Eye of the Storm - August 2023

School, Collective Soul and more…

Greetings from Texas, where it’s well over 100 degrees and doesn’t seem to be cooling down for awhile. I hope you had a chance to see the recent Super Blue Moon in the night sky as it won’t be back until 2037!

It’s been a fast month and here are a few things that caught my eye… thanks for reading.

Back to School (again)

I just started my 18th year of teaching art. It’s crazy to think that a good portion of my life has been spent in this endeavor of educating others to explore their creativity.

Although I feel I know less each year of “what” I am doing, I do feel each year I know more and more “why” I am doing it. I believe everyone is creative and my hope in working with teenagers is to help them re-discover their unique creativity within.

It is amazing to me how many well known artists were also teachers. A few great examples are:

• Paul Klee

• Josef Albers

• Alma Thomas

• Joseph Lawrence

• Cortia Kent

• Faith Ringgold

• Phillip Guston

… and so many more.

This quote by artist Joseph Beuys sums it up well,

“To teach is my greatest work of art”

A book I picked up to learn more about Guston (written by his daughter)

August with Guston

For the month of August, I decided to spend more time with an artist whose work I have appreciated but didn’t know much about - Phillip Guston.

Through a bit of reading and spending time with his work, I have a better grasp of the arc of Guston’s creative career. From his early figurative work, to his abstract expressionist phase and finally to his clunky almost cartoony quality of later work.

“Painting is an illusion, a piece of magic, so what you see is not what you see.”

- Phillip Guston

Album cover for Collective Soul’s first album

Music of the month: Collective Soul

As a high school student, a band I really enjoyed was Collective Soul. There was just something about their heavy guitar riffs, catchy melodies and lyrics which often seem to be searching for deeper meaning.

For the month of August, I worked through the bands 11 studio albums. They are most famous for their 1994 hit song “Shine” and a few others. My favorite album by far was their 1997 album “Disciplined Breakdown” which I would listen to as I got ready for work at the local Hy-Vee grocery store.

Collective Soul lyrics from “AYTA” (Are You The Answer)

Promises, where they gonna lead me to?
I still have wishes, that haven't come true
Well I toss, and I turn and what, this life that can give
Yeah I toss, and I turn and how, this life I should live

Are you the answer, to all I need?
Are you the answer, the answer for me?

Little bell pepper boy

Pareidolia of the month

As I have shared before, I have a propensity towards pareidolia - which is simply finding random things (like faces) in unexpected places. Adding googly eyes to anything does most of the heavy lifting. Let me know by sending a pic (johnystormy@gmail.com) if you find any faces in random places this next month!

Saw these eyes at work so I added the mouth

That’s all for now. Take care and as always, thanks for reading!