Just Kidding?

We spent a week at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC way down at the western tip of the state, within hollering distance of Tennessee and Georgia…  in the beautiful Nantahala National Forest.  These remote rural mountains are where folks take care of themselves and used to make pretty much everything they needed.

The school is very different than a college or special arts institute.  SAM says “modern old-fashioned fun.”  It was invigorating to me.  It reminded us that there is still a whole world of wonderful people, arts and things to learn out of cell phone range and off the Internet matrix, like when SAM and I were growing up. The accommodations, food (all fresh), quality of the classrooms, wonderful instructors, and the “atmosphere” were all so nourishing for us.  We’re goin’ back!

I took a wood carving course with Pete LeClair.  This man, and my fellow students, have added immensely to my life.  Carving wood figures and portraits balances my love of human faces and wood, the fascinating material we engaged in shaping.  Subtractive sculpting – where you remove the wood that is not going to be part of your portrait – is a huge challenge to this now largely digital artist.  It is analog, like the old days with paper ink pen and brushes, but it is also 3D, and there is very little you can do to “fix” a mistake.  So planning is key and care in the process is essential – a special challenge for my impatient nature.  Pete was one of the most methodical artists I have ever met.  He was very patient and let me make my mistakes.  Most artists are self-taught.  Fundamentals and theory can provide a useful framework, but in the end, it is practice, practice, and more practice.  While we practice it is essential that we enjoy the activity or we become discouraged and stop practicing.  I have a lot to learn.  I can hardly wait.

Like most creative arts there is also the necessity of tools.  Pete de-emphasized this aspect telling me you only really need a sharp knife, and maybe a few gouges and something to sharpen them with.  We’ll see how that goes…

Pete was always the first one there and stayed late each night for extra time and help.  His enthusiasm, his joy in his craft, was inspiring.  He is a happy man bringing smiles to our world. (3rd from left, back row with the hat.)

“Keep your thumb on the wood!”

See more of Pete LeClair on YouTube.

In case you missed this…

FRIDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) — “Small amounts of mood-altering drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders that are making their way into rivers and streams may be changing the behavior of some fish, a new study suggests.”  (and what about us – who eat the fish, or drink that water?  Oh well…)

“Exposure to Oxazepam also made the fish less social, making them easier prey for potential predators, the researchers noted. “Perch that were exposed to Oxazepam lost interest in hanging out with the group, and some even stayed as far away from the group as possible.”

You may see humor there, but we all live on the same planet and we need to take care of each other.  Yes. I’m making an empathic plea and using my wildwood buddy Peter, a chain pickerel to help you remember.  Properly dispose of those unused meds.

February is not a good month for me. For years I would try to schedule a nice getaway – something to look forward to during January, and when I got back it would be March and some eager crocuses would be poking up.  That would be enough enthusiasm to keep me going until April.

Nothing this year. Groundhog Day and the Super Bowl have not cheered me up.  National politics continues to depress. It’s cold and damp and I’m feeling my three-score-and-ten years, plus I got sick and had to behave.  Maybe it’s time I tried a shot of a five-hour energy elixir or some deer antler spray.  I tell everyone to appreciate every day and all the good that is around us. Guess it’s time to heed my own words.

I’m discovering? in my active robust life, that YouTube has become a kind of video university of small topics (for short attention spans.) Many of you already know this, but good people are bothering to produce decent free lectures and demonstrations about nearly any topic that seems to cross my mind. I know there’s some real duds, but hang in there.

Here are a few examples: (of my sort)

Wood carving.  Wear gloves or bring band aids.  Link

Making scones, Scottish sytle.  Link

ASAP  Science topics presented for a younger mobile audience. Link.

WRI, the great environmental think tank has finally produced a communication that can connect with the society they are trying to move. Link

Richard Feynman.  One of my heroes. Link

Using a tablet to produce art.  Link

Producing children books?  for tablets and smart phones.  Link

In a few years we’ll figure out how to monetize more of this microeducation/entertainment and that will launch a whole new era.  Sure, a few producers with good traffic are getting ad revenue and others use the platform to sell their products and services.  But right now, during this warm-up phase, I just want to say thanks to all the pioneers.

Now, here’s some pot shots at my Blue Ridge town and my maligned gender.

More about men at:  Link 

Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled for crocuses.

I hope so. In one sense, it’s just 365 new days (if we’re fortunate.) Some of us do pause, think about the past and what we we would like to change. For most of us that starts with the choices we make.

Taking care of ourselves so we can take care of others. Words come easy. We’ll see.

I’ll bet you didn’t stop by for a lecture.

Fortunately, there’s the never-ending foolishness that crosses our consciousness thanks to our frenetic media. With so many serious issues on our collective plates, we are asked if Manti Te’o was “catfished?” Did Beyoncé lip sync? Why did Lance finally fess up?

Is it: [ ] I must know; [ ] I can wait; or [ ] Spare me?

Stay tuned. As soon as I find out…

“…Deep in December it’s nice to remember the fire of September that made us mellow.” A Fantastik thought.

Now, in the October of my life’s likely year, I think ahead about the snows of December and back to the warm memories of summertime, and it’s terrible thunderstorms.

My sons are in the early Springtime of their lives with so much ahead.  I am fortunate to see them growing and to have found a true partner to walk with me now through the sweetest time of my life.

Slowly a gentle wisdom soaks in. The kind few are interested in. So, I just smile.

PS: Our 2012 holiday card is posted (link above in header.)

San Antonio. Fast forward 46 years from my first visit, newly enlisted in the USAF, now here we are again, this time to draw funny pictures.

It was my 12th caricaturist convention, now fully international and IMO showcasing a more diverse range of styles of this portraiture speciality.

Four days and nights of drawing each other in any medium and increasingly digital, mostly young folks but enough old timers to keep it interesting. The ISCA organization has been guided well by Steve Hearn for the past two years with innovations and efficiencies beneficial to this somewhat conservative organization.

Our guest this year was John Kascht an articulate illustrator with insights and anecdotes about his life and craft that added immeasurably to our event. Thanks John. See his wonderful National Portrait Gallery FaceToFace video at: http://face2face.si.edu/my_weblog/2011/04/how-does-he-do-that-the-secrets-of-drawing-a-face.html

Our friends from Japan, again this year, won our hearts and a lions share of the awards with hard work and inspiring creativity. We all missed their godfather Kage Nakanishi. Jun Oomura was back and won an award. Way to go!

Good to see my old bud, witty calligrapher Jeff Redford, who prepares the award documents. He was appreciated with a lifelong membership. I’m happy about that.

Pals Johanna Veerenhuis and Gwenda Saunders, Mike Hasson, Leisbat Beckers, Brian Vasilik and Jerry Dowling and Master Jan Op de Beeck, Emi Sato and their growing family were all there.

And always happy to meet new folks: Joe Easkin and Ray Shipman from Texas, Tony Marriott from the UK and Ferg Gadzala from Quebec. Two seminar presenters (Nolan Harris and Jon Casey) that I had only known via videos were even better in person.

SAM and I also got out and about San Antonio during the week. Together we saw: Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, McNay museum, River Walk, and the King William neighborhood tour. She also visited the Alamo, San Juan and Conception missions, Villa Finale, the Japanese Tea Garden, and the San Antonio Art and Witte museums, while I was drawing and posing.

A wonderful week. All categories and awards will be available soon on our website: caricature.org.

My Western Inventions class instructor is fascinated and knowledgeable about a huge spectrum of historical and engineering realms.   He said today “Everything reminds me of something! ”  I know the feeling, but since I’m probably 15 years his junior, I am still learning and experiencing new things.  I like that.

I attended a briefing on the “Arab Spring” and the Middle East by James Larocco, a career diplomat. One of his messages was familiar: that to make any sense of the present you must appreciate the past.  He thinks this upheaval is on the scale of the French revolution and will take a long time to sort out. He reminded us that many Americans are more concerned about the future and are not particularly interested in history.  In the middle east they still remember what happened a thousand years ago.  That Santayana thing about “those who fail to read history are doomed to repeat it” is still scary and I hope our leaders spend some time studying history.

With October comes brisk mornings and balmy days. There is a mature beauty about autumn that is very appealing to me. SAM loves painting dry leaves and pumpkins, and I enjoy getting back into my jeans.

One of the art instructors at UNCA/OLLI was injured on her trip to Russia and I’m having a chance to fill in for her fall semester.  Loving that, and I changed my drill from blah blah blahs to more hands-on drawing.

The debate? was more live serial concurrent speeches by the two candidates.  Mitt seemed more comfortable as a moderate, and our President’s mind was elsewhere.  I’ll be voting early.

Loving my Clown class and two courses about the 60s.  Billy Joel said “we didn’t light the fire…”  but I think we did.  Civil rights, the Vietnam war, migrant workers, the women’s movement, gay rights, etc.  We were engaged, and committed and change was begun.  Still a long road ahead, I know.

Relax, I’m not going serious.  Laughter is still the best remedy for this world’s problems.

Don’t worry, the drought is a hoax. But, it’s a hot summer and the lack of rain has dried up the posts to this journal. Thanks for all the emails requesting new material. Since the Reubens, we’ve been busy, but no interesting excuses for my lapses here. I’ve just been doing other things.

We had a wonderful trip to Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone. What a wonderful corner of our country. Our national parks, as I and many others have said before, are a treasure. So well-maintained and managed, “Thank you National Park Service for generations before and ahead.”

June and July – we spent a week in northwest Wyoming (after visiting LA and the Reubens in Las Vegas.) High points for me were trout fishing on the Firehole River, taunting mother grizzlies with cubs, tasting bubbling geo-thermal mud, and seeing the Alpinesque Grand Tetons. Flying in and out of Jackson Hole was a great choice.

Back in the DC area I was quickly engaged in family matters and catching up with friends. The book project for the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Research Foundation and honoring colleague Richard Thompson was released and I attended my first book signing, autographing page 72 for a couple of hours. Finally met Mike Cavna.

The illustrations provided for Cynthia Drew’s book: “Where Do Missing Things Go?”, have made it to publication – soon to be available on Amazon. The “derecho” a widespread, long-lived wind storm that hit DC was a big deal and some friends needed A/C. Glad we were able to help. Imagine, all that additional hot air in Washington? Like more ice in Alaska.

Soon, we’re off to the beautiful Hudson River Valley.

One of the highlights of my year. Away from the strip in Las Vegas (which was OK by me) at an elegant resort, 166 cartoonists plus guests came to honor the best in our profession. The events, seminars and parties, were well-planned and we all had a fine time. We also talked about how the organization and attendees are changing. Each year we lose more of the grand masters and the profession and art form are rapidly evolving. Roy Doty, one of the masters, makes a distinction between those who still draw and color on paper, those that create their cartoons with a computer and those that publish on the Internet. The process, the market and the economic model are all changing. Few of us know where cartooning will be in 10 years. There is a lot of unspoken angst and fear. The golden and silver ages of the comics are drawing to an end. A new platinum age? may be ahead, but it’s clear that the tools, process, market, and income models will be different. Today’s cartoonists and the NCS will adjust or just fade away. I am betting on the former.

One immediate challenge that I’ve written about before are the division award winners that don’t show up to receive their honors. We met one nominee who had traveled from Australia because he was nominated. Nine category winners out of 14 weren’t “able to attend.” A ratio that’s getting worse. It’s a symptom of weakened prestige IMHO. Not clear about a remedy.

Below are Dave Kellet’s pug contribution to my journal, master Roy Doty, SAM at table 33, and Bill Holbrook and Bud Grace (two heroes.)

For me the best part is catching up with old friends and meeting new members and spouses. Next year in Pittsburg! Our new president is doing well. A more positive and progressive tone was clear.