Holy and Secular Joy (A.K.A. The Christmas Iphone)

Hi there! Well, I have been moved this morning to blog again. Today is the day. Today is Christmas. All of this mad rush for the last for weeks have been leading up to this. Last night, I stayed up late watching rifftrax. It was a really fun way to anticipate the holiday. I woke up this morning, and I got more than I bargained for.

I got that primal urge, where I hoped the largest presents were for me. Now that I am older, I look for different things in this holiday. I look forward to time off, reflection on the year, cozy nights by the fire, the cool winter air, a modechem of good spirit in the air. I still enjoy seeing what my family will give me for Christmas, though.

This year, I got a new razor (the old one was busted), two new books, one of which was in Spanish, a new set of pajamas, which I think make me look more buff, two new collared shirts, a new notebook for writing in (for the most happiness, all I need is one of these and a pencil/pen), and a new iPhone 4s. I loved getting all these things, but I was interested in seeing how the other people would like what I got them. That part of Christmas has become more important to me recently.

When I went to church this morning, as I sometimes do with family, I realized something. There are two levels to the christmas holiday. First, there's the literal Birth of Jesus, which Christians celebrate. Then there's the gift-giving and community, which, it seems to me, is more universal than one religion. Many people who are not Christians also take part in the festivities.

I thought, with all of the things that I have learned over the past year, what the churches talk about at christmas is starting to make sense to me now. When you're young, and you hear older people talk about deep religious things, most of it can fly right by you. As you age, though, you begin to understand what they mean by it. It's like learning a new language, in a way.

I am now beginning to understand that things can seem like they are contradictory, but they are actually important truths. Good people can have bad sides of themselves, and bad people can have good sides. Our beliefs are not just about absolute authorities or about total freedom. A way of life can be about love and force, moral judgement and understanding, accepting and changing people.

My big breakthrough this year has been that once I came to accept my solitary, introverted side, I was able to reach out and understand people a little easier. I am still beginning to do that now, and my hope is that in 2012, I can discover as much as I have this year. Because of this, I know that maybe because Christianity and the Bible have endorsed and encouraged violent, cruel attitudes, they may not be wrong, or invalid or dangerous to the human community.

This morning, I was greeting people after the service, and I went up to a guy who was disabled. I don't know what his physical problem was, but his limbs were quaking and he couldn't talk well. I told him "Merry Christmas," and he said likewise to me, and his words were garbled.

As my family and I were walking out, my father and grandfather were talking to a cleaning guy out front. Dad was telling him how he thought cleaning people were really important, since they made a difference in the times he visited New York. He asked the man how much he worked, and he said he worked two jobs, in between those working seven days a week, nearly sixteen hours most days. That's life in lower-class America these days, where you have to work longer, and more stressful hours, for less of a living.

As we walked on, I thought, that was a really cool thing to do. This is the way Christmas should be celebrated, I believe. We should pay attention to those that we usually look past in our lives. Often, people focus on their own social circles, and there are certain people that fade into the background. I like to notice the people that are in the background, that few other people seem to notice. I think they rarely get the recognition they deserve. If it is welcome, I think it would be good to talk to, or pay respect to people who do odd jobs, or are otherwise marginalized from the social mainstream. I like doing this, whenever I can.

While today has been a brilliant and wonderful day, there are some down sides. The main downside of Christmas is the euphoria crash in the afternoon. For me, christmas afternoon and evening used to be really sad and depressing. Christmas Eve has the on-edge, sometimes hurried feel to it, and then the morning is filled with joy and the festivity of present-opening. The rest of the day is a come-down from that jovial anticipation of the previous four weeks. The late afternoon and evening are usually sad, because the "holiday spirit" is leaving now. Soon we will be back to our stressful lives, the decorations will go back into the garage, and the tree will be thrown away, like the mob "whacked" it.

So, let me just say this. As we move from Christmas to that down period at the tail end of December, between Christmas and New Years, save a little piece of the spirit. The spirit of "good will toward men " should not be something we put up for a few weeks and then put away the day after Christmas. I find it sad that people seem to view it as such. Not to evangelize too much here, but the sermon today was about the gift we would give Jesus not only today, but for the whole year to come. So I hope you give the world a gift, starting today, each day in this coming year. I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas, and the reast of it is merry and joyful, and may the same be true of all days this year. See ya!

O Holy Night

Dad and Kids fix a rocking horse

This is going to be my Christmas eve entry. This is not a Christmas-themed work, but it has to do with family, and this is a pillar of the Christmas spirit, is it not?

Now, allow me to explain how I got the idea for this. One day, I was driving along, and saw a man with his kids hanging out, doing I forget what in their front yard. So I realized, "Hey, that would make a good picture for me to draw." Then, later, I decided it would be interesting to set this in the early '90's, between the years 1990 and 1995. Why? These were the years I was a very young child, growing up Long Beach, California. My earliest memories come from this time and place.

This picture was taken from my earliest memories of my own family. This has to do with family. Christmas is the time of year when families come together. When families come together, sadly, tensions boil over. My Dad commented earlier today that he thought he heard my brother and I yelling at each other, but thankfully, we weren't. He commented on the fact that we were not yelling at each other a lot, like many families do.

I don't mean to put people down who have family problems. Many families are doing the best the know how. Why might they have so much tension, particularly at this time of year? Well, Christmas is a time when people are rushing to get everything done, so they can get together. Today, I felt like I was racing the clock all day. I had to buy presents for two of my family members, I had to type up this surprise for them, this story that I have been working on for a few weeks, which I just finished today. I had to set aside time to write this blog. Today was a big rush day.

However, I did get stuff done. Today, I had for items on my list, and once I finish this entry, I will have completed all of them. So I will leave you for tonight with this drawing. I hope you think this accomplished the "dated" look well enough. Enjoy your christmas eve, and listen to plenty of hymns. Many of the christmas hymns are truly beautiful songs.

See ya, and keep wondering, folks!

Here We Go!

Hey, I gotta take a dump!

Hi guys!

Well, behold my inaugural image! Sorry I took a while getting going here, but I've been caught up in Holiday craziness. Since my last entry, my brother has come home, and my grandfather has begun his sojourn here from back east. So I've been putting off even taking these shots of my drawings until today. Here is the first, and like I said, depending on the results of each, I may have to tweak it as I go. However, the first shots turned out good enough, so for now, I should be good to go.

The above picture I did was inspired by a photo I saw in the newspaper this past June. In some of these, you will notice they have dates on them, when I started or finished it. It was in the LA Times, I forget exactly which section. There was a story about coal mining in Mongolia, which was causing environmental problems there. They had a picture of a few dump trucks in a Mongolian coal pit. I found this really interesting, so I just decided to draw it. I did this nice little black and white line sketch of it, and completed it in a couple of hours.

I find environmental subjects to be fascinating. That was part of the appeal of this. I also enjoy finding material from exotic, faraway places. Mongolia is a place you hear very little about, so I jumped at the chance. That's how many good works get started for me. Now, let me elaborate briefly on why I think environmental subjects are so crucial and important.

Just last week, my father and I were having an interesting discussion, and one topic that came up was the XL Pipeline that is being proposed. It will run from the oil shales in Alberta, up in Canada, down through the Plains, all the way down to be refined in Texas. I said that what pissed me off about the talk of this in Washington was that both Republicans and Democrats are for this pipeline, and are using this purely as a bargaining chip. They are merely deciding where and when it will be built, regardless of the harm it may bring.

My Dad mentioned something he had heard Bill McKibben, of 350.org fame, say on NPR, I believe. He said that the politicians were essentially working for the people who paid for their campaign funding. This is often the energy industry. Bill McKibben is a writer I admire because he often finds insights in these environmental, scientific issues that many observers do not. In Deep Economy, he noted that our political and economic focuses are on growth, and growth only. In the face of such overwhelming climatic chaos, we must find ways for our economics to reflect that human community. The idea that stuck with me was that to us, the economy is supposed to grow and grow forever, and it is not realistic to expect this.

I brought up a report I had seen on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. There is a surplus of natural gas deposits there, and recently, "fracking" (as in fracturing the rock underneath the shale area) has really taken off nationwide. However, the breaking up of crust underground releases natural gas byproducts into nearby groundwater. This causes the drinking water to become highly polluted, causing people to have serious health problems. However, the leasing of Pennsylvania land for natural gas was something the Obama Administration greenlighted, to find areas of common ground with Republicans. The previous governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, had also had anti-fracking groups put on terror watch lists. That is the key: that all of the "officials" agree that this is perfectly acceptable. You can watch the report here.

Anyway, the thing I kept in mind as I was talking about all this is that natural gas is seen as an "alternative" to oil. Another alternative is to use coal, as is shown in the drawing above. Another alternative, which does not release energy into the air, is nuclear energy. However, nuclear energy leaves a lot of waste, which is highly toxic, and lasts for over 200,000 years. This has gone longer and more in depth than I expected. My central point is this: that whenever you want to build something, it has to come from somewhere. What you do has an effect.

That is something that I have come to realize. Is that everything you do or could do, have or could have, had to be wrestled out of the environment somehow. Think of all the rare earth minerals that had to be mined out of the ground somewhere to make the laptop I am typing on right now. If you don't think that humans can have an effect on the earth, just look at a picture of the earth from space at night.




However, as troublesome as this is, I think it is something people should realize. For one thing, it would make what we do more valuable, more precious. If we realized that everything is melded, drilled, wittled, or what have you from something, maybe we would see more value in what we make, and what we consume. We would no longer be able to mindlessly kill each other to get into Wal-Mart at 2 in the morning the day after Thanksgiving. We could see that our "things" reflect our mindset, and as we value the "things" we use more, the way we look at life changes.

One reason I started this blog is that art is about more than creation. Creation is a critical part of the artistic process, but as important a byproduct, is the view of life it gives birth to. When I began using my artistic talents, about four years ago, the way I looked at the world, and the things in it, began to shift. What I want to explore on this blog is art and creativity as it gives birth to a real, palpable, workable worldview. I hope you, the reeder, and I, can take that journey together.

Well, that's my first entry. It got a little mroe involved than I expected it to when I first sat down to type. That's a beautiful and also unwieldy thing about blogging, is you don't know where it is going to lead, or how long it will take. Not all of my entries will be this involved. Some will be, others will be based on my own anecdotes or observations, or thoughts. Thanks for reading. I will have another entry up for you soon.

See ya and keep wondering, folks!

Welcome to Art From the Heart

Hi there,

Welcome to my my new blog, Art from the Heart. I have to confess, I am an on-again, off-again blogger. The last time I did a blog of my own was on August 24, 2010 (well over a year ago!) My last blog was known as The Daily Reeder, referring to my last name. Yes, while I don't want to play too fast and loose with my own identity, I will show you, the reeder, some parts of it.

My last blog focused almost exclusively on politics. While this blog is called Art From the Heart, it is not just about what I create. This blog is about the experience of life. After all, art imitates life, right? Anyway, I might mention some thoughts of mine about politics or society or the economy, but when I talk about it now, it will be much different.

The blog you are reading now reflects a very different person than the aforementioned one did. I am proud of what I did on that blog, but, to be honest, it was exhaustive, to come up with a long editorial every time I sat down to blog. So, sadly, I gradually lost the energy to keep blogging. It is sad, because I like blogging, but that became harder and harder to do, and with all the work I have to do for college, and trying to find an actual job, I kind of zone out on my off time.

Yes, by the way, I do currently go to college. Yes, I'll fess up right now: I still live with my parents. There. I said it. So I am a bona fide part of what people are now dubbing the Millenial Generation, (hey, at least we get a cool name) those currently age 15-30. However, when you're young, no one thinks you're that intelligent. However, many people I have met, including my brother and I, have more wisdom and insight than conventional wisdom would give us credit for.

Anyway, enough of that rant for now. What is the point of this blog? Well, it will feature a few things. First and foremost, it will be a place where I can showcase some of my pencil drawings. I have been sketching and drawing for as far back as I have a clear memory ("As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be an artist..."). It may also feature writings I have done, or other art or media I have encountered.

I will take photos of the drawings I do, and then post them at the top, and blog a little about it on each entry. Bare with me; at first, the quality might not be that great. I will probably have to work out all the kinks as I go. However, what I have learned about working in art, it is not about putting a product on the market, it is creating that product, then letting it out into the world. So I will have some good stuff up for you guys soon. Till then, keep wondering, folks!