“There is an insubstantial quality to life these days that is difficult to quantify.”–JDCM 2020
A friend wished me a happy rest-of-my-weekend the other day and qualified it by remarking “…as if there’s a difference in these amorphous and indeterminate days and weeks of the covid epoch.” This sums up much of my emotional state since this ‘epoch’ began last February: one same day after the next with the same news feed, everyone seemingly watching the world turn while quarantined inside our homes. This isn’t completely true but it feels that way.
Last February I was wrapping up a winter-long darkroom silver-gelatin printing project. It was for a solo show in July. At the same time I was mapping out a 2-3 week bicycle ride through northern and western Greece that would have taken place in May. Needless to say, neither of these events came to pass. The show was cancelled and the ride was put off until the autumn (when it did not happen again). By the end of October I was left with a porfolio that meant little to me and a lot of maps going nowhere. But that is looking at these past months the wrong way. So much may not have happened yet so much actually did occur.
On the advice of a friend (to whom I am eternally grateful!) last March or April, I bought a little house. The papers were finalized in August and a full renovation began, finishing in the first week of November. The place really needed to be gutted. Ancient electrical, plumbing, crumbling walls, etc…I documented it online. I have now rented it to someone who needed a home. Then I got the wild idea that maybe I should stop paying rent and buy and renovate my own space! So I did. In a few weeks (crossed fingers) I will finalize that deal and begin renovations. I hope by the end of November 2021 I will have moved into my new home. So to my friend MM who started this process…many thanks and eternal gratitude for shifting my thinking.
Prickly Pear #1
Photography…writing…I have come to the conclusion that, for me, social media, as a whole, is a stifling and shallow platform for art or communication of any true depth. These applications have actually hampered my creative process. I have produced less photography and written fewer blog entries since I started being more on my phone with a popular social media app. I let it suck the creative juices from my mind and soul. So…I would like to make more real photographs in 2021, write more, produce more real work. The new house will have space for a darkroom and a small digital area–room for a printer, perhaps a computer with a larger monitor than my laptop. A place to work. A home studio.
I have rested on what laurels I may have gathered long enough. I will make a new commitment to my art, to my life. Wheels are in motion. Let them stay moving, well-greased and clean running.
–JDCM