Contemplate

It has been quite a year! After finishing at the restaurant I thought I would have time to contemplate life but as usual I have filled it up again. I'm obviously that type of person. My art has improved a little (I hope) but my respectability (shiver) as an artist has grown a lot. Sometimes overnight successes happen but mostly it's just sheer hard work and persistence that brings recognition of the value of what you do (not that that is what I do it for of course!!). I hate the self promotion and just love the doing.
The loss of my good mate Ronny was hard but it made me think long about what I want from life (and it's not respectability!). Maybe it's time to move on.
My kids are busy in their separate lives and the grand children grow inward and outward every time I see them. Life has a habit of rounding off sharp edges and I have to work very hard not become a rotund little ball.
I wish you all (the 3 of you)a very happy festive season.

An inconvenient truth

I have always thought that even if we are wrong about the effect man has on global warming, what we do to fix it is only going to help the environment. But now I wonder. Big business has got hold of trading in emissions and taxing a country to it's knees is only acceptable if it makes a blind bit of difference.
A few figures from Air Con - The inconvenient truth about global warming by Ian Wishart
CO2 levels now - 385ppm(parts per million) - average temp 14 degrees
Co2 levels around 180 million years ago rocketed up from 1200ppm to 2500ppm and the temp dropped from 22 degrees average to 16 degrees with no cars, planes and coal fired power stations.
Are we being conceited in thinking our 3.4% of carbon emissions as compared to natures 96.6% are tipping the balance or is it just a natural, cyclic change which has happened many times before and we can do nothing about.

Quote of the day - Jim Jarmusch



From Happy Famous Artists

Poor, poor artist

With the arrival of the sculptors last week it struck me again how poor most of them are. If any of them have a decent vehicle it's because they have a second job to pay the bills. Is this right? Do we really undervalue our artists so much. I'm sure we respect them just as much as the plumber who earns $40 an hour. It's as if people think they are doing what they love to do and if they want to make a living go and get a proper job like the rest of us.
I think it is making people aware of the value of art in their lives. I was trying to sell a sculpture (not one of mine, I find it much easier to sell someone elses work)) to a woman this week, she loved it and kept looking at it but said she couldn't afford it. I asked her what would happen to her if she bought it. Would she be thrown out on the street, starve, have no Xmas presents for her children, die... no no no no. I told her in six months time she would have forgotten the struggle to find the money and would have a beautiful artwork to raise her spirits and fill her life with joy. She teetered back and forth and then left with an apology. I guarantee she is now regretting that she didn't follow her heart.
Most of the artworks I have purchased still 'talk' to me every time I see them and so enrich my life experience. How do we get that message across to potential buyers??

Shame

I have been traumatised all week! We entered our first yacht race with the Whitianga Yacht Club last Wednesday and the first buoy was set at the entrance to the harbour with a full tide running out at 8 knots. I was sure I had sailed far enough past it but when I turned the boat sideways to the current it swept us onto the buoy which hooked up one of the rudders and we were left stranded in full view of the town while the rest of the fleet sailed away.
Now you can say what's the problem but it's a small town and I have a reputation to keep up and of course Mike the mailman was there so I had no chance of keeping it a secret.
So we struggled to get free for an hour until a power boat came to our rescue and we sailed round the course with the other boats far in the distance.
Still we should have a good handicap for this weeks race!!

2009 Symposium

I've been a bit tardy with blog posts (as if anyone noticed!). Below is the finished work and artists from our symposium with thanks to photographer Hazel Shepherd. The winning work by Chris Van Doren is at the top. The auction went well, we sold 15 of the 24 pieces.