by Marty Coleman | Apr 11, 2014 | Pain & Suffering |
Is is weird to be happy that today is day #1 of my new ‘Pain and Suffering’ series?
Friends in Pain
Recently I posted the following on my Facebook profile.
“Recently I have talked to 4 friends in pain over relationships and where they are in life. I don’t like seeing my friends in pain but I love knowing them well enough to know that they can get through it. Pain isn’t forever, even if it feels that way.”
Many people ‘liked’ the post. I went through the list of those who liked it and found six more who I personally have talked to in the past few years about the pain they have suffered in relationships or some other aspect of their life. And those are just the ones I talked to directly. I suspect many who liked it have also gone through a lot of pain, I just don’t know the specifics. Then again, when I think about it, how many of us haven’t gone through pain in our relationships?
Out of the 10 I have talked to personally, 6 have gone through or are going through a divorce. Of the other 4, they either broke up with long term boyfriends or girlfriends or are contemplating doing so, or they were not on good speaking terms with their spouse last I talked to them. Many of them have other painful issues they are dealing with as well. Who knows about the others, but I suspect there was a lot of pain in all those ‘likes’.
Imagined Future
I went through a divorce after 20 years of marriage. It was painful. One of the things that hurt the most was the loss of an imagined future. Not one I planned in advance, but one I realized was gone once the divorce hit. People would say, ‘but you will have a new future and who knows, it might be even better.’ I didn’t really want to hear that because at first I couldn’t imagine it was true.
But it was true. I am in that new future now and it has many things in it that I could not have imagined back then. Not all of this future is perfect, of course not. But it is filled with love and value and meaning and support and creativity and purpose. I am not sure I could ask for much more than that, right? Could you?
How the Future
How did this future come to pass? Well, eventually I had to allow the past to be on it’s own. I had to say goodbye to it as a constant companion because it didn’t want me looking at a new future. It wanted me to only look at it. The past was a jealous mistress and I had to divorce myself from it as well. That doesn’t mean I don’t visit the past. I love much of my past. but just as I don’t sleep with my ex anymore, I don’t sleep with my past either. I have a new wife I sleep with and a new present and future that accompanies her.
What that means is I made room for discovering a new understanding of my life and my future. If you are willing to do that, you can discover something new and wonderful as well.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Khalil Gibran, 1883-1931, Lebanese born poet
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 8, 2014 | Illustrated Short Stories, Marty Coleman |
A Short Short Story
Transcript:
5 seconds in her mind while we were in a church and she was in front of us and I watched her for a while before I made this up
Second One: I am alone, I am still cold, I wish I was married, I wonder if I am getting sick.
Second Two: I don’t think I am sick; it’s just allergies, I need to pay attention & eat better but lunch sounds good maybe a cheeseburger. No, a salad.
Second Three: No, maybe I will skip lunch and fast. I need to pray more so I can lose weight & be happier. Maybe just 20 pounds.
Second Four: But I am already happy I think because I am saved and that means I am going to not go to hell. I think I don’t chew well.
Second Five: But if I lose weight I will have to buy new clothes and I am broke. I am going to close my eyes now just for a little while then I will fell better again maybe.
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman
Model unknown
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 4, 2014 | Marston Bates, Research - 2014 |
This may boomerang on me, but today it’s #5 in my Research series!
True But
I think this is true but incomplete. I think it must be added that it’s not always the alley that is blind, it’s the person in the alley who is.
Blind Alley, Blind Person
A researcher can contribute their own blindness or shortsightedness to the process of going down an investigative alley. At least I know this holds true in art. If I am not paying attention to everything around me I can think a place is devoid of creative potential. But the truth is there is probably a great deal of creative opportunities anywhere, if I am paying attention. I would think the same is true in research. Yes, you have something specific you are looking for, but you can not be blind to what else the alley offers.
Recognize, Then Edit
As you go on your research journey, no matter the field, keep your mind and senses open to what presents itself, even if it’s not completely on topic. That doesn’t mean you have to grab it and indulge in it. It’s just saying you know what it is that is in front of you and are open to what it might mean. Recognizing something and deciding to leave it behind is much better than never recognizing it in the first place.
See the rest of the Research series here. If you are interested in having them as posters or framed prints for your school or company, let me know!
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Marston Bates, 1906-1974, American zoologist
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“Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind. “
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 3, 2014 | Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Research - 2014 |
Do you see? Today is #4 in the Research series!
My Daughter Led the Way
One of the things I love about having a daughter who is a scientist is how it’s turned my attention to science as well. I read up on it as best I can and I like to watch shows on it. I don’t pretend to know much, but it’s an amazing path to follow, never ending in it’s ability to surprise.
Art and Science
I also find more and more how similar being a scientist is to being an artist. Yes, science has a certain rigor and a much more detailed protocol for everything that creating artwork usually doesn’t have, but the essence of discovery comes from the same spot in our minds. That spot is an open, non-judgmental space that tells us we are free to explore. Both scientists and artists believe that the joy of exploration is it’s own reward. But we also know another truth and that is that when you do explore with freedom, lack of fear and judgment, moral or otherwise, you are very likely to discover things of importance.
See the rest of the Research Series here. Scroll down to see them all.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 1893-1986, Hungarian physiologist. Discoverer of Vitamin C and winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1937.
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 1, 2014 | Bill Watterson, Research - 2014 |
I hope you don’t think I am a jerk to tell you… today is day 3 in the Research series!
What would this field of research be in, anyway? What would the disease even be called? Do you think the government would give a grant for it?
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Drawing and questions by Marty Coleman
Quote by Bill Watterson, 1958 – not dead yet, American cartoonist, author of Calvin and Hobbes.
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 31, 2014 | Research - 2014 |
I researched it, and today is the perfect day for #2 in my Research series!
People often think science is all about facts and figures. That it is dry and boring. Don’t tell that to a scientist. Scientists won’t get mad at you about that claim, don’t worry. They will just look at you with a completely quizzical expression and say, “Are you crazy? Science is all about NOT knowing facts and figures. It’s about the excitement of investigating what it is we don’t know. That is what makes it exhilarating, not boring.”
Scientific research is walking a tightrope with the ‘Sea of Unknowing’ on one side and the canyon of ‘Can’t Be’ on the other. You try not to fall off. Then you DO fall off. Then, just as you think you are lost, you find the answer you thought was at the end of the tightrope way down in the canyon or sea!
Science research is very much like creating art.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Wernher von Braun, 1912-1977, German born rocket scientist
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 27, 2014 | Nora Neale Hurston, Research - 2014 |
Purposeful
Recently I gave a lecture about Photography to PHOTOG, a group I help lead here in Tulsa. The title of my talk was ‘What’s Inside Your Camera?’ and it was an explanation of the workings of the camera. Of course to talk intelligently about it I thought it might be wise for me to research exactly what DOES happen in a camera. I mean, I know…but I don’t KNOW.
Curious
So, I went about researching. My research was driven by what I was curious about. How does that image get on the screen in the back anyway? I knew how it worked in old film cameras, but I didn’t know the details of how it worked in a digital camera. My curiosity went in that purposeful direction.
I did that a number of different times; exploring this history, that part of the camera, this function. Whatever piqued my curiosity, I went looking into it. I followed threads of images, forums, essays, lessons, in whatever direction I wanted to know more about. I didn’t try to have it all make sense before I started. I explored first and it was only after I had done that for many hours that I started to see how it all worked in detail.
Purposeful Again
I then organized the talk with a certain logic; starting at the lens, where the light enters the camera, and ending at the very back of the camera, where we see the resulting image.
Purpocuriosiful
That is my favorite way to work, purpocuriosiful. I start with a general idea and a broad purpose. Then, within those wide parameters I just explore freely. I allow myself to be confused, to not know how something will turn out, how it will all make sense, while I do this exploring. I allow it because I know the process works. I know my brain will eventually see patterns and structures within my purpocuriosiful explorations and I will be able to organize the information so others can gain from it.
While I am not a scientist I know from talking to my daughter, Rebekah, who is a one, that she often works that way, as do many others. Art and science are not as far apart as people sometimes think.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Nora Neale Hurston, 1891-1960, African-American Folklorist and Writer
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 26, 2014 | Illustrated Short Stories |
Prologue
I knew these girls. They were the girls I liked in High School. Not always the smartest, but definitely the smartassiest.
Chapter One
They were way too smart for school. Nonetheless, school they were in. And they weren’t doing very well. Especially in Chemistry. It wasn’t that they couldn’t learn Chemistry, it was that they didn’t care about Chemistry. What did chemicals have to do with anything? I mean, yea, you have ‘chemistry’ with someone, like your boyfriends. And yea, you don’t want to blow yourself or stuff up by accident so you should know how to not do that. But organic and inorganic chemistry as a whole class, a whole YEAR? That was pure torture.
Chapter Two
To save money parents had the option of having a group tutoring session. So now these two girls were at the bookstore sitting with the same tutor. They didn’t know each other, they just knew OF each other. They weren’t in the same clique and didn’t do the same school activities. The girl in blue, Amy, was a jock. The girl in gray, Abby, was in Band. Amy had a reputation for being really funny. Abby had a reputation for being really funny too.
Chapter Three
The tutor was a nice lady who wore a pink wool top and gray skirt. Amy thought the skirt was too short for someone so old. Abby thought the pink top made her look like she was from the 60s, like the President who got killed’s wife, whatever her name was. The tutor had been a full time teacher but had to quit when her mother got sick and needed care. Now she tutored 3 days a week and made almost as much money as she did teaching with nowhere near the hassle.
Chapter Four
The tutor was explaining chemically how gas is formed. This was an unfortunate topic for Abby, who at that very moment was having severe gas pains in her bowels. She was waiting to excuse herself until the tutor finished when it happened. Abby tooted. It wasn’t really loud or really long, but it was loud enough. The tutors eyes went wide. Amy put her hand over her mouth and tried to suppress a laugh. It didn’t work. Amy laughed loud, louder than the toot. Abby blushed, then looked at the tutor and said, “Sorry, may I go to the bathroom please?” The tutor scowled, rolled her eyes and said, “Yes, please do.”
Chapter Five
Amy immediately asked if she could go too and the tutor said yes. When they both got in the bathroom they started laughing hysterically. Abby said, “I don’t know what she was so upset about, that’s chemistry in action, right?” Amy caught her breath and said, “Exactly, that’s the chemistry they should teach in school, everyone would pay attention then!”
Chapter Six
The tutoring session ended a few minutes later with both girls barely able to keep it together. They stayed behind after the tutor left. They did homework, looked at magazines and talked about a million different things for another 2 hours before they both had to go home for dinner.
Epilogue
That day was the day they both met their best friend. Now, 25 years later, they live a mile from each other. They talk every day. Ironically enough, Amy actually did become a Chemical Engineer and Abby became a Science Writer. They have helped each other through college, graduate school, marriages, divorces, babies, moves, jobs, firings, illnesses and everything else. They love to tell the story of how they met.
The End
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Drawing and Story by Marty Coleman ©2014
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 25, 2014 | Illustrated Short Stories, Sketchbook History Tour |
#1
I’ve gone to the same Starbucks in Tulsa about 3 times in a row now. It is not where I usually travel but I had to get my car serviced a number of times and it’s the coffee spot closest to the dealership. Each time I’ve spent time working and drawing, usually about an hour or so. Each time the same woman was there. The first time I noticed her but I was faced the opposite direction and ended up drawing a couple talking at a window table while it snowed.
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#2
The second time I drew her on a napkin and showed it to her. I also showed her the sketchbook drawing from my first trip there and the sketchbook drawing I was doing that day, of a woman being interviewed at the end of my table.
I haven’t finished her napkin yet but I did take a photo of her with it, as I always like to do if possible. I emailed her the photograph. While we talked I found out she liked to hang out there before her job at Dillards, a department store at the nearby mall. I also found out she had taught English in Korea for a year and had just got back in the summer of 2013.
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#3
The third time I sat across from her and drew her in my sketchbook. She told me that she had decided to go back to Korea for at least another year to teach again. I admire the courage it takes to go off to a new part of the world all by yourself. To go back a second time, that really says something about what you discovered about the place, and about yourself, the first time around. I wish I had done that in college or afterwards.
I wish her great fortune in her journey to Korea!
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Drawings and writing by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 23, 2014 | Photographic Sunday |
As I’ve mentioned, I spent almost a week down in Austin, TX at SXSW (South By Southwest) Interactive at the beginning of March. I had my DSLR camera with me but I actually took a lot more photos with my iPhone and iPad mini than I did with my larger camera.
Workshop Portraits
I led a 2 1/2 hour workshop on the first day titled ‘The Compelling Image in the Age of Social Media’. A lot of the hands on activities I had the participants do were related to portraiture and to composition using a simple cell phone. I also participated some in taking pics and below are examples of what I was teaching them.
Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW
Portrait with Eyebrow at SXSW
A simple front lit portrait is a great way to get a good photo without much work. Including the environment around the model helps identify her in an actual place, filling out her identity and giving a mood or feel to the image.
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Partial Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW
Partial Portrait Model for my Workshop at SXSW
Heels and Guitar Shadow at SXSW
Portraits of people with just part of their face, or without any part of their face, showing is one of my favorite ways to emphasize character and style and place. I had them work on that idea of ‘partial portrait’ and also taught them how to take photos of strangers. I practiced what I preached in the middle photo, asking a volunteer at the conference center if I could take a photo of her necklace and earrings.
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Conference Portraits
Gaming Glasses at SXSW
She was modeling and selling ‘gaming glasses’ at the Gaming Expo of SXSW. I had no idea what they were at first, I thought it was just a sunglass company selling their wares. But she explained that the glasses helped reduce glare, blue light and eye strain for gamers who are at the monitor or TV for hours at a time. That interested me because my daughter Rebekah the Neuroscientist (yes I am bragging) is also a fierce gamer. I took this woman’s pic and messaged it to Beka at the time to show her the glasses.
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Subway Lounge
Woman with One Eye Open at SXSW
I was at the outdoor Subway lounge charging my iPhone and struck up a conversation with one of the Subway hostesses/models. She wasn’t in a costume at the time but she told how she had been earlier and how cool it was. The costume was designed by a hot and upcoming fashion designer in Austin who used nothing but Subway material for the costume. I really wanted to see it but that promotion was done for the day.
The lounge had this very odd plant block with flowers on top in the middle of it and I found myself trying to figure out how to place it in an image. I asked her to model for me with it in the background and she was open to the idea. If you’ve ever seen my photo-collages you know I do a lot of ‘one eye open, one eye closed’ images and I had her pose both ways. I later collaged the two images to get this one.
I went back the next day and lo and behold there were two models in the costume she had mentioned. I asked them if I could take photos of their backs (another part I take a lot of photos of) and after initially wondering ‘uh?’ said ok. I posed them on either side of the bizarre plant block. That combined with the symmetrical trashcans made for a pretty interesting image I thought.
Subway Models at SXSW
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Kat
While I was in Austin I wanted to finally meet a long time Flickr friend, Kat. We have known each other via our photos for 6 years or so but have never met in person. She came and picked me up one morning and took me to a cool coffee spot in Austin not far from the convention center. We then took a short side trip around back where there were some brightly colored building so we could have a mini-shoot.
I took most of the pics with my DSLR camera but I took one with my iPhone so I could use them as a new example in my presentation about the capabilities and power of the camera in your pocket. Here are the pics, can you guess which one is from the cell phone?
Kat #1
Kat #2
Kat #3
Kat #4
Put your guess in the comments and I will let you know in a day or two which one is right.
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SXSW at Night
At night the conference spilled out onto 6th street, the main entertainment drag in Austin. I wasn’t with anyone so I just wandered around looking for interesting scenes. Here are a few I caught.
Street Scene at SXSW
Robot Love at SXSW
Performers at SXSW
Grumpy Cat at SXSW
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Rain
Two Reds on a Gray Day at SXSW
Rain dominated the weather for a few days of the conference. As I walked from the bus stop to the convention center early one morning I saw this woman in bright red pants brighten up what was otherwise a completely gray/brown landscape. When I turned after passing her I noticed the red sign in the distance and loved the balance of the two. I originally posted it on Instagram, that’s the reason behind the square format.
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Street Mystery
Composition with Mystery at SXSW
And of course in taking street photos you often don’t know what you are going to get. Here I captured a moment right between two people walking by. I was paying attention to the person all in purple but I caught a sweet spot right between that person and the cape leading the way. It’s an arrow and a mystery.
I really was focused on learning and networking and didn’t take nearly as many interesting photos as I usually do. Next year I will take more!
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© 2021 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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