Ted Rubin is one of the reasons I came to the conference. I heard him speak when I was speaking at BlogWorld in 2012 and his ideas have kept me thinking ever since. The photos and napkin illustrates why.
He had the entire audience go out into the hall and have a skipping parade.
One of his most important concepts for online work is focusing on ‘return on relationships’ instead of ‘return on investment’.
One of his insights is to not discriminate against followers, whether they are just lurking or in a profession that isn’t immediately obvious as a good fit or connection.
I met Natalie Aydelott the first night. She was the one who explained what Collective Bias is all about. She has been a warm and helpful guide the entire weekend.
The conference is not just your mommy’s mommy bloggers – Dueling Mohawks!
I have no idea what this is about but it was too bizarre not to share.
The company putting on the conference is four years old so there was a birthday party last night. Dawn Sandomeno of www.partybluprints.com saw my drawings at the party and wanted me to draw her. She was worried about a profile pose but liked it at the end.
Finally, I went back to my hotel room. On the way I happened upon therapy session among the conference chairs. They were being taught how to be more comfortable. I appreciated hearing that and look forward to sitting on of them tomorrow.
The elegant woman, Liz, as she really is, with just drawn napkin. I drew her earrings red because I forgot what color they were but I knew blue would make them disappear into the water behind her.
Liz at the Opening Cocktail Party
Lucky Monica, checked me in to the conference and got my very first new Biz card. Who would think the first person I meet is from Tulsa.
I sat next to Aannette on the shuttle to the opening night reception. She just moved from NYC to Bentonville, AR. Can you say culture shock?!
The reception took place at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. This is just the cafeteria!
Something was happening above, what I don’t know.
After 12 hours of surviving on nuts, raisins, and hors d’oeuvres I indulged in a late night burger and fries. My first since 2012 (really). While sitting in the hotel lounge with some new found friends.
I work from home. I usually stay home unless I have a specific thing to do. When I travel afar I find myself gravitating towards coffee houses, and I have been thinking I really should do that more often when I am home, not just when I travel. Why not draw my napkin there instead of at home, right?
The ‘Boston Strong Chick’
That is what I did today. I had to go to downtown Tulsa to pick up some artwork I had in a recent group exhibition. Afterwards I decided to stop by the Phoenix Coffee House. I gathered up a humongous Mocha and a scone and settled into a chair where I thought I would have a good view of this woman with a ‘Boston Strong Chick‘ hat and shirt on. I figured she was likely a runner and that she might be there a while, long enough to start a drawing at least. I started to draw her and got through her head, shoulders and most of her arms when she got up to meet someone coming in the door.
OKC Marathon Connection
It turns out the friend she met was Michelle, a running friend of mine. We had just talked on Facebook earlier in the morning about running in the OKC Marathon in two days. We recognized each other and I got up to say hello. Turns out the person I had been drawing was the person she had told me about in our conversation, her more experienced running friend who is going to run the marathon with her. She introduced Brooke to me, explaining how we knew each other . I showed them the drawing in progress and after some talk about the marathon and our various strategies for the race they went off to get some coffee and I went back to drawing. When I was done with the line drawing I showed it to them again and Brooke was kind enough to let me take a photo of her with the napkin.
Brooke Martin (gotta love the cute bunny photo bombing on the TV in the background!)
It also turns out that she had come to the coffee house from being interviewed about her participation in the Marathon by the same reporter, Max Resnik, who interviewed me yesterday. Small world.
Here is the segment that includes me in it (Brooke was in a different segment).
Watching Me Drawing
In the meanwhile, while I was drawing Brooke, someone was watching me drawing. When I was done she came over and asked to see the drawing. She told me she had texted her husband while watching me draw that she was watching someone who could be him in another 20 years. You can see her on the far left (and Brooke on the couch) in this photo I took using my brand new wide angle lens (I am obsessed with it) when I first sat down.
The scene before me
Turns out good things, good connections and good people come from getting out and about. I shall have to do it more often.
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman, who is running the last leg, (6.2 miles) in the marathon relay, not the entire race. But I do get to cross the finish line, which will be very cool.
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By the way, the Tee and Cap came from www.happyfirst.com and the profits are going to the One Fund Boston.
Before I met the two Goddesses I talked about in part 1, I visited the home of 2 of my heroes. I met them at the Truman library in Independence, Missouri, just east of Kansas City. Truman is obviously one of the men I am talking about.
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
The other of my heroes is Thomas Hart Benton, the artist. You may have read about him in my ongoing ‘Artists I Love’ series I have been doing the past few winters. He has one of his large murals in the lobby of the Truman Library.
‘Independence and the Opening of the American West’
The Buck Stops Here
One of the most famous sayings in Presidential history is from Truman. ‘The Buck Stops Here’ was his motto and has been restated by virtually every president since. He actually had the saying on his desk, and you can see it right as you enter the museum. Much of the museum is dedicated to the many decisions only Truman, as President, had the power to make.
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WAR
Bomb and Peace
Truman’s most controversial decision of his Presidency was one of his first. He chose to drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan. It led to their surrender but the decision was never unanimous within his inner circle nor among the military. It still is debated today.
One of the things I most admired in the Truman Museum was they did not shy away from bringing this controversy out in the open. they had a whole section dedicated to the arguments pro and con about the decision and allowed visitors to voice their opinion as well.
Here is a book visitors could write in giving their opinion and here is mine, in a drawing.
My opinion has always been that it wasn’t the dropping of the bomb that was the problem, it was dropping it on a population. I think that if they had dropped it 5 miles off the coast of Tokyo, the Japanese, who already were trying to figure out how to sue for peace and still save face, would have seen what was coming and surrendered pretty much along the same time table they did after the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
A History of War
Off in the corner of the downstairs are of the museum there are two examples of war. The first, in the background, is a 5,000 year old helmet from a Greek warrior. In the foreground is a small reproduction of the sculpture commemorating the raising of the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima towards the end of WWII. It’s a cruel testament to how incessant war is for us humans.
Plenty and Plenty of Nothing
But often out of the worst of events great efforts can arise. While we in the US were starting to come out of the trauma of war, Europe was not. Truman’s Marshall Plan was our initiative to help Europe make it’s way back.
While Secretary of State Marshall’s name and face was front and center in the plan to help all of Europe back on it’s feet, it really was Truman’s initiative. He knew however that due to his own political baggage a plan with his name on it would not have the universal support it needed to succeed. Marshall, the leader of the overall US War effort was one of the most popular men in the country and he was able to lead the project to fruition.
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Civil Rights
A number of Benton’s paintings were on display at the museum in a temporary exhibition titled ‘Truman and Benton: Legends of the Missouri Border’ that documented the interrelationship between the two over the course of their lives.
The Negro Soldier
During the middle of WWII Benton painted this painting. It was pretty controversial at the time. It depicted an American soldier, but it was a ‘Negro’ soldier, not something white America was used to seeing or celebrating. His choice to depict an African-American was his way of forcing people to see the black person as equal in war. Not long after the war was over Truman, in spite of a typical Missouri upbringing of his era that was rooted in the racism of slavery and segregation, signed an executive order desegregating the US Armed forces. It was met with much resistance in the south, breaking apart the Democratic party at the time, but very likely helped Truman win the 1948 election due to increased support in the north and west.
One of the reasons I like Truman is that, while by today’s standards he wouldn’t be considered enlightened on race, he certainly grew and moved beyond his own upbringing to move the country forward into racial equality as best he could at the time.
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Communism
Communism and Korea
When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, the cold war got hot. The policy of containment of communism had been fleshed out by the US and allies and it included not allowing the USSR or China to push into any areas they weren’t already occupying. The amount of fear that pervaded the US at that time regarding communism is hard for most of us to understand now but it was real. Some fears were valid but much was due to ranting demagogues like Sen. McCarthy and high pitched propaganda as seen below.
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Later
While the President and the Painter did not enjoy a friendship early on in their careers, they did become friends during the painting of the mural. Benton did a painting of Truman later in his life.
The Old President
Benton’s Tools
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The museum was well worth the trip to Independence. If you are anywhere near Kansas City I highly recommend it.
On Sunday I drove 9 1/2 hours to get to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to attend my Aunt Ann’s funeral on Monday. I left to return home that same afternoon. I could have driven it straight back but it would have had me arriving around 2am, waking up Linda, if she wasn’t still up worrying about me driving home in the rain.
The Fortuitous Stop
I also wanted to to stop for a selfish reason. I wanted to reacquaint myself with some heroes of mine, which I will tell you about tomorrow. But unbeknownst to me I would also meet a Goddess or two on the trip.
I stopped for lunch in Independence, Missouri (That should give you a hint about the heroes I was coming to see). I asked for recommendations after visiting the heroes and was told Cafe Verona was a great choice. It was very cold out so I was happy to sit next to this arrangement in the sun drenched bar area.
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The Goddess and the Mortal
When I first came into the establishment, this is what I saw. Way up high was a huge reproduction of Sandro Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ (1485). And below was a woman with a Grecian/Roman look to her. She had a gold band around her hair with an elegant bun, an Aqualine profile and all around her were things that felt Roman; vases, urns, wine, etc.
The juxtaposition between the woman and Venus was just too cool not to capture. I debated what to title the image . Perhaps ‘The Two Goddesses’ would make sense. Perhaps ‘Venus and…’ and who? I didn’t know her name. I settled on ‘The Goddess and The Mortal’.
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Drawing the Mortal
The mortal, who was the restaurant manager, was standing still at the bar, working on some afternoon paperwork. I took advantage of her stillness to draw and came up with this.
When she took a break and looked around I gestured to her, asking her to come over to my table. I showed her the drawing, which she liked, and I asked her to pose with it, which she graciously did.
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The Mortal becomes a Goddess
I told her of my naming dilemma over the photo, that I wanted to call it ‘The Two Goddesses’ or ‘Venus and…’ but I didn’t know her name. She blushed, smiled and then said, ‘My name is Diana‘.
And that is how I met a Goddess living incognito and working in a restaurant in Independence, Missouri. One never knows who you will meet if you are willing to engage.
Here is the drawing after I completed it this morning.
And finally, since I had my good camera with me I couldn’t resist asking the one Goddess who was 3 dimensional to let me take a photo.
Diana of Verona
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Part 2 tomorrow – ‘Meeting Old Heroes’
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Drawing, photos and story by Marty Coleman, who enjoys meeting Heroes and Goddesses.
I went to Dallas, Texas for a few days this week to visit my daughter. I did this drawing while at Starbucks one morning.
Haley Being Drawn
I hung out at Starbucks yesterday morning and did a drawing of a woman having what seemed to be a mentoring time with someone who might have been a family friend, maybe a past professor, who was helping her talk through career ideas. I drew her as they talked. She stayed on to work after the gentleman left. After I showed her the drawing a guy came up behind me and said how good the drawing was, how beautiful she was and how the drawing didn’t really do her justice. He went on about her beauty and the drawing and I had a feeling the double attention was making her uncomfortable. Knowing a guy had been drawing her was probably awkward enough, but another guy coming along and focusing on her looks as well was a bit too much. I gave her my card, told her where she could find the drawing later and went on my way. As I went outside, the guy who had said something about the drawing came up to me and said ‘we have the same taste in women.’ I simply said, ‘She is beautiful.’ and went on my way.
Paying Attention
It bothered me though that he would say that. It’s like my deeper appreciation of her was sullied by his shallow response. Then again, his comment wasn’t offensive really, or tacky, trashy or rude. It was just a pretty average male comment. But it bugged me nonetheless. I sat down at that table because I saw her there and was hopeful she would be there long enough to draw her. She was interacting with someone so she had her head up and I wanted to take advantage of that instead of another person who might have been looking down and a book or computer. I also was hopeful I would have time to get the person she was talking to into the drawing, which I did, just barely. And yes, I thought she was beautiful and I wanted to draw her because she was attractive and well manicured in hair, makeup and dress.
How I See
So, why did that guy bother me? Were the two of us that different? Is the fact that I used my time viewing of her by doing a drawing better than the other guy just staring and doing nothing? In the end, what I love about drawing or photographing people vs just staring blankly at surface ‘beauty’ is that in my creative act I feel I am discovering the person to a much deeper degree. I am seeing the outer shell, true. But I am also investigating, paying attention to the tones, shapes, colors, expressions, style, body language, feelings, etc. I am interpreting and exploring who the person is and how I see them. I am making something of the encounter. Something that says more than just ‘she’s pretty’.
At least that is how I see it. What do you think? Do you think I am any different than that other guy?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman at Starbucks on Greenville in Dallas, Texas
I have been to four museums on this trip. I am reeducated, newly educated, inspired, motivated, empowered, and created great images within their walls as well.
