The End is The Beginning

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Photo Dec 05, 12 06 59 PM

On Saturday, January 24, 2015 we are closing what has been my longest and biggest show yet. It opened back in November 2014. The Gallery at Elemar is a very spacious and beautiful place to show and to hold events. We are closing with an art discussion in which I’ll be presenting on the healing and learning benefits of art. You are invited to join us.

Having an exhibit take a lot of work. I don’t have an agent or an event planner to do it for me. I get help from my family, friends, and acquaintances as advisors but I plan most of it. It is time consuming and very stressful at times. Generally my solo shows had been a day or two. Sometimes they begin and end with the reception. It is the first time I have an exhibit for this period of time and after the closing I still hold exhibit space in the gallery for an undetermined period of time. You can still see my work there after the show. That’s one good thing about closing this show. On the other hand, I get to go back to public speaking that day. The exhibit will be up after that because on Tuesday I’m giving a short presentation to the New Haven Rotary Club. After that, I go back to the gallery in March for another presentation about media for artists (more information on that coming soon). The end is the beginning.

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IMG_4538Closing this exhibit is also the beginning of planing the next solo show. I am participating in group shows through the year but I don’t plan those. I just participate. That gives me time to get ready, put together a new collection, and put together all I need to make it happen. It is going to take some time but the most important thing for me is to be able to see it before it happens. It all begins with the art pieces and how they come together. That’s a constant work in progress. It is great to see it all unfold.

End. Begin. Continue.

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Excited about the new year? Many people are. People are ‘pumped’ with starting something new  and fresh that would changed their lives. Gym subscriptions begin rising, new diets are intended, changes in looks, and the list goes on and on. Generally the excitement of the new year lasts just a few days. The routine takes over and we completely forget about new year’s resolutions. The fact is that changes and getting used to changes won’t happen in a day, or a week. It is said that it takes a minimum of 21 days to develop a habit. What we forget is that there are no new beginnings without endings and that the line between the two is not as thin as it looks. There is a period of transitioning from ending to beginning.

William Bridges explains in his book Transitions – Making Sense of Life’s Changes how to understand change in order to cope with it. Life is a continuum full of endings and beginnings and are often the transitions that are the most difficult times to endure. We leave behind experiences, people, things, practices, habits, and thoughts to move on into new ones but it doesn’t happen magically at midnight like in a fairy tale. Changes take time and we humans don’t like that. We want things to happen right away, don’t we?

What if you decide to make changes happen instead of waiting for them to just happen? Visualize the ideal you. Be wise in doing this. Don’t visualize yourself in comparison with someone else. Be realistic. The ancient Greeks defined ‘sin’ as ‘missing the mark’. If you go too high, too low, or to the sides you are missing the mark. Can you see it? Now, consider what needs to be done in order to achieve that visualization. What does it take to get there?

Educate yourself. Listen to the experience of others. Weight their points of view in light of your context and needs. Follow what fits your vision. Try new things within your means. Some risks and leaving the comfort zone are necessary. Stop doing what is not working for you. Keep doing what is working so far. End. Begin. Continue. Results take time. Enjoy each achievement. Most importantly, love what you do. Life is incomplete until you are complete. Life is only complete when you are not. Is the transition that matters and makes a continuous change in you.

Retrace Your Steps

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figure study

You came into the room. You stopped. Looked around. You are trying to remember why you came to the room and what you were looking for. You know how it is to get those mental blackouts. “What was I looking for?” That’s often the first question that pops. Now you have to go back and retrace your steps.

I find interesting when in movies and television shows they begin the story at a point almost to the end to go back and tell the story to that point. Then the action picks up to complete the story. It would make to sense to continue the story from that point before giving us the back story. There is a purpose for that last scene and some hints are provided through the story.

When painting we often get caught up in a tiny detail and forget to step back and look at the big picture. In sculpting, specially figurative sculpting, each detail needs to make sense with the complete figure. We need to step back from time to time and retrace our steps to that moment to understand our progress. Then we move on to the next step.

As 2014 comes to an end it is very easy to forget why we are here. It is very easy to get caught up in a tiny detail of today and forget how we made it here. I mean, we are here for a purpose, right? Would it make sense to move forward in the story not knowing why we are here? Take a moment and retrace your steps to the beginning of the year. See the big picture. The fact that you made it from the beginning of the year until now is reason enough to celebrate.

Everything I Am Not

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I was about 5 years old when I realized I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be a serious, Oscar worthy, staring at the camera saying nothing actor. My first acting gig came up during this time I got chosen to be one of the three wise men for the Christmas school play. I got into character, learned my lines, the beard and costume fitted perfectly. All I had to do was to get on stage and say, “I am Gaspar and I bring the myrrh”. I was ready!

The day came. All the parents and visitors were expecting the arrival of the three wise men. I was last. My two partners said their lines and my turn came. I approached the microphone looked at the audience and half way through saying my line I completely forgot what I was bringing to baby Jesus. “I am Gaspar and I bring…” I scratched my head, touched my beard, and looked inside the treasure box I was carrying while the audience erupted in laughter. I finally remembered I brought the myrrh. There was laughter and a lot of clapping as I moved to my position to allow the play to continue. I blew it! And it was AWESOME!

10400270_12997675351_1444_nDuring the school years all the way to high school I performed in many plays, talent shows, and events doing comedy. As soon as I began college I began working as a radio announcer and the comedy side began emerging even stronger to the point of becoming a paid job. I spent college between being on radio, television, performing stand up comedy, being a motivational speaker, and of course being an artist. After some years I was just working on a medical office then became a teacher and an instructional designer. At the same time I was developing my art career. I am not a writer but you are reading this now, so we can add that to the list too.

Late at night, before I fall asleep, all I want to know is that God loves me. I just want a chance to find my God-given identity. I would like to know that everything I am not serves a purpose and lifts someone’s spirit somehow. At the end of my life I want to be remembered by those who matter most as a “Loving son, husband, father, and friend”. The rest is just extra.