Ben Had the Music Up Loud

From an upcoming new book by Tom Hays

    Ben had been alone in a monastery for five years and back home in Oklahoma only a short while when he decided to move to Arizona.  He liked the desert.  He liked the mysticism of the people who had inhabited the place before, way before, who lived in caves and crude dwellings but had somehow figured out how to live on the harsh land and get along with the spirits and powers that inhabited the area along with them.  Thousands of years of human history laid bare, open to discovery and study.

The good vibes, given off by the rocks, the soil and the spirits of the ancients, filled the desert air.  Ben felt them calling him, and he and his soul mate settled in and started calling it home.

Home was a pueblo style, adobe house in a sparse desert suburban area.  A large area had been cleared for a patio, surrounded by a low adobe wall, high enough to perhaps keep the javelinas out but the more agile coyotes could come and go at will.  Ben had seen them walking atop six foot walls, so he knew any attempt to keep them out was futile.

Tonight was a dinner party with two other couples, good friends with an equal love for the desert, its plants and folklore.  Never mind that the days had been running 109 to 112, it was summer and expected.  Ben was in a good mood and looking forward to the get together.  He had volunteered to make the homemade Mexican vanilla ice cream, grill the pork tenderloin and prepare his famous salsa to serve over the sliced meat.  Life was good.

Ben had the music up loud, grooving on Steely Dan’s phenomenal bass licks.  Even Albert the cat was tapping his paw in time with the beat, eyes closed and laying next to the stone fireplace. There was harmony playing nearby, the sounds of the ice cream maker churning away in the background, just outside the patio door, seemed to compliment the music, as if it too was coming from the sound system.  The tenderloin had been seasoned with the rub and it was anticipating placement on the outdoor grill, and the vegetables were carefully chopped and marinating in the salsa bowl.  Ben was looking forward to a fun evening with friends, unlike the five years of silent aloneness in the monastery. Company was coming, people to talk and laugh with, everything was perfect and Ben’s mood was building higher and higher.

Suddenly, a shot! Then another--and another in quick succession!

Ben quickly turned to face the noise only to see ………. !!!

Tune in next time.

Like to paint outdoors?

One of the most fun aspects of searching out and providing content for the Platinum Pearls® web pages is the opportunity to recommend sources that I personally know to be good.

In the case of this DVD, I have worked with two of the three featured artists, Matt Smith and Kenn Backhaus. Both have taught at the artistically prestigious Scottsdale Artists School.

I studied with each of them there, both in the studio and in the desert surround. I can heartily recommend the experience and their instructional abilities.

The first three episodes of Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape feature artists Matt Smith, Jean LeGassick, and Kenn Backhaus as they paint in Alaska. The trio paints Mt. McKinley on a rare, glorious September afternoon complete with a visit from a blonde grizzly.

Next our three artists tackle the Tongass Rain Forest, renowned for towering old growth cedar, hanging moss and incessant rainfall, proving that it takes tenacity, good gear, and considerable know-how to paint in a rain forest.

The last stop is beautiful Resurrection Bay, gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. With the towering Chugach Mountains as a backdrop, the artists paint in a derelict boatyard.

Historical perspective is provided through the Plein Air paintings created by George Brown while climbing Mt. McKinley as a member of the 1974 Bradford Washburn Mt. McKinley Expedition, and an introduction to Alaskan Plein Air artists and adventurers Eustace Ziegler, Ted Lambert and iconoclastic painter Sidney Laurence whose paintings from the early 1900s have come to epitomize the Alaskan landscape. I can enthusiastically recommend this DVD Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape - Alaska Episodes.

Please visit the Visual Arts pages at http://www.platinumpearls.com/ for more information about painting, photography or your favorite creative outlet.

Picture This

As a teenager, I was given a Yashica twin lens reflex camera. It used 120 film, big rolls with 12 shots on each one. I loved looking at the world through the viewfinder. That large glass screen with an almost frosted appearance opened an entirely new world for me.

Later, as I entered the advertising business, I graduated to a Pentax 35 mm and started adding lenses of different lengths to shoot wide angle, telephoto and extremely close up subjects. Through my years in the advertising and audio/visual production business I gave that old Pentax a real work out, shooting thousands and thousands of pictures in studios, outdoors, in factories and on sales floors. I even did a wedding once (afterward, I was even able to keep my friendship with the bride and groom, thank goodness). Every shoot was moving day. Camera, film, lenses, filters, tripod, lights, power cords, spare batteries, and that was traveling light!

Now, I carry everything I need in my shirt pocket, a very small, light digital Sony with a Carl Zeiss lens, rechargeable battery and a 2 GB Memory Sick. If I decide I would like to put a video, as well as photos, on a webpage, I just turn a wheel on the camera and fire away. I can take literally hundreds of shots without rewinding or reloading, the digital quality is excellent for what I want, and I can instantly upload to my computer and share the photos immediately online. Who would have thought!

The quality of the photography? Well, that's up to the eye of the beholder. I think the framing, subject and scene layout of the picture is dependent more on the photographer than the equipment. Great photos can be made with a pin hole camera in the hands of a creative photographer, and the best equipment in the world will still turn out doubtful snapshots in the hands of someone without an eye for the visual.

My advice, shoot lots of pictures. Look at them carefully and try to decide what would have made them better. Experiment with lighting and framing, and ask yourself if the subject is something that will make an unusual or outstanding picture. Do you need to shoot from a higher angle or get on the floor and shoot from that perspective? If you saw the picture in a gallery, would you buy it? Then, go out and shoot some more.

There are a lot of photographers better than me, and you. But I bet we can enjoy photography just as much as they do. Keep shooting!

Whether you are a seasoned professional, a dedicated hobbist, or simply want to explore photography, you will find helpful information at http://www.platinumpearls.com/platinumpearls/creatived.htm. Come take a look around!

Tell Us About Your Art

by Tom Hays

Now it's your turn! Tell us about your art and the medium in which you work. We welcome and encourage you to send us stories, pictures or videos to share on this site. WHAT DO YOU HAVE YOUR HANDS IN?

Fiber That You Don't Eat

by Tom Hays

If the Neanderthals had invented disco lounges, surely some of the males would have shown up in polyester leisure suits. But the leisure suit and polyester had to wait through thousands and thousands of years of sewing and weaving by hand, using available plant and animal fibers. Then ... the BeeGees showed up.

Now, with the advent of man made fibers and automated machinery, many of the hand fiber skills learned through the years are becoming lost to us. Yet, they can still be both rewarding and very gratifying. Explore the various fiber arts. Sometimes, the natural way is the best way. And, you will be preserving the craft for the generations to come.

You'll Appreciate Jewelry You Make Yourself

by Tom Hays

Making jewelry and other items from metal is truly fascinating. It combines a number of skills, most of which are fairly simple to learn, along with some science and a lot of possibilities for art. Get out the jewelry pliers, tiny saw blades and the Dremel, put on your magnifying visor, and suddenly you are in a private world, where you craft a beautiful silver piece or mount a precious stone on a ring of your own design. Jump in! Sign up with a local instructor.

Working With Wood

My grandfather would sit for hours and whittle. Sometimes I would join him on the porch and try my hand. I made a lot of pointed sticks, while he was crafting intricate parts that became violins. We both enjoyed the time.

The smell of freshly cut wood is captivating. Use a tiny cutting blade, a fancy radial saw, or a chain saw, whatever appeals to you. They are all better than the rock tools our ancestors had to use, and they managed to build some pretty neat wooden stuff.

Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape - Alaska Episodes

One of the most fun aspects of searching out and providing content for the Platinum Pearls® web pages is the opportunity to recommend sources that I personally know to be good.

In the case of this DVD, I have worked with two of the three featured artists, Matt Smith and Kenn Backhaus. Both have taught at the artistically prestigious Scottsdale Artists School.

I studied with each of them there, both in the studio and in the desert surround. I can heartily recommend the experience and their instructional abilities.

The first three episodes of Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape feature artists Matt Smith, Jean LeGassick, and Kenn Backhaus as they paint in Alaska. The trio paints Mt. McKinley on a rare, glorious September afternoon complete with a visit from a blonde grizzly.

Next our three artists tackle the Tongass Rain Forest, renowned for towering old growth cedar, hanging moss and incessant rainfall, proving that it takes tenacity, good gear, and considerable know-how to paint in a rain forest.

The last stop is beautiful Resurrection Bay, gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. With the towering Chugach Mountains as a backdrop, the artists paint in a derelict boatyard.

Historical perspective is provided through the Plein Air paintings created by George Brown while climbing Mt. McKinley as a member of the 1974 Bradford Washburn Mt. McKinley Expedition, and an introduction to Alaskan Plein Air artists and adventurers Eustace Ziegler, Ted Lambert and iconoclastic painter Sidney Laurence whose paintings from the early 1900s have come to epitomize the Alaskan landscape. I can enthusiastically recommend this DVD Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape - Alaska Episodes.

Please visit the Visual Arts pages at http://www.platinumpearls.com/ for more information about painting, photography or your favorite creative outlet.