Death and Marla

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I journeyed several hours south to see My Brightest Diamond perform. We were almost dumb struck by the venue...a little vintage playhouse in the center of what appeared to be a sleepy Midwestern town square. The performance itself was full of musical intimacy, childish whimsy and an energy that made the small crowd of about 30 feel like a subdued 300. The drawing pictured above is from my sketch book or journal or doodle book or whatever you'd like to call it.

The illustration below is just some I came up with not along ago when I was bored and day dreaming. Why does "Death" always have to be ugly?

That thing called hope...

On a Hill Far Away...
Pen and Ink - 9 X11.5



Last Thursday the winds changed. Every year at the changing of the seasons, there is a period of time where the old and new engage in a tug of war. Two years ago it seemed as if Autumn had held off Winter's brittle chill until the very last possible moment. Turns out, Winter had been saving her strength. I thought of that image last week as I went for a run during what would prove to be one of the last warm days of Autumn. It was a day of fatigue and hope, one where I could feel the rope of the seasons slipping through the bleeding skin of my palms, still griping the rope of the past.

And when we finally let go of the rope, our hands bloody and rough, a melancholic euphoria ferments inside our imagination and births hope.

Dreams
Pen and Ink and Brush 9 x 11.5

Kansas City Journals

Dinner Conversation - Said's first day of school

Strange Cargo - The Irony of Holloween Travel

Old Man Snores-a-lot

At any given moment, someone somewhere is complaining about where they live. For some their complaints stem from poor housing conditions, a lack of necessary food, a dead end job, or the poor city planning of their current residence. Last week at this time I was in Kansas City. Those who know me are all too familiar with my venomous rantings and nonsensical ravings about Fort Wayne's many problems - the city I currently reside in. Going to Kansas City put things quite drastically into perspective. Like Fort Wayne, Kansas City is a place struggling to find an identity amidst the urban sprawl and neglect that has for so long nibbled away at these city's very quaint central areas. Even when eating in a newly revitalized area of downtown, I couldn't help but feel the wafting resonence of despair.





However, the trip was not without some great moments Such as the bald man snoring in front of me on the plane, the insecure model being hit on by a business traveler, or the human eye that was being transported on to the plane. Just the journey....