My Mission Statement

Here in a creaky and worn, slightly slanted rocking chair at my apartment in Enumclaw, at the recent age of 28 years, on this day, March 11, 2012, I have decided to make artistic excellence my life’s endeavor.

First and foremost I will fight and work to use my talents to bring glory to God. I may not succeed in this goal, but I will pray that God will guide my eye, my heart, my mind, and my hand to further His Kingdom and portray, to the best of my ability, His radiance and truth. I have no starting point, nor do I have any inkling as to where I will begin, so with my current objective being the preparation of artwork for a show in this small farming community in the coming month of September, I will demonstrate patience and skill. At the very least, I want the amount of observable effort going into the works to marvel the viewer.

I am also making it my mission to learn digital art and design by going to DigiPen in Redmond. At this time, I need only to finish my application and do a small series of portraits and figure drawings from life in order to show my observation and rendering skills. I trust that God will bless this endeavor if it is His will to do so. I will lean on prayer and the unfolding of God’s plan in my life to direct this path.

I hereby dedicate myself to the study of art, both ancient and contemporary, with everything in between. In order to do so, I will utilize the internet, books, museums, classes, galleries, and the knowledge of other artists. I will compile a list of links to books available on Amazon, for future purchase, in order to contribute to my intake of art and knowledge. I will shop at second hand bookstores to find treasures. I will find books that are written by artists, as well as biographers and historians.

In all of this, I will endeavor to be patient and content. I will aim at glorifying God, and learning what it means to do so. If I begin to get stressed, overwhelmed, tired, negative, spiritually deadened, and/or artistically stagnant, I will look towards scripture for inspiration and invigoration; I will also not be afraid to take a nap. I will not shun friends, but will shun unhelpful distractions. I will let the day unfold and will not watch the clock.

I will not be afraid to be creative. I will heed advice, but will not let others rule my art. I will think about how my art may relate to viewers, but I will not pander to the audience. I will not be afraid to be original. I will not be afraid to be traditional. I will try to the best of my ability to be sincere and genuine.

I will heed the advice of Kurt Vonnegut on the subject of art.

“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

And I will attempt to apply his guide to writing to my art practice:

1.    Find a subject you care about.

2.     
Do not ramble, though.

3.     
Keep it simple.


4.     Have the guts to cut.

5.     
Sound like yourself.


6.     Say what you mean to say.


7.     Pity the readers.

The Dating Site Dilemma

Don't register with a dating site. Even if you're lonely. It's not the answer, although it may lead you to it.

I'll explain:

Dating sites work for some people. At the least, one may find a friend or a boost of encouragement from their experience with a dating site. At the very least, the dating site may be able to film an awfully awkward hidden-camera commercial of a first date, where the guy uses some 'wit' and the woman giggles or guffaws. At the lowest, you'll have an inbox full of winks, nudges, smiles, prods, and waves from people you don't know, you don't really want to know, and you don't really want to know you.

I'm all for meeting new people, but let's be honest. Let's tell the whole story. You're sitting there on your computer checking your facebook, seeing all of the greener pastures that your friends are munching on, and you sigh. All of a sudden, you see this magical link to a dating site that promises love to the lonely. You're a Christian? Try Christianmingle! You're in college? Try Coedsingles. You're a homeless person? Try Shareacardboardbox! So, with your interest piqued, you click on the link.

Look at all these pictures of happy people! They're riding bicycles and laughing. They're giving piggyback rides and laughing. They're on a dinner date and laughing. One of them must be pretty funny. Well, you're funny, right? Of course! You're encouraged. So you start filling out a profile.

You don't want to give too much information to this site; none of that billing stuff or upgraded profiles (just the basics, please!). You just want to see what sort of reaction you'll get. You choose your words wisely, trying to craft the most sharp and clear portrayal of your interests and likes and hobbies and preferences. It's so clear and precise that it's like looking directly into the sun. You blind them.

But let's not go crazy and start posting our photos or anything. First we want to see our prospects. Let's browse. Well, first let's narrow down what we want in a potential date. Let's uncheck all of the 'more to love' and 'may need some exercise' boxes. Okay, now we can start looking in our area.

You've gone through about four pages of profiles with maybe a couple of books that look interesting when judged by their covers. Lo and behold, now you've hit a possible genuine page-turner. Let's check the profile. Likes movies. I like movies! Likes having fun. I like having fun! Likes a good time. Wow! These are the same sort of vague insinuations I made on my profile! We're two of a kind!

Smile. Wink. Nudge. Prod. Wave. Can't send a message, because I'm not paying for that service. We'll just see if we can't communicate some other way. Maybe morse code through the use of smiles. I should probably add a photo now, so they can see my face. Let's just make sure it's the diamond in the rough. The tropical island in a sea of bad or old photos.

And we wait.

And we check.

And we have received smiles and nods and etc. But not from the leather-bound Book of the Month. It's from all of these grocery store book aisle titles. They're all mass market paperbacks. So we shun them.

And we wait.

And we check.

And we have received more smiles and nods and etc. From more paperbacks. We shun them.

And we repeat.

And we realize that this is pointless, because we started this whole journey with a specific sort of person in mind. We wanted to find "Anna Karenina" (not literally, because she was an adulterer) and we found "Tempest of Torture" and "Bubbles in my Cereal" (not real titles, but the best generic titles I could come up with). We weren't really looking for a tide of strangers to engulf us, but that's what happened. And guess what? We were part of the tide of people that engulfed the person that held our interest. It's messy and unorganized. It's tough and cutthroat. It's a jumble of not-so-accurate profiles and best-picture-I-could-finds and I'm-of-average-weight-because-I'm-not-as-large-as-that-large-mammal-that-I-see-everyday-on-the-buses.

And then you realize that it may not be right to try and force something, but that it may be better to focus on how you can interact and meet a person in-person, without seeming like a grocery store item, but instead like a mysterious treasure. You see that it may be worth the heartache and trouble and hard-work of getting to know somebody through an organic process, because then you really get to know them and appreciate them, much like the difference between discovering a new band and being told to "listen to this new band". You find the worth in the new band instead of being sold on the worth of the new band. It will be much more satisfying and lasting as you unearth the treasures hidden within the other person, instead of having them advertised in a partially-inaccurate light.

So, please, if you must use a dating service, it would be advantageous to think about these things. You may think that I'm way off - that this blog has a mix of superficiality, selfishness, and cynicism. There may be some truth to that. I think it's more about honesty, though. I think that dating sites, though convenient, fun, and even sometimes helpful or rewarding, can be a hindrance to character growth and self-examination. But I don't purport to know everything and I can't say that it hasn't worked for many people. That's why this blog is titled "The Dating Site Dilemma"

Wink.