Art

Ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed art - drawing, sketching, cartooning, painting, etc.

I remember going through phases, where I would obsess on drawing certain things. I went through a "car phase" where I drew monster-looking hotrods like Big Daddy Roth's "Rat Fink" art, which was real popular with young boys in the early '70s. I had a "perspective phase" where I drew long tree-lined streets disappearing into the distance at a vanishing point. I had an "architecture phase" where I drew Monticello, the Capitol building, cathedrals, etc. I even had a "monsters phase" where I would draw various other-worldly creatures like those in Dungeons and Dragons (can you say young geek?).

My attempts at art were mainly centered around pencil sketching as a kid, but I also recall experimenting with painting (watercolor and acrylic) as a young adult. Just before I met Cathy (probably 1988 or 1989), I painted a watercolor of an tropical island at sunset, based on a photo I had taken on a sailing trip to the Bahamas that year. I gave the painting to my Dad as a gift when he was in the hospital for surgery. When he got home, he hung the painting in his bedroom, where it remains to this day. After Dad passed from Lou Gehrig's disease in 1999 , Mom told me how much he had always loved that painting...

Right around the time I met Cathy, I was in an acrylic painting phase, and was cranking out paintings for different folks. I made paintings for Cathy (snowy footprints with "The Road Less Traveled" poem), Cathy's mom (sand castle with some sort of saying or poem), and Cathy's grandmother (snow-covered pine forest)...basically if you were a female related to Cathy, you got a painting, whether or not you really wanted one!

When we got married, the hustle and bustle of raising two boys (church, scouts, sports, etc) really put a damper on the art hobby. I can recall only a few projects over the last 15 years. For one of the boys (Zach?), I painted a cougar mascot for his scout group. For our family, I made a pen-and-ink "Declaration of Dependence" piece that now hangs in our dining room. And for a Michelin art contest, I made a pen-and-ink montage of historical Michelin Man artwork. But other than that, pretty much nada.

I guess there are many reasons I haven't done much artwork over the last several years. First, I really don't think I have a great talent for it. I do OK if I'm copying from a reference photo, but not so hot just drawing whatever I "see in my mind". Second, I have other hobbies that have taken precedence (music, etc). Third, I really haven't seen the value in doing it, unless someone asks me to do something specific.

But recently, this all changed. Last month I read a book called "A Whole New Mind", which ignited in me a desire to reconnect with my "right brain" self, the part of me which is artistic, graphical, etc. It made me realize that I have spent the last 40 years developing the logical, deductive reasoning part of my brain, but much less on the visual, artistic side.

So, what have I done about it?

Well, a few things. First, I went and bought a Moleskine. A Moleskine is a little leather-bound notebook that artsy types use to record their doodles, rough sketches, storyboards, cartoons, whatever. I keep it next to my "easy chair" at home, and try and doodle in it frequently. Some things I have doodled include ideas for blog headers (mine, Cathy's), cartoon characters, custom fonts, logos, and tattoos (Brandon & Megan's).

Second, I have subscribed to three blogs related to art and graphic design. Check them out: xBlog, moleskinerie, and Drawn!. These blogs link to some really awesome websites by artists, graphic designers, cartoonists, animated film makers, Photoshop gurus, etc. I check them daily, and I'm lovin it.

Finally, since I am now getting up and getting to work an hour earlier as part of my New Year's resolution, after my morning devotion I spend 5-10 minutes sketching. That's not much time, but at least it is something. And over the course of the last month or so, I actually completed a pencil sketch (of a pair of day lilies). It's not much in terms of quality, but to me it is significant because it represents my effort to re-connect with the artsy side of myself, which has been mostly dormant for the last 15 years.

Is there a talent that God has given you which you have been neglecting? Why not work at it for 5-10 minutes a day, and see what you can come up with a month from now!

Construction

I'm a creature of habit -- aren't we all?

Every day, I drive back and forth to my job, taking the same route. And on that route, there are two construction projects.

The first project is just a few hundred yards from my house. First Baptist Simpsonville is building a new worship facility to replace the current one, built in the 70s or 80s (which replaced the original sanctuary, built around 1910!). It is an impressive structure, with classic stone and brick exterior, and stadium seating inside. Everything on the exterior has gone up since fall, and all it lacks outside is the steeple and a few shingles.

The second project is the entrance to my workplace, MARC. As part of a site beautification project, they are renovating the main entrance. Out with the old barbed wire fence and guard shack, in with a professionally landscaped gateway. The new entrance will boast an arbor, lots of shrubs/trees/plants, concrete & brick walkways, and an outdoor cafe area for employees to eat lunch.

In each of these cases, the price of the "new thing" was the destruction of the "old thing".

In the case of First Baptist, clearing the construction site meant tearing down four wonderful old houses. Those houses were all built around 1905-1910, by the same man who built our house. Since Cathy and I are "old house people", it broke our hearts to see these awesome houses bulldozed. Fortunately, we were able to work out a deal with the salvage company, and I managed to get some great parts and pieces to use in the restoration of our house.

In the case of the MARC entrance, demolition crews had to tear down fences, guard shacks, and gates, and dig up sidewalks and asphalt roadways. Plants were uprooted and thrown away, and even the huge flagpole got the heave-ho!

The reason these construction projects stand out to me is that my life is currently "under construction". I am a little past a week into 2008, and the New Years resolutions I made are going well. I have been getting to bed and to work an hour earlier, working through a great Bible study on David, and working out daily at the Michelin fitness center.

Just like real construction projects require tearing out the old, outdated things in order to make place for the new, so it has been in my life. For years, I have been all about one concept: "I am not a morning person". This was my mantra, which I would repeat to anyone who challenged me on it. No matter what, I just wasn't going to get up early.

It wasn't until this New Year's that I asked myself the classic Dr. Phil question - how's that been working for you?

The truth was, it hadn't been working too well. There were things that, year after year, needed improvement in my life, and my old solutions just weren't working. So after some prayer, I came to the conclusion that I was going to need to make some big changes, and prayed that God would help me rip out old habits and create brand new ones in their place.

So far, so good!

Come spring, I hope to see three new things in my daily routine: the towering steeple of the new First Baptist sanctuary, a professionally landscaped MARC entrance, and a new "me" (outside and inside).

Plan

Hello again!

I haven't made a blog post in a while, what with the Christmas season busy-ness and all. I'm looking forward to getting back into my blogging once the new year hits.

Speaking of which...

I've never been much into the whole "new year's resolution" thing. I suppose its because I don't like making promises I generally don't seem to be able to keep. But this year, for some reason, is different. I am actually excited about making a "plan" for the upcoming year. Certain ideas have been bouncing around in my head over the past few weeks, and I'm going to attempt (in this blog post) to capture them and get them down in writing.

There are two areas in my life that I know need improving, and which I want to address by rearranging my daily routines.

First, I was very disappointed in 2007 at my own track record of daily devotions. I simply have not, for whatever reason, carved out a good time/place combination to regularly meet with God on a daily basis. This, of course, has led to my failing to meet a variety of spiritual goals, as well a general "blah" feeling in my Christian walk. So, I want to do a better job in 2008 of having meaningful, regular devotional times.

Second, I didn't do very well in 2007 in the area of personal health and fitness. I should be eating well and exercising, but last year I did neither. As a result, there's MORE of me to love than ever before! Ha! More and more, I am aware of the fact that I am aging, and that life really is short. I want to be around for my grandkids, and so I need to start taking better care of myself.

So, here's my plan for 2008...

- Go to bed an hour earlier (10 PM instead of 11 PM), and get up an hour earlier (6 AM instead of 7 AM).

This will enable me to...

- Get to work an hour earlier (7 AM instead of 8 AM)

This will enable me to...

- Have a half-hour devotion (7-7:30 AM, when I'm alert and things at the office are quiet).

AND

- Work out at the fitness center for a half-hour (walk/run three days a week, lift weights 2 days/week)

In addition, I am planning to:

- Eat healthier (no french fries, no sodas on work days, one soda per day on weekends, minimal sweets/desserts, more fruits/veggies)

- Walk in the park after work with Cathy when she is available/willing (and the weather cooperates)

These are some pretty big changes for me. The going to bed earlier will cut into my "free time" at night, but most of that is wasted on silly web-surfing anyway. The getting up earlier will be tough, as I am NOT a morning person.

But I think I can make these changes, and stick with them. I'm looking forward to the results: less physical Brian, more spiritual Brian.

Sounds like a plan, huh?

Discipline

One of the things I need work on in my life is discipline.

A good example of this is my diet. For a while, a few years back, I was doing a very good job of watching what I ate. Instead of soft drinks, I would just drink water. Instead of potato chips, I would eat pretzels (is this better?). Instead of fried foods, I tried to eat grilled or baked foods. I cut out candy almost completely. Instead of eating seconds, I just had one serving.

You know the drill. It was a disciplined diet, versus an undisciplined diet. Easy to talk about, tough to actually stick with.

Well, lately I find that my discipline in this area has eroded. And if I'm perfectly honest, I'd have to say that my self-discipline in the area of spiritual things has slipped a bit as well. In the spiritual area, I'm talking about things such as daily quiet times, time in prayer, time studying the Word, reading Christian books, etc.
And in the same way that my bad eating habits has resulted in gaining a few pounds, my spiritual lack of discipline has resulted in some significant "loss of muscle tone" in my walk with Christ.

I do realize that it is a long series of small, poor choices that adds up to us finding ourselves where we don't want to be, and didn't think we'd ever end up. So, I have resolved to try and start making wiser choices, both in the area of my eating and in the area of my spiritual life. Apples instead of Pop-tarts, water instead of Coke, Bible reading instead of web surfing, prayer instead of talk radio.

Hopefully, a month from now, I'll be able to report back that I am more fit and trim, both physically and spiritually... Oh well, I'm off to eat an apple!