The First Mile

As the sun rises, you check off your first two items in preparation for your big race: 1. Appropriate gear: running shoes and a light-weight tank top and short shorts 2. Stretches. Then, you start to mentally prepare for the race ahead. In the 5K race (3.1 miles) which is a typical cross-country course, you begin to think about your tactics for competing in the race. With your art job or assignment you begin to think about the stages it will take to complete your project. What are the tactics of runners that will help you win/finish your art project successfully?

Frame Of Mind.
There are always good ways to run your race and bad ways to run it. You want to consider your options before you put your foot on the start line. I was always a slow runner. I am naturally contemplative. I like to think a lot. I was never the fast one, but I always finished the race running. I won a couple of ribbons in competitions, but mostly I just ran. That was because I could focus on the finish line.



Run In Stretches.
What I recommend is what I learned from those cross country days--consider the race as a whole. You need to keep your legs moving and your mind on the race. You need to consider each mile completed as a separate achievement. Gradually increase your speed as you go. Do not become stagnant in your competition. Eventually push yourself to your top speed at the end.

The Long-Distance Commitment.
What I do not recommend is darting off the start line at 100 yard dash speed. I know runners from my cross country years in high school who completely missed the point of running a race. They completely overlooked the fact that foot races are a long-distance commitment. When the gun goes off they would sprint off the line for the first mile. Often these guys were more fit than me. They were often taller and thinner. In my opinion, better equipped than myself to run these long distances. These "jack rabbits" as we called them may have put a good scare on the competition, initially, but then they burned out quick. What good is that in a long distance race?

Conclusion.
Consider your art project as a long-distance race. Some may in fact be very short term in the scope of your life, but art is a discipline like any other sport. I am recommending that you look at your project in stages or in stretches. Think through and prioritize your process in a plan (a later post). You want to keep your project moving. Consider the pace that you need to keep to be strong in every stretch of the race. There will be times that you can relax your pace, but there will also be times to surge ahead. The best tact that I have learned is to pick short goals and to seek to surpass them quickly. You are in a race, so you can't slow down. Keep this in mind as you figure out how to win your prize for finishing your art project.

Short Shorts

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? 

Run in such a way as to get the prize. -I Corinthians 9:24 (NIV)

Creating art is like running a race. Like all sports running requires practise, practise, practise! You also have to have the right gear (running shoes, shorts, light shirt, etc...), stretch, think tactically, prepare for your competitors and the course, know when to refresh, think about your finish, and fueling your imagination to win.

Skimpies.
In high school cross country we had to wear the most embarrassing uniforms of all the sports teams. They had to be a couple of decades out of date by the time my class got to wear this badge of honor. As a low profile sport, my high school felt little need to invest in any new trendy uniforms. We wore what we called skimpies. You can guess why they got that name.

Flying.
We all hated these uniforms, but you know what? There came a time when I would not trade those shorts in for anything else. After several years of running during the hot hot summers in Indiana, I was grateful for this less restricting apparel. And their came a time that I longed for the school year so that I could once again feel as if I were flying. Any dedicated runner would know what I am talking about.

Dedicated.
Try as you might, without the right gear making visual art can be hard. If you paint in oil, cheap paint may make it difficult create the atmosphere that you long for. If you are a photographer, the wrong lighting in your studio could mess with your photos and your exposure will come out wrong. Or if your a cartoonist like myself, your inking brushes could cause difficulty in creating the sharp yet varied line you want to make.The truth is that dedicated people will do what it takes to become excellent at their skills or profession.

Conclusion.

Do your best work! Don't skimp on the supplies. You may go through a practise period that you can justify cheaper material, but eventually you will want to reach for a higher level and improve your skill.  You're a creative person after all and if you can't justify the extra dollars and cents to prove to yourself and everybody else that you're worth it, then you might want to consider a new profession or hobby. So, consider the gear that will make your art soar and hone your craft with that. I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

7 Day Work Week

Hopefully, I won't have to do this again. It's easy to enter the week optimistically, but dreadful if you think about the fact that you have no weekend. I wouldn't recommend this lifestyle to anyone.

V Is For Verone: Part 2

Instead of giving up he strived one more time to make eye contact with someone, anyone. There huddled in the inner ring was the prettiest little girl he had ever seen. She looked up and in the darkness her eyes sparkled. A spot of passion reflected from the meager fire. Her eyes read him from toe to head.

“There is a place for you by the fire.” She murmured, and then she opened up a her blanket to reveal a vest.

Then the circle broke for him to come through. As the boy reached the far end where a path formed, he went to sit next to her.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“I-I am Verone, a Romani like you.”

“Well then, this vest was meant for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see the 'V' stitched into the two portions in the front of the vest and the 'V's' making the Romani wheel on the back.”

“Yes.”

“I stitched this for my father last summer.”

“Why are you giving it to me? Where is he?”

“He died tragically a year ago, about this time.”Verone was dumbfounded. She smiled gingerly and gently handed it to him.

“His name was Viktor. And I am finished with my mourning just today at breakfast. I was told that I must find another man to fill his vest.”

“I am not a man. This vest is for a big man. Maybe better suited for a bear...I don't know.”

She giggled and then responded,“Do not worry Verone, you will one day grow into this.”

The fire died by early morning and the chill returned. Verone saw that the clan had already moved on and he was the only one left in the cave. The extra large vest was still around him. He was huddled into it. Today, the young thief had to reach his clan. He hastily jumped up with the vest still around him. He looked about the cave for anyone or any sign of the little girl, then Verone climbed back up through the crevice. He ran down the pass.

What would his future be, he thought? Then, he passed a small camp site. The hikers had their bag on mounted on a tree. Verone walked slowly up to the bag and grabbed some food out of it. The boy ate some of the bread and fruit and cold meat as he hurried to tell his family about his wonderful blessing.

V Is For Verone: Part 1

Who is Verone and where did he come from? And why does he have that "V" on his vest? In this two part story I present a little back story to "The Course".

As the cold winter wind broke through the mountains in some unnamed highlands of Eastern Europe a young gypsy thief ran and took refuge under the cliff. His clan had moved on a day ahead and he was seeking to survive.  Little did he know, there was a gypsy clan who had already taken refuge in the cave. He could smell the cooking stew, probably made from a mountain goat or some poor farmers stray cow.

The boy entered the narrow passage way under the overhang. There before him were several small families hunched together around several fires. They barely acknowledged him as he came down the crevice through an awkward rock path. The boy circled the first fire and no one made eye contact. They were concentrating too much on being warm or they just didn't care. He circled the second one and no one even moved. At the third fire the the boy was desperate. If he could not find solace here he would likely freeze to death if he tried to go on. Though, the stew smelled heavenly, he could endure the hunger. He had done that before. It was warmth and rest he longed for.

Arapad character

This is the completed, inked, and colored version of my main character, Teleki's best friend, Arapad. More to come.