hard at work

hard at work, originally uploaded by boxersiciliano.

and so it begins..who are we to be small?

As I have begun the work in preparation of my first photo show, i have experienced a wide array of things that are so interesting to look at...first of all, i have been talking about this "show" for a long time, but i felt myself making excuses within...like, who am i to have a show? I am not a photographer...i never went to school, i don't know anything about it, how to price it, frame it, write about it, where to put them, which photos i would use...on and on and on...excuses and procrastination and fear and doubt...all the things that come up as artists...I remember going through the same thing when I became an actor...how the hell did I get cast in this play??? i don't even know how to memorize lines? but when it finally came down to it, I did it, and loved it and I was good at it...

The same thing has transformed for me in the photography that I have known in my heart are good, but it took me coming to the edge of the cliff and jumping and learning to fly on the way down..i finally was able to start the real creative process of choosing photos, matting them and realizing what I was capable of doing...and what I like and don't like, and what my creative goals are, and my vision and my style and the things that we, as artist, need to cultivate in order to have a creative flow and statement.

During these times i look toward those in my family and those who are my friends..the ones that I perceive as great artists and doers and thinkers and i get inspired by them.

The great thing about this art stuff, is the only thing that separates an artist from a non artist, is that defiant act of doing...the moment you hang something on the wall, or get on stage, or hand out your writing or sing...you are in...there is no one that can say you are not an artist, you have pushed the edge and are now giving to others without the knowledge of what will be become...it is a death defying and brave moment and I am proud to know so many of you who are doing that.

I too have done it many times on stage, but this is different for me...my vision through the camera is a very personal and private world..one that I see always, but one that may not be familiar to others. my vision of close up and inside and colors that are all around us...my vision of linear and spacial oddities in the every day world, the simple objects that are beautiful in shape and color and who take on personlities of there own..like the fire hydrants..little cowboys in the world..my urban cowboys. Like the small torn ribbon hanging on barbed wire, like the puddle in the chair, like the cone in the snow...I see the world in tiny fractions of spirit and life and I realize that I live my life like that sometimes...not really seeing the big picture, but only the details in front of me..for better or worse. But I do believe that not enough of us notice the details around and are too concerned about the big picture and end up missing the little gems of life all around us...the moments of odd coincidence and fashionable intangible makeup that could never be planned, but just is. This is my lens and my eye and that is what I see..

love and understanding