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first off, a quick plug for Daily Mouse. they are playing a full show at Lito�s in worcester on saturday night. (9/20) come on down & say hi. i�ll be there & you should be too. show starts at 8pm. Daily Mouse is also playing on sunday at the start on the street fest. they go on just after 4pm. a big thank you to April for the questions. if you want to know how to be a part of this ongoing question chain then read the details near the end of this entry. Now the questions: pure accident. i was working in an art gallery & someone from the museum called looking to see if we knew of someone who could install an art exhibit for them. i was the person who installed the exhibits at the gallery, so i said, �i can install an exhibit for you.� i went to the museum & installed the exhibit. they liked what i did & asked me to install the next exhibit. then the next� & the next� & the next� ten years later they decided that perhaps they should make my position permanent. a few years ago they started my training me in arms & armor conservation. now i cover the exhibits from start to finish� conserve the objects, make the mounts, install the exhibit, break it all down & start all over again with the next one, all while taking care of loans, the permanent collection, the touring exhibits & what ever else they throw at me. yeah, it keeps me on my toes, but then again, i work with some objects that are over 3,000 years old & that is damn cool. 2) You've run a poetry series pretty much continuously for about a decade. What sacrifices have you had to make in order to do this? Were those sacrifices worth it? back in the old days (mid to late 80s) i made a decision to immerse myself in the worcester arts scene. i left college, rented a studio space in a gallery & reinvented myself. i dropped my past & became the person i wanted to be. i went from being another outcast dragging his ass through an underwhelming existence, to being a full-time artist who worked part-time jobs to pay the bills. i became a painter, photographer, musician, performer, poet & organizer. i have given up so much over the years to do what i do� jobs, moves, relationships, friendships, education, money, health� & in many ways, happiness. in my drive to become an artist, i found myself becoming very protective of the artists around me & of the scene that nurtured me. i let myself become immersed in the scene, but the scene became a large part of who i am. now, i find myself afraid of loosing what i have &, in doing so, loosing who i am. there are times i feel too connected to the little nitch i�m in & wonder just how much of me is left outside of it. i think that is the biggest sacrifice i�ve made� a loss of my sense of self & my sense of independence from what i helped foster. i know that one day i will simply walk away from it all� pick up & move away or simply just drop out of sight. i will leave what i have to those who care as much as i do. the thing that scares me is what i will do after that. who i will be when that comes to pass. will i even like the person who is left when everything else is stripped away? 3) Both you and your wife have an array of creative talents. Throughout your life, have you always been attracted to other highly creative people? Do you think your life would be more or less challenging if you'd married someone who was, say, an accountant with little to no interest in artistic pursuits? i�m a sucker of a beautiful face & a strong brain. the few times i was involved with people who were not creative types were a disaster. i like being surrounded by creative & interesting people. i have a big soft spot for the freaks & misfits of the world. i don�t think i could ever have married someone who was not smart & artistic & dynamic. being married to someone who is as creative & talented as you are (or, in my case, much MORE creative & talented than me) makes life challenging in all the right ways & for all the right reasons. i have a great respect for anyone who loves what they do & do it well, but i think artists do best when they are with people who at least have a love & understanding of the arts. there are exceptions to the rule (there always are) but i think, for the most part, that artists need other artists. i don�t think you find that in too many other fields. (when was the last time you heard, �it�s a roofer thing. you won�t understand�?) 4) Imagine that you buy a scratch ticket, and once scratch, you realize you've won $20,000. How would you spend the money? get a bigger apartment, send my wife into the studio to record, take my son toy shopping, pay off some debts & buy some drums. 5) What one accomplishment in your life are you proudest of? Explain. making it this far in life. there were times in my life when i knew i would not make it. times when dying seemed like the sweetest thing in the world. yet, for some reason, i kept on living despite what i was feeling. to this day there are times when that darkness wraps around me & i feel very alone & very hopeless, yet i still keep breathing. there are parts of me that i don�t understand & probably never will. there are thoughts that scare me & make me wonder how i�ve gotten so far. yet i think there is still more i need to do. i know that there are great victories & crushing losses still to come & i believe that i need to experience all of it. i need to learn as much as i can so i�m ready for what comes next. someone once said that life is not a sprint, it is a marathon & i am in it for the whole race, even if that means stopping to rest every now & then. i�m in no rush to finish� i�ll get there when i get there. to quote Thurgood Marshal� May I die at 80 at the hands of a jealous husband. there you go. now it�s your turn. here is how to be a part�
hope you all have a good weekend. more later. be well. |
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