Philadelphia.

Philadelphia! We took a little one-year-together celebration trip down into Pennsylvania this weekend to visit family and art and to see the miraculously talented Yann Tiersen perform at the First Unitarian Church downtown. (Favorite piece of his). The city was most comfortable and I think we'll be returning soon. The Philadelphia Museum of Art was epic and full of fantastic pieces...Alex as my notepad for thoughts and observations, I gathered new inspiration and started looking forward to a few nights of canvas stretching and sketching. There is work to be done. After seeing several of Thomas Eakins' portraits, including the Agnew Clinic (a personal favorite), as well as some Reubens, Cézanne, Picasso, Duchamp, Rothko, Miró, Johns, Degas, Whistler, Homer, Wyeth, and several others, I feel like a changed person. Is this an overexaggeration? No. There is always, always benefit to seeing these works in person, especially as a person who strives to understand and utilize the same tools of language. It's amazing what amount of information and instruction an artist can gain from experiencing the original works with heightened and full senses. You can almost taste the colors. Synesthesia comes to mind.

Latest development: Looks like we're staying in Syracuse for a little while. I'll be working on General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry for the next two years, if all goes well, and building up experience with local art conservators in my long-term plan to go back to school for Art Conservation. I've left plenty of room in this plan for my mind to change, if it so decides to, and to redirect, however, I don't anticipate it wandering too far off of this goal. The merging of general history through art history with the sciences and with manual craftsmanship is just about as close as I can get to a perfect vocation. It won't happen quickly, but as life unfolds, it appears clearer and clearer ahead of me, even if it is far away. And though Syracuse isn't exactly a hot bed of artist activity, it is home for a little while. Life is long. And I'm glad for that more and more each day.