Journal of Creative Arts and Minds, Vol. 1, No. 1 – June 2015

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Journal of Creative Arts and Minds Vol.1, No.1, June 2015 An Original Publication of Jumbo Arts International Red Springs, North Carolina, USA

ISBN: 978-0-9965432-0-0 / ISSN Pending Jumbo Arts International

3

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Journal of Creative Arts and Minds Published by

Margie Labadie, President John Antoine Labadie, Senior Editor Larry Arnold, Board Member

Electronic Links https://www.facebook.com/JournalofCreativeArtsandMinds http://www.jumboartsinternational.org

Jumbo Arts International Contact Information 217 South Edinborough St. Red Springs, North Carolina 28377-1233 01.910.734.3223 Editorial – Artists, John Antoine Labadie Editorial – Writers, Margie Labadie Design – The JCAM Team of Jumbo Arts International

The Journal of Creative Arts and Minds is a publication of Jumbo Arts International.

This electronic publication is free. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.

4

Journal of Creative Arts and Minds Vol.1, No.1, June 2015

CONTENTS About this Publication – pages 3 & 4 Contents – page 5 Message from the President of Jumbo Arts International – page 6 Message from the Editor of JCAM – page 7 Visual Artists – pages 9 through 180 Creative Writers – pages 183 through 214 Information for Potential Submitters – page 217

5

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Message from the President Years ago, we at Jumbo Arts International started a joyful journey to meet and interact with fine artists, musicians, writers, poets, dancers, actors, crafts people, and of course, audiences. In the spirit of teaching and learning, through creativity and conversation, we have opened our hearts and made new friends both face to face and through the wonders of digital technologies. From Budapest to Baltimore, Paris to St. Petersburg, Hyderabad to Halifax, Manaus to Malaga, Tel Aviv to Taipei, Reykjavik to Red Springs, we have learned that in the Arts, a striking visual image can tell a story without words; a spoken word can send a kiss without a touch; and a powerful song can touch a heart with just a melody. Through the Arts, an audience of thousands can see, and hear and speak as one, and cultures can join together in peace.

The Arts are everywhere. For years we have dreamed of finding a meaningful way to create an international confluence of readers and contributors who would join together with us on our journeys near and far. We have found it.

Welcome to the Journal of Creative Arts and Minds!

Margie Labadie President, Jumbo Arts International Red Springs, North Carolina, USA jumboartsinternational@gmail.com

6

Journal of Creative Arts and Minds Message from the Editor: Today, 30 June 2015, we publish Vol.1, No.1 of Jumbo Arts International’s “Journal of Creative Arts and Minds.” We will publish two editions a year. On 30 December we will publish Vol.1., No.2.

As with many other projects developed and offered to the public by Jumbo, the effort that has become JCAM evolved over time and is connected to our mission to support the arts, creativity, and improved mutual understanding of life ways and creative passions on an international level.

The JCAM is truly a 21st century publication. This journal was born of personal connectivity, using social media as the primary means of communication. The JCAM was grown though cloud storage, is published in an electronic form online, and is available as a free PDF (portable document file) download – all made possible through the site hosting the journal.

As readers will clearly see, the creatives whose works are included in Vol.1, No.1 represent a wide range of countries, cultures, media, ages and levels of experience.

And although all contributors were guided by our staff, each person’s submission is unique and was allowed to develop as organically as possible given the technical limitations of our online publishing format at this time. This way of working undergirds all efforts associated with Jumbo Arts International and will be embedded in all future issues of the JCAM. Enjoy!

John Antoine Labadie Senior Editor Journal of Creative Arts and Minds jcam.jal@gmail.com

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Jour nalofCr eat i veAr t sandMi nds

VI SUAL ARTI STS

June201 5/ Vol .1 , No.1

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Afanassy Pud The artist Afanassy Pud (Fainzilber Eugeny) was born in Leningrad in 1951, and lives there now. He completed Leningrad Polytechnic Institute and his PhD there. At this time he a mathematician. Since 1983 Afanassy has been the copartner of Partnership of Experimental Fine Art in Leningrad where he has participated in all exhibitions staged by the Partnership. Over this time works by Afanassy Pud frequently were deleted from exhibitions by representatives of government authorities and the KGB. Even so, Afanassy Pud has participanted in more than 40 exhibitions in St.Petersburg, Russia and many other cities. His art is held in private collections of Russia, USA, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Canada, Holland and also in Museum of Art of Nonconformism in St.Petersburg, Russia.

In his own words, Afanassy Pud describes his artistic path and practice: “I began to draw in 1970, before which I'd never really tried it. But after that I formally studied drawing and painting at a studio in St. Petersburg for one year, followed with learning all by myself in my spare time since then. Through all these years I made drawings with pen-and-ink, and paintings in oil.”

"As I am a scientist and programmer, it was not difficult for me to learn to draw in the digital environment, and so I began to make pictures on the computer in 1996, using the Corel and Photostyler software programs of the time. Today, my software of choice is Corel Photo-Paint.

“Corel Photo-Paint gives me many new possibilities ... sometimes too many possibilities. I use only a small part of these possibilities and that suffices. Sometimes I know what I want to draw; then, how to draw prompts the computer. Sometimes I know how I want to draw; then the picture is born by itself. But the main thing here is not the computer, it's the artist. The good artist will draw a good picture whether his tools are either his bare hands, or traditional paints and brush, or a cutting-edge computer “When I began to draw on the computer, the concept of style disappeared for me, even though I do have my style in the usual graphics. It seems to me that this is not so bad, for while I have series of works fulfilled on the computer in one style, the styles of different series are different.

"I do not make commercial works on the computer. Therefore everything that I do on the computer, I do with pleasure and thus I have no problems. I am simply a traditional artist, drawing on the computer. Perhaps unfortunately, I do not have time to be

10

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

engaged on the computer in something else, though I very much would like to learn more about these new creative media.”

“I need to work. I still should be working in science. But for 45 years I am also an artist. And in that, my belief is: "Digital Art - Our Future!"

“Wolfing”

“Theatre”

11

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“In the Wood” Afanassy Pud

“Mountain” Afanassy Pud

12

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Favorite Animal of Deputary” Afanassy Pud

“Getting from Deputaries Sausages, Oil and Other Minerals” Afanassy Pud

13

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Schoolboy Goes on the Deputary of Transport Chamber at Math Lesson” Afanassy Pud

“Landscape” Afanassy Pud

14

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Deputary Whistles Out to School Students Bach’s Fugue” Afanassy Pud

“Deputary in Rotation” Afanassy Pud

15

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Avinash Chandra Little Avinash Chandra Little has a B.F.A. in Applied Arts & M.F.A in Photography from College of Arts & Craft, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Little has as been regular exhibitor for over 20 years. Invited as jury member in various All India & International Photography and Arts competitions. Has been member expert, selection committee by government organizations in India. He has more than 300 works exhibited in over 70 International, National & All India Photography Exhibitions, and has won over 30 Awards in group show held internationally.

JCAM: Tell us about yourself.

ACL: “Professionally I am known ‘Avinash Little’ or most people just call me ‘Little’. I was born and brought up in Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh, India. This city is known as city of Nawabs, it’s a beautiful historical city which has been testimony of many battles of freedom including the mutiny of 1857. This city inspires me very much even today as I began my journey of creativity from here when I joined Famous ‘College of Arts & Crafts Lucknow’ in 1983 as student of Applied Arts. My friends, seniors in art field, as well as my family has always been supportive of my creative adventures. Their support and presence makes a big difference in my life as they are the ones who encouraged and motivated me to start my creative journey again which had come to almost a halt many years back in a low emotional phase of life.”

JCAM: Tell us about how your art has developed over time.

ACL: “My personal interest in arts began in my childhood. I believe every child has an artist hidden in himself because that is the time of age when you are full of curiosity to unearth every jumble and play with your own creativity which gets tracked in later years of childhood to teen age, gets polished in manhood from teen hood, gets refined in mature hood from manhood. This process of refinement is never ending till a creative person lives. My father himself, being an able artist, did not want me to become an artist; initially he wanted me to go in science field but he had to forgo his will before my stubbornness to go into art field. Once I started photography training my eyes to look different perspective. Landscapes and architectural photography was my main interest and I closely followed “Ansel Adams” the great landscape photographer.

I was influenced so much by his style that it still reflects in my landscape photography.

The biggest compliment came to me after three four years when I started participating in professional exhibitions of photography after finishing my 5 yrs graduation course in Arts (BFA), late “Benu Sen” world famous landscapist was in jury in one of the exhibition. He said “Your work is like Ansel Adams!” I couldn’t believe that such a big compliment would come from Benu Sen as he used to speak very little and was a very reserved kind of person and very critical evaluator.”

16

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“I also had great passion for abstracts which I developed and made my forte in later stage of learning. Learning is a process which never ends I believe. I always wanted to create a distinct style which could carry and become my signature style of work, so I started working with a different approach on Nature/Flower abstracts and started creating wash painting like works through photography without doing any manipulation on computer as I wanted these paintings or works to reflect my creative thoughts which generated at the time of shooting not an after process or thought where click randomly and sit to take out and make creations. This style of my work brought me many National and International recognitions. Above all it brought me great sense of personal satisfaction because it established me successfully in creative field marking my own style.”

“Over the times my works has changed into a distinct style and now I find it very easy to see things within no time with naked eyes and when I look through my camera I easily float into creative dream world to make works of art. Through my style I am trying to communicate people that camera is not meant for record or event photography but it can be used as a good medium of creative arts, take camera as a painter has brush in his hands and play with it. In abstract photography process I am mainly working on two themes one is purely landscape like creations and the other is thematic work as ‘Shakti’ series in which I am working on seeing and bringing out female body part (Female vulva). In Hindu mythology female is considered ‘Shakti’ (Power) and that is the centre point or source of ‘Energy’ by Hindu mythology.

I believe it’s true it is not a sex object but a source of real energy universe revolve around a new life takes birth. This form or shape can be seen and found everywhere like in seeds, anthers etc. I have given some of works of this series titled ‘Shakti’ and I am very proud of the works published here ‘Shakti – energy source) – where one feels the powerful heating energy yet calm and tranquil that is the charisma of this source.”

JCAM: Tell us about your art-making process.

ACL: “My camera is my brush and its focal plane (sensor in digital cameras and film plane in analogue cameras where image is recorded or exposed) is my canvas. I keep looking around at otherwise ordinary things like flowers, leafs, objects, patterns etc. I create a rough image in my mind of what could be taken from those inspirational moments and then carefully frame my image in viewfinder composing playing around with light, shade, colour, forms. I usually don’t do post processing cropping to make the compositions. I call my works digital paintings. When opening my images on computer I work on their tones, colour values, forms depths. I do some tweaking, enhancing, balancing without adding any foreign element into my images unless I am working on surrealistic creation. Camera and computer are my tools of creations I use.

In future I would like to use my digital creative works using acrylic painting medium.”

JCAM: Tell us about your life as an artist.

ACL: “I sold my first work in 1991 they were purely pictorial landscapes for calendars.

Selling art works in India is not very easy, yet some of my works are in permanent

17

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

collection of the Uttar Pradesh State Lalit Kala Akademi, Lucknow and the National Lalit kala Akademi, New Delhi, India, at the International Federation of Photographic Art, France, and a portfolio of 20 works at Image Colleague Society in the USA.” JCAM: How do you see your future as an artist?

ACL: “My goal for the future is to leave a mark in digital paintings or in the style of my own I am working upon. This style of work is hugely appreciated more in other countries than in India and I want to make a place on the global horizon with my creative approach. I have been working on creative abstracts for the past many years and want to carry that on at the world level.”

JCAM: Can you tell us about your greatest Inspiration?

ACL: Certainly it is my father, the late P.C. Little – the great Philosopher Artist. He was my first inspiration since being his son I had the opportunity to see him working closely. I still remember copying his works in his absence. My other two inspirations are Salvador Dali for his surrealistic works and Picasso for his Cubism. These artists in particular have always inspired me and I wish I could own at least one work of each of these artists.”

JCAM: Can you tell us your views on creativity?

ACL: What creativity is a big question ... what is creative to me may not be creative to others. The perception differs from person to person. My idea of creativity is to see the things others can’t see and make them visible to the common man. I remember one such incident: I was taking pictures lying on the ground in the morning at a park, there were morning walkers passing by one of the passerby stood behind me and when I was done with my shooting he politely asked me, “Sir what were you clicking at the ground I don’t see anything beautiful here accept fallen leaf?” I told him that I was shooting the big palm leaf fallen on the ground with the angular morning light passing through it’s folded forms creating colourful glow which looks like landscape and showed him it in my camera. He was stunned to see it as he still couldn’t believe it is the same thing. So that is creativity to make ordinary things look artistic and make it visible to common person. My advice to all the students of creative arts is this: train your eyes to look beyond the horizon. Initially there will be many failures but repeated efforts will bear fruits. Don’t be slave of tools and techniques, but make them your slaves. Try to copy the masters not become like them you can’t be them they were only one Dali, Picasso, Usuf Carsh, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston. If you try to copy them and achieve results near like them that means you have trained your hands on tools and your eyes to see things, now you are ready to create and establish your own style through which you can be identified, so students don’t be copy cat only – be yourself.”

18

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Loving Pair” Avinash Chandra Little

“After the Union” Avinash Chandra Little

19

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Power Triangle” Avinash Chandra Little

“Power Union” Avinash Chandra Little

20

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Little Volcano 1” Avinash Chandra Little

“Little Volcano 2” Avinash Chandra Little

21

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Little Volcano 3” Avinash Chandra Little

“Little Volcano 4” Avinash Chandra Little

22

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Rising Heat 12” Avinash Chandra Little

“Seduction 1” Avinash Chandra Little

23

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Little Shakti 2” Avinash Chandra Little

“Little Shakti 3” Avinash Chandra Little

24

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Red Dunes 9” Avinash Chandra Little

“Sun Rise at Red Desert 10” Avinash Chandra Little

25

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Bernard Dumaine JCAM: Tell us about yourself.

BD: My professional name is the same than the one I was born with, except for my Deviant Art account where I am registered as Bernardumaine.

I was born in AngoulĂŞme, a small and beautiful town located in the southwest of France; I still love to paint or draw landscapes inspired by streets of this place.

"Tic-Tac" by Bernard Dumaine/ Oil on canvas / 1979 My parents have supported me since a very young age, then my wife Catherine helped me a lot to continue making art. The internet connections I got later on. Online I shared

26

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

"Les liaisons viscĂŠrales" E.C. by Bernard Dumaine with Katerine Aubry (lower half) Oil on canvas (2013) my works and found were supportive as well for I received lots of enthusiastic comments on sites such as Renderosity and also Deviantart which fueled me toward producing new works.These virtual encounters led me up to collaborations done under the method of the Exquisite corpse in which each collaborator adds a sequence, being allowed to see only the end of what the previous person contributed.

JCAM: What can you tell us about your history of art making?

BD: My very first drawings, at about the age of 3, were of steam locomotives (very stylised as far as I can remember). I was living nearby the Paris -Bordeaux railway line and I was fascinated by these machines. Later on, I had classes, one afternoon a week, at the local Fine Art School where I had to draw or paint still-lifes or plaster copies of ancient sculptures. At the age of 19, I worked for a year in a printing house, but this job became quite boring and repetitive and I felt into depression; Art seemed to me the best way to breathe anew and this motived me to join The Fine Art School in order to

27

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

prepare for a National Diploma in sculpture which was the sole diploma the school could provide to students.”

JCAM: What can you tell us about your artistic practice?

BD: Why do I make art now? I can't reply directly to this question, but I know I am feeling really bad when I cannot draw or paint, being stuck or uninspired ....

My art has evolved from "classical" – still lifes, portraits, landscapes – which was important in order to get technical skills, to Surrealism, related to inner visions and imagination pictures.

In making art I have never tried to have something "pretty-pretty" in my creations no matter what the subject was. For example, I have portrayed ordinary people, or landscapes where no one could see of anything of interest. On another hand, I love the inspirational freedom that Surrealism offers and I wish I could stimulate the viewer's imagination with my creations. I am very proud of my series "Humble" and I share this drawing here.

"Humble 9" Pencils on Canson card

by Bernard Dumaine 40 x 50 cm / 2010

28

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

This work "Humble 9" is a pencil drawing of a piece of clay which I created very quickly and randomly, sort of automatic-sculpture. I choose the word humble to title this series cause it is the same word with same meaning both in English and French.

I like the paradox between the rather abstract appearance of my model and its photorealistic rendering, as well as the opposite between the fastness to create the "sculpture" – a few minutes – and the full month time spent on the drawing itself. My aim was to share a very humble thing drawn with high technical skills to make viewers know that beauty can be found in very modest things.

This series is close to the ideas developed by "l'Arte Povera" an Italian artistic movement, which guides towards the revelation of the mystery of existence in the most banal, the most insignificant, the most usuals objects.

JCAM: Are there any specific art-making techniques, media or activities you would like to discuss?

BD: My favourite artist tool still remains the pencil because of its simplicity, a drawing can be made all the time – everywhere.

It's difficult to tell how and when a work is finished, there are no rules there, just a question of feeling. I am currently working on a collaboration. With this collaboration I should achieve an exquisite corpse in oils with an artist from the United States.

I enjoyed – quite a lot actually– making some experiments in video some years ago. Unfortunately, none of the software I was using is currently available so I stopped this path.

Here is one of those works, “The Green Frame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVlGGDjnylo&list=PLC63A6E20004A6A73 I sold my first artwork during my very first exhibition back in 1977. Unfortunately, I have no photograph of this Surrealist drawing. Since that time I have never made a living with my art. I sell works in a very random way and I have never been supported by a gallery, so I have been working at various studios making backgrounds for cartoons for TV. JCAM: What about your future in the arts?

BD: I have no special goals in the future, just carrying on as an artist seems enough of a goal. Of course, I wish I could sell some works at upcoming group exhibitions! I enjoy being in exhibitions. I will participate in May 2015 in the "HR Giger tribute" in Teramo, Italy, and later in an exhibition dedicated to the Exquisite Corpse in Richmond, Virginia USA, with 3 drawings. Additionally, I am awaiting for the completion of some exquisite corpses collaborations which were shipped to The Netherlands, Canada and the United States.

JCAM: What can you tell us about the inspiration for your art works?

29

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

BD:“My inspiration comes differently according to the style I work with. With the style of photorealism, I like to paint ordinary people or places. For example.

“Pictures at an Exhibition” / Oil on canvas by Bernard Dumaine/ 2014

30

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Sans titre W” Pencils on Canson by Bernard Dumaine / 40 x 50 cm / 1988 My Surrealist inspiration comes from my imagination only. My Surrealist works are sort of experiments combined with a lot of chance; They are like discoveries, for I don't know how my drawing will evolve till I am finished.

I would like to quote a French painter, Gérard Titus-Carmel, as one of my favourite living artist. His process, in the 80's, was to create his own models in sculpture, wooden frames over which were tied up some pieces of sheets, then drawn with a photorealistic rendering. He was a real inspiration for me. I wish I could own “The garden of earthly delights” by Hieronymous Bosch, an extraordinary painting, so beautifully done and inventive. A magnificent work!

JCAM: Can you share your thoughts about creativity?

BD: Well, I guess thinking, and then working, are the keys to creativity. Whatsoever I like to browse pictures both in books and on the Internet. I find this helpful or my exquisite corpse works. My collaborative work “The Harbingers” is an example.”

31

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“The Harbingers” Exquisite corpse by Bernard Dumaine with Karena A. Karras/ A work originally executed in pencils on paper / 2010 Creativity has a lot to do with – work. Dorothea Tanning said ‘... inspiration comes in painting.’ This is the best advice I ever had to create!

32

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Burritt E. Benson III JCAM: Where were you born and does that place still influence you?

BEB: I was born and raised in Lumberton, North Carolina. After college at the University of North Carolina Wilmington I moved back to Lumberton and have been here in Robeson County ever since. Lumberton, the whole of southeastern North Carolina actually, has been a huge influence. Here I have lots of friends and family, there’s always something happening, I have to fight somedays for my studio time.

JCAM: Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making, and how do they make a difference in your life?

BEB: I owe my dad everything for giving me his blessing to pursue being a full time artist way back in 2004 and for his continued support & encouragement ever since. I’m very fortunate my entire family is supportive and believes in what I’m doing. I’ve made several great friends all along the way who’ve really helped me and made a huge difference in my life. John Antoine Labadie, Margie Labadie, Tarelton Blackwell, and John Luster are at the very top of this list. They’ve all been unwavering in their support and have always answered my questions and offered great advice in return. They’re fellow artists and they understand exactly where I’m at and what I’m trying to accomplish, even when I don’t. Our close friendships have meant everything to me, I’d not be painting right now if not for them.

JCAM: When and how did you start making art?

BEB: I’ve asked my family about that. My mom says I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil. She also says I was a “good boy” because I would keep myself entertained and occupied by drawing all the time.

JCAM: Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do?

BEB: Nope, it’s just always been a given, my circumstances always dictated my path.

Think I made up for it by doodling – drawing spontaneously – every opportunity I got.

JCAM: Why do you make art now?

BEB: To attain my dream of supporting my family via my art. I really love painting and drawing and feel it’s what I was born to do. If I didn’t paint and draw, I’d probably explode.

33

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

JCAM: How has your work changed or developed over time?

BEB: It’s always changing for the better. I’m very open to spontaneity in my artistic process, which has me finding new things constantly. My confidence in what I’m doing and painting has grown tremendously. Figuring out my voice frustrates and excites me, and keeps me motivated now more than ever.

JCAM: What are you trying to communicate with your art?

BEB: Something that pulls the viewer closer and just excites their imagination rewardingly. Interpretations usually always vary, and I’m fine with that.

JCAM: Of the artworks published in this issue of JCAM is there one of you are which most proud? If so, why?

BEB: Not really, I love all of them. Each one is special to me because I see what I was experimenting with at the time. I’m like, “Oh yeah that was a lot of fun!”

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have?

BEB: I pretty much keep my studio up to par where I can walk in and immediately begin painting. When beginning to work I usually select an iTunes radio channel from my playlist, and make sure I have a glass of water nearby, and get right to work on whatever canvases are in the studio at that time. Time is of the essence. I have to work when I can work.

JCAM: What element of art making do you enjoy the most and why?

BEB: That would definitely be attacking a blank canvas and just letting my imagination run freely as I’m painting on it. That excites me the most. No matter what size the canvas is I am excited about making that space my own ... nothing in art making is more interesting than that to me.

JCAM: What is your most important artist tool(s) and why?

BEB: Artists’ tools have change from what they once were. Even so, I’d say my brushes are number one, and close behind is Adobe Photoshop. I take good care of my brushes now too. Photoshop is great for testing colors on a painting, and it saves a lot of time.

JCAM: How do you know when a work is finished?

BEB: Sometimes I do not know if a work is finished. For that reason I paint over many canvases. But sometimes it’s different. Why? I know a work is finished when I don’t want to do anything else to it. That’s a great feeling too!

JCAM: What are the art making tools you use now?

34

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

BEB: If we are talking about physical painting ... not working on the computer, most often I paint on canvas with acrylic paints. I’d say my brushes are my main tool. Acrylic paints let me move quickly. The are amazing in that way. With digital tools Photoshop is great for testing what a color would look like or whatever changes you would like to make to a painting before actually making them.

JCAM: What new creative medium would you love to pursue?

BEB: I would like to pursue printmaking at some point. Making “editions” of my work appeals to me. I’ve seen the way many artists take their ideas to printmaking studios and move into printmaking with the agreed upon assistance of “master printmakers” who assist them in making professional quality editions of their work.

JCAM: What's the first artwork you ever sold?

BEB: Probably the fake i.d.’s I made back in high school. But, seriously, I’ve sold a number of works that were commercial and others that were “fine art” – it feels good to have others invest in your work.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both work-wise and life?

BEB: My goals are the same for both, keep painting until I can’t paint no more. More specifically, I want to learn new media and explore new (to me) ways of making work. I thin that an artist needs to expand his/her way(s) of work every day ... not once in a while; but all the time.

JCAM: What are you working on at the moment?

BEB: I’ve got about 20 different paintings going at the moment. Some are very detailed and some of them are very loose and abstract. At the moment I’m painting on the spontaneous abstract ones.

JCAM: What or who inspires you?

BEB: I draw inspiration from my life, family, friends and God. I have a simple rule really, I try very hard not to paint anything that I would be ashamed to show my mom or God. JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work?

BEB: My imagination is always going full speed ahead. I’d say a lot of my ideas come from my spontaneous doodles where I draw upon my life experiences and whatever is happening at the moment. If I have a drawing pad and a sharpie marker I’m happy.

JCAM: What does “being creative” mean to you?

BEB: Creating spontaneous imaginative paintings that bring me joy while painting them.

35

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

JCAM: What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

BEB: Not sure who told me this, but it was something like this: use the biggest brush you possibly can while painting and always give it your very best, no exceptions or excuses.

Burritt E. Benson III in his studio in Lumberton, North Carolina, USA.

36

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Heroes Wanted” Burritt E. Benson III

“The Potter’s Dream” Burritt E. Benson III

37

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Modern Medusa” Burritt E. Benson III

“Dragonslayer For Hire” Burritt E. Benson III

38

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Moonlight Critters” Burritt E. Benson III

39

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“King Me” Burritt E. Benson III

“One” Burritt E. Benson III

40

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Gina Gibson JCAM: Tell us about yourself GG: My name is Gina Gibson. I was born and raised in North Carolina. I grew up enjoying quick trips to the beach and afternoons to movies and malls. I moved to South Dakota about six years ago to teach at a university in a small, beautiful town in the Black Hills. The transition was startling. There were no malls to frequent or an ocean near by. But I have found a place in the hills. I have learned to love hiking, biking and snowshoeing. The hills have invaded my artwork and writing. I have also traveled abroad to places in Europe and Asia. In particular, Japan has found a way into my artwork as well. Elements such as water, hills, valleys, and architecture are a part of my work.

JCAM: When and how did you start making art?

GG: I don’t remember a time where I didn’t feel the impulse to make things. Making and seeing things connects me to not only my inner-self in a deeper way but also makes me feel connected to the outside world. I feel more connected to other people, nature, and myself.

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have?

GG: I enjoy the process of taking photographs and drawings and then manipulating them with digital tools such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. I never really feel like a work is “finished.” It’s just finished for now. At some point a piece is in a place where it just feels right. It’s unspoken. Maybe there is a rhythm or the colors work in a way that is new and enjoyable for me. I try to stop whenever I think I want to keep looking at the piece. If it causes me to pause, I stop.

JCAM: Do you make a living from your art?

GG: I have not had to make a living from my artwork. I remember selling a piece of artwork when I was in High School and being very proud.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both work-wise and life?

GG: I just want to keep learning to live in balance. I want to find time to work, play, and to look at the world with open eyes.

JCAM: Can you explain what inspired a piece or idea particular work to be published with this interview:?

41

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

GG: Some of the pieces submitted to this journal were inspired by a trip to Japan. The imagery was derived from my travels there.

Other pieces were inspired by the Black Hills of South Dakota where I live. I am inspired by architecture and nature. Sometimes I will think a door or the corner of a roof is beautiful and worthy of a longer look. I try to take the time to ponder and really see things rather than just look at them casually. It’s hard to slow down but slowing down helps me as an artist and as a person.

JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

GG: Allow yourself to explore those things that interest you (within reason). If you find something grabs your attention, chase it. Maybe you always wanted to try pottery, try it.

Maybe you want to paint nothing but abstract triangles for a while, paint it. Why not?

Don’t be afraid that it is cliché or overdone. Have you done it? And there is no need to think the thing you are working on right now has to be a masterpiece. It can be a part of your journey as a person, It can be something you made that connected you in some way. Just take pleasure in making.

Gina Gibson: Artist Statement My recent body of work consists of digitally manipulated photographs. My current series, Into the Hills is based on images captured in and around the Black Hills of South Dakota. I moved to South Dakota from North Carolina in 2008. The move was startling for me visually. I went from familiar swamps and beaches to foreign rock formations and waves of grasslands. This series focuses on my hikes, bike rides and snowshoe outings. I keep a camera and sketchbook on me. And these images become a source of inspiration that I use as an artist. Aesthetically I am interested in abstraction, repetition, pattern and color. Making this work allows me to explore these elements and more.

42

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Digital Media Gina Gibson

“Untitled” Digital Media Gina Gibson

43

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Digital Media Gina Gibson

44

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Into the Hills: Bear Butte” Digital Media Gina Gibson

“Into the Hills: Theon Stone” Digital Media Gina Gibson

45

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Into the Hills: Jorgensen” Digital Media Gina Gibson

“Into the Hills: Roughlock Falls” Digital Media Gina Gibson

46

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Into the Hills: Iron Creek” Digital Media Gina Gibson

47

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Gopakumar R.P. JCAM: Tell us about yourself.

GRP: I was born in Oachira, a small beautiful village in the southern state of Kerala in India. My birth place still influences, both directly and indirectly, my works of art.

I was born in an average agricultural family in that area. The financial delicacy of the average Indian family affected my family living also. Our main source of Income was the earnings we get from farming and related items. The natural calamities and socials aspects affected the growth of the field and led to the decay of our financial development.

Though it is the part of the life, we are very much delighted to see and part take in the festivals and the temple related art and the rituals and ceremonies of that period. Of course the natural beauty and the innocence of my village and villagers gave me enthusiasm to look further beyond my upbringings.

In the beginning of 1980’s two of my brother went to Arabian Gulf countries for seeking bread and butter, this has changed the financial background of my family. The flow of the Gulf money helped to grow financially and upgrade the living situation of many average Indian nationals – especially for a Keralite of that period.

In the later 90s, for a betterment of life, I also moved to the Gulf country, Bahrain following the same path of my elder brothers. Bahrain is usually called the Land of Pearls, a beautiful country with lots of greenish scenes and a country of religious harmony. Calligraphy of this land, faded colors, smell of the carpets and the sculpture of this land influenced me a lot.

I am working in the creative department of an IT firm. My experience in this field for the last eighteen years must have been influenced me to turn to a digital artist. I usually use the digital medium.

I consider my artwork as an ideology rather than a medium. To make it fulfill the ideology, I may sometimes use traditional media, or sometimes digital or video as the medium. For example, the peasants of India and their life become the subject of my work, I used their very common dress item “Lungi” to draw them and their feelings in dark colour. This work of art I hanged in Coir same like we used to hang our dress to dry. I like always this type of experimental work of art. These works were exhibited in the Kochi Muziris Biennale (Collateral Project).

I stay in Bahrain with my family, which consist of my wife and two kids, I like to spend time them. After my Diploma in art (1990-1995 Five Year NDFA (Painting) from The Raja

48

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts, Mavelikara, Kerala, India.), Internet helped me a lot to study more, especially Google was like a companion. Later the training (Contemporary Art, Catalysts: Artists Creating with Sound, Video, and Time) received from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA. Teh Internet simply gave me a boost in my art education and the working style. I got many friends through Internet and I value the friendship of all, Dr. John Antoine Labadie’s friendship I value most. His deep knowledge in digital art influenced me a lot.

JCAM: Can you talk to us about how you make art and what you are trying to communicate with your art?

GRP: I get many ideas from my surroundings. When I get an idea, I look around and see the possibility to make it a reality and most of the time I believe I succeeded in the process. First I mark up the idea in my notebook and later it forms to a work of art.

Sometimes news, a scene, or anything around me may influence a work of art. But at the same time, I confess that all the ideas came in my mind did not come in to reality.

For example, when I was undergoing training in MoMA, I got an idea that 24 Hours-Real time - 2012, I have to keep HD 3D live camera in many places in the world and to display in circle stand in a world famous museum. Through this idea, the famous cities, wild life, monuments, Space, Underwater, these all could have been presented in one place. But this is not come in to reality. When we see all together in one place, we will get more clear idea about what we are where we stand. But still this project stands middle in my mind as a Dream project. To complete this project, I need sponsors like Discovery channel.

I believe the work of art should change the existing visual, intellectual and aesthetic sense and experiment with finding new visual phenomena.

The lion’s share of my work of art are social questioning, many of these works are done in conceptual style. My work of art medium is Traditional, digital and video. Among these, , “The Lungi” Series of work of art is the most important one. The linguistic River made in the Digital medium (Net Art), On your own 2014 & Must not be beautiful-2014, which made in the video loop GIF Art are other important works. Among these “The Lungi” exhibited in Kochi muziris Biennale (Collateral Project) and On your own 2014 The Saatchi Gallery, London, UK, The Motion Photography Prize Exhibition, and Must not be beautiful-2014 exhibited in Tate Britain, UK - Source Spotlight Display – Texture & Collage Exhibition. This was one of the major achievements.

When I get a concept, I start the work, which may continue until it completes, other than the finishing work will be competed maximum in one stretch. I like line color and texture very much. Why I liked very much because it can be expressed spontaneously. I choose the medium depends upon the subject.

JCAM: What is your vision for your future as an artist?

49

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

GRP: To become a full time artist To express the idea coming in mind to the world as it is. I want to create experimental works in my own studio and share these internationally.

Gopakumar R.P.

50

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Mind Scape 1” Gopakumar R.P.

“Must Not Be Beautiful” Gopakumar R.P.

51

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Exhibition Catalogue Essay October 2014 The artist Gopakumar was born in a small village of Kerala, India where the term “Lungi” is very familiar. As all living in South Asia are already aware, and phrased in the words of Gopakumar himself: “The Lungi is the most popular casual dress of the peasants and common people of the developing world or the ‘underdeveloped’ world.” The artist has taken a central aspect of the everyday visual appearance of many persons living in India as a metaphor for his art works for this exhibition.

In this way “The Lungi” is takes on new meaning where Gopakumar and all others who wear this traditional garment are seen as fellow voyagers in their daily comforts and discomforts. For the artist it does not matter whether Lungi wearing compatriots are in agricultural fields, in markets or even at home. In his artworks the artist uses this nearly ubiquitous garment as a powerful visual tool to acknowledge the lives, the work, the ideas, the sweat and the tears of tens of millions of people.

As Lungis can be worn by men and/or women Gopakumar is addressing all people, not only those in South Asia, but people anywhere in the world where life is based on traditional values and is, quite often, made very difficult due to economic oppression and the exploitation of natural and labor resources by multinational corporations and complicit governments. It is clear that Gopakumar has been strongly influenced by conceptual art, particularly the appropriation of everyday objects as seen in the work of

52

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Marcel Duchamp, Tracey Emin and Joseph Kosuth.

In producing the works in this exhibition Gopakumar has used Lungi fabric and the simple media of India ink to create the physical works which viewer will encounter in Kerala. In doing so he has cleverly connected his interest in internationally and transculturally significant ideas and conceptual precedents with the actual garments and products that are a part of traditional life in India. In this the artist has provided us with a powerful means to understand that (through his art) he is speaking to all of us about our lives and how we connect with every other human being on the planet – even if we are perhaps not so aware of the nature of such connectivity.

Gopakumar is asking each viewer to see this work as something that may serve as an instrument to differentiate the soul and body, but this does not apply only to those who wear the Lungi, but to of all of humankind. From “The Lungi” each viewer will take aware his/her own ideas about how this exhibition speaks about politics, about corporate greed, about cultural traditional and, perhaps, about how each of us is responsible for understanding who we are and what it is we stand for both now and in the future.

This is a powerful exhibition wrapped in a metaphor built from the simplest kind of garment connecting us to some very complex considerations. I complete this brief essay by asking myself “Who am I?” and “How DO I relate to those in the world I do not know and may never meet?” and, perhaps most importantly, “What is my equivalent of the Lungi and how well do I understand it?”

Dr. John Antoine Labadie Fulbright Scholar & Artist Professor of Art Art Department University of North Carolina North Carolina USA

53

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Gopakumar R.P., Making “The Lungi”

54

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“The Lungi 1”

55

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“The Lungi 2”

“The Lungi 3”

56

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“The Lungi 4”

“The Lungi 5”

57

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“The Lungi 6”

“The Lungi 7”

58

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Henry Stindt M.F.A., Pratt Institute, 1967 - 1969 Painting & Graphics B.A. in Fine Arts, Penn State University, Design & Painting, 1962 -1966 Tutorial in Painting, The Slade School of Art, The University of London, London, England, 1966 Graduate Seminar in Computer Graphics, 8 S. H., Pratt Institute, summer 1984 Studio Photography, 3 S.H., School of Visual Arts, NYC, summer 1980 Starting in 1973, I was hired by East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina to teach in the School of Art’s Communication Arts program. Due to the nature of my job description, I began to immerse myself in the art and science of photography. From that point and until very recently, I have been identified as being a photographer. I went into the commercial photography business in Atlanta, Georgia, taught photography courses, and traveled the world making and exhibiting photographic images.

However about 1991, my life changed direction. I surrendered my Atlanta photo studio and returned to my Greenville studio, which I was sharing with the artist, Dee Morris. My studio partnership evolved into collaboration which created the work of Henry Delia. It was also around that time that I met a writer, Julie Fay, who had a house in the south of France; and in 1993 she and I married and gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Zoe Fay-Stindt.

These two events became the impetus for my resuming my heartfelt and liberating work as a Zoe was about three when she first came and sat on my lap, picked up a pencil, and proceeded to help me with my drawing. This was the point in the life of my artworks where I started seeking intrusions to send my creative inquiries ricocheting into a variety of new directions.

Because of that, I now approach working on a new piece without any predetermination of its direction or resolution. I select my subject, my composition, and my media without any design or preconception. I welcome visual situations that create a problematic arena for me to explore. The final product of this intuitive adventure continues to surprise and engage me.

Once I start working, it is not long before I lose myself to the process; the piece itself seems to lead me to the resolution of its form. For example I started my work “Three, Diverse Artifacts” by casually placing distinctly unrelated objects on a piece of reflective board and photographing them. I used only their physical relationship to each other and the reflective surface, to guide me. Once printed on Fine Art paper, I began to reinterpret the situation with whatever media seemed appropriate for that moment. It was as if I was sensing hidden forces as keys to releasing their forms; allowing them to emerge and come alive on the paper’s surface.

59

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Alameda Clown” Henry Stindt

“Alameda Princes” Henry Stindt

60

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Alameda Princesses” Henry Stindt

“El Dia Del Reyes Photographers 1” Henry Stindt

61

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe Steeds” Henry Stindt

“Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe Steeds” Henry Stindt

62

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Oaxaca Santa” Henry Stindt

“Titla” Henry Stindt

63

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“More Precious Objects 2” Henry Stindt Mixed Media

64

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Spin The Bottle - An Interactive Piece 3” Henry Stindt Mixed Media

65

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Urban Artifact Series - Found Object and Street Spilt Paint 4” Henry Stindt Mixed Media

66

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Three, Diverse Artifacts” Henry Stindt Mixed Media

67

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Jyotirmoy De JCAM: Tell us about yourself.

JD: Born and brought up in rural area at Kirnahar, near Santiniketan in Birbhum, India. I naturally got scope to have nature very close. I started exchanging emotion and making relationship with nature since childhood rather unconsciously.

“As I grew up in the midst of insects, birds and animals, trees and plants, rain and shine, falling of evening, moon rise, etc., these are obviously in my thought and consciousness, and nature gets reflected in my works. The student life in Viswabharati and the light and air of Baroda M.S. University have caused a radical change in my outlook. My childhood days of the bright landscape of bushy pondway, hair styling of women drying of cloths, stitching, falling out etc, made me intermingle with nature and its profound mystery. I have observed minutely some eternal aspects of men and women in nature and thence have learnt many meanings of the intricate moments of life. Here nature is my teacher for every moment. It is ever instructing me sometimes lovingly, some times making me suffer. Thus I ever want to enjoy studentship.

Side by side with the perennial relationship between men and women and its ups and downs, due to circumstances I got compelled to change my stances and this conflict gave rise to the elements of my works. The rustic life I saw from vicinity started to break down in contrast with the urban life. I had to get acquainted with the cults of city life and its dialogues.

These naturally and spontaneously got their space into my works. Automatically enough, my eyes got accustomed to feeling the great in the trifle and vice versa. The vitality of the youth led me to love and sex.

“This lent scope to discover a mysterious story of a queer world. In a word, I rediscovered myself.”

“I step forward to future following the means of keeping my creations simple in the professional world in parallelism with lending my works a prospective potentiality. I always make an endeavor to remain actively creative to make my works more potential, more soaring and more prospective wherefrom truth will be more prominent.”

“My recent works concern the Kantha stitch art which begins to gain a sea change in my creations. In my hand, this art undergoes not only thematic but also conceptual changes. The traditional kantha stitch art of rural Bengal appears to me to be a challenge and thus it is bedecked with a postmodern language. A radical change is attributed to the images contained. A bevy of women of the locality help me in stitching. I

68

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

also engage in painting and photography there and elsewhere. “On the eve of doing any painting or stitching, I give the proposed work a prolonged thought. I try to find the images that hover about of nature. I take photography of the thought images as also others. Then I select images for painting or stitching. I work with various media needle and thread, acrylic on canvas, oil-on-canvas water colour-onpaper etc.

When I make stitching I beforehand print some images to use then as references and from those references I often draw on paper with pencil. I trace on the surface on which this is to be done. Often I print same image in black and white and trace on that. I plan for the images in accordance with the colour of the surface - white, black, grey, yellow, red, golden yellow, brown, etc. Often same direct drawing with pencil is done on clothes.

An outline stitch (run-stitch) is drawn now and then. Various tones are inserted into the colours and for that purpose multi-coloured theads are used in a single needle. The drawing is broken into several parts of different colours for the sake of convenience. I use different symbolic digits for each part which only I and my helpers can understand. “The number of images increases and one image is done after another. I take six to eight months generally to complete a single whole. After the completion I do a light lined stitching on the surface commonly with the thread of the background’s colour. This here and there form a particular design or a telling motif. The stitches used are run stitch, dense stich, Jiri run, Chelley, abu for, cross stitch, chain stitch, double chain stitch, bokheya button stitch, hem stitch dull stitch, etc.

Before I start painting on acrylic on canvas, I give a light coating of mixed yellow and white colours on the canvas twice or thrice. Then I manually draw on canvas, imitating the photography. I put color after colour and finish a part. Then I think of other images and do these. At last I finish the detailing integrally. Thus I finish a canvas.

JCAM: Where do you live now and how does that place influence you?

JD: Now I live at Kirnahar. The landscape beauty of the place fascinates me.

JCAM: Do you have family, friends or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life?

JD: Yes, My parents and some fellow artists and poet friends inspire me much and support in my works. They support me in various ways, especially psychologically.

JCAM: When and how did you start making art?

JD: I started making art since my early childhood, though I did never think of taking it as a profession. In the locality, artisans would make traditional idols. I tried to imitate them and thus began my art making.

69

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

JCAM: Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do?

JD: My father now and then asked me to copy the paintings of others. I tried my best to get applause from him. I was more or less a failure in other works but got satisfied in the field of art. This decided that I had to be an artist.

JCAM: Why do you make art now?

JD: Art is undoubtedly a great feast to my mind and emotion. Then I have taken art as a profession that would satisfy earnings. So I make art now.

JCAM: How has your work changed or developed over time?

JD: The art education I received in Viswabharati and MS University, Baroda changed the conception of art in my life. Again, the works of the contemporary artists inspired me much.

JCAM: What are you trying to communicate with your art?

JD: I try to communicate through my art a dialogue between art and nature.

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have?

JD: To paint something I initially take photographs from nature and then translate one into painting, offering it an interpretation. I often use an image after reading a story.

JCAM: What element of art making do you enjoy the most and why?

JD: I enjoy the narrative element of art making most because the story is related to day to day occurrence in human life.

JCAM: What new creative medium would you love to pursue?

JD: I would love to pursue sculpture.

JCAM: What’s the first art work you ever sold?

JD: I sold the first art entitled “Nature in Tranquility” in 2006.

JCAM: Do you make a living from your art?

JD: Yes, I am able to earn my livelihood from art.

JCAM: What are you working on at the moment?

JD: At the moment, I am doing stitch-on-cloth, painting on canvas as also photography.

JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work?

JD: I find ideas from reading folktales, Panchatantra, Poems and Scrutinizing nature and even from the incidents and feelings of my own life.

70

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

JCAM: What does “being creative” mean to you?

JD: To me, “being creative means expressing myself and stretching out my imagination.

JCAM: What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

JD: The best advice I ever had about how to be more creative follows: “One is oneself’s best teacher.”

“Untitled” Jyotirmoy De Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth

71

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth 70” X 34” Jyotirmoy De

72

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth 72” X 34” Jyotirmoy De

73

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth Jyotirmoy De

74

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth 60” X 34” Jyotirmoy De

“Untitled” Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth 72” X 34” Jyotirmoy De

75

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Detail – Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth Jyotirmoy De

“Untitled Painting” Jyotirmoy De

76

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled Painting” Jyotirmoy De

“Untitled” Detail – Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth Jyotirmoy De

77

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Detail – Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth Jyotirmoy De

“Untitled” Detail – Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth Jyotirmoy De

78

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Original Kantha stitch art work on cloth 55” X 34” Jyotirmoy De

79

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Neeraj Patel Education: M.A. in Painting, Mohan Lal Sukhadiya University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India JCAM: Where were you born and does that place still influence you?

NP: I born at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India – and yes this place still influence to increase my work thought process too JCAM: where do you live now and how does that place influence you?

NP: I stay in Baroda, Gujarat now. Yes of course I would say definitely I I dealing with people who are historically situated and complex in their own views for the reason .i have my own unique perspective to see things as I wish this is first pint to start JCAM: When and how did you start making art?

NP: At age of 18 I liked to usually paint as interest in free time of my schooling, but when I joined fine art, I seriously started to think about it and day by day trying to study this subject deeply.

JCAM: Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating you absolutely had to do?

NP: At age of 22 when I was in my bachelor degree program. In my class our teacher used to talk about some artist lives and I became very interested in painting. I decided to pursue art because of I feel more freedom to show my potential through visual art than anything else.

JCAM: Why do you make art now?

NP: I love to paint. There are a few other reasons too. First of all, it connects me with the rest of humanity. In my art I reflect on to the ideas of many others and I wonder how to record fragments of my thoughts, feeling and memories. I use my art as a way to explain through thoughts to others. I share these subjects through my paintings and installations. I also very much enjoy the process of making art works. In my work I use the processes of making to sort out my ideas.

JCAM: How was your work changed or developed over time?

80

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

NP: In my art practice emotional energy and social status are always pushing and pulling my work in various directions. My work also depends my life surroundings where changes in my culture, people, and life style have had an impact on how I work and what I work on. Cultural movements change very quickly and this influences my art work over time. My day by day experiences allow me to grow and evolve my art as I age as well.

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have ?

NP: At this time I am creating texture with help of paper tape to create line sharp and different types of visual vibrations in my work. This way of working creates some type of illusion for viewer. I think this is a simple way to make more interesting visual effects in my paintings. I am also interested in pursuing a deeper understanding of the relations between the members of the community where I live. This too is part of my creative practice.

JCAM: What elements of art making do you enjoy the most and Why? NP: In my art works normally all elements are visible and nothing can be more simple or basic to define my subject. In practice, these elements are commonly seen in combination with each other. Hence, although color and value are very different elements but both exist in combination with each other in my art works. Here I enjoy both making of process in cloth and canvas too. In my works there is a careful thought involved in the arrangement and use of the elements of design. This is the way I create more strong rhythm and movement. My work often references patterns from cloth where I attempt to balance colors and patterns together in ways that please me.

JCAM: How do you know when work is finished?

NP: I do not feel that my works are ever finished. I do not feel a painting is complete very often so many times I do not sign my work until well after I stop the process of painting. Why? My approach to painting and other methods of working has changed in the past and it will surely change later many times too.

JCAM: What are the art making tools you use now?

NP: Mostly I paint in acrylic; which is water based paint. I prefer to work as quickly as I can. I paint on canvas most often. For installations I use a different type of cloth and some of raw material for direct work such as found objects JCAM: What new medium would you like to pursue?

NP: I would love to use more photography.

JCAM: What is the art work ever sold?

81

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

NP: I sold my first art work in 2012 at ASYAAF,Seoul ,South Korea.

JCAM: Do you make a living from your art?

NP: Yes, presently I work at free lance visual artist.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both for your work and life?

NP: Being a responsible visual artist means (to me) that I always try to share my original (new) ideas with viewers. This is what I want to do. I also want to share my work with a world wide. I want to gain a different perspective by traveling and working in many places around thew world. In my life art allows me to be more meditative and spiritual too. Maintaining such a balance will allow me to live a happy life too.

JCAM: What or who inspires you?

NP: I love to see abstract art most. But I like every type of art which is heart touching.

The artist Anish Kapoor inspires me.

JCAM: Do you have favorite living artist ?

NP: Yes, I have a favorite artist who is really very heart touching for me as teacher and he discusses a lot with me about my practice and to improve my life style also. This artist is Ved Prakash Gupta and he is my greatest teacher.

JCAM: What work(s) of art do you wish you owned and why?

NP: Abstract art. I love to do abstract art, because of I like to explain my thoughts in very minimalistic way and in forms of abstraction.

82

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled 1” Neeraj Patel

“Untitled 2” Neeraj Patel

83

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled 3” Neeraj Patel

84

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled 4” Neeraj Patel

“Untitled 5” Neeraj Patel

85

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled 6” Neeraj Patel

“Untitled 1” Neeraj Pate

86

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled 11” Neeraj Patel

87

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled 8” Neeraj Patel

“Untitled 12” Neeraj Patel

88

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Ramesh Anand (Ramesh Chandra Soni) JCAM: Tell us about yourself: RA: I was born in 1950 at Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India but I was there in Ayodhya for a very short time. My family moved to Madhya Pradesh in India. In my childhood I lived at Ujjain. Ujjain is the city of temples and most of the time I spent in Ujjain. After my marriage I shifted to Dewas, a small town, where I got a government job as draftsman. In that position used to draw maps of city. In those times I learnt the fine drawings and importance of lines. These things attracted me to drawing.

This small town of Ujjain gave my life stability. Before this time I was doing some art and illustrations for newspapers. From childhood I used to see movies, sign boards. Those things interested me very much. At that time promoting movies for Indian people the advertisers often used a hand cart and would paste their movie poster on it. They would hire one man pull cart at whole city. This is not done any more. I loved to watch that cart and see those movie posters. When I was at home I used to make the posters I saw and do hand calligraphy to imitate the words. This was the time when I was first taking interest in art.

I am inspired by Nature I used to make landscapes, temples, sunset and sunrise. In my whole life I supported by my Wife and indirectly she is an inspiration as well.

JCAM: Please tell us about your art making.

RA: As I’ve said, I did much different work at when I was younger than I do today. I did Figurative work, decoration work, illustrations, book cover design. These were part of my job as an artist then. To do this kind of work time passed and near 1990 I realized that I should go with abstraction, with simplicity, and with detail in drawings. Both these styles of work for me have the same subject: Nature. I choose to use both styles because I simply enjoy both. I enjoy working with colors in abstracts, and with lines in drawings. With my paintings I share my positivity, peace and happiness of life which I realized at the time of making. I gave 100% of mine to my each and every art work so I am proud on all art works. I do work not in quantity but I believe in quality. I make a maximum of 20 to 30 paintings I make In a year and a maximum 10 to 15 final drawings in a year. Each work has a different quality and uniqueness in itself.

In my drawing work I use the miniature form to explore the deepness and peace of nature. In abstraction I simplified the forms of mountains, monuments, rivers and part of a deep mountain area. I like vibrant and fresh colors. I am proud to say that I give a great transparency to my paintings. I use Acrylic and water color. In my paintings I use color pencils and layers of very thin colors. My main aim to maintain the freshness of color and transparency. Mostly I draw a triangle, symbolically it shows men, challenge and strong thoughts. But, from a normal view may appear to be a mountain. My strokes

89

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

are flat and straight that’s why I use flat brushes. For drawing I use graphic ink pen. I also use scale in my drawings.

In my painting and drawing I give importance to composition first, second the colors, and third is application. When my soul is satisfied then I stop working. There is no rule like this with my paintings. Some paintings take one to two week, and sometime 2-3 days. For a small drawing of 8x8 inches I have to give minimum 6 days. This is why drawings takes long time to complete compared to painting.

JCAM: What was the fist artwork you ever sold?

RA: I sold my first painting from a gallery of Delhi and that painting went to Canada. For many years I have job and painted when I could. I belong to a middle class family, so to survive I have to do job so I couldn’t make living from my art. Sometimes paintings sold and some time I face disappointments economically, but I didn’t ever leave art. Now I make art for my satisfaction and if somebody appreciates my art then I feel good.

JCAM: Tell us about how you see your future as an artist?

RA: I am very simple and quiet person. During my whole life I have struggled a lot. Now I am retired from my job and can give full time to art. For my future I am planning some solo shows. I also write poems. I will do an exhibition on my poetry. I believe in the work I am doing in the present, and hope in future I will make more good paintings and drawing. I also hope people will appreciate my life and my work.

“Untitled” Drawing Ramesh Anand

90

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Painting Ramesh Anand

“Untitled” Drawing Ramesh Anand

91

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Drawing Ramesh Anand

92

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Drawing Ramesh Anand

93

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Drawing Ramesh Anand

94

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Drawing Ramesh Anand

95

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Scott Ziegler Scott Ziegler was born in 1973 in Park Ridge, Illinois. He graduated with an MFA degree in Ceramics from Northern Illinois University in 2008, currently teaches classes at University of North Carolina at Pembroke. His work has been juried into many competitive international exhibitions in recent years, and this past year was no exception. To highlight a few exhibitions, Scott’s work was selected for inclusion in the “DownEast National Sculpture Exhibition,” at the PCAC at Emerge in Greenville, North Carolina, featured in “Looking at Ourselves” at Baltimore Clayworks in Baltimore, Maryland, and selected for the “Cedar Creek National Teapot Show IX” invitational at Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor, North Carolina. In addition, he had just finished a solo exhibition at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona.

Scott was selected as an Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly magazine in 2006, and was a featured artist for the magazine in 2009 when his article “The Pursuit of Perfection” was published. Besides having been selected for publication in Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times magazines, his work was featured overseas in a Chinese book, The Appreciations and Collections of Modern and Contemporary Ceramic Art and included in 500 Figures in Clay Volume 2 published by Lark Books in 2014. This year, Scott has been featured in Glazing Techniques, a book published by The American Ceramic Society. His professional experiences also include serving as a clay mentor for the Potter’s Council, receiving the Kiln God Residency Award at the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and being featured as an artist for the PBS television show “Broadstrokes.”

Scott Ziegler’s Artist Statement “Through my art, I provide an introspective look into my past experiences. As a child in a dysfunctional family — one rooted in alcohol addiction — I experienced years of trauma, abuse, confusion, and fear. As an adult, I realized that these past experiences and memories constrained my full expression of self. I felt bound by a variety of patterns of behavior that resulted in internal struggles, destructive behavior, and limited personal growth.

I have come to realize that I have to explore the past in order to break free from its constraints. Art has been the vehicle for that exploration. When I create a piece of art, I am provided with an opportunity to reach into the dark abyss, find the light, and heal.

Each piece is symbolic of the truth I discover and the healing it provides.

As people view my art, it is my hope that it will be an opportunity to do personal soulsearching regarding the issues of addiction, trauma, and recovery. It is not necessary to

96

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

know the exact content of my memories and experiences to resonate with the truth contained in my pieces of art, because truth is universal.”

JCAM: Where were you born and does that place still influence you? Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life?

SZ: I was born in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. While my physical surroundings didn’t particularly influence my work, my upbringing as a whole had a significant impact: I am an adult child of an alcoholic and my parents divorced when I was young. These continue to be recurring themes in my work.

My support system for the last twenty years has been my wife who is incredibly encouraging and influential. We have two young boys who have changed me in every way imaginable. We recently moved to an area in North Carolina with a rich tradition of ceramics, and I’ll be interested to see what, if any, impact my new surroundings have on my work and my creative process.

JCAM: When and how did you start making art? Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? Why do you make art now? How has your work changed or developed over time? What are you trying to communicate with your art? Of the artworks published in this article, is there one of you are which most proud? If so, why?

SZ: I began my college career as a premed student. Throughout elementary and high school, I excelled in and enjoyed art classes, so I took an art class each semester in college to ease my mind and provide a break from what was otherwise full time science.

It wasn’t until the fall semester of my junior year that I took my first ceramics course. I took my second ceramics course that spring, and I was hooked. At the end of my junior year, I made the “interesting” phone call home to explain to my family that I was no longer premed and instead was going to major in ceramics.

Looking back at my early ceramics courses, it was working with the material that really piqued my interest. With all the other art classes I had taken, I’d never been given the opportunity to sculpt, manipulate, and work with a material like clay. I quickly came to realize what an incredible material I was working with and how clay could be made to look like almost any other material in the world.

As I continued to work with the material, my work became more content-based as I began to incorporate my personal experiences of addiction, trauma, and recovery. What I find particularly fascinating these days is that to me, the most interesting piece, the piece that I am most invested in, the piece that I am most proud of, is whatever piece I’m currently working on. I invest an extreme amount of time, focus, and thought into each piece; however, when the piece is complete, I allow myself to let go of that work to share it in a forum where others can enjoy it — and I can move on to my next idea.

97

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have? What element of art making do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important artist tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished?

What are the art making tools you use now? What new creative medium would you love to pursue?

SZ: When I begin a new series, I always begin with research and drawings. I’m currently exploring the historical ideas of propaganda — where ideally the best advertising is striking and methodical and delivers a direct and simple message — and the effects it had on war. I’m incorporating the idea of propaganda into my work by starting with three-dimensional forms that are striking and methodical and including simple two-dimensional images to express facts, thoughts, and opinions. Put simply, I’m using my work to deliberately spread my message by exhibiting the ceramic pieces to further my cause.

When developing my work, I use a variety of building techniques — throwing, slipcasting, and hand-building — and allow the work to become bone dry. At this point, I use a variety of grades of sandpaper to smooth out imperfections. After it is completely smooth, I begin to lay in my color. Each area of color requires three to four brush coats using a variety of brushes. When all the color has been applied, I’m finally able to bisque fire the piece. For the glaze firing, I determine where I want glossy surfaces and where I desire the surfaces to be matt, apply the glaze, and fire to cone 6.

As I grow older — and perhaps a bit wiser — I’ve come to realize that I’m not invincible.

These days, I think twice when I am doing things for leisure because I cannot afford to injure my hands: they are the most important tool that I have when it comes to both creating ceramic work and teaching ceramics.

I’ve recently started working with colleagues on applying two different existing technologies to the field of ceramics. I’m exploring the practical and creative applications of both 3-D printing and the use of a CNC router, both of which have the potential to significantly change the way I work. Taking an interdisciplinary approach has been both exciting and challenging, and I’m excited to see how these new processes will impact the work that I create.

JCAM: What's the first artwork you ever sold? Do you make a living from your art?

SZ: The first piece of art that I ever sold was from my BA show at Loyola University Chicago. I was awarded first place for my installation work, a collection of approximately 30 ceramic sculptural forms ranging in size from 18 inches to more than 13 feet. After the show, the installation was dismantled and pieces were sold individually. The chair of the art department was the first person to approach me.

98

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

I’ve always been interested in ceramic sculptural work, and over the years, I’ve discovered this type of work is much harder to sell than functional pieces. Early on, I knew that if I was going to continue to pursue sculptural ceramics, I would need to find another way to support myself. Since I graduated from college, I’ve held a number of jobs, everything from toy designer to high school teacher to ceramics professor. The majority of my time has been spent teaching, something I’m incredibly grateful for. I truly enjoy teaching, but firmly believe that teaching makes me a better artist and being an active artist makes me a better teacher. To me, they go hand in hand.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both work-wise and life? What are you working on at the moment?

SZ: When I think about the future professionally, it’s important for me to continue to revisit the past to ensure I’m not repeating the mistakes I grew up believing to be the norm. But this reflection has also given me the chance to see how far I’ve come in my own personal exploration — and I can see growth and change in my work as a result.

While I continue to have many dark themes in some of my work, a new series is focusing on happiness and seeing life through the eyes of a child. It is most certainly an interesting balance.

From a personal perspective, my family remains my top priority. I strive to not only be the best parent I can be to my two little boys, but also to be present whenever I’m with them. In my short time as a father, I’ve already seen how quickly this time passes — and I want to be sure I’m there to celebrate their successes and guide them through the things that could have gone better.

JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite living artist? What work of art do you wish you owned and why? When addressing a particular work to be published in this interview: Can you explain what inspired this particular piece or idea?

SZ: My biggest inspiration, the person I “blame” for “my switch from premed to ceramics, is a ceramic artist by the name of Val Cushing. Many consider Val to be one of the “founding fathers” of contemporary ceramics in the Unites States. In my first ceramics course, we looked at slides of both historical and contemporary work and I continued to make note of his work. His forms moved away from the traditional sense of function — they danced from the foot to the rim, and I was enthralled with his pieces.

In 2006, I did a summer residency at Alfred University in Alfred, New York — the very same school where Val taught for 40 years. He had retired a few years back, and although he still lived in the area, he rarely visited campus. While speaking with a classmate one morning, she pressed me on my interest in Val, and I shared my story.

She mentioned she and Val were friends, said he’d enjoy hearing my story, suggested I write him a letter, and committed to giving it to him the next time they were together. So I did. I wrote the letter that morning and gave it to her before lunch. When I returned from lunch, she told me she had lunch with Val and gave him my letter. He read it while

99

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

they were together and wanted to know if I was available for dinner that night. What started out as an ordinary Tuesday turned into one of the most memorable days of my life.

From that day forward, Val became a mentor and a friend. He welcomed me into his home and treated me like family. He provided encouragement and insight both personally and professionally. He made work for my children, my wife, and me, and these are the pieces that I cherish because they have such important meaning to me.

Val died November 17, 2013.

JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

SZ: To me, being creative means to always be creating. And I am. My ideas develop from everything from daily routines to diving into detailed research. I’ve learned that my biggest source of frustration comes from realizing that there are not enough hours in the day to fully develop all of my ideas from concept to completion.

The best advice I ever received was given to me when I was working as a toy designer: To never accept my first idea as the gold standard, but rather to grow my ideas, continue to refine my skills, and to always exceed my own expectations with the creative process. Nearly 20 years later, those words continue to serve as my guiding principles, both as an artist and as a teacher. I regularly remind students that as soon as they create the “perfect” piece they need to quit making art — but until then, they need to continue to create and to remain committed to striving for the perfect piece.

100

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Analysis Paralysis” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2014 15” x 6” x 8”

101

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Analysis Paralysis” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2014 15” x 6” x 8”

102

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Code Red” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2012 5” x 10” x 5”

103

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Contemplation” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2014 12” x 5” x 6”

104

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Debauched Morals” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2013 10” x 6” x 6”

105

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Debauched Morals” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2013 10” x 6” x 6”

106

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Expiration Date” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2008 9” x 7” x 13”

107

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Optimist” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2010 12” x 12” x 8”

108

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Optimist” Scott Ziegler Porcelain 2010 12” x 12” x 8”

109

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

J. Desy Schoenewies JCAM: Tell us about yourself. What is your professional name? Where were you born and does that place still influence you? Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life?

JDS: My given name is J. Desy Schoenewies, but I am called Desy. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri and lived almost my entire life near the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. The fact that airplanes were in my conscious daily life has had a profound impact on my work.

Eventually, the airport took my childhood home through eminent domain, so the presence of planes as a potential threat and as a constant in my life has allowed for me to use airplane motifs in my work.

I tend to gravitate to fellow artists for companionship and close mentoring. I am the only artist in my working class family, and therefore what I do for a living is outside of general communications with my family. Therefore, at a young age I reached out to artists and teachers as my mentors and friends. Today I am friends with people from a wide range of backgrounds, from engineering and computer science to historians and writers; people from lawyers to laborers have influenced my thinking and being. In this way, I have become extremely self-sufficient to the point of being ‘scrappy,’ but I always go back to those artists, teachers, and mentors for inspiration and intellectual discussion.

JCAM: When and how did you start making art? Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? Why do you make art now? How has your work changed or developed over time? What are you trying to communicate with your art? Of the artworks published in this article, is there one of you are which most proud? If so, why?

There has never been a point in my life where I did not create art. When I was a young child, I snuck crayons into my dance class. I was subsequently kicked out of dance for drawing with crayon on the large dance mirrors. For some time in middle and high school, I was interested in computers and programming. Yet somehow, I managed to separate my love for computers from my love for art making. I felt that computers had a purpose in perfecting engineering, but that art should be created by the hands of the artist, full of faults and naturally random. In school, drew pictures that told stories and envisioned myself as a comic illustrator. When I began college, I set out to work in the sequential arts of animation and comics. However, once I took my first oil painting course, my focus changed. I was already working with the figure, but I loved the challenge of painting the human figure in oil over pen and bristol board.

110

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Although the figure is and will be the central focus of my work, the work itself has evolved. Lately, I have been interested in the state of South Dakota and how living in such a rural environment has affected the people there. I am interested in why people are drawn to South Dakota and how South Dakota is progressing in areas of art, culture, and social attitudes. In the series called Transformations, I have painted individuals ranging from bikers to bicyclists, created metaphors for rooting in South Dakota, depicted a story of a gentleman from India among a ranch and contemplating his values, etc. I have many more planned in this series, including graffiti artists in Rapid City, pow wow dancers, and more. The work, Transplant is the beginning of the series and tells the most complete picture for my relocation to South Dakota. The line work feels strong and confident opposed to my usual tendency to work with layered brushwork of sweeping movements, drips, etc.

I have also been working with the encaustic medium and playing with motifs from the Black Hills. I have been creating animal portraits with layers of contour maps from the Black Hills. The encaustic medium is less forgiving than oils and allows me to think quite differently than my oil portrait series. I have to work smaller, in distinct layers, and allow for some fluctuation in the process.

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have? What element of art making do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important artist tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished?

What are the art making tools you use now? What new creative medium would you love to pursue?

Every opportunity where I have a large amount of time, I will be in my studio working. I won’t begin unless I know I will have at least 4 solid hours to devote to my work. I have been known to work on something for a solid 12 hours with minimal breaks. I have never been one to do “a little here and a little there…” If I find myself waiting, I tend to pull out my sketchbook and do some drawing activity. As an artist, it’s best to keep my creativity sharp and it’s much more fulfilling than playing on my phone.

The question, “When is a work finished?” is a tricky one for any artist. It is a question I engage my students in almost every class in. When the work is visually interesting at a distance and up close, when the surface of the work has a uniform glaze, and when the work simply feels like there is absolutely nothing else that can be added or subtracted, the work is finished. Each piece has its own stop time – I can never determine how many hours a work will take. Sometimes a composition may take 20 hours and another work of the same size may take only 4. It all comes down to composition.

In developing a composition, I go from analog to digital, then back to analog. I start with creating some thumbnail sketches of what I think I want. Then, I do my own photography and look for landscapes and models that suit my theme. I start to crop and move things around in photoshop, adding patterns, cutting and pasting elements, adjusting color, etc. The compositional arrangement is completed in Photoshop before transferring to canvas. Sometimes I will project the composition (particularly in very

111

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

intricate situations) or I will simply draw in graphite from the images. From there, unless I am adding gel or iron-on transfers, I will begin with the underpainting in oil and build up the work in oils using layers of glazes and pigment.

JCAM: What's the first artwork you ever sold? Do you make a living from your art?

We never forget our first experiences as artists, no matter how young. When I was in grade school, I would sell sketches of cartoon animals of my own creation for a quarter each, collecting as many quarters as I can to use on video games at my siblings’ indoor soccer matches. The first real artwork I sold was during my BFA exhibition. I sold 11 paintings of elongated figures during that show.

In a painting class during my undergraduate years, I was approached by a woman in my class working on her MFA. She loved my work and wanted me to consider coming to the elementary school where she taught art. I had no interest in education and put her off for some time. She would not budge, and kept bothering me. When I finally did, I saw 4th graders learning about Miro, 5th graders explaining how Cubism worked, and 3rd graders creating their own surrealistic landscapes. I was absolutely blown away at how elementary students could grasp the concepts of master artists and how Diane was able to teach advanced art theories to young children. Soon, I too was enrolled in the education program and became a teacher, with Diane as my lasting mentor.

When I graduated, I taught art at DuBray Middle School in the Fort Zumwalt School District for 6 years. Then, I taught at our newest high school, Fort Zumwalt East for 3 years. During that time, I worked on my master’s degree at Fontbonne University, all in the St. Louis area. Once I received my MFA, I decided it was time for a change of scenery and moved to San Francisco, where I taught at City College of San Francisco. I missed my time working in education, so I started a job search where I could work with future art educators and studio practice. That is when I found the opening for Black Hills State University, where I teach Art Education Methods courses, supervise student teachers in art, and teach figure drawing, painting, and encaustics.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both work-wise and life? What are you working on at the moment?

Professionally, I am extremely happy and grateful for my career at BHSU. The ability to work in both art education and teach studio courses has been such an enriching experience where I am consistently growing as an artist and an educator. I do not see my professional life changing anytime soon as I am rooting myself in Spearfish, South Dakota. I have involved with what South Dakota has to offer in motorcycle riding, bicycling, hiking, and snowshoeing.

After the Transformation series, I plan to work more with the figure and the South Dakota landscape, but I want the work to become more abstract and ethereal. Right now, I am appreciating the metaphorical properties my current work has to offer, but I

112

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

feel the pull to work more towards ambiguity and juxtapositions of design elements into the composition.

JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite living artist? What work of art do you wish you owned and why? When addressing a particular work to be published in this interview: Can you explain what inspired this particular piece or idea?

Anslem Kiefer is the first contemporary artist I really latched onto. The work is literary, referencing Jewish cannon to Egyptian lore. Despite the connections, the work is ephemeral and distancing to the viewer. 14 Rods is a work at the St. Louis Art Museum and one I have spent many hours in front of. It both invites the viewer into the work and pushes them away. The sheer size of the work envelops them into the landscape then makes the viewer uncomfortable for being there.

My greatest inspirations tend to come from the people around me. The people I sketch at coffee shops. The people who tell long-winded stories. The people who are my family and my friends. My environment and my surroundings. I latch onto bits and pieces of the things they offer me, and they always manifest in my work. Art is a product of the artist’s environment and culture, and I am no different in that regard.

JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

Being creative means to see a thing from every possible angle and every impossible angle, too. What is this thing right now? How is it used? How can it be used? What if it were bigger? What if it were smaller? What if it was distorted? A different color? What if it had other abilities? What if it could fly? Talk? Drive? Swim? What if we combined parts of it with something else? Being creative is to get engaged into anything of interest and ask questions about it. Creativity is invention. Creativity is a process and a learned skill.

It is a skill that is learned over time. Creativity is critical thinking. Children have it inherently, but unfortunately, if that skill is not identified and consistently used, it can be lost. When the ability to ask questions disappears and we take knowledge at face value, we lose the capacity for creative and critical thinking.

How to be more creative? Begin by asking questions. Always ask. “What if …?” It may seem silly. The slinky may be the silliest toy ever, but someone had the capacity to ask the question, “What if we pushed a spring down a staircase?” and created one of the greatest and simplest toys ever produced.

113

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Black Hills Gold 3” J. Desy Schoenewies Encaustic Painting

114

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Black Hills Gold” J. Desy Schoenewies Oil Painting

115

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“California” J. Desy Schoenewies Oil Painting

“Wind” J. Desy Schoenewies Oil Painting

116

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Indian in Indian Land” J. Desy Schoenewies Oil Painting

“Transplant” J. Desy Schoenewies Oil Painting

117

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Black Hills Gold 1” J. Desy Schoenewies Encaustic Painting

118

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Daphne of Spearfish Canyon” J. Desy Schoenewies Encaustic Painting

119

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Passing Through” J. Desy Schoenewies Encaustic Painting

120

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Horkay István Horkay István was born in 1945 in Budapest, Hungary. After graduating from the School of Fine Arts in Budapest in 1964, Horkay was invited to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow - Poland, the Major Art and Cultural Center of Eastern Europe, where he received his Master of Fine Arts. He continued his Studies at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen, Denmark. (1968) and did additional Post graduate work at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest. (1971) Horkay studied under the Internationally know Artist and Theater Director Tadeusz Kantor, as well as Professors, M. Wejmann and J. Nowosielski, Poland/Palle Nielsen/Danmark. He received Diplomas in Graphic Arts, Painting, and Film Animation.

Horkay István’s Artist Statement “Kleist once wrote: The Poet would be happiest if he could express his Thoughts without Words. (What an interesting Admission! wrote Ludwig Wittgenstein.)

Someone, Somewhere is how I title my Works, thinking of the Free Individual, who Himself has become the Center of the of Our Post Human Age, the Focus of Our Collective Memory.

The Question is How to give Visual Expression to that Memory, so that the thus created Contents, can leave a Lasting Impression. An Idea or an Image acquires a New Dimension as it is combined with other Images.”

In today’s world, computers are used to simplify our lives. However, as an artist, I find computers and the digital world to be tools that must be taken seriously, because they inherently reflect the artist and his work. If my work is considered in its mathematical and digital realm, then we can see the duality of the human created art and the binary basis of digitalizing. It is of the greatest importance that the humanity of the artists reveals itself truly and is not overshadowed by the technology. It is within these considerations that I come to a dilemma where I must find artistic parameters within the unlimited power of technology. When my work is saved as a psd file in Adobe Photoshop, I am at liberty to change, alter, or rework my pieces at will. My pieces, as stored files, remain alive and not complete with the resoluteness of, for example, a painting. Therein lies the challenge of finding closure and the end point to all the pieces.

While the technology poses challenges, I find my expression in the limitless possibilities of producing my art in any shape or size allowable. Having this digital world as my artist’s tools allows me to cross-reference literature and poetry with imagery. It is within the layering and the cross-referencing that the artist’s character

121

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

and soul emerge. To me, each layer is another virtual poem laid upon another one.

My works contained hundreds of layers, each seperate as it’s own poem, yet each connect to all as a whole. My goal is create a new genre of digital art, what I call “virtual poems”.

“I spend most of my energy promoting the values in the real world which I created on the Net. The only question is for me now: Is there a world outside of the Net? And if there is, where is it?”

Horkay István’s websites: http://hu.pinterest.com/istvanhorkay/horkay-posters/ https://vimeo.com/user3025444Vimeo http://www.horkay.com

Editor’s Note on Horkay István’s Posters: On the following pages JCAM is fortunate to share some of Horkay István’s most recent works: his posters. In these posters viewers will see the range of Horkay István’s interests and the remarkable (and droll) insights and commentaries these powerful visual works bring to viewers.

JCAM will bring these posters to our readers in two parts in the 2015 publication cycle: June & December.

122

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

123

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

124

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

125

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

126

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

127

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

128

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

129

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

130

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

131

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

132

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

133

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

134

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poster by Horkay Istvรกn

135

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

James Bass James Bass has been a photographer for almost 25 years. He shot his first photographs in the 1990s, sneaking disposable 35mm cameras into concerts. Later, he worked as a newspaper journalist and eventually began freelancing as a concert photographer. Since then, he has photographed some of the biggest names in popular music live in concert, including Alanis Morrissette, Marilyn Manson, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, AC/ DC, REO Speedwagon, and many more. In January, 2015 classic rock icons The Doobie Brothers used James’ photos from their 1995 tour with Michael McDonald on their social media sites. His work has also been featured on Raleigh bluegrass band The Outliers website, on Instagram site Best Music Shots, and on Bass’ Facebook page jamesbass71photos.

JCAM: Where were you born and does that place still influence you? Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life?

JB: I was born in Lumberton, N.C. I still live there, and the place where I live does influence me. It’s a very culturally diverse part of the state – not far from the beaches, the mountains, and metropolitan areas. It’s a very “southern” part of the country, and the south certainly has an influence on who I am as an artist. One of the largest American Indian tribes in the country – the Lumbee Tribe -- is located in my home, and that, for example, is something that is part of the culture where I live and work. My area is greatly influenced by Scottish and European cultures…as well as those “southern” cultures I mentioned. As a photographer, these are themes that sometimes become my subjects.

JCAM: When and how did you start making art? Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? Why do you make art now? How has your work changed or developed over time? What are you trying to communicate with your art? Of the artworks published in this article, is there one of you are which most proud? If so, why?

JB: Art has been a big part of my life. Becoming as an artist has been a formative process. As a boy, I enjoyed drawing and painting, and these were things that I revisited throughout my teens and early 20’s. In high school, I played the guitar and sang in a handful of rock bands. This was also when I became interested in taking pictures – usually of friends and other bands. Occasionally, I would sneak a disposable camera into a concert and take really crude snapshots in an attempt to bring home a souvenir from a show. The rock band KISS was one of my favorites, and I took some photos at one of their shows that remains one of my “first” rock images. It’s a picture of bass

136

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

player Gene Simmons. Photography took on a more serious tone for me after college when I began working for my local newspaper, and began to learn how to use more sophisticated cameras and work in a darkroom. My passion for music of the 1970’s and my newfound access to press credentials opened a whole new door for me to shoot professional photos of band and artists like The Doobie Brothers, Jackson Browne, The Allman Brothers, David Bowie, Foreigner, and Peter Frampton. As a young man, I took every opportunity to shoot in amphitheaters, clubs, and concert halls, and I spent countless hours traveling to shows.

Shooting famous musicians was an unbelievable thrill, and sometimes I got to do really cool things like get invited onto Willie Nelson’s tour bus, shake hands with KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, interview Sevendust on their bus, or hang out in a club with the bass player from Cheap Trick. However, it wasn’t a job that was steady or one that paid the bills. My passion for photography took me to other interests, l like freelancing to shoot weddings and portraits, and events. Occasionally it was for extra money; sometimes it was just for the thrill of shooting.

It wasn’t until years later, after I was married, settled into a career as an educator, and raising my own children that I began to look back at my music photography in a new perspective. Aside from capturing a band on stage, these images became crystalized moments in my life. I shot a David Bowie concert in October 1995 in an outdoor amphitheater. The stage lighting and set were dark and shadowy, and there was a chill in the air that night. When I look back at the images, I can still feel that night. I was lucky enough to shoot a tour of the Doobie Brothers featuring a reunion with their former lead singer Michael McDonald. It was his era and signature songs, like “What A Fool Believes” and “Takin’ It To The Streets” that formed a big part of the soundtrack of my childhood. Capturing him live with the band was special for me. Coincidentally, it was nearly 20 years after I shot those photos that the band found my images on Instagram and asked to use them in their social media. I think that event was a catalyst for me to pursue music photography again with a new passion for capturing live performances.

My photographic repertoire is wide; I enjoy shooting a lot of subjects, including portraits of people, places of interest, and events. Photographing derelict buildings and cars has become a recent interest. Growing up in the south, tobacco barns were a common sight. However, as tobacco has become less popular, many of those barns have become rusty and worn down. Soon they will be gone, but for now, they are a reminder of a time in our history. The same with vintage cars. I know nothing about cars, and was never a car buff, but I find them beautiful to photography, even when they are broken down and abandoned. Music photography holds a special place for me, however, because it connects my love for visual art to my passion for music, and a passion for capturing that moment.

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have? What element of art making do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important artist tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished?

What are the art making tools you use now? What new creative medium would

137

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

you love to pursue?

JB: As a photographer, there is always a thrill in framing a picture…looking through the lens, composing a shot, and clicking. A photograph is more than just a picture.

Everything in life is a process of change, and photography can bottle that moment and preserve it. It never gets old; it never dies. I find a sense of beauty and gratification in capturing moments. I tend to shoot a lot during a session, but I may only find a third of the frames I shoot worthy of saving and sharing. For me, getting home and scanning through the images is where the joy and excitement take place. The camera is obviously my most important tool. Photography allows an artist to embrace technology, and that is something that I welcome to my art-making process. Photoshop and digital scanners are tools that allow me to bring new life to old images in new ways and to manipulate images in different ways. While I have embraced digital technology, I have also left the welcome light on for traditional 35mm photography, and I still take pictures on film. But one thing that I plan to do is incorporate turning those film negatives into digital images. Some of my images are finished. I’ve done all that I feel like I should with them, but technology allows me to re-interpret some images and offer them in a whole new perspective. My music photography, however, is more journalistic. Those images I rarely manipulate further than fixing things like dust spots or errors. In that sense, I strictly capture a moment and preserve it.

As much as I embrace technology, I still sometimes find myself asking the question: “When do my photos stop becoming photos and start becoming digital art?” As a former journalist, there’s that tendency to not want to manipulate my photos, rather to preserve moments as they are. Yet, when you think about the evolution of photography, digital photography is a natural part of that evolution. My days of working with chemicals in a darkroom are gone. I don’t miss the smell of developer and fixer. I much prefer the luxury of my laptop in my living room. And I am becoming more comfortable with the freedom to change the colors in my photos…to turn color shots into black and white. In terms of my process nowadays, Photoshop has become an integral part of my finished work.

JCAM: What's the first artwork you ever sold? Do you make a living from your art?

JB: While making money is something every artist welcomes – and should welcome… it’s not ultimately important to me at this point in my life. I have a “real job” that supports my family and me, and photography is a realm of my life in which I am very selfish. It’s my place to be creative, and I don’t want the constraints of commercialism confining my art. I don’t want to be told what to do because I’m being paid to do it. If you like my photos, that’s great, and if you don’t, that’s ok too. I don’t want to be paid to please. I’ve turned down offers because the kind of photography I do is not what others sometimes interpret that I do. I’m not interested in making a few bucks to photograph newlyweds in a hay field or people’s babies. I will if there is something more interesting there, but usually I turn it away. As an artist, making my art is a part of my existence. As a professional with a “real job” I have to compromise sometimes, but as an artist, I don’t

138

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

want to compromise. I’ve had people to tell me they’d buy my work, and that’s cool.

Maybe one day I will sell it. Right now, I’m just enjoying making it, and the business end of it may come later. Right now I want to keep making a living and making art two separate things. I have taken some jobs shooting events for people, and I suppose I will continue to. It helps pay for equipment and accessories. At some point soon, I’m sure I will make prints of my work available, but right now I’m just enjoying the creative side.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both work-wise and life? What are you working on at the moment?

JB: Sadly, I don’t have as much time to take photos as I would like. I am raising three young daughters and that takes a lot of time. I love my family and I have to balance my passion with my responsibility. I am teaching my daughters how to create art and I get a lot of satisfaction from watching them develop and create. My oldest daughter sometimes goes on shoots with me, which is cool, because it’s a time for us to bond, for her to see what I do, and to grow in her appreciation for how a shot is made. I recently got a taste of doing still work for a movie, and earlier in the year, I shot a theatre performance, and while the actors were in costume, snapped shots of them backstage (to re-interpret them in their makeup and costumes). I have some plans to shoot some more bands and recording artists, and I am hoping soon to delve into Native American photography again. I enjoy capturing that culture and imagery. I also want to explore more religious iconography. I am Catholic, and we have some of the most beautiful and graphic depictions and descriptions of our religion. Those are great to photograph and share with people of all faiths because everyone, even people who are not religious, can identify with those images on some level and bring to them their own interpretations. I love shooting people, and I have always enjoyed making portraits of people that are good but unique. I love images of people that tell a story, yet not always the story people expect. I think that comes from my journalism background. At the sake of sounding morbid, I also enjoy cemetery photography. There are some intriguing monuments and memorials for people, some of them historic. They make great photographs, and I’m sure I’ll find myself shooting more of those.

JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite living artist? What work of art do you wish you owned and why? When addressing a particular work to be published in this interview: Can you explain what inspired this particular piece or idea?

JB: People inspire me; not always artistically, however. My friend John Regan, who played bass for Peter Frampton for about 30 years is someone who inspires me. He inspires me to create and be an artist and a gentleman in the classic sense. But that’s a little different. The same is true for Jamie Oldaker, Eric Clapton’s former drummer, whom I met a few years back and befriended. He’s done incredible things as a musician, but he’s very approachable…and he’s very stylish and cool. Two photographers who inspire me are Roger Cotgreave, who goes by the name Tao Jones (www.taojonesphotographer.com) and Kim Gottlieb-Walker (www.lenswoman.com). I admire both artists’ work, and they are both very approachable people whom I’ve had

139

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

the pleasure of communicating with via e-mail. I discovered Roger on Instagram and was struck by his stunning photographs, his technique and approach, and his philosophy. He is a music photographer in Australia who shoots mostly music festivals, but he has several other themes, all of which are great. Kim Gottlieb-Walker photographed music in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and she has done great work as a still photographer on movies, including ”Halloween” “Escape From New York” and others for director John Carpenter.

JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

JB: My background as a journalist has given me an eye for seeing things a certain way; taking a film literacy class in grad school helped shape the way I see things. Now, I often look at everything as if it’s through the lens of a camera. For me, “being creative” means not just “taking pictures” but creating art. There’s a difference. I can’t recall any advice I’ve been given about being more creative … most photographers just say “keep shooting.” But I find inspiration to be more creative by watching children. Children don’t abide by many rules; they just do what they feel, and I think as an artist I can learn from that. Making great pictures is all about the way you see things, and I’d like to grow by seeing things in new ways.

“Jamie Oldaker (former Eric Clapton drummer), Live” James Bass Digital Photograph December 2014

140

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“AC/DC, Angus Young, Live” James Bass 35mm Black and White Photograph September 1996

141

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“AC/DC, Live” James Bass 35mm Photograph September 1996

“David Bowie, Live” James Bass 35mm Black and White Photograph October 1995

142

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“David Bowie, Live” James Bass 35mm Color Slide Photograph October 1995

“Waylon Jennings, Live”

James Bass 35mm Black and White Photograph May 1996

143

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Gregg Allman, Live with The Allman Brothers Band” James Bass 35mm Black and White Photograph July 1995

144

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Joan Jett, Live” James Bass 35mm Color Photograph July 1996

145

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“The Doobie Brothers, with Michael McDonald, Live” James Bass 35mm Black and White Photograph July 1995

146

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Lou Gramm, and Foreigner” James Bass 35mm Black and White Photograph July 1996

147

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Peter Frampton Comes Alive” James Bass 35mm Black and White Photograph July 1996

148

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Muhammad Hussain Chandio Education: Master of Fine Arts, 1999, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1997, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan The artist lives and works in Hyderabad, Pakistan. He has a wide range of experience in the visual arts. Chandio has exhibited in many locations in Pakistan and also internationally.

Artist Statement: “My latest work is acrylic on canvas. It is called the” JOURNEY” series. These are the images I see every day. I am also inspired by the different moods I have and see on different days. I have painted my immediate physical and cultural surrounding in realistic style with windy back ground. I like this energy. I am using a “Bird’s eye” view mostly because it is a different perspective but also because it allow the viewer to thing about things in a different way. This perspective is also interesting to me because it is novel and not something I see other artists use.”

“Journey Series” Acrylic Painting Muhammad Hussain Chandio

149

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Journey Series” Acrylic Paintings Muhammad Hussain Chandio

150

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Journey Series” Acrylic Painting Muhammad Hussain Chandio

151

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Journey Series” Acrylic Paintings Muhammad Hussain Chandio

152

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Journey Series” Acrylic Paintings Muhammad Hussain Chandio

153

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Journey Series” Acrylic Paintings Muhammad Hussain Chandio

154

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Rajendra Kapse JCAM: Tell us about yourself.

RK: I was born in a small town of Chandrapur district in Maharashtra, India. My native place keeps influencing me in many ways and have always believed that it shows in my work which further evolved and certainly with the new ideas, when I came to Mumbai, my current home.

Mumbai’s metropolitan or I would rather say cosmopolitan nature brought certain energy to my work. The diversity of cultures, religions and not to forget languages, the different strata of economies among people from all the walks of life do juxtapose and strike a balance with my rural past and a very urbane present.

Have always thought of Mumbai as the proverbial ‘El Dorado’ of the creative people.

The city is very blessed in it’s geography, the sea, the beaches, the weather, the sunset; just to name a few, they all add up to a never ending buzz and are always prone to erupt ideas in many artists of all sorts who have made Mumbai their abode.

My family consists of my beloved wife and a very dear son. My wife is a true ‘ardhaangni’ in the very sense of the word, and, as they say there is a woman behind every successful man (if I am, that is) she certainly is one. Her endeavors in running the home in departments of economics and emotions, which sometimes go unsung, but in my hearts of hearts her contribution never goes unnoticed and it results in my evergrowing affection for her. And to live with mad man, a so-called artist like me and without being presumptuous that could be at times a great challenge. I salute her.

About my friends and yes they too play a huge part in making of whatever I have become. As a person from a village when I came to this giant city with an almost empty pocket to study art and that too in a school of such repute; as I fondly remember those days of yore, I think without those best of the friends, I couldn’t have made it thus far.

Those were the times when all those new friends and some of them became my best buddies for life helped me in an every way they could.

Not only I befriended with my contemporaries; there were art teachers too who helped me in all the areas of one’s being, whether moral, emotional and economical. It is because of them I could seek out my creative abilities and with their immense help it was honed to perfection. I can truly say now as I look back to the days gone by, those all the people with whom I made friends with did shape my today’s present.

JCAM: When and how did you start making art? Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? Why do

155

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

you make art now? How has your work changed or developed over time? What are you trying to communicate with your art?

RK: When and why I started making art has a fascinating story, I think. You see my childhood days were not of any grandeur and as I hailed from a very humble background; which, sometimes I also think left me a very ordinary student. I can remember vividly now that how bad I was at my studies and you can realize the gravity of it by knowing that I failed 6 times in my early school days.

And while all this was happening that me not being a bright student, I discovered that I could paint, draw, sketch and was good at it from my peers of the time. Extracurricular activities like dancing, taking part in social dramas on the stage always attracted me.

Also I can share a secret that I used to bunk school as I was a huge movies fan and was very much fascinated and to some extent influenced by the cinema. I always used to think of myself as a performer, I even used to dream of me being some hero and as movies kept me in their grips, hence every new release on a Friday would also bring a question of my ability to buy tickets because of my economical situation as I earlier stated, so, I started to paint banners, vehicle plate numbers, sign boards, even painting houses under contractor, so that I could collect money to catch a flick.

You could say I was like a spoiled brat but a poverty stricken at that. The place where I lived during my school days I used to be a big prankster and enjoyed at the expense of the neighbours and tenants living there. Pulling legs, making jokes, teasing et al., like a personification of me, and that earned me a title of a ‘Mad Boy’ of the society, not that I am proud of it now.

But then that was another time in another age and in all this cacophony of sorts I somehow managed to complete my studies. Also during this time and as I told you earlier about my painting escapades in order to buy cinema tickets, it dawned upon me that I am good at drawing and that is when I decided to become an artist.

Complications that life brings, those day-to-day struggles, the ironies of it led me into the art, which I make now. Sometimes you may think my art is little humorous and I admit it could be at times, but then I believe one can create such art in order to overcome the realities of our daily existence in this megapolis. It gives a colourful façade to the cruelties of life, which is what I think.

There are times when people ask me why do I paint and I reply because that is what I can do.

How has my work changed or developed over the time? I think the contradictions, the ever changing things, things happening in the society we live in and also in the world at large; and not to forget how media shapes our thought process, I would say all these in some form or another does effects my work, it gives me new ideas, empowers me with thoughts, gives a clarity to my sight.

156

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

You may call my art is changing or developing I would rather call it a process because that is what it is or I could go to such an extent of calling it an evolution of creating art as the art is always evolving, it is never stagnant. It keeps on taking new shapes and ideas.

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have? What element of art making do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important artist tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished?

What are the art making tools you use now? What new creative medium would you love to pursue?

RK: Well, as you are aware, we have in our country a plethora of highly creative and religious pattern at our disposal. This diversity of rituals and dogmas which is also easily available I tend to not follow it and remain free from their captivation, but yes it does have a effect on my work and that is apparent as one is not immune to the place and time one lives in but it is not intentional. I give myself full space and allow things to happen and unfold themselves. As an artist I do not wish to change a situation or an issue through my work, though I could be very vocal at times.

My greatest happiness comes when surprisingly small children and young generation react to my work, which amuses me as well that how could these kids of such tender age could connect with an art so contemporary. Their reactions are pure, unbiased and honest; they are free of any malice.

I am happy that there are people who buy my artworks who delve deeper than the surface, be appreciative of it not being superficial, and tell me that it is good, honest and different; all that hard work that goes on, in creating art is delightfully rewarded. Then there are people who often ask my work or me whether they are ‘contemporary’ to them I always think it is ‘FUNTEMPORARY’!

To me satisfaction is such a mirage and my work is not finished until it travels beyond my studio’s horizon and becomes a piece of appreciation on someone else’s wall, that is when I think it is finished, as it has reached it’s destination which it was painted for.

Presently I am dabbling with varied mediums such as oil on canvas, water colours,charcoal pencil on paper, but would surely pursue my love for video art as a creative medium to challenge myself and my beliefs as an artist.

JCAM: What's the first artwork you ever sold? Do you make a living from your art?

RK: The first artwork that I sold was during my 4th year at the art college days in the year of 1988. It was an abstract painting. Yes, I do make a living from my art.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both work-wise and life? What are you working on at the moment?

157

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

RK: I am looking forward to create more art in future. Presently planning a solo exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey, which would, if everything turns out favourably, would be next year, God willing.

JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite living artist? What work of art do you wish you owned and why? When addressing a particular work to be published in this interview: Can you explain what inspired this particular piece or idea?

RK: Inspirations do come in different guises but I was lucky as Charlie Chaplin hugely influenced me from a very early age. Being a great admirer of his work as an actor it also threw me up on the stage, and I started performing in college dramas, used to love performing at general events, festivals: Ramleelas.

Alas, and for certain reasons I could not pursue that passion of mine which has left me guilt stricken to this day. Have always pondered why I did not continue to act or perform.

This sadness of not being able to actor perform anymore raised a question in my conscious wondering,“Why can’t I do this on the canvas?” And, as they say it is never too late for anything, became my ‘Mantra’.

This mantra inspired me to conceptualize “Funtitle” and it took me to Guwahati where under the tutelage of a renowned mime artist Moinul Haq a recipient of President’s Award I received my training.This particular style kept growing on me and it helped nurture my art.

Among other influences, I will certainly mention my love for performing arts, theatre and especially the one act plays or ‘Ekanki’ as it is called in Marathi. Some of my favourite actors in Marathi theatre are Laxman Deshpande, Sushma Deshpande and Dilip Prabhavalkar.

Lastly, I was also influenced by Yue Min Jun’s work. His take on human figure and style had a lasting impression on me and this admiration of his work helped in evolving my own unique style and it brought alive my latent passion for acting on a blank canvas.

I do like creative work, good paintings but that I have a favourite living artist that thought has never occur to me. I think a good work makes everyone a favourite in some ways.

Title: ‘’PONGA PANDIT’’ an oil on canvas, Size – 5 x 7 feet.

The title ‘’PONGA PANDIT’’ is my take on the pseudo intellectuals; those quasi-holy men who, somehow have grown to display such a clout and have this uncanny ability to sway a large swathe of our gullible countrymen.

This influence over the masses enables some of these demigods to take it as an opportunity for their personal gains. One can find a large number of such pundits and chelas exploiting the fear psyche of their followers for striking it rich, and to my dismay,

158

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

people despite being aware of their deceitful actions, keep following them. My works have been known to get people who understand thinking.

JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

RK: My surroundings bring ideas to me. Living with people, keenly observing them inspires me to find ideas for my creative work.

Being creative to me means that if I can translate my thoughts onto a blank canvas, and express them enough so that it can communicate with the audience without being ambiguous yet subtle. If my art can convey my thoughts in the language of colours and still be honest; that is what I would say is being creative to me means.

The best advice to this day that I ever got was to ‘be you.' It is in by knowing oneself, one can filter his thoughts, which sharpens them and then they’re ready to be creatively expressed.

And that’s why I use myself!"

"PONGA PANDIT" Oil on canvas, Size – 5 feet x 7 feet Rajendra Kapse

159

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“God of Insurance’’ Oil on canvas – 5 feet by 5 feet Rajendra Kapse

160

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Whisper’’ Oil on canvas – 5 feet x 5 feet Rajendra Kapse

“Holy Group’’ Oil on canvas – 5 feet x 5 feet Rajendra Kapse

161

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Controversial book’’ Oil on canvas – 5 feet x 7 feet Rajendra Kapse

162

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Art Pitch’’ Oil on canvas – 30 inches X 30 inches Rajendra Kapse

163

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Glamoair’” Oil on canvas – 4 feet X 6 feet Rajendra Kapse

164

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Santa” Oil on canvas – 4 feet X 6 feet Rajendra Kapse

“PONGA PANDIT 2” Oil on canvas – 18 inches X 54 feet Rajendra Kapse

165

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Secret Game” Oil on canvas – 3 feet X 9 feet Rajendra Kapse

“Auction in Recession” Oil on canvas – 5 feet X 7 feet Rajendra Kapse

166

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Critical Connoisseur” Oil on canvas – 36 inches X 24 inches Rajendra Kapse

167

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Untitled” Oil on canvas – 36 inches X 24 inches Rajendra Kapse

168

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Steve Babbitt Education: 1990, Master of Fine Art, Photography, San Francisco Art Institute 1987, Bachelor of Fine Art, Photography, San Francisco Art Institute Professor Steve Babbitt was born in Oakland, California in 1954 and moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1992. He has been making photographs for the past 40 years. Babbitt has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally. His photographs can be found in the collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France; the Getty Museum Library, Malibu, California; the Dahl Fine Art Center, Rapid City, SD; the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; the San Francisco Art Institute; the South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, SD and the permanent collection of the state of South Dakota. Steve has been teaching photography for 22 years and is currently a professor of photography at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD. Steve lives in Rapid City, SD with his wife, Nancy and son, Stephen. Steve is represented by Herons Flight Gallery, Rapid City, SD; The Spearfish Art Center Gallery, Spearfish, SD and Getty Images.

Steve Babbitt Artist Statement “These images are a selection from my most recent, and ongoing body of work. I have been drawn to many types of photography and produced portfolios on a number of diverse themes and subjects during my career as an artist. These images are less about specific themes or projects and instead focus on the aesthetic elements that have been present in my photographs for the past 40 years – light, humor, irony, the beauty of the natural world and more recently, color. Whether I am photographing the landscape or an urban environment, it is these elements that make me pick up my camera. I am happiest when I am able to capture images in a way that truly reflect my vision and clearly communicate my vision to others.”

“Rocks” Photograph Steve Babbitt

169

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Cafe” Photograph Steve Babbitt

170

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Chicago Building” Photograph Steve Babbitt

171

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Out House” Photograph Steve Babbitt

“Fog Tree” Photograph Steve Babbitt

172

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“San Francisco Ghosts” Photograph Steve Babbitt

“Two Trees” Photograph Steve Babbitt

173

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“San Francisco Street” Photograph Steve Babbitt

174

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“New York Wall” Photograph Steve Babbitt

175

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Re bar” Photograph Steve Babbitt

176

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Wes Chavis Photo: The Readhead

JCAM: Tell us about yourself. Where were you born and does that place still influence you?

WC: I have no memory of where I was born, however I grew up and live in my Great-Grandmother’s house. It holds all my stories.

JCAM: Can you tell us something about the photographs displayed in this issue of JCAM? WC: As a Lumbee Indian, I am drawn to the Pow Wows. They are my church. Without the walls and pews of a conventional church, we are free to worship, not just The Great Spirit, but the earth as well. Dancing is our way of celebrating The Great Spirit. I capture those moments because they are poetic.

With one exception all these photographs shared here were taken at the “2003 Running Waters Pow Wow” Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA. The “Readhead” image (below) is one taken of my daughter at a location near where we live in North Carolina.

“The Redhead” Photograph Wes Chavis

177

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Pow Wow” Photographs by Wes Chavis

178

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Pow Wow” Photographs by Wes Chavis

179

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Pow Wow” Photographs by Wes Chavis

180

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Pow Wow” Photographs by Wes Chavis

181

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Jour nalofCr eat i veAr t sandMi nds

CREATI VE W RI TERS

June201 5/ Vol .1 , No.1

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Gina Gibson JCAM: Tell us about yourself GG: My name is Gina Gibson. I was born and raised in North Carolina. I grew up enjoying quick trips to the beach and afternoons to movies and malls. I moved to South Dakota about six years ago to teach at a university in a small, beautiful town in the Black Hills. The transition was startling. There were no malls to frequent or an ocean near by. But I have found a place in the hills. I have learned to love hiking, biking and snowshoeing. The hills have invaded my artwork and writing. I have also traveled abroad to places in Europe and Asia. In particular, Japan has found a way into my artwork as well. Elements such as water, hills, valleys, and architecture are a part of my work.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both work-wise and life?

GG: I just want to keep learning to live in balance. I want to find time to work, play, and to look at the world with open eyes.

JCAM: Can you explain what inspired a piece or idea particular work to be published with this interview?

GG: Some of the pieces submitted to this journal were inspired by a trip to Japan. The imagery was derived from my travels there.

Other pieces were inspired by the Black Hills of South Dakota where I live. I am inspired by architecture and nature. Sometimes I will think a door or the corner of a roof is beautiful and worthy of a longer look. I try to take the time to ponder and really see things rather than just look at them casually. It’s hard to slow down but slowing down helps me as an artist and as a person.

JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

GG: Allow yourself to explore those things that interest you (within reason). If you find something grabs your attention, chase it. Maybe you always wanted to try pottery, try it.

Maybe you want to paint nothing but abstract triangles for a while, paint it. Why not?

Don’t be afraid that it is cliché or overdone. Have you done it? And there is no need to think the thing you are working on right now has to be a masterpiece. It can be a part of your journey as a person, It can be something you made that connected you in some way. Just take pleasure in making.

184

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Poems

by Gina Gibson The fog is lifting.

The trees appear one by one.

The hills are slowly revealed.

I am in awe.

I never gave you my whole heart I kept some for myself And the hard exterior And the barbed wire And the locked gate And the moat that was never crossed I built those Long ago The hills are backlit by the evening sun.

Warm light bathes this gentle town and long shadows are cast.

I am aware of how fleeting and temporary this moment is.

So I open my eyes wide to take it all in.

Red earth Gold grass Black Hills You sing to me And call me by name I respond With a thankful heart Exposed rock and downed trees.

Give way to new growth.

The warmth of the sun reminds me Spring is here.

This place is mine and I am hers.

A love unexpected but true.

I meander through her paths and admire each curve.

I love her mornings and her twilight.

Her imperfections only lead to more understanding of who she is.

She is more than a place.

She is my home.

185

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Tonya Elk Locklear Hello, I’m Tonya Elk Locklear, with Native American roots to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the Oglala Lakota of Pine Ridge, South Dakota. I live in a small rural American Indian community in southeastern North Carolina, rich in tradition, culture and history. I have a loving support system of family and friends who have encouraged me along the way to do something with my writing.

In primary school and middle grades, I enjoyed reading and writing short stories and poems. As an adult, life happened where children and family became the main focus, and I put down my pen. Twenty years later, I returned to college to pursue my undergraduate degree in American Indian Studies and found my true passion — writing.

Through my writing, I want the reader to be a part of the histories and the experiences that American Indians encountered and still face today, and to view them through the Indigenous lens.

In school writing classes teachers would say, “You must keep a journal!” which I hated to hear and yet I’ve found myself writing that great piece of work on a scrap piece of paper, because I couldn’t find my journal; but I’ve gotten better. I now keep a journal and a laptop nearby for those times when that creative moment strikes!

For me, writing was a hobby at most and I never thought about a career solely as a writer. I was inspired to write by my professor in a Native American Literature course who is a writer and poet. She introduced our class to many Native American authors. I really enjoyed reading Simon Ortiz’ and Kim Blaeser’s work and my passion to write was rekindled. My future goal is to work toward my graduate degree in American Indian Studies and teach in higher education. I feel there is a strong need to keep the tradition of oral history alive.

I believe that creativity comes from the Creator who places that gift inside of us and we were created to bring joy to Him and to bless others. Writing poetry and short stories allows me to be a free, creative spirit and to express my inner self. Sometimes I can feel myself filling up with words and they have to come out. These words can be inspired by a thought, a feeling, the seasons, an emotion or a conversation.

The first piece I wrote, “For Every Season” was a reflective piece that tells my story, but it could easily be the story of any woman traveling life’s path. I share my stories from a female viewpoint and from the eyes of an American Indian woman. The best words of advice I ever heard and will always share with others was from my best friend who said, “Honey, just go and do it!”

186

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

HEALING MOTHER

by Tonya Locklear She’s mistreated. Abused. Abandoned. Neglected. Hurt.

Can anybody see?

Parts of her are worn; afflicted; out of balance.

Does anybody hear her?

She wails in pain.

She was beautiful. She was rich. She was fruitful.

But who really cares? Only a few reach out to help her.

Only a few reach out to care.

Only a few really know her.

She has power.

Power to bring joy. Power to bring comfort.

Power to heal. Life is within her.

All good things she received from her Creator And all things good are being taken away.

Broken pieces. Deep holes. Black death.

But … there’s hope.

Hope from the weeping cries of her children.

The cries from the mountains, oceans, rivers, grandfathers, grandmothers; my ancestors.

Hands reaching out for her can mend her spirit.

From the passion of her children She can be made well again.

From hearts of love, there is hope.

There is life and healing for Mother Earth.

187

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

For Every Season, Change Comes

by Tonya Elk Locklear

It’s Fall and time has passed so quickly.

It doesn’t seem like it has been that long ago, but she can tell.

Faded hair color, far away eyes, cold bitter winds. It only seems like last year That he caught her eye, he is not from this place.

Change comes He is a city mouse, transplant, halfbreed, but with skin like hers from the concrete, buses, buildings, city lights, night lights, the wašiču (White European culture); who found his way to the country. Dirt roads, trees, horses, chickens.

By way of his native ties to the land. And he spoke another language, not like hers.

A young face, strong and soft, he sounds funny. His words fast as lightning and bright like glitter. She is a young free spirit; full of spunk, color, life.

Eyes sparkling with excitement, like diamonds. She is from this place, tied to the native land, the country. Ground her ancestors traveled; to tobacco barns, in corn fields to pea fields, cotton fields, it’s her home.

Change comes Spring breeze, the babies are here. Who knew? Decisions to make, what to do, where to go?

Which road should she take? A new place, tiny space, a new time, but not home. She was in and he was out. Moving about, here and there. Not in one place. Not the same space, just trying to make it; work it all out. Too many people, too much fun, too many parties; long nights. In the darkness, she sits, gazes, wonders, reflects. It’s lonely.

She’s looking for the face in the moon, the face of her Uncί (her grandmother). To listen for her wisdom to speak; wondering. Is this the right road? Isn’t this suppose to be easy?

Change comes 188

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Leaves are changing. Time goes by. He’s out for a real long time, that’s how boys are.

Searching for something. For what? He don’t know. For how long? I don’t know, but he finds it. The quiet, still, alone place, where one can think, hear, reflect, listen to the inside: his heart. The place where truth and love live. He finds her; she is searching.

Searching for his heart, for peace, truth, love.

Change came She’s a strong native woman. Educated, full of life, wisdom, power; you can’t mess with ‘em. The cold, cold winter chill, grey in my hair, a slow easy pace, I’m getting older, I can tell.

For every season, change comes.

189

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Wes Chavis Photo: The Readhead

JCAM: Tell us about yourself. Where were you born and does that place still influence you?

WC: I have no memory of where I was born, however I grew up and live in my Great-grandmother's house. It holds all my stories.

JCAM: Do you have family, friends, or fellow authors who support you in your work, life and writing and how do they make a difference in your life?

WC: I keep my world very small. I am an introvert and get my inspiration from books and watching other people. Cormac MacArthur is my favorite author. He doesn’t use names, mostly pronouns. A character should be able to develop on its own. When you name it you don’t let it develop the same way as if it remains nameless.

JCAM: When and how did you start writing?

WC: Bad things happen to good people. And that is what started me on my path.

Writing was my way of dealing with the hurt I saw around me and also felt personally.

JCAM: Can you describe the time when you first realized that being an author was something you absolutely had to do?

WC: When I realized the page was my truest friend.

JCAM: Why do you write now?

WC: I have so many stories in my head that they must be heard. When I first started writing, my blog it was like a diary and then it took shape into something much more powerful. I want to take some of the short stories there and create a longer work.

JCAM: How has your writing changed or developed over time?

WC: It has gotten much darker over time. I can write sweet things, but I prefer the dark side of things.

JCAM: What are you trying to communicate with your writing?

WC: Most of my heroes are women. I want to communicate that a woman can overcome anything; that your demons can be conquered.

190

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

JCAM: Of the works published in this issue, is there one piece of which you are most proud? If so, why?

WC: The “Waiting Room” seems to be everybody’s favorite. Anyone who has sat with a loved one dying, however, my favorite is “Cell #14.”

JCAM: What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have? What element of writing do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important writing tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished?

WC: I always start with a pen and a journal and I finish on my computer or finish in my journal. It depends on what my characters have to say. They speak to me and when they have nothing left to say, I know my work is completed.

JCAM: What's the first work you ever published?

WC: I was in third grade and wrote "The Trouble with Saundra" it won first place at the county fair. It was a piece about my sister and me fighting over what television shows to watch. I don’t know have any idea why it won first place. I was proud of it, but the pain in my life took over and I don’t remember much about it.

JCAM: What are your goals for the future, both work-wise and life? What are you working on at the moment?

WC: I am writing series letters to a dead friend of mine that I hope to get published as a book. They are in my blog “Confessions of an Oreo Addict” as “My Dearest Friend…”

Likewise I have a series of short stories I would love to set free.

JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite living author? What author do you wish you could speak to and why? When addressing a particular work to be published in this interview: Can you explain what inspired this particular piece or idea?

WC: Mr. Cormac MacArthur is my favorite author. His writing style is so beautiful — it’s the way he writes. His writing is both prose and poetry at the same time. When I pick up one of his books, I’m in complete until I finish it. I know my writing is influenced by him, but I think my writing is even darker than his.

I wrote Fourteen it was because sometimes bad things happen to good people.

Sometimes we split from ourselves to deal with it, but we can always find our way back.

I feel that when the soul is weak, the mind can protect us from tragedy. And then the soul catches up.

JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

191

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

JCAM: No one has ever taught me to be creative. When I write, I have a picture of whatever I’m writing in my mind. It could be the devil or anybody. I once walked around my old neighborhood, from one dirt road to the other. The changes made me so sad that I couldn’t write about. But it was such a nostalgic time and I knew the memories wouldn’t leave me alone until I did. I think that as long as you listen to the spirit, you can get creative. You have to keep an open heart and work at being creative and let it visit you when it wants to. My insomnia works for me and Creativity comes to me at 3 am.

192

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Balance�

by Wes Chavis I took a walk back into yesterday. I turned my back to the setting sun, and retreated into the shadows. There I saw my memories come alive with vivid colors. I watched as the child I used to be grew into the woman I desperately want to become. I observed all this with such an emotional charge that lit the sky with the fireworks of my youth.

And they weren't photographs flickering in a projector like I thought they would be. They were living images. My memories smiled at me, and acknowledged that I was there.

My earliest memory. Me, young and in pigtails, crying to my sister to lift me up to the first handle of the monkey bars. I wanted to climb. Climb to the top like the bigger kids. I wanted to see the world as they saw it. I imagined the children on the ground, resembling small ants to the others as they played beneath them. I yelled to my older sibling, threatening to tattle to our mother if she did not perform the duties I so instructed. She, being older and wiser in her three years ahead of me, chose to take my hand and lead me home. It was getting chilly and the sun was setting. But, as I watched my young self reluctantly head home, I waved as she smiled goodbye.

My pigtails soon gave way to one long ponytail. Eight year olds rarely like the young girl look that I was prone to. Pine cones and trees replace monkey bars and slides. I watch as I take cover behind makeshift barriers as I partake in an aggressive game of war.

Rocks are thrown. Sticks are used as guns as the young soldiers around me take prisoners. I watch myself run to the other side and try to attack their captain. I begin to feel the anger of an eight year old as my own squadron abandon me when I am captured. But, the scene quickly changes as twilight shows a young boy knocking on my apartment door. I look on as he puts his arm around my shoulders and kisses me ever so lightly. The sweetest moment. This is when I first realize the value of such a kiss.

I can still feel the warmth of the sun on my back. Harder times lay ahead of me. I am no longer afraid to remember them. It is these difficult times that shape us just as much as the happier ones. Life is, after all, about balance. How are we to seek out the good if we never experience the bad?

Mom tells me we are moving to another city and I do not want to go. This new place, although home to her, is alien to me. Our destination is void of my grandmother, father, and the native culture that I am used to. I have no friends there. No one, but my mother's family, knows my name. I refuse to go, but I have no choice.

I see my first day in the new school. I try to make friends. I am ridiculed by the others. I am different. Too different. A year goes by and I am no where closer to being liked than I was before. My mother has become foreign to me as well. She works harder....longer.

Things are more expensive here, she informs me. I don't like this new city. I want my daddy. I stare intently at my ten year old self as she begins to pack her bags and head

193

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

north. For, not only is daddy in another city, he is also in another state. But, I smile her smile because I know she is not afraid. She is looking forward to living with the man who shares the same skin color as her.

I see the years pass by. I watch myself turn into a teenager. I see the hurt this new teenager endures at the hands of someone who is supposed to watch over her. But, I still smile. For I can now see the balance that is life. I see the friends I have made in this new state. These friends, who are still with me even as an adult, bring a richness to my world that I never knew existed. I have allies now. People who are willing to cry with me when I need them. I watch myself stand beside the lockers and laugh with all the others.

These bonds, formed out of adolescent need, are palpable. I touch the chords of love between us. I smile as I am blamed for spreading measles to the school. And I can not help but shed a tear when four young men lose their life in a car crash. That was the day I learned death reaches for us all. No matter the age of the individual. No one is promised a tomorrow. We only have today.

The memories are more vivid now. Rich with swirling reds and purples, I see myself sitting on the mantle of the fireplace, listening as my dad tells me I am moving once again. This time I will live with my grandmother. I am no longer wanted. I see my fourteen year old chest swell with pride. They WILL NOT see me crushed. I have a spirit and it is not broken. I watch her with awe. When did I become her? I want to reach out and tell her not to hide her emotions. Do not bury her heart. But, I remain quiet. This has to happen. Because in order for her to become me, she has to have her heart broken.

I have to sit down at this point. I have walked down many years and I am tired. The sun, still south of me, continues to warm my back. A slight breeze picks through my hair. The trees, limbs long and lush with green, rattle above me. Ahead, I see clouds form. My heart begins to quicken. I know what is ahead. I can not move further. It is not fear that keeps me seated, but an unwillingness to relive what I have lived over and over again for many years. But, I must. So, as I have done so many times before, I brush myself off, and continue my journey on.

The clouds are gathering quickly as I step into the storm. Thunder sounds nearby.

Lightening, striking trees hear and there, fills the air with electricity. And I force myself to see what I have already seen in my dreams.

I hear screams before I see myself. Fourteen. Crying. Shouting. Begging. I smell him before I can fully watch as he drags me to his hell. I try to turn my head, but the scene shifts to my new line of sight. It is real life. With the balance, you have to face the bad as you enjoy the good. So, I view this horror as the colors swirl all around. Reds. Violets.

Crazy shades of grey and black. They are all there. I remember and I watch closely as she sees me watching her. I want to save my young self from the act that will forever change me and shape me into who I have become. But, I can not. And so I continue on through the storm. Fear never touches my heart. Warmth floods through me as I watch horror after horror unfold. Unlike the dreams that I incur now, I do not feel the pain that she feels. As I begin to wonder why, I realize that I am not alone on this journey.

194

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

I never was alone.

The storms cease, but the clouds do not part. I have more hard times ahead still.

Heartache gives way to love. Love gives was to heartache. It is a vicious cycle that I continue to invite into my young life. I watch as I accept the crown of princess. I see myself standing tall. I am beautiful on that stage. Friends and family clap all around me.

But, I can see what they can't. The girl standing on that stage is broken. The thread that keeps us all held together is unraveling. The light has died in her eyes. I feel for her. For the first time on this journey, I clutch at the pain shooting through my heart. I ache for her. I see the tears flowing on the inside of her. But, I notice something else. She has no fear. Anger propels her. The colors dance around my teenage self. I am saddened, but I have hope for her still. The clouds continue to follow me as I graduate high school and enter into marriage.

A young marriage that I helped destroy because I didn't have the heart to love. The sadness deepens. Yet, again, I am OK. I am not alone. She is not alone. And while I try to tell my twenty year old self that, I am quieted. She is not ready to hear it.

Beautiful images reach out all around me. Filled with wonder and amazement, I can sense the electricity stir through the air as I see my loved ones die. One from brain cancer. Two more from a tornado. Another from Alzheimer. Cancer here and there.

Many funerals. Too many. Each death brings peace to me for I do not see it as an end to life, but another chapter in a long journey we are all destined to make. I feel the tears flowing as I watch a very young me curled up beside my cousin. She is beautiful. Full of laughter. And just as suddenly as she comes forward, the view shifts to her laid out in a pink coffin at the head of the church. But, this time my heart does not break. I rejoice.

She is where I hope to be one day.

I begin to move forward at a dizzying pace. My companion tells me I am spending too much time here. I do not want to leave the dead. I miss them so. My emotional flip flop causes more clouds to form, so I press on with the strength that is slowing forming within me. It is a fortitude that I have had all along, but was unable to tap into until now.

I see me in the hospital. Twenty-eight years old and terrified. I am with a doctor as he explains that my first born is dying inside of me. I watch myself fight tears that are expected to fall. I tell her to let them, but she stubbornly pushes them back. It is an all too common scene. I realize that I view emotions as a weakness. The expression of them makes me vulnerable. And this emotion, this one, I cannot experience ever again.

To me, having your heart exposed is the equivalent of a lamb being to led to slaughter.

I look on as I lay in the intensive care unit fighting to keep my unborn child alive. I tell her to hold steady and slow her heart beat so I can show her just how much I love her.

But, knowing what might happen, I am astonished as I see myself picture her being born premature and dying in my arms. And then I feel love and strength wash over me as the first time mother begins to pray with such earnest that the clouds on my journey

195

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

part and the electricity disappears. Months later, I am giving birth. Although it is a painful cesarean, the joy of a healthy baby overshadows all else. There is rejoicing. My beautiful Red Head is born.

Years move by. More friends come and go. Friends I thought would be in my life for good are only meant for a season. I smile as my son is born without incident. Right away he is his own person. Mischievous. Bright. Wonderful in every way.

More deaths of loved ones. More tears. More laughter. My great grandmother. An uncle.

A friend. We are all destined to lose someone we hold close to our heart. I know this now and will never question it again.

I watch me in my thirties. Arguing. Angry once again. Nothing is right. I feel so much burden. Too much to carry alone. My companion does not say a word as I tell myself that it is not mine to carry alone. She looks at me and shakes her head. The anger has returned and she does not want to hear it. But, there is something else hidden just below her frustrations. I sense an insecurity that I have not picked up on. I do not like who I have become. I am too different from my friends. Different from the man that loves me. I see confusion cloud his eyes as he repeatedly tells her not to be who she is. I try to warn him, but it is in vain. I watch, with anguish, as the younger me leaves with two children.

I know her journey is going to be so much harder for her.

More years pass. My last memory forms in front of my eyes. The clouds have given way, but a steady rain beats down all around me. I sit on the wet ground. I watch, unable to take my eyes off the scene as it unfolds.

I am sitting in a kitchen as he walks in. He is beautiful and perfect. My saving grace. He is the man that my memory can not find. Yet, as his eyes meet mine, a smile plays on his lips. He knows me. He saved me the night I almost died. We are forever bonded. We belong to each other and it is proven time and time again as I call apon him. I cry to him as I am told things that I do not remember. He takes me in his arms and holds me tight as I spill forth twenty years of rage and horror. He promises to take care of me always.

He is the good that must balance the bad. He is what I need. But, just as quickly as I find him, he is taken away from me.

I begin to cry into the soft ground as I watch myself take the call at work. I see me slump over as the caller explains how my beloved friend died so unexpectedly. I look up right at the moment the crying me realizes there will never be another person who will know me the way God knows me. I shake my head and turn to my companion.

"I am so mad at you for that," I inform Him. "That was my person and you took him away. Why give him to me to begin with? Why play with me that way?"

196

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

He puts His arms around me and slowly rocks me back and forth. I am His child. The answers He gives me make no more sense that the answers I give to my children when they ask difficult questions. It is not meant for me to understand. I know this, but I do not like it. It is the same way my child does not like an answer I give him.

"Are you ready to stand," He asks me.

I tell Him no. I want to lay in His arms a while longer. He lovingly obliges. Quietly we sit as the scenes of my life disappear. I am drained of life. I am unable to return to my starting point.

"You are here for a season," He explains. "This world is temporary for all of you. Your friend came back into your life just as you needed him. I send people to you. They are pieces of me to comfort you in times of dis pair. You have always known this. You are my testimony to the world. To those that do not seek me. They will listen to you. You will cause them to consider what they have forsaken. This is why I use you the way I do.

You are blessed, my child. Blessed and favored for I send to you what you need exactly when you need it. Haven't I always done that?"

I cannot argue. I was rescued when a rescue was needed. I was given money when I could not provide my own. A care taker became available when I could no longer care for myself. I have always had the blessings when I needed them. But, to be blessed, you must accept the pain. It is the balance of the world.

I go to stand and He helps me to my feet.

"It is a long walk back," I say.

He smiles. "It is OK. I am here to carry you every step of your journey."

And as God carries me back to today, I rest my head against His chest. I breathe in His scent which is my favorite scent. He smells of peppermint and fresh cut grass. He smells of autumn and falling leaves. It is comforting me and I begin to close my eyes.

Balance. That is what life is all about. It the ying to the yang. The good to the bad. The day to the night. To be blessed, we have to accept the pain. To become strong, we must be broken down so we can be rebuilt. To learn to love and enjoy life, we must know the anguish and the tears.

I feel His chest shake as He quietly chuckles to Himself. I lift my head to ask what He finds so funny.

"You got to be so arrogant. So independent in your thinking. You honestly believed you didn't need anyone in your life. You forgot the balance. And now that you remember, I wonder how long you will keep it with you. I am hoping it will be always."

197

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

As He sets me down on my feet, I see that we are at the beginning. I smile up at God in all His glory.

"There is one more thing you must take from this," He instructs me. "I have given you three tasks to complete. I have given you the tools to which you are to complete them with. Obey my command and complete them. You have free will not to. But, do not make me force your hand. I do not like doing it."

Humbled, I lower my gaze and nod my head. He wraps His arms tightly around me and I beg Him not to let me go. I pray to Him to take me where He is going. He tells me no. It is not my time.

There is a balance. With my dark thoughts, with my morbid fascinations, I am here for that balance. He has placed the shadows precisely where they are supposed to be.

There is a purpose that I must fill. I understand and watch as He leaves.

Balance. That is life.

198

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Death�

by Wes Chavis I kissed Death today.

It was delicious.

His lips were soft Like petals on a flower.

His breath was sweet As honey.

His embrace was Constricting and invasive.

I touched Death today.

I nuzzled my lips to his cheek.

I felt the smooth contours of his dried bones.

My fingers danced across his skull They twirled around his long fingers.

They scratched across his ribs and Tickled his spine.

I laid down with Death today.

He played in my hair Twisting the dark strands and turning them An ash grey.

He traced the contours of my body And I watched as my skin crumbled under his spell.

He parted my veins and Turned my blood to pools of black magic.

He kissed my eyelids and blinded me to the light.

I spoke to Death today.

He sang a sweet melody "Ashes to Ashes Dust to Dust Lay with Me And Forget the Fuss".

His voice groaned And I moaned with Pleasure and despair.

Never wanting it to end I begged for more, more, more.

I succumbed to Death today.

I went quietly.

Enthusiastically.

199

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

He brought me into his black cloak And took me down into the pits of his exquisite misery.

He wrapped my long hair around his wrist and turned Me onto my side.

He grasped my throat with his hand And whispered "Don't breathe".

I became one with Death today As our bodies moved in time.

His breath Hot on my neck, Quick and fearless.

My eyes began to drip The tears that I have longed for.

I took him in And gave him all I had.

Today was the sweetest day.

200

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Fourteen: Chapter 1”

by Wes Chavis This is how I am going to die. She thought miserably. Not at home in my bed. Not in a hospital room with people who love me. No. I am going to die on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere; surrounded by houses and no one willing to help me. Wonderful.

She knew they heard her screams. She could see curtains moving in the windows as he drug her by her hair. She fought him with everything she had. When you are kidnapped during the night, you tend to go into survival mode. You don't think what your next move is. You just fight. You fight to stay alive because you assume you're going to die. After all, if he hadn't intended on killing her, he could have found a more gentle way to get her attention than yanking her out of the comfort of her bed.

Correction. The comfort of the couch. That’s where she had been laying. On the couch, wrapped in an electric blanket under the glow of the kerosene heater. In April, the nights are still as chilly as a February morning. The trailer she was staying in didn’t have any electric heat to it. An open oven turned on high helped heat the living room that they all slept in.

They. They being her family. Her mother and two sisters were sleeping in the living room with her. She shared the long couch with her older sister, Crystal. Her younger sibling, Renee, occupied the love seat. Her mother was stretched out in the recliner, snoring softly. It had been a quiet night following a rather dramatic evening.

The banging of the door had awoken her…..had awoken all of them. Her sisters screamed first as he barged into the small room. Paralyzed with fear, all she could do was stare as his massive presence filled her line of sight. Without a word, he grabbed her and tore out of the trailer just as he had entered it.

She heard the girls continue to scream as he hauled her out of the house. Yet, no one came after her. The mother that held her hand at night and kissed her forehead until all the monsters in her nightmares went away was nowhere to be found. She was learning - quickly - that monsters did exist. In fact, monsters could break into her home, in front of her family, and with a swiftness unlike any she had ever seen, pluck her from safety.

No one followed behind as she cried and begged for mercy. No one shouted, threatened to call the police, or even uttered a simple protest as her legs dragged against the dirt. She held out little hope for a rescue team. At the age of fourteen, she was resigned to the fact that she was going to die.

I'm dying. But, that doesn't mean I'm going down without a fight.

They approached his driveway and he stopped to throw her over his shoulder. She took this opportunity to wiggle free and make a run for it. As she felt his grasp loosen around

201

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

her, she experienced the momentary sensation of freedom. Daringly she thought she may actually live through this.

No such luck.

With one hand, he reached out and snatched her back. Laughing, he tossed her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. She kicked. She punched. She used foul language.

His laughter rang out into the night.

Finally, she did the only thing she could think of. She pleaded for her life.

“Please,” she begged. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I am so so sorry. Let me go.

Don’t hurt me.”

He snorted. “Hurt me? Didn’t mean to, huh? Bitch. You don’t know the first thing about hurt. I promise you that.”

He began to climb the steps to his house. There were five steps in all. She knew them well. These were the steps that he first kissed her on. These were the steps where he told her he thought she was pretty. These were also the steps where she had told him she never wanted to see him again just hours earlier.

A lifetime ago, she had met him at his birthday party. She had stood on these doorsteps as he introduced himself. She was taken by the color of his eyes. Eyes that were neither blue or grey, but a mixture that left him with a gaze as intense as the sun. Her knees weakened as she averted her eyes from his stare; unable to hold it. She had no experience to draw on to handle the emotions that weld up in her. Over the next few weeks, she would feel her knees weaken, her stomach flutter, and her palms turn sweaty. Once she realized what was happening, she welcomed these little telltale signs of young love. He was what she wanted. He offered her the kind word that propelled her during a long day of school. He took her side when she argued with her sisters. He nodded in approval while she described a decision she had made that angered her mother. He was everything she needed and wanted, but never had. He was support. He was companionship. He was her ally.

Her mother approved of the relationship. Despite his twenty years to her fourteen, he was welcomed by her family. Their courtship had quickly blossomed from holding hands and light kissing to passionate love making. She gave him her innocence. He greedily took it.

Now, in a twisted sort of déjà vu, she had come full circle.

First step. She began to sob. Not cry. Not beg for mercy. But sob.

202

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Second step. She began her prayer. God, please. Please. Do not let me die. Where are you? Strike him down. Make me safe. I promise to go to church more. Just....please.

Don't. Let. Me. Die. Third step. The step where he told her he loved her. The step that saw him take her hand into his and look into her eyes....into her soul.....and tell her that he held her above all others. He would always protect her. Keep her safe. Take care of her. This sacred step was where she felt the warmness seep through her panties and down her jeans.

Oh, God. I pissed myself. God. Oh, God. He felt the wetness on his shoulder. He chuckled softly as climbed the steps.

Sick bastard.

Fourth step. This was the step that had ended it all. It was on this particular step that he had accused her of flirting shamelessly. He called her a whore and spit in her face.

Outraged, she had slapped him with all the force she could muster and told him they were over. He had shaken his head at her and laughed that laugh. The laugh she once loved, but now was sending terror throughout her body.

On this step. The fourth step. He stopped. He reached into his pocket and fumbled for his house keys; almost dropping her in the process. It amazed her that he had consciously locked the front door prior to kidnapping her.

He was always responsible like that.

Fifth step. She quieted. Her fight was gone. Her prayers went unanswered. She had nothing left in her. No hope. No anguish. No fear. She simply was.

Aren't I supposed to be seeing my life flash before my eyes or something? Since God has gone on vacation and my mom isn't here, who else is there?

He opened the door. Fluid in his movements, he threw her across the room onto his couch. He quietly closed the door behind him.

She briefly considered calling for her mom. Perhaps she was outside in the bushes, waiting for a surprise attack. To be sure the police were going to show up at any moment. She imagined her mother throwing open the front door with a squadron of troops behind her. In a fit of gun blaze, he would go down and she would be rescued. As quickly as the thought entered her mind, she dismissed it. She knew no one was coming for her. She knew she was alone. Her mother was not there. God had other business to tend to.

“You don’t know how much I loved you,” he informed her. He looked at her with such detachment, she wondered if he had ever really loved anyone.

203

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

“Just let me go,” she cried. “Let me go back home. You don’t really want to do this.”

“Oh, but I do.” He informed her. “I do want to do this. You have no idea how much I want to.”

Then he smiled. She looked into his eyes and saw none of the shine that had stolen her heart. His eyes were black and dull. His smile revealed jagged, razor sharp teeth. He licked his lips with an elongated black tongue that was sliced down the middle causing the two separate pieces to wiggle in different directions. She grimaced and tried to look away as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. A redness crept up around his neck. Veins bulged in his temples as if he was straining to come up with a particular thought.

This is what the devil looks like.

It was the fire that consumed her that she would remember the most. Not the pain as the fire shot forth from his hands as he touched her. Not the smell of burning flesh as he entered her body. But, the heat itself. She could not fight the heat. Her screams seemed to fuel the flames even more. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free from his grasp. As he pinned her down, the fire swept over her. His fire swept over her.

The devil is surrounded by fire.

No words were spoken as he grabbed her off the couch. Her undergarments seemed to melt away from the heat. Her nightgown, having already traveled above her waist line, offered up no protection. She fought. But, his hands hot, burning hands were too strong. He chuckled as she tried to free her wrists. At one point, he threw his head back in laughter as she tried to bite him.

I really, really hate him.

Engulfed in flames, all she could do was pray for death. Pray that Death was kinder than the God she once believed in and would deliver her from this hell.

She had heard stories of women who were in similar situations such as her own.

Women, aided by God and fueled by their anger, becoming victorious over their attackers. This was not happening for her. Her anger fueled nothing but his delight; and God was nowhere to be found. She began to doubt these tales of heroism. Rather, she believed, all these women were lying to cover up the fact that they were too weak to protect themselves from the evil of the world.

204

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

God, whatever I did to piss you off, I am truly sorry.

At some point, while he was still inside her burning her flesh, the blackness arrived and began to take over her mind.

I'm loosing it.

The walls around her began to shift. Blood seeped through the door and windows. The sweet stench of vomit filled the room. Dark reds, purples, and browns danced through the air. Electricity crackled and popped. The carpet beneath her became a stream of black sludge that stuck to her body; caressing the raw spots where her flesh had been burned. She caught the faint sound of laughter from somewhere off in the distance.

Smoke billowed out around her as the blackness spread throughout her mind. Before she lost complete consciousness, she thought she saw a lone figure standing in the corner. Watching. Waiting. With it's head cocked to the side, like it was listening for the same laughter that she'd heard only minutes earlier, the figure began to move towards her.

Hello God. How nice of you to finally show up.

She met It in the blackness. It reached out to her and offered her It's strength. It's raspy, coarse voice soothed her until she was free to listen. The dark killed the fire, It said.

Here, nothing can touch you. Only I can save you, It informed her. Not God. There is no God here. Only I exist.

Yes. She realized. My prayers are answered. Save me.

The blackness crept around her as she searched for the source of the voice. She couldn't see anything; fore the blackness was total. She wasn't scared. She was oddly at peace.

Am I dead? Is this what Heaven is supposed to be? Surely, I'm not in Hell. I left Hell back there.

You're not dead, It told her. You are here with me. I own the darkness. I brought it with me when I came to help you.

Where are you? Who are you?

Laughter reached her. Maniacal laughter that reminded her of the witch's laugh from the old cartoons her mom liked to watch.

Don't worry, It replied. I am what you've been waiting for. You called and I came. Now, open your eyes and see the chaos I created in your honor.

205

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Cries. That’s what she awoke to. Cries and the smell of burnt flesh attacked her senses.

She was too dizzy to think. Too dizzy to open her eyes.

“She’s coming around.” She heard a voice from somewhere over there. Another distant voice thanked God. There is no God here.

“Are you ok? Can you hear me?” She shook her head. She couldn’t seem to free herself from the blackness.

“Stay with me,” the voice begged. “Open your eyes. Talk to me.”

No. Let me go back. This is Hell. Return me to the darkness.

But the voices kept on. Begging her to open her eyes. To speak. She prayed for the blackness to come back. In the blackness there were no voices demanding ridicules things of her. There was no pain. Nothing but sweet, cold…..blackness.

“Maybe we should call the police,” a small voice suggested. That sounded like her youngest sister, Renee.

Geeze, that’s an idea. Maybe you should have thought of that….I dunno, when I was being DRUG DOWN THE FRIGGIN ROAD! Renee’s timid suggestion was ignored. The others argued amongst themselves about what to do with her and the body.

The body?

At that, she opened her eyes to a small band of people. Not the platoon of soldiers she had been hoping for. Her mother, sisters, and two men she didn't know were there. One of the men knelt beside her with a look of is that disgust I see? worry on his face. Her mother stood by the door; while her two sisters huddled together in the corner. The other man was on the far side of the room accessing her attacker.

My attacker. She thought bitterly. My ex-boyfriend. My Robbie.

"I got to get out of here," her mother declared. "This isn't right. I can't stay here."

Her sisters nodded in agreement and they all left out the front door. She surveyed her surroundings and saw what her mother had been talking about.

206

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

The blood splatter on the walls told a gruesome tale. What was once brown paneling had been replaced with blood and what she assumed was human tissue. There was a distinct odor in the air. Had she thrown up? Bits of skin hung from the crooked picture frames. What seemed to be matted hair was stuck in the carpet; along with some type of black mud. And what exactly was that hanging from the ceiling fan? Intestine? She touched her faced; feeling the swelling that would later become bruises. She shivered and looked down at her arms and legs. Her arms had long scrapes down them; as if Jesus, Himself, had decided to show her what the nails of Calvary felt like all those years ago. Hand prints were burnt around her wrists and forearms. Her legs were not in much better shape. Skin had been burnt off of parts of her legs. Her left knee was swollen with a knot jutting out of it. Her right ankle was purple. And she wasn’t sure, but it looked like she was missing a couple of toenails.

Where is he? Where’s that bastard?

The bastard, or the bastard’s body rather, was sitting upright against the opposite wall of the room. He looked as if someone had taken a giant cheese grader and played ‘scratch-that-itch’ down his face and arms. His left leg did not look just right. It took her a moment to realize what was so off about it.

Oh my God. His left foot was pointing down to the carpet. Where his knee would be visible; instead was the back of his leg. All one saw was his hamstring and his heel. His right arm dangled at his side. His stomach bulged out, revealing what the inside of a monster actually looked like. A tube of some sort ran from his abdomen to his mouth.

Tube? That's not a tube? Oh, God. Oh, my God. Did I do all that?

“Look at me,” a man commanded her. She looked up. “My name is Steve. I'm a friend of your mom's." He gestured towards the other man that was now backing away from Robbie. "We’re gonna get you out of here.” She nodded, unable to trust her voice.

Unable to trust herself. She tried to stand but fell to the ground.

“She needs a hospital.” Steve's friend said.

"I know," Steve replied. "You got your phone on you?" When the guy nodded, Steve instructed him to call the police.

The friend stepped outside to make the call. She leaned her head against the wall, not caring how bloody or nasty it was. Her rescuers were here and that was all she cared about. She felt Steve gently rub her head and she let him. She could not cry as Steve was obviously doing. All she could do was be thankful that help arrived before Robbie had the chance to kill her. She had no memory of the blackness. All she was aware of was the here and now. The trailer. Steve, her hero, and the smell that seemed to live in the room.

207

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Remembering Robbie, she stole a glance his way.

Robbie. Damn you Robbie. What happened to you? Why did you do this to me? What did I do to you?

As if sensing her confusion, the Body of Robbie looked at her and grinned.

She screamed.

208

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

The last word …

A sense of place …

In 1985, my younger brother and I traveled with our father to teach in China. Our journey from our home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the Foreign Guest House at Tianjin Normal University was exhausting and for the most part, sleepless. After thirtysome hours in the air, and several more by car, bouncing on rough roads that had no apparent traffic rules, we arrived to our destination. I felt jostled and disoriented, being swept through passages and doorways until at last, that final moment when I could put down my suitcase in what was to be my room for the summer. A sense of place was all I needed to ease my mind. Thirty years later, I still feel that same sense of place when coming home from even a one day journey. It’s the feeling you get when you can say, “It’s good to be home.”

Red Springs …

My husband John and I are fortunate to live in a small town in North Carolina. We are transplants who continuously seek to understand the dichotomy of this place we now call home. To reach a better understanding of where we live we have to understand its history. And to that end, have invited local historian and author K. Blake Tyner to contextualize the Southern Town of Red Springs as he has researched it. The panacea that was Red Springs for some, was also a place where people of color dared not dawdle. Now in 2015, there are fewer than 3000 residents in this, the second largest town in one of the poorest counties in North Carolina. For generations, this region has been home to Native Americans, African Americans and Scottish Whites. Robeson County is the home of the Lumbee Tribe, whose July annual homecoming swells the county population by tens of thousands. A new and growing population of Hispanic families have settled in this region as well, bringing with them cultural diversity and challenges of their own. In a place where towns are about fifteen miles apart and where public transportation to or from anywhere is scarce, the legacies of the South live on in both good ways and bad.

Margie Labadie President, Jumbo Arts International Red Springs, North Carolina June 2015

209

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

K. Blake Tyner JCAM: Tell us about yourself.

BT: My name is K. Blake Tyner I was born and have lived my entire life in the Carolina Sandhills where my family has lived since the mid-1700s. My research and writing is heavily influenced by this area. I have a large circle of family and friends that support my writing efforts. My late wife, Bess, encouraged me during our eighteen years of marriage.

JCAM: Can you tell us about how you came to be a writer?

BT: My first paying job in the writing field was writing the social news for my hometown paper. I was fifteen and literally was paid two cents per word to write about out of town visitors and people’s vacations. I write because I feel that if I do not share these stories I will bust.

JCAM: What can you tell us about your writing process?

BT: My favorite time is when I print out my work and can hold the pages in my hand as I read them aloud. For future projects I am looking at starting some fiction and historical fiction writing.

JCAM: What was your first published book?

BT: My first book “Images of America Robeson County” was done as any independent study while I was a history major at the University of North Carolina Pembroke.

JCAM: What is in your future as a writer?

BT: At this time I have several history books in the process. I am also ready to try my hand at historical fiction.

JCAM: What can you tell us about your inspiration for writing?

BT: It is my home that inspires me. By “home” I do not mean the four walls in which I live. I mean the bigger home that is made of not only the Sandhills, but the Carolinas at large. In one day you can wake up at the beach start driving west and pass through some of the most beautiful farmland before arriving at the great North Carolina Mountains. This trip can be made in just a few hours. The Carolinas just enfolds you and comforts you like a mother’s arms.

210

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Carolina Stories K. Blake Tyner Everyone’s home town or community holds stories that make it unique, be it the way the town got its name, the famous person who grew up there, a strange custom or some unusual celebration.

Most of my childhood was spent with my great-grandparents and their siblings and friends. This meant that often times I heard these stories where kids my age where out playing tag or ball. The older I became the more these stories would haunt me and in time found me conducting research to verify the stories.

As with the case most times I found some stories to be completely correct, some to be mostly correct and some to contain only a slightest bit of fact. I spend most of my time concentrating on the stories of the Carolinas and especially the Sandhills area.

The Sandhills area is the ancient beach dunes area that divides the Piedmont and the coastal plain and generally starts about 70 miles from the coast. When asked by some historians why I focus on local history my answer is that all history is local history. Had someone not cared to write about their local history in ancient Rome or during the French Revolution just think that of the stories of those people and the area would not exist today. K. Blake Tyner Red Springs, the Saratoga of the South For centuries people have been drawn to the mineral springs in America and around the world. It was claimed that the waters of Saratoga, New York would cure kidney and liver complaints, rheumatism, diabetes, heartburn, cancer, malaria, hangovers and, “weakness of women.”

“The Springs”

211

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

The red colored waters of Red Springs became a drawing card for those seeking relaxation and health-giving waters. We learn about the legend of the red waters from Beatrice McEachern Bullock’s 1969 booklet “A Brief History of Red Springs.”

“An Indian Brave at sunset, returning wearied from the day's hunt, knelt to drink from the deep spring that bubbled cool and refreshing from the sands beneath the towering pines. He thought to rest awhile before seeking the lodge where a dark-eyed maiden waited. But, alas, his rival for the maiden's hand, lurking in the forest, sent a death arrow speeding and the stricken warrior fell forward into the quiet waters and sank from sight. Only the bronze hued blanket flung across his shoulder, was left floating silently on the surface.

And even today when the late afternoon sun throws its slanting rays through the trees, the dying light catches the gleam of the blanket that lies always just beneath the surface of the water.”

Gone long since is the wide, deep pool from which the Indians drank and to which many years later, journeyed plantation families seeking the pleasant, health-giving water. In its place came pipes from which the same medicated water gushed freely, leaving behind the familiar russet sediment. Summer cottages, a hotel and a few permanent homes began to cluster about the spring and a tiny village came into being and took its name from its famous water.”

“Hotel Red Springs” On March 11, 1775 "Sailor" Hector McNeill received a land grant from King George III of England and he purchased the adjoining tract. This property covers most of the present town.

The waters started attracting not only settlers but many visitors. Malcolm McNeill, Jr., grandson of "Sailor" Hector, constructed a hotel on what is now Main Street

212

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

just north of Second Avenue. The hotel opened July 4, 1852 was great fanfare and festivities including the Lumber Bridge Light Infantry. Malcolm McNeill, Jr. died two years later and his brother, Hector McNeill, known as Squire McNeill or Red Hector, took over the hotel.

In the October 14, 1858 issue of the Fayetteville Observer gives an account of a reporter’s visit to McNeill’s hotel: “Mr. McNeill is an intelligent, industrious man very attentive to his guests and over solicitous of their comfort and enjoyment. Of the water, there can be but one opinion – it is delicious. No one can sit for, on a warm day, beside the gushing fountain, drinking freely of its crystal water, without coming to that conclusion. It is delightfully cool, clear and sparkling. To drink a half dozen glasses in as many minutes is no uncommon thing.”

The hotel and nearby fairgrounds of the Robeson County Agricultural Society were the sites of all major special occasions and events including a visit in the 1880s by former Governor Zebulon Vance. Vance Avenue was named in his honor.

“View of Hotel Townsend in Red Springs” In 1891 the hotel property was purchased by Solomon Townsend and his son, Benjamin Wesley Townsend, natives of Richmond County. Solomon was married to Hannah Jane Baldwin and his son chose Janie Robeson McMillan, daughter of Hamilton McMillan, as his wife. The Townsends demolished the old hotel and built Hotel Townsend.

The Townsends chose Phil Wright of the firm of Wright Bros., former manager of the LaFayette Hotel in Fayetteville and hotels in Danville and Charlottesville, VA, to operate the hotel. Newspaper articles about the grand opening extolled the hotel and all its amenities which included, “electric bells, gas-lighted rooms, hot and cold baths and cuisine worthy of the manager’s reputation.”

213

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

The grand opening took place June 30, 1891 to a full house of guests and visitors including a special train with two cars from Fayetteville and another train with guests from Bennettsville, Cheraw, Maxton and Rockingham.

These visitors declared the hotel in all respects equal to the Atlantic Hotel at Morehead City, “The board piazza of the hotel, so alluring and cozy for the confidential and even lover-life tete a tete, the embowered walks leading to the spring and the leafy campus with its clumps of overhanging trees.”

“Hunting Party” The Fayetteville Observer stated the ball lasted from 11pm until 2am and then went into great detail about the dresses and jewelry of the female guests including: “Miss Mamie Bidgood in Blue silk, Marechal Niel roses and pearls; Miss Lida Wright in black China silk with a demi-train, gold trimming and ornaments and carrying an ostrich fan; Miss Ruth V. Smith in cream point lace over white silk wearing diamonds; Miss Vista Dudley in cream dotted Swiss and diamonds; and Miss Bessie Irby wearing cream satin and lace with diamonds.”

An advertisement for Hotel Townsend in 1896 declared it as “one of the best arranged in this part of the state” with indoor baths and toilet rooms, live music

214

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

during the season. An1897 advertisement heralded that it had all modern conveniences and that the waters could cure stomach and kidney ailments.

Rates were $2 a day, $10 a week or $30 a month.

The Hotel Townsend served as the place to host huge events like in August 1905 when it was the center location for all the activities surrounding the annual Home Comer’s Week. This was a time for all former Robesonians to return and renew old friendships. Senator JL McLauirn of South Carolina stood on the porch to deliver his speech about Scottish poetry and history to 3000 people. In September 1910 the hotel hosted a visit by NC Governor W.W. Kitchen.

Many people used the hotel to host private parties like the All Hallow’s Eve party in 1902 given by Miss Ida Townsend which featured a gypsy, witch and ghosts with weird and fantastic lights. A writer talked in length about the food served which included chicken salad, salmon biscuits, peanut sandwiches tied with ribbons of color, frappe, coffee, chocolate nuts and luscious fruits. This writer then apologized for not being more familiar with many new stylish dainties served on the occasion. The Leap Year Party of 1912 hosted by the young ladies of the town entertained the town’s young men. Lots of amusements filled the evening including the men’s apron hemming competition which Hector Currie won.

In June 1907 the property was sold and purchased by The Robeson County Educational Association which was incorporated by C.G. Vardell, J.I. McMillan, J.N. Buie, H. Graham and B.W. Townsend. The association’s purpose was to establish a school for boys, a library, and a nursing school. The hotel was refurbished and the next year was advertising that they had updated to an all electrical system and had installed a new water works system.

It was after this group of new owners took control that the name changed to Red Springs Hotel. In 1910 the manager J.L. Harrison hosted all the stockholders and their families which totaled 100 for a Thanksgiving Dinner. Candles and an oak fire lighted the room and the Levin’s Orchestra of Raleigh played during the dinner.

Guests returned year after year for the healing waters and the plentiful game hunting in the countryside. Couples like Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Craig of Canada who loved the mild climate of Red Springs and its refreshing waters. In the April 28, 1897 Fayetteville Observer appeared a letter from Mrs. Garrason saying that when she first arrived at Hotel Townsend she had not been able to eat for two months. She goes on to say she saw no change in the first week but by weeks two and three she was able to eat without inconvenience and started to gain weight. She finished by saying it had been a year since she went to the springs and she would advise a visit by anyone suffering indigestion.

In 1936 the old hotel was becoming unsafe and it was demolished and the

215

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

lumber used to construct the gym at Flora MacDonald College. This same gym building burned to the ground April 16, 2015.

During the tenure of this hotel there were others in Red Springs including the Exchange Hotel owned by J.C. Buie and later purchased by A.B. Pearsall and G.H. Hall. Mrs. Nellie Shooter, a very talented milliner, worked hard and in 1891 also built a hotel and added to it in 1894. Known as Hotel Red Springs it had an office, parlors and dining room as well as twenty-one guest rooms. It stood on the corner of Main Street and Third Avenue. She rented it out to several others over the years at times taking over the management of it herself. It closed sometime before 1908 when the Hotel Townsend was named Hotel Red Springs.

The hotels were not the only business to make money from the springs. In March 1906 the Red Springs Bottling Works was opened by BW Townsend, Martin McKinnon and AB Pearsall. They produced carbonated water, high grade ginger ale and all kinds of soft drinks.

Red Springs reigned as the South’s Saratoga for almost 85 years and now only survives in yellowed newspapers, faded postcards and memories of older residents. You can still drive down Main Street and see one of the old spring sites covered with a shelter and marked with a sign.

Author’s note: Saratoga, New York has long been known for its healing waters.

The Mohawk tribe called the area "Serachtuague" to refer to it as a "place of fast moving water." Early settlers recommended the waters as a cure for everything from kidney and liver complaints to hangovers.

“Come have a cool drink!” says Dr. C.G. Vardell Founder of Flora MacDonald College Red Springs, North Carolina

216

JCAM, Vol. 1, No. 1

Information for Potential Submitters JCAM is a project of Jumbo Arts International which holds all rights exclusively.

JCAM focuses on creativity and publishes original works and articles on many subjects: visual art, creative writing, poetry, performing arts, craft artists and interviews, reviews, and columns on subjects appropriate to the focus of the journal.

All requests for submission information should be sent to: jcam.jal@gmail.com Upon request, interested parties will be emailed all information and documents required for submission of work to JCAM. JCAM publishes twice each year: 30 June and 30 December. In order to assure timely responses, submitters should contact the JCAM Team well in advance of these publication dates – a minimum 60 to 90 days is suggested.

JCAM publishes in English.

Current JCAM information is available on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JournalofCreativeArtsandMinds All other questions regarding the JCAM should be sent to: jcam.jal@gmail.com

217