by Marty Coleman | Aug 28, 2013 | Eleanor Roosevelt, Plan On It! - 2013 |
I planned today to be about wishing.
Wishing
I wish I had a dollar for every time I wished something would happen. Is that wish a plan? No, it’s a wish. A plan would be setting up automatic transfer from some ‘wish’ account to my own wish account. It would be directly linked to my brain thoughts, would know when I wish something and pay me my dollar. That is a plan.
Planning
What is the difference between wishing and planning? Not much. Planning is just sort of organized wishing. You wish to paint a painting for your mother’s birthday. If you organize that into what to buy or find to paint with, where you are going to paint. and when you will make time to paint, then you have organized the wish, simple as that. It’s still a wish, but you have put legs to it.
Dream, Image and Deed
Long ago I did a series of art pieces called ‘Dream, Image and Deed’. It sort of clarified for me what it took to make something happen. I had to dream (or wish), I had to imagine it clearly by making an image of it (or writing it down, same idea) and then I had to do the deed. The drawing above illustrates that idea.
The key to turning a wish into a plan is to not get caught up in the big picture. You may wish for an around the world trip, but you aren’t actually putting that in action. All you are really doing is the first step, which might be to figure out the stops you would like to make. That is a wish and it’s a plan. You keep doing the next little step, until you can’t do any more steps. If it ends before your trip, then you adjust the dream to be only half way around the world and back, or whatever it takes for you to continue to take steps.
I wish you good plans!
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 27, 2013 | American Proverbs, Plan On It! - 2013 |
I planned this last night all by myself.
Being Played
The saying when you are being taken advantage of without you really knowing it is, ‘You’re being played.’ It means someone is manipulating you to achieve an end of their own. They make it seem like it is in your best interest, maybe even that it was your idea. But unbeknownst to you, the real goal doesn’t take you into consideration. You will be left behind when you are no longer needed. You might even be damaged or hurt. That’s being played.
Being Planned
If you don’t know what you want in life, if you don’t make some effort to go in that direction, you are going to find yourself being a chess piece in someone else’s plan for their own life.
An example: The daughter who is ‘forced’ by her parents to get a law degree when what she sort of liked was art. But she didn’t know herself very well, didn’t think her ideas of what she wanted to do were valid or useful (because her parents said so) and so she bowed to the pressure and got her law degree. She grew old resenting her brother for having the courage to withstand the parental pressure and become a salesman instead of the doctor they wanted him to be. She blamed her parents, her school, America, capitalism, and her gender. But she never realized the real reason was she didn’t know herself, didn’t trust herself enough to say, ‘this is who I am and this is what I want to be.’ She was afraid, and maybe lazy. She was afraid of not living luxuriously. She was worried about putting out so much effort to achieve her dream. She was tired just thinking about it. And so she ended up living the life her parents wanted her to live, for their reasons, not hers. She was a bitter and angry woman later in life, never knowing it was her decisions that made her like that, no one else.
Naked to the World
Why are the people in this drawing naked? Because others can see through us. They can see when we are being who we want to be, who we plan to be. And they can see us when we are hollow shells, waiting to be filled by someone else’s idea of a life. I would rather be courageous and say ‘This is my plan.” and be seen in all my planned glory than to be a coward and live someone else’s ideas and life and STILL be seen naked to the world. Because, if I am seen naked as me, then the criticisms and compliments are things I can actually listen to. I can evaluate them knowing they are at least based on something real.
If I am a lie, then criticisms and compliments aren’t ever about me. I am not connected to them, I can’t be helped or encouraged by them. It’s as if they are talking to or about someone else. And they are.
What is your plan for your life?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote is an American Proverb
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SXSW
Don’t forget, I am in need of votes at the 2014 SXSW PanelPicker site. I have a workshop proposal called ‘The Compelling Image in the Age of Social Media’ that I would love to present in Austin next March. Part of the decision making process (30%) is having SXSW members vote for the proposals they would like to attend. You do have to register, but it’s painless and if you are involved in Social Media and interactive online world in any capacity the conference would be worth finding more about.
Please vote here —–> SXSW PanelPicker and then amplify the proposal across your social media world if you are able!
Thank you very much, M
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 26, 2013 | Dallas, Travel Napkins |
Drawing at Church
I went to visit my daughter Caitlin this weekend. She lives in Dallas and attends Watermark Church. I went to the early service with her then decided to hang out out in the big spacious lounge/lobby area for about 2 hours (instead of trying to find a coffee shop nearby) while she helped lead a 7th grade girls group. I spent my time drawing.
The Deep Conversation
The Conversation
The first drawing was in my sketchbook. I was in the outdoor patio area and noticed three people having a pretty intense conversation. It seemed like they might be there a while so I thought I might be able to get a good drawing out of it.
The woman on the right was the object of the conversation. It was obvious the other two were discussing some issues with her. What about, I didn’t know. While I drew, her 2 young children, one a barely walking toddler and the other perhaps a 3 year old, were getting curious about me and my drawing. The baby came over and offered me a cheese cracker. I took it and thanked her. She took an interest in my back pack so I showed her the snap clasp that held the flap closed. She watched with delight as I snapped it open and closed.
Soon the 3 year old came over and wanted to try his hand at the clasp. He handed me a sponge dinosaur so he would be hands free. He quickly took the dinosaur back, ripped his head off, then gave it back to me. The young boy snapped the clasp again and again while the little girl looked on, either at me, the clasp or her crackers.
The trio in conversation looked over to be sure the kids were ok, and I reassured them they weren’t bothering me. Meanwhile another child, perhaps 6 years old, started hovering. I could tell what she was doing so I turned and told her it was ok for her to watch me draw. She liked that and stood a respectful distance and watched. After I finished the line drawing I showed it to the little hovering girl and she quietly said she thought it was good. I appreciated that.
By that time the conversation was winding down. The woman on the right came over to retrieve her toddler and I showed her the drawing. She liked it quite a bit and I gave her my card so she could email me and get a copy of it.
I hope whatever life events she is going through, that she got help and support from the other two. I got the feeling she was dealing with whatever it is pretty well. I wish her the very best.
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Jamie and Jill
I had another hour to wait at that point so I went inside to get out of the heat, and perhaps find some other people to draw. There are TV screens in the big lounge area showing the service and a number of people were sitting and watching. I knew that probably gave me at least 45 minutes of drawing time so I settled in and started drawing 2 woman sitting at a tall table.
This time I decided to use a napkin I had with my coffee.
The church has a very wide array of styles among those in attendance. T-shirts, jeans, shorts, sandals, and tank tops were in abundance. These two women were were dressed classier than most, combining high heels and casual tops together really well. I was lucky in that they sat still for almost the entire time, with only the changing of which leg crossed which messing me up a bit.
I showed the drawing when I was done and the sermon was over. They were a bit wary of me, just some random guy drawing them. But I gave them my card anyway, just in case they want to see the final drawing. They expressed enthusiasm once they saw the card and said they were looking forward to sharing it among their friends. They are Jamie and Jill.
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The Lobby
Then church let out, the middle school kids got out, the elementary school kids were picked up and it was a zoo.
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I love drawing people and getting to know them as I do. There is something about the slow, methodical visual investigation of line, color, shading, activity, expression, that allows me access to who they are in a way photography doesn’t. I love photography, but I like drawing as well.
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Drawings and photograph by Marty Coleman
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 23, 2013 | Gloria Steinem, Plan On It! - 2013 |
I planned this post for yesterday, which it is – if you read this tomorrow.
Dreaming your Plans
Are you allowing yourself a dream? I don’t mean the ‘I ate a cookie and it turned into a pink tutu in my stomach and flew out my butt and became a butterfly and talked to me about the African Lowland Gorilla needing cookies more than I do’ dream. I don’t mean that kind.
I mean the real life dreams. Do you allow yourself those dreams? Or do you think you don’t deserve one? Maybe you had your dream shot down and don’t want to dream again? Maybe you have been told so many times dreaming is for losers, just go and do your work and shut up about stupid dreams. Or maybe you fill your mind with other people’s dreams instead of your own. Remember, without a dream, very likely you won’t ever have a plan for anything. It all starts with a dream, so allow it.
Planning your Dreams
Are you planning your dreams? I don’t mean the ‘I dreamt I had a sock around my wrist and there was a baby alligator coming out of it with a bobblehead doll of my 3rd grade teacher in it’s teeth who was singing an oratorio in a Donald Duck voice while wearing a mankini’. I don’t mean that kind.
I mean the real life dreams. Are you planning those?
- Do you dream of downsizing and having less ‘stuff’? Are you planning on how you will actually get rid of that stuff?
- Do you dream of being a size 8 again? Are you planning on how to make that dream happen?
- Do you dream of making new friends who are more like you than the stuffy people you know at work or church or the country club? Have you joined that nudist rock climbing group yet? Have you auditioned for the community theatre yet? Have you taken that bow hunting class yet?
- Do you dream of contributing to your home town somehow? Have you looked into that school mentoring program you heard about last year? Have you called the hospice society who helped out your uncle in his last days?
What are your dreams for becoming who you want to be? What is your plan to make that happen? Do you think you will become it without a plan, without a dream? You won’t you know.
If you can dream it, you can plan it. If you can plan it, you can make it happen.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Gloria Steinem
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 22, 2013 | Michelle Linn |
I am starting a new series – The Napkin Dad Profiles. There won’t be a timetable for it. I will post them when I have the material, hopefully once a month. It will be someone I admire and think has lived an interesting life. Some will be well-known I suppose, others won’t be. But whether you have heard or seen them before or not, I think you will find them worth getting to know.
Michelle Linn
I drew this during a lunch I had with Michelle at Laffa, the awesome Medi-Eastern restaurant in Tulsa’s Brady district. We had just come from seeing the ‘Oh, Tulsa! Biennial’ at Living Arts, in which I had two photo-collages, one of which was of her. I created a variation of the photo-collage (below) in the background of this napkin drawing.
Michelle has been in Tulsa a number of years, anchoring the Fox23 Daybreak News show, having most recently having come from a morning news position in Columbia, Missouri. She replaced a very popular anchor here in Tulsa, which is always hard to do, but has succeeded in winning over the audience with a natural mix of curiosity and joy about Tulsa and Oklahoma.
We had a great lunch, catching up since the last time we spent time together, back when I did the photoshoot for the collage.
The Morning Anchor – Visual Poem #8
Open Mind, Open Heart
As you can see, Michelle was up for anything in the shoot, trusting me no matter what I asked. What I asked included having her contort her face in all sorts of ways, having her lay down on the grass outside the museum and let me stand over her photographing her up and down, letting me take photos of her feet with one shoe on and one shoe off, (see below) and most amazing of all for a news anchor used to wearing TV lights style makeup, letting me photograph her with no makeup on at all.
This willingness to put herself in my hands creatively told me she is open minded and creative herself. Which I learned is true when we sat down to eat. She didn’t bat an eye at trying food she had never tried before. She didn’t bat an eye at sharing her dish and trying mine. In the gallery she looked at many different art pieces beside her own. She liked some more than others, some pieces she understood easily, other’s not so easily. But it was her wonder that was apparent, not her judgment. It’s probably one of the main reasons she is such a good reporter and anchor, especially for a morning show, since it requires a genuine openness and curiosity about people, places and things.
Michelle, no makeup
Half and Half
So, here was the creative & fun part of Michelle coming out. She modeled a bit with no makeup on while I took a series of photos for my photo collage ideas. As you can imagine, I take a LOT more photos than I end up using in my collages, so it took a while for me to be satisfied I had enough ‘before makeup’ pics. She then went into the ladies room to put on her makeup for the second half of the shoot. I was just hanging out looking at art work when she came out quicker than I thought and said, ‘Hey, I thought this might be fun. I only put makeup on half my face so you could take some of me half and half.’ How cool was that?! And so I did.
Michelle, half and half
The Individual
Her personal life is sort of like this. She is a hard working anchor on a local TV station AND a mother of 4 young children. She has a marriage that works really well, helping her juggle it all. Her husband, Bud, is a SAHD (Stay At Home Dad), doing all things domestic. It’s an unconventional lifestyle in the midwest/southern area of the country and isn’t always understood by family and friends. But it works great for them, and that’s what counts. No matter the initial opinion, they tend to win people over by the happiness and love in their relationship and how well their children are blossoming within the family structure they have created.
When we were done with that set she went back in and put makeup on the other side. Just the fact that she could do that so well was pretty amazing.
Michelle, with makeup
Portrait
When I ask a person to collaborate on one of my art/photo projects I try to spend some time creating classic portraits that they can use for whatever purposes they have in exchange for their contribution. Perhaps it is a head shot for a resume and CV, or maybe something for a husband or wife. In Michelle’s case, she already had head shots done by her station so this was done just for her personal use, however she saw fit. It ended up as her Facebook profile pic. I am very proud of that.
She’d rather be in the sun
The Sun Worshipper
One thing to know about Michelle is how much she loves the sun. One of the reasons she loves the morning shift on TV is that she is off in the afternoon, ready to hit the pool with her 4 little kids all summer long. There was a time during this summer when the news cycle went crazy and she had to work really long hours away from Tulsa. She was ok with it because it’s her job, but when it looked like it might continue on throughout the entire summer she started to hyperventilate a bit! She really wanted that summertime time before the kids had to go back to school! She got the balance back just in time and a true crisis was averted.
And finally, Michelle is always the epitome of professionalism, but that doesn’t means she doesn’t know how to be in individual in her style. She likes her color!
You can see Michelle at work by tuning into Fox23 (channel 5) Daybreak 6am and 10am.
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Drawing, photography and story by Marty Coleman
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