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  • A Seven Year Marker –Inspired By a Wonderful Book About Books

    Someone somewhat ambitious
    said, “Once in seven years I burn all my sermons; for it is a shame if I cannot
    write better sermons now than I did seven years ago.” I wonder if most writers
    feel this away about their work, whether they are sermons, sermon like, and
    preachy, or just plain seven years old! 

    Call it the seven-year itch,
    or that we shed our complete cellular makeup every seven years, but please
    indulge my own seven-year “thing” on the occasion of a piece which was
    published on November 21, 2005—in Newsweek magazine.

     “Mort’s Library Speaks Volumes About Him” is about getting to know my deceased father-in-law by
    the books he kept.  When I knew him he
    had dementia and it was nearly impossible to converse with him. But by going
    thru his library,  (apparently he read
    every book he owned), I realized he had been not only a kind father, country doctor
    and classical violinist, but a sensitive, searching man, curious about human
    nature, and very aware of the big picture pursuing universal truths.

     I was prompted to reread my
    piece after enjoying the recently published, “The End of Your Life Book Club” (Knopf, non-fiction) by Will
    Schwalbe. I was fortunate to hear and meet this talented writer at the annual “Beverly
    Hills Literary Escape” a must do weekend event for book lovers and book club
    mates.

     “The End of Your Life Book Club” is about Mr. Schwalbe and his mother, (an
    extra-ordinary person), who have shared a love reading since his childhood.  The mother and son bond is further deepened when
    they form their own intimate “book
    club” while she is dying of stage four, pancreatic cancer. The Schwalbe’s readings
    prompt charming, philosophical and meaningful discussions about life and death,
    one’s own mortality and “in the moment” living. For so many reasons, but
    perhaps most of all, because of the love of literature, and the meaningfulness
    this construes for Mr. Schwalbe and his mother, I guarantee all book lovers will fully appreciate “The End of
    Your Life Book Club”    .

     The Schwalbe’s get
    “togethers” and introspective book “discussions” parallel endless medical and
    “palliative” treatments for Anne Schwalbe, and in turn, provide her a stepping-stone
    to the dignity of “acceptance.”  In the
    meanwhile, Will Schwalbe embraces some of the keenest lessons their last few
    months together can offer: the importance of gratitude and selfless work, appreciating
    the support of family loved ones, and the gift of lifelong friendships.

     It is a rare book in which an
    author manages to so frankly tell a personal story about a loved one with a
    terminal illness, while staying refreshingly unsentimental. Better yet Schwalbe never appears detached nor
    victimized.  

     Click on the article below to read.

    MORT'S LIBRARY

  • “The Girl With the Blue Shoe”

    Picture 364
    “Girl With the Blue Shoe” is a favorite. I love it for the spontaneity
    of the gesture and the narrative it evokes. The model, who has been a subject
    for our workshop for many years, is a highly energetic and intelligent woman.
    She is tall, lanky, and frankly, has a drop dead body! You can’t see it here
    but her face is very MODIGLIANI. Moreover her energy is percussive and
    deliberate. She is quick, assertive and very funny. I think I felt her energy
    full on the day I did this oil bar drawing. 
    This drawing inspired the following piece of Flash Fiction. Here is my ekprhrasis, that is, literary description
    of a piece of art.

     “The Girl With the
    Blue Shoe”

    The model walked into the artist’s studio sometime
    midmorning. It was the dead of summer, and the eastern exposure created a little
    hothouse.  The artist pushed the sofa out
    from under the skylight.

    “Can’t we get the air conditioner working?” asked the model
    as she shed the thin shift that hung like a dishtowel from her lanky frame. The
    artist nodded without looking up.

     The General Electric, which was deeply shelved into a
    window, had served the studio steadily for twenty -five years, but now the junk
    sputtered and after some seconds, stopped.

    The model had made herself comfortable on the fuzzy green blanket.
    It smelled like fabric softener. “Mmm, Downey. No air? What about that stand up
    fan? By the way do you love these shoes or what? Do you want me to leave them
    on? I can leave them on. Don’t you love them? Do you still have that fan?”

    Returning from the broom closet with a cheap standup fan,
    the artist placed it to the side of the sofa so that it faced the outstretched figure.  She attached an orange extension
    cord, dragged it across the room, and inserted  it into the paint splattered socket. The fan
    worked. Next she slipped a disc into the player.

    In a barely audible voice, poised at the easel ready to draw, the artist finally replied,  “Love the shoes. Love the blue. Let’s leave them on.”  

    The model began to hum along to the Norah Jones cd, and that’s
    the way they stayed until lunchtime.

  • EKPRHRASIS (Gr., literary description of a piece of art).

      Picture 371 (1)

    “Seated Woman in Black With Pearls and Heels” is executed in oil bar. I first think of it as a drawing because I sketched the subject in charcoal.  In the past people commented about my “paintings” and I would correct them because for the most part my art portfolio was made up of drawings executed in charcoal, pencil or pastel. Perhaps NOW we can call “Seated Woman in Black With Pearls and  Heels” a painting. Oil bar moves like paint and can be blended like oil paint, which is one reason it is so fun to use. It took me a long time to “get it” but now I love it.

    The success of this painting results for a few reasons. The structure of the composition is bold and uncomplicated.  There is  a lot squeezed into a narrow frame; the figure is right in your face. There’s not much there as a portrait. The piece is more about shapes, color and form, including the angle of the coat, the curve of the leg, the points of the shoes, the reflective orbs of the pearls. Another reason for its success is the familiar and always reliable thrust of black against red—with hints of varying hues of each throughout, including soft grays, whites, pinks and blues. In this case the combination of red and black evokes some interesting things for me. Frankly, I think this piece is about sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. If I am lucky I unconsciously transfer this narrative onto the paper or canvas.

    THE STORY

    Similar to the “Red Chair” series, you see a person, probably a woman, waiting for someone or something to happen, in the back of the theatre or a room off to the side of a bar. She is waiting for the show to begin, or end. She is waiting to hear her favorite song, and maybe later, experience sex.

    The coat is vintage velvet, a deep blue black with a satin lining that feels luscious to the bare skin. It’s the kind of coat you want to hug about you on while sitting in the limousine on the way to the gig. And while listening to the music, or watching the performance from off to the side of the stage, watching someone you know perform, or listening to the wanes of the vocals, you dig your hands into those deep pockets and cross your legs and bounce and tap to the familiar melody and lyrics that yank at your heart. You hum along quietly at the back of your throat. The pearls wrapped around your neck subtly vibrate against your larynx. You recalll  your teens and the wild times on the strip that promised excitement and mystery, revelation and awakening. You feel that same yearning rise up and  hungrily grab at the rawness it evokes inside you. In anticipation you experience some satisfaction but don’t want the song to end and when it does you wonder: Did anyone notice what just happend?

    The seated woman in black with pearls and heels wonders if anyone notices her.    #

    "Seated Woman in Black With Pearls and Heels" will be featured in the Ojai Art Detour which takes place October 13th – 14th.  For more information about the upcoming Ojai Art Detour please visit: http://www.ojaiartdetour.com/

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