Strange Bedfellows – Foreword to the 2nd Edition

strange-bedfellows-cover-klIt’s now been over 20 years, since I had this dream in the upstairs loft of a pink house built not so far from my ancestral home. The story at first alarmed me with its scope and detail – who has dreams that are that vivid, that cohesive?

Then it intrigued me.

Then it annoyed me, as I tried to put it down on paper, only to find the pictures defying the use of words.

It took me years to finally get the story told. And all the while, it taught me many valuable lessons.

At first glance, this story might seem like a finger-wagging eco-warrior rant about the excesses of our toxic modern lives… our lust for luxury, our craving for comfort, and all the harm it does to Planet Earth. Indeed, when I awoke from this dream, all those years ago, that’s exactly what I thought it was: A wake-up call to alert us to Change Our Ways Before It’s Too Late… before our last chance to save the earth – and the human race – is gone forever.

And you wouldn’t be wrong to think that’s so. In a way, on the surface, it is very much about exactly that. We say we want to help the earth, but we make poor choices. We say we’re committed to change, but we set unrealistic and unwise priorities, and abandon them when we realize we can’t do it easily. We do things without thinking, and the world around us pays the price for our oblivion.

And yet, there’s something more to this story – something more enduring, something more global. It’s not just about a couple of spoiled, upwardly-mobile professionals who will stop at nothing to satiate their desires for success and luxury. It’s about much more than that. As you read the story in the coming pages, think beyond what’s on the surface. Look deeper into the behaviors and the choices that Paul and Christina make… and if you dare, look for signs of yourself in their shoes, making the same sorts of choices, for the same sorts of reasons, with the resulting consequences.

Your choices – our choices – needn’t only be about upward mobility, status, and prestige, to get us in trouble. They can be as seemingly innocuous as the decision to order takeout, instead of warming up leftovers. And abandoning our commitment to lasting change can be as casual as dismissing a set of New Year’s resolutions, because in February they’re just not as realistic (or fun) as they seemed back in December.

None of our choices are simple, these days. So many of them send ripples we cannot see into the world far beyond us. And it’s difficult to know how best to change course, and why. So, what better time to really think our choices through, really weigh the costs of committing to (or abandoning) them, than at this point in history?

Some say we’ve passed the turning point. I say we still have some turning left in us. But we have to be willing to turn – and stick with it.

Hulačová – Otherworldly sculpture — Global Art Junkie

Very cool! Check it out…

This artist from the Czech Republic has recently emerged on the international scene. The figures that comprise the cast of Anna Hulačová’s otherworldly sculptures are inspired by religious icons, mythological gods, and folkloric beasts.

via Hulačová – Otherworldly sculpture — Global Art Junkie

Annddd… the upload of artwork to my site commences.

012 - Oil pastel and watercolor on paper. Created 2008
012 – Oil pastel and watercolor on paper. Created 2008

I’m uploading images of 50-some images of artwork I’ve done over the years. It’s wild to look back on it all. And think about what’s yet to come. Who knows where this will lead…

It’s been a number of years since I regularly created any artwork. I did a bunch of really fantastic (well, I think so, anyway) BIG pieces. In Black. And Blue. On dropcloths that had been gessoed within an inch of their lives. It was fantastic. And fun. Heck, I may have to start doing that again, this summer. The weather’s getting warmer, after all… And my garage is calling to me…

In any case, looking at all the scans and pictures of my work makes me appreciate — truly value — all the advances made in imaging technologies. We get such better scans and photos now. And without paying an arm and a leg, which is nice.