination, while paintings from the Romanesque era enchant my intellect. Of course, I love all art, regardless of when it was created. However, pop art unnerves me a bit.

Go boil some water for a cuppa because this is long, or you can enjoy the pictures below. I have to write a paper about my visit, so this is good practice…

After exiting the Louvre hall, we entered the contemporary hall. Hanging on the first wall, adjacent to the entrance, were a few silhouette images – black cutouts against a white background – in a row, by Kara Walker. Some of her drawings are quite compelling, but her cutouts are an atrocity. She depicts scenes of slaves in the pre civil war south, being brutalised by their respective owners. She shows white men raping slaves (young men and women) and white women pillaging the wombs of female slaves. She does this to push society’s buttons. That is how she has made a name for herself! It’s not by the quality or composition of the artwork, but the horror it projects. Look, every society at one point, has been enslaved by a more powerful civilisation, so I say, get over it! Did I say I didn’t like her?

Anyway, back to the artsy Californian that I sat beside on the bus. Whilst standing in front of Kara Walker’s pieces, he said, “Isn’t she fantastic”, with hyper glee.

“Yes, she is”, I replied, as glared at the horrific scenes.

“I love how she uses these slavery images”, he uttered, while making hand gestures at the particular way she depicted blood gushing.

I don’t like her, but I was trying to hold back my judgements and be nice to the guy. Heck, I might have learned something from him.

“Yeah, there was about an eight page write up about her in the New Yorker two months ago.

He stopped dead in his tracks, dropped his jaw, and enquired, “You…read the New Yorker?”

“Indeed”, I answered, with a laughing smirk.

He stepped back, put his arms to the side, and muttered, “You must have borrowed it from someone, right?”

“I have a subscription to that along with New York Times, New York Review of Books, and Contemporary Poetry Review”, I muttered, as I tried not to laugh.

“You?”

“Tis true”

“….I never would have thought it, just being honest and all”, he mumbled, as he crossed his arms.

“Ehhmm…Yeah, I’m a photographer, aspiring poet, amateur author (I have much to learn), professional skirt chaser, and I dab in watercolours and pastels from time to time”, while glinting at the young female art student beside me.

He fell back on his heels, and cried, “Wow, that is totally cool…I never would have thunk it…Dude, I’m like…totally blown away. Do you have any of your poetry with you or some photographs?”

There’s no need to go any further into the discussion. He asked if I did architecture, nature, surreal, abstract, impressionistic, or portraits. I gave him my flickr address and the blog address. So, if you are reading this, sir, I’m not trying to imply that you are an idiot or a jerk, just a Californian. Nah, most Californians are cool. Dude is smart. He went to the Art Institute of Chicago. We are all taught at an early age how to view the world, but it is up to us as adults to be open minded and nonjudgmental.

I’ll pick up with part two of The High Museum in a day or two. I have a lot of reading to do.

Kewl…862 words in thirty minutes of casual maundering.

P.S.: The last image is a one of my abstract paintings contorted in photoshop.

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Hi all, I am off again to study and write a myriad of papers. But, I did manage to capture a few images this evening, before sitting down to effing study.

P.S.: The cross is harmless! No really! Crosses are cool, regardless of one’s religion…

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