Science and Wonderment

We ridicule the ancient ones for
bestowing the names and titles of "God" and "Goddess"
on the spaces between the things they thought they knew
and the things they didn't even wonder at yet.
But I believe we will find
that "modern man" is the one
who is truly mistaken.
Snuffing out magic and wonder
when "science" could be so much more
than a cardboard box
neatly stacked on the shelf
of things we "know"...

Is this strange, or merely natural? (Written many weeks ago)

I do not feel that I can effectively communicate how I feel after this long day of exposure and new corners of the world and other people's minds.

"If you want a better job," I paraphrase my Business Teacher's advice this afternoon, "Don't take to the streets and protest, better yourself by going to school, getting an education and work hard to climb the ladder of corporate success." Paraphrased, but the meaning is there. Work flipping burgers because you, too, may have the chance (one in a million) of succeeding as Herman Cain did. God forbid you don't want to, god forbid you don't even believe you have that chance. And most of all, God forbid we work to change everything we can for the betterment of our children's children's future, our neighbors lives tomorrow, and our lives next week. 

2,000 men, women, and children, all members of my human family, with their own distinct lives, their own memories of last moments, their own potential in this world, cut short by other people who I am also related to, but can't begin to understand or condone. 

More human beings slaughtered for a purpose, in a war I still do not condone in Mexico. Meals uneaten, beds unmade, children lost in existence for the sake of money and power. Bodies, the building blocks under a tower of corruption. 

People crushed under a yoke of oppression and discontent in Russia, ruled over by a man brave enough to stand up to the megalith of Monsanto (if only in image), but too cowardly to give up his own games of status and wealth. 

Status and wealth, sought after by most of the young adults, just like me, but nothing like me. I wrote that I do not crave wealth and status, those are not my ambitions, but is this strange, or merely natural?

Tres

Three is the perfect number

For holding

Nestled in your own two hands,

Or cupped on your living tongue.

One being a point,

Converging with the other two

In a triangle,

The perfect number,

Filling, completely,

The senses,

And the ribcage;

Three. 

Pent up Rebellion

My brain is on fire. 

My hair is perfectly fine. 

How to express all? 

Anchor in this World of Uncertaintly

I am warm, I am 

Safe. I am surrounded by 

My family's love.  

Research paper for my art majors orientation class last semester

Photography as a Flexible Career

9/25/14

Art Orientation

I see photography as a potential link through my many art interests, including land art, painting, and textile art. Photography is definitely an asset in recording and sharing a variety of artworks with other people.

To gain more insight on the field I chose to research, I interviewed Larry O. Campbell, a retiree nature photographer. Photography isn’t a professional career for him, he came upon it after twenty years in the air force, and ten years raising cattle and operating a resort. After he retired, he picked up a camera to document a cross-country trip, and in his own words “…The rest, as you say, is history.”

Larry enjoys photography because it gets him out of doors, something that has kept him in great shape, and keeps him connected to the natural world’s cycles and seasons. He has also connected his photography with his writing, publishing books full of his work along with the work of his friends and colleagues.

I like how photography so easily interfaces with natural world. I enjoy working outside and incorporating nature into my art. As an artistic genre, land art is very connected to the outdoors, even when confined to gallery spaces. Photography is important in the land art process, both in its documentation, and its availability to other people.

The only thing Larry says he doesn’t like about being a photographer is the art’s “Restrictive nature; not being able to get out when I want to sometimes.” Nature and wildlife photography, and by extension, land art and its documentation, are often dependent on fair weather. Many artists in the areas persist right through miserable and harsh conditions, sometimes even embracing them for their unique beauty.

I’m not really interested in photography as a solo or specific career, but I feel it is suitable for me because of its flexibility in subject matter, and its application to many different interests and forms in art. Many artists come upon their chosen styles in a progression or a roundabout exploration of many different fields of art. Brian Usher, for example started as a ceramic artist before discovering glass sculpture. This is why I think the skill of photography would be particularly suitable; an artist trained in photography can more effectively compose images of their work for documentation or distribution purposes. In addition, photography is an elegant and communicative field of art intrinsically.

      

Part 2: Haiku

Boating together, 
But we want deeper water.
Watertight no more. 

Part 1: Poem "Deep Blue"

You start at the surface, 
Of course, 
Clear blue.

But you use it only to begin.
If you see pearls in the depths, 
You work your way deeper.
Boring holes in a water-tight boat,
Enough holes until it begins to sink.

Then, you're under water, 
Swimming in deep pools of thought and experience. 
Occasionally you surface for air, 
Depth is a choice, a struggle at first. 

You begin each time in the shallows, 
Pushing deeper, 
Enticed by the companionship
And intimacy you seek. 

Nearly the end of vacation

I need to sleep, my 

Mind says four when the time is 

Actually past twelve. 

Time

Hey little brother

Long years, cotton candy clouds 

Drifting across sky.