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A PLAIN PARKING LOT

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  Sometimes a place just draws you back, the reason unsure. A parking lot on East Main in Rock Hill such a place. I parked there before taking in the quiet, hoping my camera would find a shot. Nothing special stood out, the lot gravel and broken payment, a few old cars oddly parked and unattached power poles. Still the place spoke of story. It sat there like an unclaimed body just waiting to be tended to and remembered. Next to it the eight story Cobb Apartments stood iconically, away from the city center by itself, still somehow playing a part. It’s orderly bricks standing strongly against the randomness of the lot. It the only hint to the history of the place. Curiosity tugs at you in these places and you begin to search for facts. At the turn of the century a 12 year old boy named Charles Cobb folded newspapers here. His father had died and he needed to turn efforts into cash. He soon had 20 other boys helping him deliver papers. The routes taught him about what the communit...
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THE THREAD BUILDING

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  The Carolinas are rich with a legacy of old factory buildings. Elegant and powerful icons in their time when textiles and tobacco were kings. Most faded in empty shells after the internationalism of factories, their manufacturing equipment shipped abroad. They have stood for years on the fringes of small and large towns still a part of the landscape, but seemingly far from resurrection. Change has come with the speed of prosperity.The value of the sheer size and majesty of these structures finally recognized for their potential. Many are now in a “adaptive reuse” redevelopment into multifaceted facilities including restaurants, offices and light manufacturing. An example of one is The Thread in Rock Hill SC which found this 400,000 sq foot once vacant plant a natural extension of its vibrant downtown arts and living venue. If you wander these giant places you can still find glimpses and remainders of the past. Found art if you will on the wall and floors. They cry out for special...
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THE OTHER YOU

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  This is the time of year when you formulate business plans. Road maps for career success in 2026. What about the Other You though? Your special advocation or inner artist. It’s reaffirming to plan for these endeavors. Things you might consider include evaluating what you did for the Other You in 2025. What you want to do in 2026. Resources you have, equipment or material needed. Education for improvement. How you plan to share your interest and art. Networking to help enhance your experience. Special trips or time off to pursue these interests. Future plans be it art sales, teaching or just life enhancement. Having a plan for the Other You gives you something to fall back on if your business world starts to get off track. It can also open up new avenues for success. It’s not too late to become a lounge singer, stand up comic, great photographer or expert crafter. You just need to do a little planning.
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THE PROBLEM WITH JOURNALS

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  People have wanted to record their thoughts, art and records all the way back to the times of clay tablets. Even in the electronic age with all its blogs, applications and social media, the urge to record on paper is unmatched. The feel and senses of moving pen on paper connecting mind, body and thought is wonderful. The journal by nature speaks of perfection. You want your journal to reflect the best of your writing, poetry, occasional sketch or photo, and life thoughts. Problem is life is not perfect. It gets interrupted by random thoughts, notes from calls, travel expense records and even to do lists. The journal is all too handy to reach for when this randomness occurs. So you start finding odd entries into what was once a perfect set of blank pages. There is also the issue of number of pages. It’s hard to fill out all 100 or 150 pages with perfect work and thoughts. As you look over what now has become a not so perfect journal, your mind drifts to artists like Picasso, Joan ...
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TAISHO ERA JAPAN (from found art series)

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Sometimes you're lucky enough to find things that speak of art in every way. Some even have a history and legacy to them. Such was the case when I stumbled on a packet of Taisho Era letters, stamps and envelopes. They looked beautiful on their own, but I knew they could be made into even more artful items. The surprise though was learning the legacy they also carried with them. The Taisho Era was named for Emperor Taisho lasting only from 1912 to his death in 1926.  Despite being in ill health during his reign, he recognized that Japan must modernize and move beyond traditional ways. He had learned much from being exposed the West during World War One when Japan fought on the allied side. The Taisho Era was marked by significant modernization, cultural change, and the burgeoning of arts. However, it put too much wind in the sails of Japan, leading it toward expansion and conquest.  You ponder all this as you work with the items, thinking of the art. Realizing you can’t change ...
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OUT OF THE STUDIO - September 30

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  It's human nature to want to match things up, weave them together, even write a story about them. When you wander with your camera, magic doesn't always happen. What you see and experience lives only in isolation. Residing in your photos as unfinished business. Yet, these things call them abstract or not still have an art about them. While not encompassing a string of thoughts, they are part of what you find important in the world. Some you play with attempting to extract meaning and being. Most though just are.... Lancaster Tractor Trailer Reflection  Portland Mail Boxes and Poster Charlotte Hospital Awning Cotswold Village MarK - Charlotte Atlanta Wall
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STUDY OF A BLUE WALL

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  I have a camp chair in the trunk of my car. Sometimes, I carry a kit of watercolor pencils and always a camera. All to remind me to put the busy world on hold. To pull off the road and just sit, contemplating a found scene in life. You're never sure what that is, but you are always searching. It’s tough to block out the traffic, the phone calls, the blare of the radio news. Once in a while though, you find a place to pull over. You unfold the chair and just sit. What you are hoping for is the question. Maybe, something or someone entering the scene that would foster a story. Colors that would grasp you enough to sketch, applying a bit of water to make the hues sing. Maybe just a person stopping to talk about what you are doing or thinking. Most of the time, none of these things happen. You still take a photo though. When you get home, you look at it reminded that you were there and wise enough to stop...
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