Page 47 - Demo

etween 1985 and 2001, I worked primarily with mechanical graphite pencils on white, 100%-cotton drawing paper. This was at a time when I was particularly affected by chemical sensitivities and could not tolerate odorous art materials. Yet despite my limitations, I was still able to express my odd sense humor and singular style of creativity. The first piece I worked on during this period was The Fool. He came to mind because of my deep interest in Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung, the Tarot, and other spiritual works. The Fool reflects the idea that everyone, including myself, is on an inner path towards personal growth, truth, and self-acceptance. I chose a crow for this role because crows and ravens often figure in American Indian beliefs as creators, tricksters, or mimics of human characteristics. Also, researchers have learned these birds are extremely intelligent and capable of solving fairly complicated problems. This particular crow has a knowing contentment, while unselfconsciously decked out with strange accessories%u2014a monocle, top hat, and cane. He is himself, and he%u2019s come a long way, but the path still unfolds before him. His journey isn%u2019t yet at its end, and there are many steps and challenges ahead, yet he is quietly confident as he prepares to, once again, move forward.Other early drawings include Haliaeetus leucocephalus, The Womb, Rec Room Bar, Buzzard%u2019s Brunch, Pigeons in the Park, A-Sea, and Watch the Birdie. Like my first drawing, they%u2019re all birds, whose two-leggedness lends itself to taking on bipedal human traits. Unlike the crow in The Fool, these avian creatures are not yet on their own paths. Instead, they%u2019re living day-to-day, caught up and influenced with what%u2019s expected by their communities. Haliaeetus leucocephalus is the Latin classification for a Bald Eagle%u2014our most American of symbols. In the era I drew him, it really mattered how well a man took care of his lawn. Unkempt grass was a sign he wasn%u2019t living up to male expectations. The Rec Room, Buzzard%u2019s Brunch, and The Womb are other takes on masculine ideals%u2014real men with their own bar, eating as much as they want, and napping in an overstuffed lounge chair. On the other hand, Pigeons in the Park depicts two man-pigeons, past their prime, whiling away their golden years on a park bench, believing retirement means doing nothing.A-Sea is a female so caught up in her own beachy cuteness, she%u2019s oblivious to her surroundings. She really doesn%u2019t need all the trappings, including the raft%u2014after all, she is a duck%u2014but she%u2019d feel incomplete without them. In Watch the Birdie, the tiny, quite unattractive, helpless chick having her picture taken is a humorous commentary on a time when you could have your children%u2019s portraits taken in discount and department stores. Typically, a temporary, young employee, who knew little about photography%u2014and had little incentive to learn%u2014would set up a micro-studio between retail displays and wait for customers. To the parents, who%u2019ve plopped this almost-repulsive chick in front of the Christmas backdrop, the lure of immortalizing their progeny is irresistible. They%u2019re convinced their offspring is attractive and special, although it is neither. Certain that every relative, friend, acquaintance, co-worker, neighbor, and even their mailman will want a copy, they will likely opt for the Holiday Photo Package with a plethora of prints in an array of sizes.After my first few drawings, my pieces tended to become more elaborate and complicated. Many began featuring multiple characters, expanded backgrounds, and increased shading. However, I continued with my favorite themes of unquestioned behaviors and norms, as well as plays on words. Two drawings, The Commitment and The Last Supper, are examples of the former%u2014my commentary on societal expectations. In The Commitment, three weasels take part in an all-too-common drama at Showoff Jewelers. The brideto-be has selected an overpriced ring, per the jeweler%u2019s suggestion, for which he will receive a hefty commission. Meanwhile, the helpless, disempowered male holds his betrothed%u2019s purse and cringes at the cost he%u2019s going to have to pay. The chipmunk husband in The Last Supper has invited guests (perhaps relatives or friends, maybe the boss and his wife), who are literally stuffing their faces with food. He wonders if the feasting must go on and on until his wife has emptied the larder%u2014which would be the gracious thing to do%u2014or can he risk saying enough is enough?American Pastime and Born to be Fried use a play on words to comment on macho behavior. The fans at the ballgame, who are enjoying their quantities of food and drink, are primitive reptiles whose team spirit is quite rabid. The opposing team are evil scum who must not only be embarrassingly beaten in points, but actually annihilated. The roosters in Born to be Fried are showing off their disregard for the conventions embraced by most of the population. Yet their dress, motorcycles, and in-your-face attitudes are just as conventional and expected%u2014in their own biker subculture. It was Peter Fonda%u2019s and Dennis Hopper%u2019s motorcycles in Easy Rider that inspired these roosters%u2019 bikes. Poking fun at ultra-female activities was something I also did. In Yak, Yak, Yak, matronly yaks play bridge, decked out in all their finery and make-up in order to out-do one another. Bridge clubs were common in my mother%u2019s time. Seeing and hearing her and her club-mates attempting to impress each other%u2014by their appearance, what they offered for lunch, the grades of their kids, husband%u2019s promotions, etc.%u2014spurred this drawing. Vain Hope is a twist on the need for women (this time, depicted as mature goats) to find rejuvenation in expensive perfumes applied by a lovely and much younger (and less offensively odorous) curly-coated sheep. Could they ever look as good, or be as sweet smelling, as