“Natural Conclusion” a poem

Here’s a link to a recent poem I wrote titled “Natural Conclusion” ( http://www.zeorlinart.com/PoemNaturalConclusion.html).  An image of my current art (a work-in-progress) is included with the poem.  The visual art and the poem are related by subject matter.

How To Write A Poem

Here are simple instructions on how to write a poem:  http://www.zeorlinart.com/PoemInstructionsOnWritingAPoem.html.      I’ve been writing poetry since around 1977  (But always with the disclaimer of “for better and for worse.”).

 

Words and Images

I’m a gregarious recluse.  I’m glad to be alone in my art studio working yet realize how much energy comes from being around other people on a regular basis.  It’s not a matter of balance, but more of realizing how people influence my work.  I desire to work in isolation, but do this as a way to distill what I observe through being part of a community.

I’m content to spend hours, even days, in isolation working on my art.  I can stay up into the late hours until grudgingly giving in to go to bed.  And then there are times when words pop into my mind and transform into a promptly scribbled poem.   Having ideas and sorting out the ways in which the idea can be communicated is the work of an artist.

The finished work…be it a painting, poem, photograph, etc. represent some moment in time.   At some point I step away from the idea and leave it alone.  The challenge is to do just enough, but not too much.

I’m starting on some mixed media works.  I’ll not claim to know where the pieces will go or the various ways I’ll treat them in 2012 (and beyond?).  I’ll post images of various stages but it will not become instructional in nature.  I will not do it on a scheduled basis.

So in addition to sharing words on this StickyPhilosopher blog…I will also share images of my art.  Always done…for better or worse! 

“Eventually” (work in progress)

 

Political Bread Recipe

While baking the other evening I realized a loaf of bread is the ideal public face for a politician.  Bread is made from ingredients which most of us recognize.  Mixing these ingredients into dough isn’t extremely complicated although we are lead to think so. 

Bread dough can be formed into a variety of shapes.  And specialty bakers can add textures and flavors to enhance this ordinary loaf.  Bread smells good while it’s baking in the oven which creates anticipation for when it comes out.  Everyone loves to look at fresh bread arranged in a decorated display case.  We marvel at how such simple bread ingredients can swell multiple times in size.  

Now this bread becomes high-priced artisan bread.  And working people can’t afford artisan breads on a daily basis.  Since fewer enjoy the benefits of the prized loaves, most of it goes stale sitting on the shelf.   Eventually the stale bread transforms into a moldy green blob.  The molded bread is either thrown away or sold in bulk to pig farmers.  There are a lot of pigs getting fat on moldy bread. 

As a creative baker, I have a solution to reducing bread spoilage.    Start with a simple bread recipe and add lots of chopped prunes to it plus a dash of sugar, cinnamon and a handful of nuts.  Then offer this specialty bread exclusively to hard-working politicians.  Once the politicians eat enough of this prune bread they will start moving again.  And politicians who move on a regular basis get things done for their constituents.  So I hope you’ll agree that “Politicians Need Prunes!”  This odd mantra comes from my friend, the StickyPhilosopher, who thinks it should be seen on the front lines of politics.  Our system is backed up and needs a good flush.

Sorry, I can’t bake you a prune loaf like those I made in this picture.  The laws governing the food industry make bringing home-baked goods to Farmer’s Markets too costly and regulated for hobby bakers to consider.  But I can make you a “Politicians Need Prunes!” bumper sticker.  Order one today and I’ll mail a fresh bumper sticker right to your home or office.    While you can’t eat a bumper sticker, you can use it just like a cool note card.  Just write on the back of the bumper sticker with a permanent marker, place sticker in envelope and mail.  You’ll be sending friends notes that stick around.

Public Images and Stingers

In every election cycle what matters is the creation and control of a political image.   All politicians try to control how we see them.  They craft public images with the sole intent of getting our vote.   They figure out what we want to see and do their best to become that image.  And that impression becomes their new reality which is repeatedly shown to us.  And every successful politician wants their manipulated image to be burned into our memory. 

If a politician’s image creates favorable public appeal, opposing politicians then create negative images of the popular politician.  Eventually the best political image wins and voters think we spoke our minds.  But all we did was pick the prettiest picture in the coloring contest. 

Once the election is over the winners promptly address their own agendas.  They do this by creating more impressions for us to see.  So we are treated to pictures showing them pretending to work for us.  After they have made great sums of money the next election cycle begins.  Once again, it is time for a new set of public political images.  And voters like pretty pictures so we wait for the release of the newest set. 

If the images of our political leaders were not fabricated what would we see?  Maybe a swarm of wasps saying they love us just before they turn around and sting? 

Or maybe it’s just a simple matter… Politicians Need Prunes!  (Yes, this quote is from my bumper sticker and you do need one).

 

 

“Birds of a Feather”

I observed a massive flock of black birds around my studio and realized their movements are similar to what happens on the internet.  Communication amongst thousands of birds was nearly instantaneous as they took flight and changed course at exactly the same time.

I connect with people through the internet although the degree of familiarity we share varies greatly (as should be expected).  Some connections are extensions of friendships which initially began ”face to face.”  In the middle are people who have found my art on-line or read the StickyPhilosopher blog and communicated with me about what I do.  And finally there are those who do not communicate directly with me, yet they learn about my work through my websites (Zeorlinart.com and/or StickyPhilosopher.com).

I wonder about the impact of all these connections we are making through the internet.  How many exchanges that occur on the internet would classify as communication?  Does a give and take happen or are we mainly marketing ourselves and creating  personas?  I certainly could not show my art or post my poetry and writing to the degree I do without the use of the internet.  While blogging can be viewed as a form of marketing, my primary goal is to express ideas related to social commentary art.  Afterall, an artist work reflects their contemporary world.

My art presents what I see and think about.  What happens to all of us as we swoop around in our ever-expanding human flocks?  The complex movement of a flock of birds is automatic so they don’t collide.  How much of our own ways of responding to various public situations are automatic?  Do we, like birds, move in unison while avoiding making much real contact?

Are the syncopated movements that happen with digital social media something to be encouraged about?  Is being “Liked” or having  posts go viral on a social media platform important?  Are mass social movements engineered by marketing teams?  Can anyone actually fly alone from time to time?  And just how long might a bumper sticker conceivably stick on bird wings? (No I didn’t try that).   So who’s in front of the flock I’m flying in?

And where is this rapidly shifting flock going?

 

My Backup Plan

I’m not sure I’ll get as rich as I initially estimated doing art.  As a backup plan, I decided a sure bet was to create bumper stickers as there are millions of bare bumpers out there awaiting profound philosophical statements.  Every morning workers get out of bed, drag a comb across their head…(reminds me of some song).   Next they do the stop and go until pulling into the parking lot at some job they may or may not like.  After getting out of the car it’s “Lights out, nobody home.” (Hmm, some other tune?)

I decided to capitalize on all those stop and go points that happen before we get to work.  I now make messages on a weatherproof road tested bumper sticker that might jostle the commuter’s auto-pilot mind.  I offer a point of view that is less familiar.

This is how my StickyPhilosopher website and all that is to follow began.  Why, I’ve already received an on-line order from a complete stranger who lives in Austin, TX.  And considering how conservative a town like Austin is I’d guess car bumpers in the weirder more liberal communities like Tyler, TX will be covered with my bumper stickers.

And once I am rich from my backup plan, I shall become an example of what generosity can do for us…

Excuses For Sale

It’s too cold to work…or…It’s too hot to work.  It’s too late to start.  I’ll start tomorrow.  Let me check one more thing…  Our excuses are not that much more complex than when we were kids. 

I should start a business selling well crafted excuses.  No doubt it would go viral on the internet (like all my art does?) and I’d have Excuse Warehouses across North America.  Then I’ll get a personal jet custom painted and fly around giving motivational talks to people who get by on excuses.

Here’s the first bumper sticker design that begins my Excuse Warehouse empire… 

Hesitation

Sometimes it is uncomfortable working in a solitary art studio as the push to produce has to come from within.  There is no one waiting or expecting any “output” from the majority of artists.  Like everyone else, an artist is a creature of habit.  And habits can give one a sense of purpose (even if the end results are unremarkable).  For most in the working world the calendar helps set a pace and flow of energy based on repeat customers, seasonal demands, etc.  I don’t think the calendar for an artist is very cyclical…We often face a new and unknown calendar every year.

So is this a complaint?  I could let it be if I continued to expound on the first paragraph.  An open calendar has so much potential.  It’s a matter of transforming a trace of optimism into action.  If you wait too long and plan everything out you can get stuck doing nothing at all.  Hesitation can use up all our energy.  Yet a spur of the moment afternoon drive (an extravagance when you consider the cost of fuel) has to have some planning or you’ll find yourself stranded on the side of the road.  Being stranded can have merits…think about various accounts in Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road”

I declare a road trip!

Innuendo and Discretion…Dying arts

I allow myself a few days to adjust to each new year.  I could even write 2011 on a check or two (if I ever write one again).  Plus we are going from an odd year to an even one.  Will the switch to even numbers even out this year, maybe make it a more nuanced one?  I doubt it, although it couldn’t hurt.

Most of my adult years, odd or even, all seem given to the ”IN YOUR FACE” mode of operation which has overridden any sense of subtlety.  Thinking about this made another bumper sticker appear in the StickyPhilospher website.  No doubt, the sticker will go viral…. And with the high demand  I’ll have to add a third shift in my art studio factory just to complete orders.  Soon I’ll have a bigger printer, hire a public relations staff and market the goods in the 2am infomercial slot on television.  ONCE THIS HAPPENS I WILL BE SUBTLE ABOUT IT!  SO ORDER ONE TODAY!

But think about this…The Art of Innuendo…. The Art of Discretion….  Both seem to be dying arts.  (So, ponder this and kindly order one today).