I have been trying to figure out what to say about an issue that is so close to my heart that I am standing on the precipice of a nervous breakdown, or at least that is what my mind thinks in this moment. This will be a long post, so I recommend not reading this until you have time to read through it carefully and thoughtfully. Grab a great cup of coffee and a comfy spot, if you've read this far, you, me and my Lord are about to take a walk in the woods together.
That is quite an opening salvo, to use words that have come to mind recently. I am about to show you the soft underbelly hidden by the very rough exterior that you see in public. I am going to say some things that will be triggering to some people, I'm sorry, if that offends you, upsets you, fill in the blank...it's not that I don't care, anyway, stop reading here if this is a problem for you.
Recently some wrongs have been committed against me in both the public and private sectors. Those wrongs have been committed against me, my artwork, my business, my passion, my Love. That last word is an important word, I'll explain. If you have met me in public, I hope it does not take very long to learn I am a Christian. If that statement is not true, please talk to my Pastor, because I am missing it somehow. This "moniker", Christian, that alone is a triggering word for many in our community, whether they ascribe to that "label" or use another word, or not at all.
You will learn by being around me, that my mind is constantly jumping from one thing to the next. Some of this is my anxiety, a lot of it in fact. If you see me in public, and the rate of my speech accelerates, this is a flashing warning sign that I may need help very soon. Sometimes in public, I get overwhelmed, especially when certain triggers are presented before me. I had a trifecta of triggers recently in one of my favorite Roanoke places, it was not a good morning, but even in that there is a lie. It was a good morning, it was a hard morning. I'll stop there and move on, but pause to say, I hope that Roanoke business would show me grace. I am sorry and look forward to doing business together very soon, if your leadership desires the same.
Moving on, the Roanoke art market, and presumably well beyond our borders is about to have a public discourse on words like Trademark, Copyright, Infringement. Those are really big legal words that carry a lot of weight when in the same sentence as "artwork", which is a very broad term in itself. I too have recently been a victim, my rights being violated in the context of those words. I am a photographer, pushing a boulder the size of a Tank, up a hill in the snow, both ways, let's see how many more ridiculous visual metaphors do I need to infer here? I feel it may be worth stating the obvious, my work is how I make my living. I feel it may also be good to point out here, this article was not written with Ai, that word "article", came out when I was free-flowing brain dumping the first draft, so I am leaving it there. Circling back, I have been pushing this rock uphill for years. This "diatribe", to use words that have been slung at me recently, is an inside look at my heart, which I protect viscously, let me warn you. Us Christians, we commonly recall a scripture that is written in our hearts, often by compulsion, which means its coming out of us whether we like it or not. Anyway, due to my reverence for God's Word, I will not soften His Word, if that offends you, that is not my problem, you can refer to my God if you'd like to take it up with Him. The scripture reads, "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart." Luke 6:43-6:45. So if my Christianity offends you, I would ask you to not engage with my heart, which is also my art, which is also my business, I offer that request with as much Grace as I can muster.
Let's get back to art, a conversation is coming soon, about art, rights and everything that means, that time is not now. As I do a lot of mornings, I try to start my morning with some time at the feet of my Savior Jesus Christ. This morning was no different, and in His immeasurable Grace he gave me an art piece (this morning) that is going to be extremely important to me, maybe my most important piece ever, to me at least. You will notice an immediate shift in my artwork, I am no longer going to sensor my artwork for public consumption. I am so sick of people telling me my, anxiety is triggering to them, guess what, it is to me too, more so than you. How about some Grace, especially here at Christmas. The banner image of this post is titled "The Birth of Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ". This image will be available for purchase in print and otherwise very soon, only bearing my signature. If you have ever seen my signature, you know it is pretty unique. There is ALWAYS a scripture reference next to my signature, either on the front or the back. For organizations that desire to work with me, this may be a problem, and that's OK. That is a que to me (perhaps from God) that we do not need to work together. The scripture reference comes from Paul's letter to the church in Rome, hence the name of the book is Romans. The whole book of Romans is packed with deeply important theology. My favorite verse, some might even describe it as their "life verse", I believe this may be true for me. It is Romans 6:23, some of you will immediately recognize it, perhaps you have heard me quote it directly to you, know that I am praying for you, specifically. The verse reads, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord". If you'd like to have a conversation about what that means, I would love to walk through that with you. In fact, that is THE only reason I exist, to bring glory to my Father in Heaven, which naturally outflows to everything I do, especially in business.
To try to bring this post to a close, a favorite podcaster's words come to mind, time "to land the plane". Hopefully that is not a trademarked slogan, if it is, I pray that personality would show me some Grace. God has blown open some doors, so many in fact that I am having an hard time not being overwhelmed. That is a weakness in my faith, pray for me, my idol is control, and my life in this moment is so far removed from what I would define as "controlled" I can't seem to function some days, which speaks to the root of the problem. God said have NO idols before me, which is from the Book of Exodus, the 20th Chapter. This first commandment is the most important, God likes order, naturally He gave us His commandments in order of importance. Interestingly enough, if you search out that term on that thing we call the internet, Ai actually lists them in the wrong order. Ai is so new, I have no idea the rules, to the point that I don't know to use all caps or a mix as I have, and frankly I don't care, just one more sign technology should not always be trusted, especially when in the context of God's Holy Word. Just to be clear, an idol is anything YOU place before God in YOUR heart. This can be anything, whether that be money, a spouse, relationship with your family, perhaps even your brothers, its that important. Death to Life. That opening image by the way, it was shot without much thought to composition. Some the words in sharp focus (to use a photography term), I don't believe that is an accident. You'll learn by talking to me, I don't believe in luck, I believe in "Happy Little Miracles". I wish I could take credit for that moniker, I can't. Someone in my periphery said it, I loved it and adopted it. One last word about that word, Love. I love my artwork, that is one of the many gifts with which my God has blessed me. Because it is a gift, directly from Him, I am naturally careful about with whom I share my artwork, I am giving you a small piece of my heart. If you abuse my trust with my art, you WILL be left out in the cold. I love you Roanoke, and the surrounding regions, looking forward to seeing you in 2025. BIG Changes coming soon. Spend time with your family, I am, and God is first in my family.
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