TO PAUSE OR NOT TO PAUSE?

I tell everyone I’ve been working on the Paducah Portfolio for a year. My wife tells them it’s been a lifetime.  We are both right.  The Paducah Portfolio is a natural extension of the work I was creating in the late 1970s and 1980s, illustrating the urban environment with watercolors, pen & ink, and markers.  Back then it was Wilmington Delaware and Philadelphia.  One year ago I devoted myself to the Paducah project.

Now it is all over but the shouting.  The artwork is hanging on the gallery walls, the book is back from the printer (and looking good!), the studio is being cleaned up, and the opening reception is 4 days away. 

There is only one problem.  This would be the perfect time for me to stop, take several deep breaths, and spend the next several weeks “recovering”, enjoying the respite.  But I’m finding that a difficult thing to do.  My mind wants to race ahead, building on my experiences of the past year, contemplating the next project on the horizon.  On one hand this bothers me; I feel this is the perfect time to take a break and let myself wander about for a few weeks. Who know what unexpected inspiration may penetrate my impatience.

On the other hand, at my age I am grateful tor the enthusiasm and impatience for my work.  It assures me that there is still so much for me to do, and perhaps more importantly, I am pushing at the boundaries of my work and entering new waters.

In an effort to fill this gap I’ve been reviewing old files and came across something I put together several years ago, a collection of poems and prose from some very old journals that I paired with recent art.  

A JOURNEY

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I AM

I am a healer – I am a father – I am a friend

I am a husband – I am a lover

These things I am

I am thirsty, and drink from the deep well of my soul

I am hungry, and reach for  fruit along the way

I am cold, and seek warmth from the fire within my heart

I am lonely, and find my friends among the books

Am I an artist?

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