The Sendai Project

After days of scanning al most all of my sketch books related to my stay in Sendai, Japan, I am now beginning to attempt my hand at putting a book together as my new project. My Solo Exhibition at the Penang state gallery went well and i am now financially stable for the nex few months. Made a few great contacts as far as my potential buyers are concern and now all I have to do is keep creating and come up with some more extraordinary pieces that will capture their interests. The show also was a personal accomplishment as I can say that i made it to the State Level Gallery where not too many local have yet to. I am a relatively new comer to the Art scene here in Penang barely four years now and so far i have had four solo shows bagged.

What do i do next? Thus the attempt at publishing my book on Sendai, Japan and so far it is still at the scanning stage, its time consumming and monotonous but it had to be done if i am to make any headway. It is also to keep my mind occupied while figuring out what my next theme or media would be as far as painting is cocern. The kids are happy each getting a new handphone promised them two or three birthdays ago. Next week will be school holidays for them and so i am thinking of taking them for a cross country ride in the Northern States of Kedah and Perlis. I have always wanted to do some travelling into the rural areas of this country and now is a good time and perhaps I might even get an inspiration or two along the way.

Artists, like writers have creative blocks too and sometimes detrimental to their health due to the psychological and emotional depression. These are times when some seek alternative mind tripping options such as drinking or drug taking in order that the mind can be set free from the blockage, or whaever it is that is holding it back from being able to be creative.

In the past while living in the U.S I had experimented with the taking of various drugs in order to unlock my subconcious mind( or so i thought then), to create an alternate conciousness or an altered state whereby my normal state on mind was in someways jarred into a saperate reality. I had tried taking some mushrooms when I was in College and also a few trips on acid or LSD. While on these trips I studied my mind and its changes according from the onset of the 'Highs' to the end and I would try to keep a record in my journal of what was transpiring through writing and sketching whatever came to mind or whatever revealed itself in my altered state of conciousness.

When 'high' or' stoned' I found that my works became freer but lack controll in details and often rendered carelessly like there was no understanding or disciplin of the medium and style. Often sketches were done with haste and random images that were often unrelated and the emotional expression were often reflective of anger or some form of negative emotions. Even when carefully thought out works were attempted they often ended up overworked or messed up due to the inability to stop when enough is enough. Perfect strokes sometimes happens and the mind would be spellbounded but the work would be eventually petrified by additional work that was the result of lack of confidence in what was achieved in the beginning.

The use of drugs in artistic endeavors, to get high in order to be able to create original pieces is common among those who had access to the drugs of choice and the ability to remain in control over the drug induced states at all times. Artists in the extreme abuses their mental states in order to explore the subconcious recesses of their minds and draw from the experiences new images and ideas, original thoughts and unknown and unheard of expressions through the dare to manipulate mediums and bend rules of applications of methods which under normal circumstanes would have been almost unheard of. Sadly enough most drug abuses originates from this desire to reach deep within for that which normally would not have been accessable. Drug abuses in assence is the product of drug uses for the enhancement of our sensitivity towards what lies deep within our genetical makeup.

Experiments crried out by such known figures like Baba Ram Dass (Herbert Alpert) and the likes of Timothy Leary and Alan Watts and Carlos Castaneda in their works has proven vital for the generations who had felt trapped by the confinements of modern day thinkers who promoted the 'safe clinically sterile process' in achieving higher states of mind. Those who dared to experiment with their mental states were often dubbed as drug abusers regardless if they achieved greatness through their insights while under the influence of various drugs. It takes some form of courage to be involve in drug taking knowing the consequences that can result from it and most who do drugs for the sake of mental exploration were regarded as unethical towards their profession and their achievements were deemed unacceptable.