I moved - kicking, screaming and certainly very stubborn - to my mother's hometown area when I was in high school. Okay, I think the stubbornness is an honest genetic trait in the family tree, but I had more than enough to spare. I didn't want to be uprooted from my friends to be planted in rural Ohio. Much to my mother's despair, I never settled in and flourished the way she wanted me to. At one point, she bought me a pin that said, "Bloom where you're planted". I never bloomed. I never felt planted. And, I couldn't wait to leave Ohio.
I was gone for decades.
Although I never expected it to happen, and would have sworn I'd never do it, I moved back to Ohio. It was to help care for my mother when she was sick with Alzheimer's. I couldn't bring myself to move to her hometown. I still hate that place, but I settled in Columbus. I know it surprises most people, but the capital city of Ohio is the fourteenth largest city in the United States. Seriously, who knew? And now, I finally feel like I'm blooming a little in Ohio. Mom would say, "Well, it's about time!" I wish she were still around to see it.
If you follow my art, you know about my cartooning for teachers and my portraits from around the world. Well, this year I've found myself in Ohio without any overseas travels - for quite a very long spell. So long, in fact, that I have finally caught up with all of the international portraits on my "to draw" list. I've had photos I wanted to draw from travels dating back at least twenty years. There was never enough time to draw all of them. Yes, I know, I kept traveling so much that the list kept growing instead of shrinking. But, like I said, I've been in Ohio quite a long time since it's not been easy finding sponsorship for international mural projects at this present moment. Last month I finished my final portrait . . . until I can book my next international project. Then, hopefully, happily, I'll have many more portraits on my list.
Also, last month, I brought my African portfolio of portraits to the King Arts Complex in Columbus. If anything happens with the African-American community in Columbus, this is the place. It's incredible. Actually, the purpose of the visit was to introduce them to the work of my Liberian friend Patrick, a prodigy I met while muraling with the U.S. embassy in Zwedru. I wanted to see if they might want an exhibition of his work. "Show and Tell" began with my art. I wanted to hear the appropriate oohs and aahs as they saw my work and then show them what a real prodigy could do. Patrick's work knocked their socks off. I said, "Well, I hoped you'd like it. I wanted to know if you'd be interested in an exhibition or if you can direct me where I need to take his work."
"The exhibition will be here," declared the cultural arts director. Five words that made my day. And, then there were a few more unexpected words that I didn't ask for, consider or even dream about. The cultural arts director continued, "When we show Patrick's work, we would like to exhibit your art as well." So, some time in the coming months, there's going to be a show at the King Arts Complex that I'm going to be so proud to be a part of.
I think a seed definitely took root and started to grow - in Ohio of all places - at that moment.
Franklin Park Conservatory in the springAs I said, my list of portraits is truly completed at the moment, but an artist is an artist and will always be an artist. So, I pulled out my nearly unused watercolor set. I can count on three fingers the number of finished watercolor pieces I've made in my life. But, I've started up painting a few local landmarks in and around Columbus. I mean, when in Rome, you know what to do. Unfortunately, I'm not in Rome right now, but I am finding some inspiration in Columbus. Who knew? Besides my mother, I mean.
The James Thurber House and Museum, in ColumbusI have kept busy in the past year, net-working to the best of my ability around the city, trying to get people interested in my murals. It's been painfully slow, but some good things are starting to happen. Among the people I met with was Tom Katzenmeyer, President and CEO of the Greater Columbus Arts Council. (Why not aim big?) He suggested I post my work on their Columbus Makes Art site. Someone might discover me in their directory and I could get updates concerning future competitions.
Who knew Tom knew what he was talking about?
Also last month (a very good month, I must admit), I was contacted by some people interested in a mural project at a big Columbus mall. (It happens to be the mall directly across the street from my home.) And yes, they found me from the Columbus Makes Art website. At first we discussed the possibility of a huge community mural on cloth, but they had no location to hang the finished project. Then, the idea was tossed out to paint the huge flower pots scattered across the mall. All in all, there are 250 of them. I love that concept. It could still be a community project like my murals. We could paint six to ten pots at a time in an open location in the mall so all are free to observe and the brave can participate. Possible themes in sets of ten could include famous masterpieces, farm animals, dinosaurs, state symbols and national landmarks. The only limit to the list of possibilities is imagination! No promises were made . . . yet. But, if it takes off, I said I would be willing to go to other malls in their chain to help create art -- especially the one in Hawaii.
And, again last month, the Greater Columbus Arts Council announced two competitions for local artists. I never knew about these in the past, perhaps because I never lingered in Ohio long enough to get their notices. And, you never have a chance to win if you don't enter. So, I did just that. One competition is for displayed art in the Columbus' Arena District, across the street from the baseball park, along the wall at the A&R Music Bar. I'd seen the four posters there before but had no idea how they got there. Well, I can now tell you that the artists entered this annual competition. Out of all the entries, ten are selected to be voted upon by the public. Then, the top four get displayed for a year. Basically, if you make the top ten, you almost have a fifty-fifty chance to win. And, my portrait of an Aztec dancer is officially in the top ten. Thanks to Google maps and Photoshop, I can already show you what "The Aztec Sun" looks like if it makes the next cut. And, I think it should. If you agree, go to this link and vote for me.
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"The Aztec Sun" as I envision it in the Arena District display in Columbus.
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As for the second contest, not so much luck . . . this year. space Still, it looks like there is evidence of some roots growing and a little blooming in Ohio. But, truth be told, I'd kind of like it to be in a potted plant. There's travel in my blood and my passport is always ready. I don't think it surprises anyone when I say that I'd much rather live anywhere in Africa as well as southern Brazil or some place in the Spanish-speaking world.
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