So when I talked with some members of the North Charleston Artist Guild during the North Charleston Festival in April, it seemed like a closer fit to what I wanted. It’s only a year old and is still in it’s formative stage, which means that it’s members are flexible and open to new ideas. Although organizational structure is a necessity, I believe that any organization that serves creative people should strive towards openness and actively encourage creativity.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, the reason I attended my first meeting at the North Charleston Guild was in the hope that I would find others who had similar ideas about the importance of creativity. Lo and behold, the person who had just assumed the role of President established a philosophy that was both exciting and scarey. Daniel Nadeau announced that he wants us to interact and cooperate as a group, in the hope that this will stretch our perspectives and lead us to be more creative.

I left the meeting feeling elated. As I drove towards home, I began to second-guess my behavior. I’m sure I talked too much. I may have even babbled on and monopolized conversations I engaged in. I don’t have many opportunities to talk to other artists who I relate to. When I do, I think I act like a schoolgirl who has a crush. I vacillate between talking expansively about creativity and holding myself back when I think I have said something inappropriate. My self-doubt spars with my under-utilized social skills, like it’s right-brain versus left-brain.

My philosophy of art is simple. It may sound naive to artists who have established technical skills, but I believe that creativity is the most important component of art. If one approaches the process of art with creativity as the primary goal, then technical skill will eventually follow.

So I decided to find another medium and papier mache seemed logical. I find it more suits my organic approach to sculpting.

Although I’ve had a plan to make a papier mache doll for a long time, I didn’t start a project until I saw the work of a fabulous miniature papier mache artist that I got inspired. He inspired me with the amount of detail he obtained with incredibly tiny works of art.

Here is the unfinished sculpture. I’ve put a lot of work into it and I wanted to share it. I used toilet paper and watered-down white glue on a small wire armature to build up the form. I’ll post more pictures as more progress is made. Once the sculpting is done (hands, face, etc), she’ll be painted and wigged.

What absolute simplicity. And the inventor is only thirteen years old!

Here’s a link to the story.

Most surprising, I can marry people in South Carolina. This is possible because a marriage is considered legal if both parties sign the marriage contract in the presence of someone who can notarize the document.

What is the difference between these: words, concepts and ideas? Is there really any difference at all?

Who cares?

This entry has been an exercise is showing you the kind of stuff that wanders into my mind.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

I recently notified the entire known universe about this blog, via Facebook. Until I had done that, I was happily composing my thoughts here, content in the belief that only a random accident would bring a visitor to these pages. Under this assumption, I could be free with my opinions.

But now that others know where to look, I will have to become more circumspect and guarded. I will have to scrub my posts to make sure I don’t offend anyone. At least, not too much.

I guess I just don’t want to appear like a fool. I’ve seen too many other people do that already.

Why would I use such a disparaging term for someone I had admired so much for his technical prowess? His introduction of me to ADP and his subsequent positive recommendation was the only reason that ADP even considered me for the programmer position I so craved, since it was standard procedure to require a degree for employment and I had only a high-school education.

This man had once been described as a “Prince of Darkness” with regard to his programming skills. He was one of the smartest and fastest programmers I ever met, even compared to the many brilliant programmers employed by ADP. He was a super-nova among stars and was always on the cutting edge of technology.

In spite of his awesome capabilities, his personal problems overshadowed his accomplishments and ultimately consumed him.

It was such a waste and very sad. I guess my attempt to feel better about this tragedy is to inject the situation with humor by referring to his location as a “looney bin”. Actually, I’m not sure if he’s still alive. At one point he was so desperate that he attempted to kill himself.

If I had any influence over the path fate has in store for him, I would wish him a more satisfying future. Ah, but I can’t even guarantee that for myself.

Simak continues to fascinate me with his style. He insinuates himself with his masterful depiction of human behavior coupled with his immense imagination of technological possibilities. His descriptive expression of ordinary people in extraordinary situations pulls one into his world in a very comfortable way.

He died in 1988, but his work continues to inspire and fascinate today. If you can find this little paperback, don’t hesitate to get it.

Most of us seem to want to stay in a sort of comfort zone of knowledge. We don’t even entertain the possibility that there is any thing of value outside of that zone.

Why is that? Is it a biological imperative to be conservative? Do the safety-oriented individuals have an evolutionary edge over the risk-takers? Probably so. But it is the innovators who ultimately drag the species forward, kicking and screaming, as they cling to what’s familiar.