GJ Willis' Art Notes

I wonder if we’ll get Friday off for the death of Ronald Reagan? I know that Federal workers will have the day off. I doubt that we will have the day off but it’s nice to speculate. The again, for all I know the owners of the company I work for could be loyal Republicans who have a giant autographed photograph of Reagan on their desk.

This just proves one thing, I have no idea what the political alliance is of the company I work for. They’re well off so I’ll assume there Republicans although I could be wrong.

I have to admit I was never really a fan of Reagan. I didn't vote for the guy. I was in elementary school when he was elected. My opinions of Reagan are the echo of what I heard my parents saying about him throughout my childhood.

Sunday, June 6, 2004

Yesterday, J-Lo got married yet again. What is with this woman and her constant need to get married? Just six months ago she was engaged to Ben Affleck and now she’s married to someone who just recently got divorced from his former beauty contestant wife just so that he could marry J-Lo and be divorced in under a year. I just don’t get it.

Saturday, June 5, 2004

Yesterday, I went to the movies to see Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban at the Towson Commons. I saw the 3:45 show. At first I was afraid that the theater would be over run by parents with small children. But as I looked around the theater was primarily filled with teenage girls. There was one odd man out other than me and that was this guy who came there with his 3-4 year old asian son. I think that the dad was more interested in seeing the movie than his son. You take a kid that age to a movie like Shrek not Harry Potter.

First off I have to say this is the first Harry Potter film I’ve ever seen in a movie theater. The first two Potter movies I saw were rented from Blockbuster. I did this because I doubted the capability of Chris Columbus’ directing ability and I wanted to avoid a theater filled with children. I found the two previous Potter movies followed the books a little too much. The main reason I was excited to see this particular Potter movie is because it is directed by Alfonso Cuaron, a director I admire. I loved the Little Princess so much that I own it. I adored the breath taking imaginary in it. I feel that this movie was a big improvement on the previous Potter movies. It was more imaginative and it did not follow the books word by word scene by scene. It was a true film translation of a book. It added dimensions and layers that were not in the book.

Two problems I have with the film one was that there were not enough scenes with Alan Rickman as Professor Snape or Gary Oldman as Sirius Black. I love Rickman when he plays bad. I also love Oldman when he plays bad too. I was expecting more and it just wasn’t there. Yea, I know the movie is not called the Professor Snape story but I just love that character as depicted in the book. Teased relentlessly in childhood by Potter’s father for being a bit of a geek then meets his son and despises him on sight because he looks so much like his former tormentor. I absolutely love the fact that Potter’s father was not goody goody as a teenager but was basically a troublemaker and a bully. James Potter, Harry’s father was a very complicated individual. It’s not the typical story set up. I love the gray areas that occasionally creep into the world of Harry Potter. Also from the books I get the impression that everyone loved and had a bit of a crush on Lily, Potter’s mother. I can’t find a single bad comment about her.

Back to the movie.....I hadn't heard of David Thewlis prior to the movie. I felt he did a pretty decent job bringing Professor Lupin to life. A character that listens to big band music can’t be bad in my book. Thewlis brought a certain warmth to the character. If memory serves right he should be back in the 5th movie.

Since no one is reading this blog I thought I’d reveal that Professor Lupin is as his name would imply a werewolf. Since he’s outed as a werewolf at the end of the movie he has to leave the school because who wants there kids taught by a werewolf, even if he is kind hearted. In the book it is still kept hanging whether or not Snape is a vampire. If ever there was a candidate for character most likely to be a vampire he would win. Also we learn that Ron’s pet rat is none other than the once thought dead Peter Pettigrew who betrayed Harry Potter’s parents and framed Sirius Black for a murders he did not commit. This news of course comes as a bit of a shock to Ron who had no idea his pet was a fugitive who found a unique way to hide . Also Sirius Black is Harry Potter’s godfather.

In other news....Little David called he needs his birthday money by Wednesday. It turns out he needs it for a trip. He didn't say where he was going. I guess I’ll drop off the money on Monday at my father’s house.

Friday, June, 4, 2004

I finally got my check for the sale of my artwork at Maryland Art Place! I was laughing my head off when I received it. I got a total of about $7.50 for my artwork. The other half went to the art gallery. It was a charity auction after all. I was lucky they at least gave me half.

Usually, for charity auctions you get nothing monetarily back from the artwork you donate. So I feel fortunate that MAP at least gave me half. THANK YOU MARYLAND ART PLACE!

This all makes me kind of wonder if the artwork I have at the Creative Alliance sold for anything. Also I’m still looking around to see when I have to pick it up. They usually phone you when the artwork has to be picked up. I haven’t heard a peep from them. I also wonder if my poster from Sowebo will sell for anything at the charity auction. Maybe for the hell of it I’ll show up at the auction to see what it’s like, then I’ll walk out when they start auctioning off my poster. I wonder if they’ll have free food and drink there. If so then what the hell. It’s free food and drink.

I also wonder if the paintings I donated for the art show at the Carriage House will sell for anything. I think I priced them both at $40.00. I’m not sure if 40.00 is too steep or too cheap. However, it would be nice if they sold.....

So far this year I’ve made $7.50 from the sale of my artwork. I really should try to get one of my cartoons into the City Paper again. As I recall City Paper pays $10.00 for the Your Art Here feature. I hope they are still running that. That way I would have made $17.50 this year from my artwork. I want to make more this year than I did last. All I know is that it would be nice to finally make money from my artwork even if it is minuscule.

I’m still working on my pottery so far I’ve painted the top and bottom half of the goblet/chalice bright blue to match the wooden box. I also made a saucer bowl like thing. My pottery making ability isn’t that good. These are the very first functional pieces I’ve made. The last polymer clay piece was a figure of a woman. Hopefully this all will be completely finished by Sunday.

I think it’s healthy to switch mediums every now and then so that you do not feel stuck. It’s a good thing to stretch your creative horizons every now and then.

Thursday, June 3, 2004

Ron and Fez started today on Live105.7. It was a big improvement over Tom Lykis. I’m not a big fan of Lykis’ show. His show was very negative in tone in contrast to the rest of the line up on the station. Also, I kind of got the feeling that he hated and despised women.

Basically, this Lykis person is a big fat guy with an Elton John haircut. He’s been divorced several times. Has no children. Doesn’t want children. Yet, he refuses to have a vasectomy performed. I just don’t get it. If you’re a man who doesn’t want any children have a vasectomy!!!

Also, I don’t understand why men constantly call up his show asking for advice. This guy looks and sounds like a loser. Hello!!! He’s got an Elton John haircut for Christs sake!!! It’s all just so strange to me.

So far so good with the Ron and Fez Show. They sound like they are from New York. I think Fez might be gay, but I’m not sure.

I’ve started painting the pottery I’m working on. I tried to sand it down a little but had no luck making it look smooth. I think in the future I might have to buy a power sander. I think I can pick one up for about $35 or so. I hope they don’t make a lot of noise....

Wednesday, June 2, 2004

Eeeek, I got on the light rail today with the harbinger of lateness. I hope to goodness it’s just a case where he is running early today. It has to be! It has to be! I got up on time. I caught the bus on time! I’m not going to be late today. I’m not!!

In other news.... I’m still working on my piece that was due last month for the ebsq show. Since I’m still working on the box and the pottery I might as well start on whatever this month’s show will be.

Even thought I do not work in radio I still feel distraught over Mel Karmazin leaving Infinity. I would feel this way if Cathy Hughes left Radio One. Why? Because to me their companies are not some nameless faceless entity like Clear Channel.

I would definitely switch over to satellite radio if Stern moves over to it. The way I see it $10 a month isn’t such a high price to pay to listen to Stern. It’s an absolute bargain compared to what you pay for cable TV. I hope that Sumner Redstone does not end up selling the radio division like he has threatened to do in the newspaper.

Currently, running the radio division in Karmazin’s absence are Les Moonves and some guy named Freston. Freston is something of an enigma to me. I know absolutely nothing about him. I know Moonves’ name because he runs the TV division of CBS. Now he will be running the TV and radio division along with Freston.

If Redstone sells off the radio division what will I listen to? Will it be sold off to the evil empire that is Clear Channel?