In about three weeks I’ll be back in Greece. I cannot wait. My time in the US has been excellent and I have been able to take care of business, visit with family and maintain an adult demeanor most of the time. Certainly there is a great deal of emotion surrounding my leaving for this extended period of time because in many ways I am moving to Europe. I will return periodically, of course, to visit with family and friends, but my heart is now directed towards a new life.
I have shipped 7 boxes of personal goods to Greece and so far only 1 has reached Paros. 4 are still in Greek Customs and await negotiating to be let through. There are no goods for sale, no items of great import except of personal value. I am imaging a huge fee for their release. The remaining 2 are most likely in Greece by now and I hope they will be let through easily. Those 2 have my medium and large format cameras in them as well as some clothes and books. I’ll cross my fingers.
I have just visited my father in Pittsburgh and yesterday we went to the Carnegie Museum of Art to view an exhibit on the photojournalist Teenie Harris. It is an amazing show and worth seeing more than once. Massive amounts of 4×5 prints spanning almost 40 years. He did not consider himself an artist. He worked and fulfilled his job. Through this I feel that he has accomplished more than the artist that goes out to purposely to ‘create’ an image. There is a purity to his work and it cautions me to the perils and pitfalls of assuming I am an artist. My work will decide this for me and it is up to others to assign a label even if I find this label arrogant or incorrect. I would rather be known as a hard worker and someone who tried to perfect a craft rather than a popular figure in the art world. Skill and craft: the cornerstones of my life these days. On Paros I can practice this. Soon I will be back in my comfort zone and hard at work.
JDCM