New Years - 2014

Happy New Years to all, and wishing you the most prosperous of 2014 to come. 

Among my own private personal goals, I feel that I should list some publicly, so that I can look back on these by end of next year, to be a constant drive to me to accomplish more throughout the year. 

1) Return to using my Blog to expand upon my own sharing of concepts and accomplishments.

2) Create and finish 2 Children's Books - at least one written by myself.

3) Look to add about 15 more Watercolor pieces to my Moleskine art book, and to move onto larger scale pieces thereafter.

4) Release a few limited resin cast pieces based on some of my sculpted work.

5) Participate in at least 1 art show this year.

6) Work on at least 4 large scale sculpted pieces.

7) Learn from others, share and grow. Speak with those who share similar attitudes and goals. 

8 Take a class(es) on furthering my own abilities.

9) Motivation! Participation! Success! These are the words that I carry on into 2014. Let's get going!

Mark

Sculpt based on artwork of Marta Nael's 

Steps and process in sculpting, fabricating and painting.
I need to find a better way of photographing this.  I wasn't too thrilled with the end photos. 

Surrealling Dreaming

     I had a dream last night, so vivid that I can’t shake it. I found myself with two others, painting at individual easels, when all of a sudden; a large stag came bursting through the side glass doors of the cabin that we were in. It fell to the floor, dying, with its blood slowly spilling across the wood paneling, as if its throat had been slit. Then a vendor of from my work, who is a hunter, appeared. He said that we had to honor the fallen stag, by painting with his blood. So we all reached down, dipping our fingers into its blood, and began to feverishly paint on our canvases before the beast exhausted its last breath. 

     Now at this point, the other’s paintings became some truly darker, twisted images, but oddly enough I found myself painting a playful child, representing an image of hope in my mind, all in the blood of this animal.

     Chilling dream. Very surreal. I’m taking it to mean that I should get back to painting, and just that Hannibal the TV series really had some lasting impressions on me. But that dream, it was so freaky, and there’s probably something deeper in it all.

Smithville Artwalk

     Trying to start up the Blogger again, if nothing more than a place for me to display artwork of mine, in hopes of continuing artistic growth.

     I will be in Smithville NJ tomorrow, sharing some of my artwork.  Hope I get some positive response!

Dr Sketchy's - Philadelphia

                Come see (and draw) Statik Creation's very own AprilMayi, along with Demi Darko, next Saturday 9-17-11.  Featured at Dr Sketchy's Anti Art School in Philadelphia at World Cafe Live from 3:00-6:00!

Zombi - Escape Velocity

                  This duo, from the Pittsburg based band Zombi, has just released there 4^th album on Relapse Records, and I’m just now taking notice of them.  I must just say something about them in brief, because it’s one of those bands that are slowly ingraining itself into my brain.  It honestly blows me away. 

                   If you grew up of having fond memories of 80’s movies of the thriller, horror, or Sci-Fi genre, featuring music from the likes of John Carpenter or Goblin, this may be a perfectly suited CD for you to check out.  It is such a soundtrack from that area, with enough freshness liken to trance or bands like Voice Industrie (minus the vocals).  I can literally picture Snake Plissken running around in my head when listening to a lot of this music.  It gets into your brain and hooks you completely.  I really wish that in some respect these types movies from the 80’s could still be made, but it seems with the advancement in technology we’ve lost a bit of grittiness and fantastical nature of what made them so great.  Real hands on quality makeup effects, brooding film quality and the supernatural nature of a music that sounds beyond reality.  Zombi is a band that’s tapped into something beautiful and familiar to me, and for that I thank them.    

Freelance!

                  Freelance, an opportunity to make extra money, or a complete waste of time and effort?  I just want to take a moment here and vent my frustration, and before starting on my little diatribe, I’d like to state that this is not intended towards anyone that may be reading this blog that I have worked with.  There, of course, are always times when projects come about, when mutual interests are shared forming collaborative efforts.  I enjoy seeking out these types of projects, ones that are fun, which may just so happen lead to opportunities to make money, or help someone that I have a prior working relation with. When these types of projects fall through, it’s usually due in part to other family obligations and commitments.  I realize this, and I’m OK with that.  

                 This post is not at all about that sort of work.  What I am refereeing to is when someone (in the professional business world) that I may briefly know of, or have been suggested to by someone else contacts me.  They explain that they have the perfect opportunity for me, that will be lucrative for us both, in helping them with some work.  What I’m finding all too often now is that the more time that I take to explain my cost, labor, and timing and reasoning for suggesting some alternative solutions, the less appreciation I receive in the end for my time.  I do my best in any work related scenario to be realistic, and to explain that sometimes it’s not best to rush into a project without doing all of your research. I have no problem, in fact, creating what they may ask for, but the reality of it all is most of the time the client isn’t fully thinking things through.  When I take the time to explain that there is more to consider before diving in, so much that it may impact the quality of your product I’m merely dismissed without even a thanks for my time and information. This mere lack respect is what irks me. I understand a project falling through for one reason or another but how do you expect to run a business with this sort of lack of professionalism.  It make me wonder, should I just do what’s asked of me and shut up, take the job, make what they want, take the money and run be for it fails? Nah, that’s not me.