First Monday with Characters

Edited by Morris Dean

Susan C. Price, in juried art show

i have been working (not hard, just now and then ) on seeing if "fine" art (really, i cannot think of my work as fine...seems a silly term to me in this context...maybe ...interesting, bright...but not, fine) can "work" for me. By "work," i think i mean acclaim, notice, and cash. My brother claims it's just acclaim and notice...

    but having just completed an analysis of my monthly spending for the first half of the year (yes, i track expenditures in 15 or more categories against a monthly budget that i adjust annually) and i am overspent in most categories...oops (see photo)...and/or if "art on stuff" will provide some or more of the acclaim/dinero...like art on clothes (but...i don't control production, so that is unsatisfying, and even in the ultimate "tinsel town," if entertainment folk are to wear your stuff, you have to provide it FREE TO THEM :-)). Or like dishtowels...great idea...but i realized i was too lazy to run 4 hems on a small sewing machine i could buy (hey, saved $70 by NOT buying that!)...instead found excuse to replace old Nook HD (well, it really wasn't working well...except in the book-reading function) and buy new tablet (wait...i find it interesting that i am clearly ADDICTED to buying new stuff all the time...well, how American?).
    i am not learning how to really connect in a marketplace...now, my idea is to have silk scarves made with my painting designs. This seems doable...we shall see ...i understand marketing...it's just that i am...well, lazy...meanwhile, i do have 6 drawings in a gallery sale/show and later this week and july i will hear about 4 applications to "juried" fine art exhibitions, some with prize $$, some with glory...and i have a piece up for auction in August (and i had to pay to have it framed..there is always "investment" required) and yet...i avoid getting to the easel to actually WORK AT IT...ENOUGH
    oh, wait! this just in: i had a painting, "Judy's Pandora," accepted into the juried Los Angeles Municipal Gallery biennial show (855 art works, whittled down by 3 respected local art folk into 100 "winnahs"). :-) Feels good to have the universe say YES again.

"Judy's Pandora"

    Now i am waiting on only THREE more competitions / selections.

Christa Saeger, Baltic travels and other adventures

My travels around the world have made this the craziest, yet most incredible, summer.
    I began by taking a group of 10 students from the American International School of Utah to an intensive chamber music and dance academy in Kyustendil, Bulgaria. We studied Bulgarian language, history, music, dance, and cultural practices. After our group performances, we took a tour of the country to Sofia, Plovdiv, Sozopol, and Koprivshtitsa. Little did I know this was just the beginning of a whirlwind summer.
    Then I had a glorious weekend getaway to Vienna, Austria! A professional musician who has never been to Vienna is almost unheard of. I toured the apartments of both Beethoven and Mozart, took two bike rides around the city, and saw Salome at the Wiener Staatsoper.
    For the next three weeks, a co-worker and I began to pilot a new arts therapy program in St. Petersburg, Russia, utilizing music therapy, dance therapy, art therapy, and eurhythmics, among other techniques, to work with children and new mothers who suffer from Reactionary Attachment Disorder or RAD. RAD is a very serious disorder in which an infant or young child does not develop healthy attachments to its caregivers. In each class we focused on targeting a particular symptom of this disorder: anger management, communication, impulse control, honesty, and teamwork. The hope is to develop a collaborative arts curriculum as an alternative treatment for this disorder and extend our program within the Russian orphanage system. We are very excited to have been accepted to present our work at the Western Division American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Conference in Pasadena, California this coming February.

Julia and me dancing to some piano music

The whole class on the final day

    My parents happened to be taking an international tour to Russia at the same time, and we were able to meet up in Helsinki, Finland for a wonderful 24 hours of seeing the sights of the Suomenlinna Fortress and downtown.
    After we ended our series of arts therapy classes in St. Petersburg, we decided to take a tour of the Baltics on the St. Peter Line. For only 100 Euro, you take a 4-day cruise to St. Petersburg, Russia (VISA-free), Helsinki, Finland, Stockholm, Sweden, and Tallin, Estonia. If you have never been to these cities before, this cruise comes highly recommended!

Helsinki: Sibelius Monument

Helsinki Cathedral

Gamla Stan (Old Town) in Stockholm

Old Town Tallinn

    Once I was off the boat, I took a taxi straight to the airport, where I was off to Prague, Czech Republic, which is where I am writing this. Interestingly, while I was in the taxi, "What a Wonderful World" began playing on the radio, the same song that began playing when I was leaving St. Petersburg on a boat the previous time I was there over 3 years ago....
    I spent yesterday touring the Prague Castle and the rest of Mala Strana. Today, I poked about the Jewish Quarter and saw the tightly packed Jewish Cemetery. Definitely, a must-see! Tomorrow I am very excited to be seeing Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Estates Theater – the very theater in which this work was premiered in 1787.
    I look forward to returning to the United States after 4th of July weekend and continuing my summer! I will be participating in a 3-week Chamber Music Festival at Illinois Wesleyan University.
    I think, after all this, I will need to take at least a few months off traveling, although a little bird told me I'm going back to Bulgaria in October...oh dear!

The Rogers, partying in Mississippi

Guess who came to a party Janie and I were having with our friends and relatives in Mississippi?

André Duvall drove down from Memphis!
(shown here with Ed)

André Duvall, in celestial season

I had saved up vacation time over the last year, and in late May I decided to spend some of my summer days off in the Denver-Boulder Colorado area. It was an opportunity to catch up with friends whom I hadn’t seen in a few years. Since they know the kinds of things I like to see, I entrusted them with selecting most of the places we visited. I toured the Colorado State Capitol building as part of a lifelong endeavor to visit as many of the state capitol buildings as possible. The edifice, built in the 1890’s, is notable for containing a large amount of Colorado Rose Onyx.

State Capitol from the back side

Rose Onyx in the Colorado State Capitol

Many of the walls and columns throughout the main halls and open spaces are constructed from this rare marble, which at the time of construction could only be found in one area of Colorado. The construction of the capitol resulted in the depletion of the world’s only supply of Rose Onyx, and it was only during construction that people realized that the marble could not be found anywhere outside of Colorado. The beautiful contours seen on the polished marble walls often suggest images to tourists, including the face of George Washington. Unlike most of the other capitols I’ve visited so far, this contains a balcony on the cupola for public access. The dome contains real gold, which is a nod toward the Colorado Gold Rush.
    In Boulder, I toured the headquarters and factory of the Celestial Seasonings tea company. For a company that ships so much tea to stores across the country, I was amazed to learn that every tea bag is produced in this medium-sized facility. I was able to learn about and/or view several steps in the manufacturing of tea bags, including the milling process, storage of ingredients, packaging of the tea into bags and then into boxes, and quality control. It reminded me of a live version of factory tours I used to watch on Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. My olfactory system was delightfully stimulated when I walked along the hallways of the large warehouse space where most of the tea leaves, spices, and various other ingredients lie waiting in large bags to be sent to the milling room. One of the most memorable parts of the tour was walking into the room that stored the peppermint leaves. Because both spearmint leaves and peppermint leaves carry such a strong aroma even when contained in bags, they are stored in their own rooms separate from all of the other materials. On this particular day, there were too many spearmint leaves, and the overflow was placed in the peppermint room. Walking into that room was one of most intense aromatic experiences I have had…it permeated my clothes and my sinuses. I also learned about the eminent “Blendmaster,” who has worked for the company for around 40 years or so, and wields tremendous influence in the quality-control process as it relates to the specific content and proportion of ingredients of each tea blend. Any changes must be approved by him before the process goes forward. I saw him through a window, and perhaps this is the room where he sits and sips tea blend after tea blend, ranking and categorizing each and every ingredient according to many parameters.
    I also enjoyed travelling to a few mountain outlooks, touring a currency exhibit at the U.S. Federal Reserve, and visiting the resort town of Estes Park, in addition to plenty of chances to just converse with my friends. I would love to go back and do more hiking.

Overlook near Boulder looking west-northwest

    Earlier in June, I worked at two summer week-long programs that I enjoyed very much. One was the 14th annual Mid-South Chess Camp, which I have worked at every year since 2008. I always learn a lot and have a great time helping the younger students learn. The other was a piano day camp, in which I taught music theory, music history, private piano, and ensemble piano to a group of talented and hardworking students. Both of these events were in the greater Memphis area. Later this month, I’ll look forward to serving as piano faculty at the UNC Greensboro Summer Music Camp in North Carolina.
    In June I also had the rare privilege of meeting fellow Moristotle & Co. Contributing Editor Ed Rogers. He was back from Costa Rica visiting family in North Mississippi one weekend, and through Morris’s facilitation, we were able to connect in time for me to drive down from Memphis and visit with him at his family cookout. We had fun sitting and chatting about many topics. He’s a great guy whom I found easy to talk to!

Dawn Burke, on the Buffalo River

Typical things going on for this character for this time of year. Trying to keep the Grands doing some homework so they will not forget all they've learned by the time school starts back up.
    Had a little trip to one of our favorite places on Saturday, June 27 : The Buffalo River.

    One rainy day in the recent past we had bunny visitors I've named Ebony & Ivory. They belong to the neighbors.

    I hope everyone is having a great safe summer!

Kyle Garza, still on honeymoon

The wedding day (June 7) was nearly flawless, the honeymoon in Kauai was perfectly relaxing, and the few weeks we've been back have been hectic! Putting a house together is quite a lot of work...Even as I type this, this is the first time we've had running email available on the home computer. Apparently my email had exceeded capacity and my phone wasn't telling me that, so now I'm having to run through a lot of old stuff and filter junk.
    I guess you could say we're still on honeymoon. Our summer courses begin next week. So much house cleaning to do though...I managed to do most of my summer reading already, which is great: I'll have a good head start on classes.
    I should be well-established by the end of July. At least, I hope so!

Ralph Earle, relocated

Last month I left behind my peaceful woodland home of 25 years, in favor of an apartment on the fringe of the Raleigh area, adjacent to a beautiful lake park. The reason was downsizing: a home built for a family of four is too big for a family of one, even supposing the cat and dog have their own private bedrooms. So I have started a new life in a new neighborhood, closer to work, and much closer to my girlfriend.

James Knudsen, in much wandering

[June 25 note:] I've been in San Diego much of this month. Long story, but it's going well.
   [June 26 note:] I have something in mind regarding San Diego for First Monday, image rich.
   [July 2 note:] I had hoped to have a Monday Characters piece for you, but circumstances have me wandering the length if not the breadth of California these past few days and as a result I am unable to supply the story I had intended to send. I am trying to get back to San Diego today, not looking forward to it. Once there I'll be reunited with my technology.
   [Editor's note: James's story arrived just under the wire and will appear as tomorrow's Tuesday Voice column. The inset photo supplies a hint as to what it's about.]

Jim Rix, spilled

Speak of the devil! Who says I never go to see doctors? I went over my handlebars on June 25 and landed on my face and shoulder. Fortunately I hit dirt, so nothing was broken. Face looks bad but shoulder feels worse. It was the one I dislocated a while back. And I have a bruised thigh, but I only notice it when I walk. Got to see the ER room and use my Medicare insurance for the first time since I became eligible in 2008. It worked great. No charge. I did have to pay for the painkillers, though, because I don't have Part C coverage, as I don't take meds of any kind. I will live to bike again once I get my bicycle straightened out. And never the same bike path!
    Will send recovery photo with proper medicine for such an accident. Recovery is speedy. Despite sore shoulder, with son Lee's help I was able to move into my new abode on July 1.

Jim's recovery photo, revealing "proper medicine"
[added after original publication]

Morris Dean, fluttering more
    Over recent months I have had more of the chest flutterings I reported in September's column. Though not painful or debilitating, the increase was concerning, so I have been seen by a cardiologist and was fitted with the same sort of monitor I wore for a couple of weeks last summer to get a factual reading on the number of skipped beats and palpitations I am having these days. I mailed the monitor in today for analysis prior to next week's treadmill EKG immediately to be followed by an echo-cardiogram. It's possible that all of this is simply benign and will indicate no medical or medicinal intervention. Some people my age have hundreds of irregular beats an hour and are not considered to be at any particular coronary risk.
     I have established the daily routine of having an early-morning, fast, 45-minute walk. It's hard to say for sure, the flutterings are so quiet, but I may be having fewer of them as a result. And my breathing seems to have approved. My three visits to the fitness center each week now ignore the boring aerobic devices and focus only on doing sets on ten selected strength machines, sometimes with a lap or two or three in the swimming pool (I do the non-competitive back stroke <laugh>).

Copyright © 2015 by Morris Dean