PARCHED

We sweat.
You say,
It’ll be fun to round the canyon
separately & wave at one another from
either side so we set off from touching to inches apart then
repelling onto divergent paths
You grow
smaller the further we go

Abhorring empty space, the driest wind blows
in like an airborne rag & sops
all moisture locked up in
bottomless clouds

Muffled moans from your matted
lips speaks for you under the painted
sky. The less you say, the more
I hear how deep the chasm goes

You stand a desert monolith-
the ledge on my side straining forth to
meet again the ledge on yours yet stretching
stones can never breach the gulf
fixed between, carved by rushing
waters

My echoed words ring out, ring
out to riddle the fog in the valley below where,
lost in distance, they fade.
Even with the hollow mile between you
read my thoughts if not my lips they
clinch tightly to your walking stick and
travel onward

My hope like tumbled boulders pierces the
membrane of cliff & air, plummets, plunges,
falls to the base of the gap exploding into
red-earth fragments to litter the canyon floor with
shrapnel prayers. Empty clouds descend to mingle with uprising
dust of clay eating you, your silhouette, devouring
the ghost of you obscured & swallowed whole

I thirst.
The last lonely drop from my little canteen burrows
into the tip of my tongue and I step-by-step
continue my trudge beneath the baking sun thinking
many thoughts which all end in the truth-
I’ll need more water soon

PURPLE [the sequel]

Purple
the color of bruises
inflicted with intention
or without
pulses with heat
at the onset

But purple melts away
with time
fades to green around the edges
Healing feathers out.
yellow creeps in-
distills
into lovely
scars

Raised memories of
the purple
that once burned
so brightly
signaling
unexpected trauma
at the impact site.

Ground zero for:
chances taken,
risk calculated as worthy,
pain deemed worth receiving,
wounds welcomed into a life
Regardless
of how much
they might hurt
in the end

Purple’s flipping over
into other form
bookend expressions
Yin & Yang
balancing out the red
& the blue
in between

The two that eased
quite close
but could never
completely
disappear

The dash between
two purples
as something:
recorded in journals,
documented in photos
transcribed
on
blank paper

Details growing fuzzy
like the border
of a bruise
the farther they
venture out
from the center
of
the wound

To toss a glance back
over a shoulder
wince, cry, remember-
long for, smile, cringe-
savor, revisit, miss-
cherish

Like long-lost bruises
painted over
with
virgin skin

CORNERS

Do you only feel the closeness of me-
to me-
when I’m there to touch,
be touched?
When I leave-
turn a corner-
do I vanish, disappear
from you
altogether?

Do your thoughts wander off
to things we’ve done-
things we’ll do?
Are there ruts in your memory-
a trail of where I’ve trod-
that you return to time & again
to walk in,
to remember-
me
when I’m miles afar & away?

Do you think of:
my feel,
my sound,
my smell,
my taste?

Does a slideshow play when you close your eyes?
Recounting scenes of two characters
sharing
a common set?
Or does the screen go blank & fade to black?
Does the seat fold up behind you?
As you leave the theatre half forgetting:
most of what you saw,
half of what you felt,
the lines we spoke so well?

Do you think of me like I think of you
once my scent
on your collar
has faded?
Can I hope? Can I dream?
That when our fingertips part that
I haunt your waking moments
as the thought of you haunts mine?

Do I drift from you like clouds in the sky
over the mountains & out of your sight?
- cease to exist -
Do you write my name high enough in the sand
to avoid the lapping
waves
of the tide
that want so strongly to wash
me
away?

When I’m gone-
do you notice something missing?
Does it cause a little sting
in tender places?
Or am I merely a wispy dream
you forget upon waking-
a vague shadow of a thing
you wish you could recall?

Do I get to linger near you
once swallowed up by the hungry night
of other lives lived separately?
Or is the ghost of me forced
out of the house
until the next time I
draw near
and peek around
the corner?　

Invention: The Unhighlighter. Removes the neon glow but leaves the text when you accidentally highlight an item. ~GypsyLuc

If the chance is taken to continue after the sad, sad death- would the outcome be more like a Phoenix or a Zombie? ~GypsyLuc

Hear ye, hear ye. The Queen & the Bishop of the sovereign nation of YelloWall take an Ambassador Tryp to the Scribes of Detroit. ~GypsyLuc

crazy idea brewing... residential/artist studio space. 60,000 sq ft bldg in Bucyrus for 50K! need investors, vision casters, grant gurus & worker bees!

YelloWall Collective - 'Substitute'

It took weeks for this random group of creative thinkers to come up with a name for ourselves. So when the thought was tossed out that we throw our collective talents into a common visual arts submission for an upcoming art show, we - of course - had to sift through quite a bundle of ideas. What we settled on was an 'exquisite corpse' project of a life-sized figure with the working title of 'The YelloWall Doll'.

The specifications:
- Allot one body part to each interested artist
- The artist would then create the 'life-size' limb/organ/part using the medium of his/her own choosing
- During creation, the artist should bear in mind the need for attachment to the other components & incorporate a hook, loop or other connection point

A total of 20 artists ended up participating:
Ken Arthur, Laurie Beekman, Jeff Bell, Linda Chevalier, Kevin Cochran, Kathy Fetzer-Goodwin, GypsyLuc Hargis, Jason Kaufman, Misty King, Jenny Lucas, Tracy McAdams, Antoinette McMillen, Karch Mohafer, Andi Phillips, Kate Shannon, Cameron Sharp, Tyler Sweet, John Thrasher, Kate Westfall, Sabrina York

With that many artists in the mix, we ended up with some amazing elements fashioned from a multitude of materials. These materials ranged from the organic end of human hair to the manufactured end of a prosthetic leg.

In addition to the efforts of each artist to create his/her body part, there was also a lot of effort put forth in organizing, assembling & transporting 'Substitute'. Through the process we experienced excitement, frustration, cohesion, problem-solving, teamwork, creation, synergy, pride & elation. We had absolutely no idea how the final project would turn out. When you throw together 20 different artists with vastly different visions, styles, skill levels, preferred media & voices you definitely go into it with a big question-mark at the end.

In the end, the hard work & headaches paid off! The exquisite corpse piece was accepted into the 65th Annual May Show at the Mansfield Art Center http://www.mansfieldartcenter.org/. But not only was it accepted, it also won a cash award for creativity.

During the opening reception, patrons of the show were constantly huddled around studying, discussing & pointing at 'Substitute'. From conversations, it seems that what drew them to the piece was intrigue, fascination and, mainly, the understanding that many individual parts came tgether to form a cohesive whole.

The one thing that remains to be seen is what will become of our little 8' tall Frankensteinesque creation once the show is complete. There has been talk of finding him a permanent home somewhere in the Mansfield community where he can continue to live & breath & share his almagous message. As a Collective, we would love to see that happen. Of course, if it doesn't, we've already got a backup plan in the works...

[See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse to learn more about the history & variations of an exquisite corpse project.]

Death of a Tattooed Banana

The over-stimulating banter on a recent conference call birthed the Tattooed Banana. As my simple, nutritious, fresh-fruit breakfast lay before me I abandoned my usual distraction of pen on paper. As I sat there studying its skin in all its yellow glory, I noticed patterns in the little brown spots & nicks. They reminded me of fingerprints, birthmarks, tattoos...

So, I grabbed a nearby permanent marker and began drawing beautiful, random things to embellish it further. It was my gift to the lovely, delicious fruit. I picked out the natural markings already meshed within it then proceeded to 'tattoo' the entire banana. Obviously, it was quite a long conference call...

I then decided to chronicle the demise of said banana as it lived out its life-giving purpose. And now, it's sacrifice is immortalized for all to see & savor. Let us celebrate the truth that this simple banana lived a good life, received a beautiful addition to it's fleshy garment & gave far more than it took. I feel privileged & blessed to have been able to partake of its boredom-destroying, experimental, tasty, wholesome goodness.

Electro Dynamic Machinery

My "Electro Dynamic Machinery" piece was accepted into the "Borrowed Words" show. I used the altered book format along with collage, acrylic & a telescopic antennae for this piece. The concept is that of organic relationships vs electronic interference. The scene is that of a mother, child & family pet by a fireplace. Only, instead of a fire, the hearth takes on the attributes of a television set displaying a mechanical image and a mathematical formula. The words that peek through from the background, the image of a scale/measuring device on the mantle & the antennae jutting from the top of the piece reinforce the concept.

The vintage, homey image juxtaposed with these more industrial elements is meant to speak to the place where deep relationships & personal interaction have taken a backseat to the more distant form of technological communication. At the same time, there is still a sense of connection & interaction & shared space between the characters. Is this an altogether bad development in society? What do we need to do in response to it? Can true connection still happen with wires, transmissions & motherboards in between?


ROY G BIV Gallery for Emerging Artists http://www.roygbivgallery.org/ is the show sponsor. The exhibition is at the Columbus Metropolitan Main Library Carnegie Gallery at 96 S Grant Ave, Columbus, OH & will take place from Thursday 5/6/2010 through Wednesday 6/16/2010.

The criteria for the show:
"The work must use text as a visual element in the work. Examples include but are not limited to comics, captioned photographs, and collage, to name a few. Creativity and ingenuity in the work is, as always, greatly encouraged.

The words comprising the text must be borrowed from previously published texts. These can be from a diverse array of sources - lyrics, printed articles, novels, famous speeches, slogans, etc."

The Opening reception will be Thursday, May 6 from 5pm-7pm. Come out & support local arts & artists! Be sure & study the Borrowed Words that are left behind in the background of the piece.

"Volary"

Funny.

I have had pieces juried into major art shows in Charlotte & a half dozen other cities/metro areas. In those places, I receved multiple awards for my artwork. When I moved to the sleepy People's Republic of Bucyrus almost 2 years ago, I began looking for local art venues. Mansfield, at 30 minutes away, is the closest art scene.

Show entry in Columbus has been no problem. I even had a solo show @ Kenosis over in mansfield. But, for some reason, breaking into juried shows @ Artworks on Main & the Mansfield Art Center has been an uncrackable nut - until today.

I entered 4 pieces. One actually - finally - made it through the gauntlet somehow! What's funny is that I assembled the piece that got in [literally] the day before entry. The idea, however, had been brewing in my soul for weeks. I used some recycled anatomical collage figures from another piece. And while they took some time to make originally, the assembly of the final piece took about 4 hours. And it got in. Now compare that to the hours & hours of painstaking production on each of the other 3 pieces. Each of these, I feel, are just as worthy.

Funny.

In addition, the exquisite corpse project I helped organize also got in. 14 or so artists were involved. Each artist took a body part with the simple rules of: create a somewhat life-size part, use any medium you want, turn it in & we'll mesh it all together Frankenstein-style. The final creation is a sight to behold. The figure is nowhere near as refined as we had planned due to time constraints.

It got in.

It won an award.

Funny.

Interview with Jeff Bell

Jeff Bell is a musician & visual artist currently living in Mansfield, OH. He is a key member of YelloWall Collective. He has been performing music for 15 years and, between his former band & solo projects, has put out12 CDs . He has been a visual artist for 10 years. I sat down with him in the square across from his downtown loft where we shared a smoke & explored how music & art collide in his life.

GypsyLuc: Can we start off by you sharing about the different facets of your artistic/creative life?

Jeff Bell: My art ranges from making djembe drums, mandolins & guitars to odd prototype instruments which are mostly unsuccessful but fun to do. Then there is painting, drawing, sculpture, playing, singing, songwriting & all aspects of composition.

GypsyLuc: Knowing you for a year & a half, I think it’s safe to say that music is very important to you. In addition to the actual music, your artworks usually have a musical theme. What is it about music that speaks to you?

Jeff Bell: More than anything it is probably just the freedom of expression. With art you have to have stuff & have to use just that one material. With music you can do it with almost nothing - with the simplest instruments even.

GypsyLuc: What is the nature of your relationship with music? Would you call it love?

Jeff Bell: No, I wouldn’t call it love because I think love is mostly an emotion or state of mind or feeling. I’d say I’d probably call it an obsession - something I have to do. It’s like checking the door lock two or three times before you leave. It’s more like a sickness than an emotion. Maybe like a disease… It’s sort of a relationship/obsession in some ways.

GypsyLuc: How long has this obsession with music been going on?

Jeff Bell: Since the age of three - as soon as I could climb up on the piano bench. I grew up with my grandparents. My grandma was a music teacher & probably 60 students came through there in a week.

GypsyLuc: If you see an artwork or hear a piece of music you created 15 years ago, how do you respond to it?

Jeff Bell: It depends on the piece. Obviously, some things from the past you like & are still attached to for a long time. Some things you knew you weren’t going to fall in love with when you finished them - although you still feel a connection to it regardless. You realize you were still honing your craft at that time.

GypsyLuc: What percentage of songs have you written which have never made it out to a public venue? How many artworks have you completely painted over?

Jeff Bell: Maybe 25% of songs I’ve written have never been heard publicly. As for paintings I’ve completely painted over - the number is low! Maybe 2 or 3... I don’t do that often because it’s just something you shouldn’t do. I’d scold myself for that! That would be one more painting you would have.

GypsyLuc: You recently quit your day job. Why was that? Was it difficult?

Jeff Bell: I’ve never had a lot of day jobs. If I do, they last for a while, but it’s always about the music! It’s always been about music. After 15 years of traveling & touring, I quit the band I was in to take some time off. I got offered a job building carrousels. It was great but it was easy to let that go. Music somehow always pays better. If you compare it to a day job, working 40 hours per week, you can make that in one night with music. It makes it hard to say yes to any day job.

GypsyLuc: While working for ‘the man’, how did you ensure you still had time for creative pursuits?

Jeff Bell: I only worked two days a week! I made sure when I took that job that it would be part-time. I don’t choose one or the other. I made that choice a long time ago. I decided that if I took day jobs I would keep it to a minimum.

GypsyLuc: What progression or changes have you seen in your materials, methods & subject matter over time?

Jeff Bell: It’s true that with any medium you work with you gradually go up & hit plateaus. It’s never a steady climb. With music, you notice your playing & songwriting getting better. Your wordsmithing gets better over time. With art, the more you think about it - the easier it is to come up with better ideas.

GypsyLuc: When performing or creating are you ‘present’? Are you aware of your audience & surroundings or do you go to some other place?

Jeff Bell: Both. There are times when I’m painting or creating art of some kind & I get lost. That right-brain-switch just happens & I get lost. When performing you’re aware of your audience most of the time. You can be thinking about what you might do for the rest of the evening, where you’re going to eat, sex, anything. There are times, when it going well, that you get sort of lost.

GypsyLuc: If you had to lose your hearing or your eyesight - which would you choose?

Jeff Bell: Oh man! That is an unfair question! Those are my only two options? How about half of both? If I had to choose I’d rather be blind. I could still play music & still perform. But, I’d need a chauffeur…

GypsyLuc: What current projects or goals do you have in the works?

Jeff Bell: As for projects: I’m finishing a CD. I’m getting ready to finish the writing & begin the recording. There are always some paintings coming up on the list & probably some wood sculptures. As for goals: more traveling for music - more so than the last year or two. The South is always nice. I’m hoping to get into the Woodchoppers Ball up in Kent where they pick 10 acoustic guitar players from around the Midwest.

GypsyLuc: What would be the ultimate setup for you as an artist/musician?

Jeff Bell: Hell! I think I might already have it right now. It would be a situation where if you do work a day job you don’t work much & can devote, say, 95% of your time to art. That’s probably most artists’ dream situation. But, I’m not sure most people know what that is. From talking to some people, I’m not sure they would even know what to do with that time.

GypsyLuc: So let’s say that you are in that dream situation right now. How long can you remain content in it?

Jeff Bell: I think forever pretty much! Even in a dream situation I might switch media, play for awhile, go back to art. Yeah. Pretty much forever.

GypsyLuc: You possess multiple talents. Do you consider yourself to be any more gifted than the next guy?

Jeff Bell: Hell no. Hell no! I think everybody has attributes or excel in certain areas. It may not be art or music. There are a lot of people who can do things far better than I can do them!

GypsyLuc: Any last words? Is there anything you want to toss out - one last song - before this show comes to an end?

Jeff Bell: Not really. I’m not a soap-boxer. I’m not political. I don’t really take a stand on a lot of things. I’m much happier to live life & not get too serious about any one individual situation.

Check out www.myspace.com/jbellguitar to hear Jeff’s music, book a show or find a listing of places where his art is on display.

Smediums: TAI Intro

Smashing the proverbial bottle of champagne on the maiden voyage of The Artist Interview, John Hargis kicks off his column by interviewing his alter-ego, GypsyLuc.

John: You’re one of the talented writers that have come onboard with TAI. Can you unlock the meaning behind your column’s title?

GypsyLuc: Smediums. It’s a word that splices ‘small’ & ‘medium’. A friend of mine uses it to describe pants that hang a little too short. It speaks to those times when a person has too much leg for not enough pant. Growing up we called them ‘highwaters’.

John: How does that idea fit into the concept of an Arts magazine?

GypsyLuc: As an artist, I am always dreaming, creating & experimenting with just one more thing - a new medium, a novel idea, the latest creative challenge. It’s sometimes hard to squeeze it all in - to wring out enough moments in the day to make it all happen. It’s like I need 32” long pants but have to fit it all into a pair of 30” smediums.

John: So, Smediums will present interviews with artists on how they find the time to integrate the arts into their lives?

GypsyLuc: Exactly. I’ll be focusing on how artists in Central Ohio weave creativity into the fabric of their day-to-day existence. We all have distractions, commitments & constraints that drag us away from creating. I want to discover the thrust behind the passion, the tricks, techniques & methods - whatever magic there is - to keeping art a priority.

John: You’ve got your fingers in a lot of things yourself: full-time job, three hour daily commute, taking care of wife & kids, creating & marketing your art, writing, open mics, serious involvement in YelloWall Collective… How do you find time for it all?

GypsyLuc: It’s tough, no doubt. It comes down to art being a necessity in my life. While it might be possible for me to exist without it, I definitely can’t thrive that way. I’m equal parts planner & opportunist. I reserve Wednesdays & weekends for art creation. I set deadlines & hold myself accountable to meet them. I sketch at work during meetings & conference calls, refine ideas in my head around the clock, record writing snippets on my cell phone while driving. I reject other opportunities in order to carve out space for art. Sleep is optional at times! Plus, I have some amazing artistic friends who inspire me & push me to keep creating in the midst of the melee.

John: Is it going to be even more difficult to squeeze a monthly column for TAI into an already jam-packed schedule?

GypsyLuc: It’ll work out. The ideas are exploding in my head already! I’m excited about meeting with other artists & passing on the stories of what they’re currently into, why they choose to create & how they make the time. Hopefully, our readers can glean some wisdom & scraps to lace into their own lives. Writing is art. I strive to make time for art. And, in the end, what’s wrong with having a little more leg poking out of the bottom of my smediums?

One Breath [an anniversary poem]

The calm blows
through us
when we share one breath.

Living on common air.
mirror in mirror in mirror
Occupying identical space
in life-giving
moments.
Breathing in
mutual wind.

Ignorant bliss.
unaware
of the times we:
inhale,
exhale.
Miles from:
this place,
one another.

Sustained by the breeze:
right here,
right now.

Mouth-to-mouth:
two beings,
one breath-
inseparably
intertwined
and alive.

Cryogenics

It's warm & thumping
-perhaps too strongly-
So I carve a hole in the snow
cold & wet on my fingers
and cover it over
to muffle the beating.

Sleeping until the day
you're ready to dig it up
and feel it still
swollen with heat
in your hands.

POEM: Purple

We both know it's purple
That's just the color it is
For the longest time you would call it reddish-blue
or warm-indigo at best
You'd go no further

But yesterday -
Yesterday
you called it "violet" (in quotation marks)
You tip-toed all the way to "violet"
That's as close as you'd come

Someone - and we don't know who -
Someone
took a drop of blue
took a drop of red
set them down softly
into the watery glass

And the colors swirled
wrapped 'round one another
played & danced until they both disappeared
Red infusing the blue with itself
Blue infusing the red with itself

They connected quick together
like chromosomes
like the warm embrace of two old friends
like sunset kissing nightfall
like Legos locked down tight

We both know it's purple
That's just the color it is
And while I call it that in my secret thoughts
My lips are slow to part & say it
waiting until the one day -
The one day
when the quotation marks fall off
to clink on the ground
and the sound of "violet"
swirls into purple

POEM: Powdered Metal Flower Petals

vertical vortex laid horizontal
for ease of entry through bi-fold doors

portal petals sliding open reveal the liquid warmth inside
waves parting, whirlpool tugging
pulling me down to the depths of its lair
womb-like cave of sparkle treasure
trough of treasure chest

glimmer silk like moistened jewels
wrap around the deep-sea diver
bubbles forming - causing fins
to reach extension, fan out wide
straightened curves of tangled leisure
meshed with work & sweat of brow

stamen feathers soft as iron
swab formations on the wall
hang on stalactite for my stalagmite
thrust out poison in the well

with a quiet resolution
dilute the masculine solution
with pollen dust like cirrus clouds
sweet onset of the bends & angles
the quiet pause of rock formations
new dimension roof ripped off

the powdered metal flower petals
dissolve the vortex
kiss it closed

POEM: Between Earth & the Moon

Her coming foretold on tattooed skin
She passed between Earth & the moon
Carried on wings of comet tails
Inking the sky with wet light

Trajectory drawing a paper-thin ring
Wrapped ‘round the sun at high noon
We tried to turn eyes but failed
Transfixed by ecliptic, elliptic flight

Fire & ice hang like stones ‘round her neck
Flowing in ribbons which tie back her mane
Her song birthing stars as she dances along
Trailing a pathway behind

Gravity-bound & held firm in the womb
Young souls leap with hope at her words
Rippled & tilting & lilting & lulling
Her subjects to gaze on her beauty by night

And quick as she came she moves on to another
Land. World. Universe. Time.
As we suckle the memory of transient things
Which pass between Earth & the moon

POEM: Strange-Thought Fella

We don’t know ‘bout that strange-thought fella
Importing new-fangled ideas
Big city ways in our closed-gate village
Too much weight in that thinking of his
‘cause it makes our traditions cave in

a witch in the kitchen
cooking up a brew
smells to high heaven
of outsider stew

To the pitchforks & torches!
Hunt him down, Strip his skin
Draw & quarter, Tar & feather
QUICK! Homogenize him!

We tried so long to break his spirit
Conformity shackles, whips & chains
To beat the wild outta the stallion
Wash the black outta the sheep

But every lashing sliced thin air
Every flogging failed
He somehow passed through the midst of us
A buttered-up pig slipping right through

The truth we only whisper when the doors are locked
His scent left a stain on our town
That our wills & rituals can’t clean
We cry sometimes that he’s gone

that strange-thought fella
we loved to hate

POEM: The Anti-Nothing

What lingers on the other side of nothing?
What squirms in the pit
Where blackholes dump their trash?
Spew their collections?
Bury their loot?

Slippery lip
Where the universe spills over its edge
Into somethingness
Anti-nothingness
Perfect newness

Colors hum there
Matter, mass
Fresh amoebas
Foreign, congealing
Into new music, novel mist

That random place where anti-dust & anti-heat
Implode & churn out anti-light
Anti-matter springs, unfolds
Anti-worlds & anti-words
Anti-poems, anti-songs

Anti-planets, anti-suns
Ante up in the anti-space
Where Auntie Em looks down in black & white
Swabbing the head with an anti-rag
Dipped in antique water

Anti-thoughts in the anti-mind
Swim around in the anti-time
Where far & near are upside down
Anti-pulsars spin around
In retrograde

The anti-wormholes are antebellum
Post-apocalyptic felons
Anti-war & anti-peace
Anti-teeth in anti-jaws
Speak anti-rules & anti-laws
While living anti-true & false

Pooling up & cooling down
In the land where life creates itself
To shake the known with quasar-quakes
Giving birth
On the inside of everything
Nothing included
Nothing reborn
As something

TAI - Review & Interview

Top Notch Book-Arts of John Luc Hargis

As TAI is growing quickly, I have to say it is hard to keep up even with the talent of all our contributors, who are also working artists. I thought it would be important to start interviewing some of our very own staff who have bravely stepped up to contribute in not only writing about the arts in our community, but who also have exceptional talent in various fields of art. I am embarrassed to say, that for some of them I am viewing their work for the first time, whereas others, I have been aware of for years. As TAI readers, I hope you enjoy becoming more acquainted with their work as we continue to cover the arts in Ohio.

I personally work in printmaking and come across a lot of artists that work in altered books. I even took a few bookmaking classes in college but never really did anything exceptional with it. In reviewing John’s work, I honestly have to say that he quickly became one of my new favorite local artists. I don’t know how I haven’t been acquainted with his work before. His work is crisp, pristinely executed and ultra thought provoking. He literally uses recycled books, which in elementary terms are full of verbal information. But this fact takes a backseat role, as the books at times are used as a canvas displaying layers of visual information. His work shows an entertaining play between the concept of written information and that of visual storytelling.

Conceptually, I found his work to have an interesting weight dynamic as my thoughts were in a constant seesaw of comparison reflecting on content between title and that of visual dialogue. His work questions how various types of information are presented as language-verbal, auditory, visual and (by using recycled found objects) even the relevance history having lingual weight. In my view, he certainly accomplishes the saying of ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. I hope you enjoy the interview below and I will certainly be following John’s work as it progresses.

For all you art collectors out there John is my Collectors Pick suggestion for this month.

-Stephanie Sypsa



You recently exhibited your work? What was the gallery?
JLH-My 'Altered Library' was on display at Kenosis Gallery for Experimental Art at 14 Park Ave South in Mansfield. It is located on the south side of the Square right next to Park Street Pottery.

How were you able to get into this show?
JHL-Kenosis is a brand-new gallery opened up by my good friends Jason Kaufman & Jenny Lucas. They concerted a downtown storefront into a combined gallery / living space. Jason & I are both heavily involved in the YelloWall Collective - a group of artists, writers, musicians & random creative folk who actively engage the community with cutting-edge art & artistic living. When Jason & Jenny opened the gallery in November, I was honored to be the first artist to display. They are actively searching for other artists specializing in non-traditional media, performance art, highly conceptualized work and anyone who is hovering at the edge of 'art', pushing beyond the established boundaries & has the technical ability to pull it off. Anyone interested can contact Jason @ 567.203.8018 or Jenny @ 440.315.7492

I am really impressed with your work. I mean I wanted to include your whole portfolio on here! What is your current artist statement for your current body of work?
JLH-Since I'm never at a shortage of words, which could take a few pages... The abbreviated version would be:
The main purpose of the Altered Library is to feed our desire for a quick story - an on-the-spot narrative. The pieces serve as a commentary on how our society has shifted from a slow/easy/taking-time-to-read-a-book-under-a-tree culture to one that snatches blurbs/sound bites/blogs/text messages/tweets on the fly.

With impatience, short attention spans & the desire to have what we want right now being undeniable realities of where we are as a culture, I want to create an appealing visual snack to satiate our bent towards immediacy. Perhaps the works are nothing more than another spineless offering to our flaws. Or, perhaps, they are providing the viewer an opportunity to quickly & bluntly experience the equivalent of drive-thru, hot and ready art.

Do you visualize your Art before creating? Do you know what it will look like before you begin? What's your process?
JLH-I would say that 90% of the time I know what 80% of the finished piece will look like. My basic concept behind book altering is to take a used or discarded hardcover book & transform it into something new, alive & different from the original stream of words. Yet, I still seek to retain a ghost of the original book somewhere in the final piece.

For this series, I decided to focus mainly on wall-hung altered books where the book itself serves at both the artwork & the frame. The inspiration can come from the physical aspects of the book's cover design, color, size or title. At other times, I begin the process with a specific concept I want to express. And then there are the times when an idea springs forth from a particular item or illustration I want to incorporate into the piece.

While individual books get uniquely altered based on the story I want to tell, my main techniques include carving niches & nooks in the books, adding 2-D & 3-D material to help the plot develop & finally sealing the pages shut - never to be opened.

Through this experimental process, the final 20% of each piece develops. Serendipity, necessity, chance & 'Eureka!' moments further polish the piece as it is created.


What are the most important influences that have moved you as an artist?
JLH-Always seeing the innate potential & undiscovered beauty in things: pine straw, mistakes, mud puddles, discarded things, overlooked people, dusty old books which smell of time & story & word craft.

You work is so intricate and very unique. Is there anything you consistently draw inspiration from?
JLH-Actually, I'm hard pressed to find something from which I do NOT draw inspiration! It flies at me and bombards me from every side: the sky, conversations, lyrics, thrift stores, literature, friends, emotions, waffles, bumper stickers... the list goes on & on & on...

How is your work a reflection of you?
JLH-Man - I hope this doesn't end up sounding pompous...lol. It is an outflow of my inner life. It is intelligent. It wants to speak - to say something worth saying. It wants to be heard. It wants to move people to think & to change & to affect change around them. I hope my work reflects my burning passion for passionately living a passionate life.

Do you see any emerging local, national, or global art trends that interest you?
JLH-Honestly, other than Juxtapose and Art:21, I have very little knowledge of what's going on in the larger art realm. What I do see & know firsthand is that there are amazing artists all around me who inspire me, drive me to jealousy & push me to push my craft even harder. I am experiencing the trend in my own art community of dissolving the membranes between different genres: music, visual art, poetry, performance. That excites me! The creatives I am connected with are actually beginning to execute the crazy ideas we've been toying around with during special moments when our randomness brainstorming hits critical mass. I feel that our goal of intentional engagement of the community-at-large with the arts [whether they like it or not!] is being birthed right in front of my eyes.

Do you see anything exciting developing within your community that you feel will have and affect on the local art scene?
JLH-Oops! Seems as though I jumped ahead and hit on this one already... I can say that I have seen an increase in public awareness of 'other' art because of the direct actions of some creative folk... I don't know if a huge number of people have converted, but I definitely know that some eyebrows have been raised, some have found out they are not alone & others have decided to throw stones. At any rate, the artists have started to speak & some - indeed - do have ears to hear.

Your work seems very time consuming. How do you balance your personal life as a working artist?
JLH-First & foremost, I have an amazing partner-in-crime who gives me the space I need to do what I was created to do. My wife, Stacie, grants me the freedom & unalienable right to live life creatively. The rest is up to me. I've been pondering this question of 'balance' with both myself & other artists. What I have found is that if something is important to you - no matter what - you blaze a trail to make it happen. While I could go into specifics of calendars, scheduling, sacrifice & the like, I'd rather respond with a greater answer. My personal life is important to me so I make time for that aspect. My artistic life is important so I make time for that aspect. I put worth on each of these areas and try to marry them whenever I can. I'm not sure if I'm writing a book or just altering one I've already had around for awhile. But when it's all said and done I want it to say something worth saying. If that's not a good enough reason to find that balance, I don't know what is.

Collectors Pick: For you collectors out there, I would highly recommend viewing John's work in his Facebook Account.

ASHES ON WIND

As wood turning to ash
he makes nothing out of something
Something that would not be
if he hadn't imbued it with life
then drawn it away
releasing its power
A sweet nothing blown on the wind

Oddly enough
He hit it on the head
hammer on tentpeg
Spiking our kinship to the ground

It's a good note to leave on
to pack up the things
that don't really matter
Douse the fire
Pull the stakes
Watch as the tent floats to the ground
And move on

He's moving on now
Sideways step by sideways step

It looks as though
he'll never return
or pass this way again
With a map or without one
'Cause the clouds call his name
as they call others' names

But he-
He hears them
and follows