Sunday, February 28, 2016

Staring at the ceiling with eyes of glass.

Oh man, oh man, oh man,... how were all of you on this fine weekend? I was tired.

I know, I know, you probably could get that from any one of the entries I've posted over the last few months. But this weekend, even though I was worn out, had a smattering of freelance to conquer, and a lot of things to plan before the weekend of NakaKon, I'm feeling kind of relaxed.

I'm not sure WHY that is, as nothing has really changed in my hectic schedule.

I met with people I work with at Hallmark on this project that had been running for a while called Scribblers, that is sort of an educational outreach community program to help teach writing and art to school age members of the community. The people I am working with are great, it is a good undertaking, and I'm as nervous about it as I am excited. I'm on a quest for donated new art supplies, and lots of art sales, because I need to work up a curriculum for 7 to 8 weeks, and then act upon it, hopefully to the interest of many of the kids attending it.

My studio is on hold at the moment, while some other repairs and upgrades to the house happen. Hopefully by next week I'll have more movement forward in that area, because I have a lot of plans that revolve around that studio getting finished up.

Some collaborations should be coming to fruition within the next few months as well, looking forward to those.

I just finished another review for Tenacious Ninja, so if you got more time after reading this, you can check out my initial review of some of the cool things BrickForge has to offer here.

I also managed to get my Storenvy site updated with a few more works for you all to look at and buy, if you so fancy them!

Another good thing is the increased run of auditions at Hallmark for me to do. Helps get the humdrum out of the day, and I like making the rest of the people in the studio laugh.

One thing that did happen that gave me pause on Friday, well actually early Saturday morning, was a dream (one of just a roster of doozies of dreams I have) that went like this:

Awoke, just now, from a dream where I spoke to Bartholomaus, of things both shadowed and light. I'm not a fan of such lucid moments in sleep because I will awaken and spend hours thinking and writing it all down, and any further attempts to rest are for naught.

I asked him some things that I thought about today. 

Is compassion gone? 

Does a capacity for holding one's mind and heart in one hand still exist?

Do the demons of our forlorn actions cover us at night? 

Do seraphim of our hopes still guide us to better ways? 

I'm not a religious man, but I do think after dreams like this about many things I have seen, done, experienced over the years,...what have I learned? It felt for a moment, as if this friendly wraith in my dream knew all and more. That feeling you get when you speak to some who knows of a secret you thought you'd long buried under a mask of virtue? It laced his gaze as he spoke to me with a voice far older than I, seemingly borne of the black ground beneath our feet in the void of that dream.
So I write now at 2:13 am, a poem, and more unshared, and stare out at a street lamp doing its best to keep nightmares at bay.

A bit odd, to be sure, but that's a glimpse into the dreams that influence my writing in my comics and in my poetry collections. I've had dreams like that since I was very very young, and they accompanied the monsters that lived in my closets, the ones under the bed, and the ones in my mind. They weren't cute, nor approachable ones, they were made of real world fears and the fabric of moonlight. But over the years, I accepted them. Both the odd dreams and the monsters around me at night. Somehow they felt less a threat than some people I'd meet in the daylight.

But I digress... if you want to hear more, check out my podcast on dreams.

One last thing, you'll notice I updated my show schedule for this year over on the right hand column. Most of those are cemented in, others could fluxuate, but I'll update as soon as I know either way. 

So I'll have more news soon on things. Until next time, be kind to your fellow beings, support your local artists, and dream as if someone is watching...

- Mario, the Artisan Rogue


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