New Era...

Music | A Laugh for Rory | Rahsaan Roland Kirk

I got back from a trip to Japan and the jet lag really affected me. I was easily up til 3 or 4 a.m. I decided to be productive and print in the darkroom. I fondly remember that time as I knew at that moment I was in a special place. I'd start my sessions around 10 or 11 at night and go on til 6 a.m. I lived in a coach house, my own building with no neighbors to bother with noise. I had my music going and printing or proessing film for 3 or 4 days straight. I could easily work through the early morning with no distractions. Every second counted.

What I remember most about that moment was how lost I became in what I was doing. Granted, this was 1990; There was no texting or iphones, no checking in on facebook. Yet, I remember how totally free I felt to get immersed in the work. There is a magical ideal I always had of being an artist and creating while the rest of the world slept. I was there, in my own fantasy.

I am a bit older now, way older. I feel a bit wiser and knowing. Much less energy, but I am in the midst of being in that special place again. Working on chemical prints with Coltrane playing in the background, wiping down my wet hands from a washing print.

I am down in my workshop, not quite in the midst of the early morning hours, but that feeling of getting lost in the work. Times travels way to fast. I'm working on some prints for an upcoming exhibition, still searching and refining a printing process I only vaguely know. I have to reach the level of comfort when showing these images. Only 2 months away, but I am confident to achieve the goal. I'm certain I will look back to right now, and have a nice sense of nostalgia.