The Man with the Funny Hat

My inspiration for the day is Auri Naggar. This is Auri at the haunted house at the Pumpkin Festival 2007. He is the director of Young Actor's Workshop. My kids went to his classes when they were younger and I'm still on the board of directors. He teaches through improv theater and has brought so much talent out of kids that didn't even know they had it. He showed me that in the midst of chaos lies creativity. He also hosts the OpenMic at Cameron's Pub in Half Moon Bay, Calif every Thursday night. I've seen him encourage people to get up on stage for years and let what's inside come out. He is an inspiration to all who meet him.

The man with the funny hat said,
“What number do you want?”
“None I cried,”
my fear of speaking spoke.

He pushed on,
“What number do you want?”
Brushing him off, without a thought,
the thought seeped in.
What number do I want?
What do I want?

A piece of me upon the stage,
my twist on life to be known.
What number do I want?

The number that lets me
speak out loud, without fear.
The number that opens
up my world.
The number that assuages
my fear.

But, oh, that is the way he works.
I’ve seen it time and time again.
I love the wonders that he brings out.
His purpose, his part, his role,
to get those to take their number and
spill their soul.

Oh, the man in the funny hat.

-Kim Ritner
January 17, 2008

Painting is poetry

I read somewhere yesterday that you should paint until you don't realize you're using paint anymore. I instantly understood that. Paint is just color and texture to me, a way to get my thoughts visualized. Like poetry it's an abstract way to get the visions in your head into a form others can see.

I'll have to find the website I found that thought on and post it later. Here's the website:
http://www.dallasartsrevue.com/art-crit/Michael_Helsem/process/How-to-Paint.shtml I think I ran across it because they had a piece on how to photograph artwork.

Painting again!

In several abstract paintings I've done, I end up with a woman's form repeating in many places. I'll do it without even thinking about it. I'll usually start with a curve I liked, from a photo I've taken. Usually it's from a woman's photo and I'll go from there. So this time I'm purposely starting with an abstract of a woman and going from there. I'm doing several sketches and studies to find out where I can take them. This time my inspiration was the curve of the lower back of a woman leaning up against a wall and some carribean colors. I'll see where it goes.