a passing glimpse

all before sunrise

2011-10-27T09:23:00.001-04:00

I have a new project. It arrived in the mail.

While wearing my Wayfarers at 6:32AM this morning, I opened the manila envelope addressed to me. Inside was my new sketchbook and the official greeting to The 2012 Sketchbook Project. Coffee and a wrath of imaginative brainstorming quickly followed, all before the sun decided to rise.

As I break loose with immense doodling and gesso painting, I'll post my progress and hope you'll drop in for a peek.

In January, my sketchbook will be one of several making the Global Sketchbook Gallery and Museum Tour that begins in April of 2012. Following it's world tour, my book be permanently added to the collection of The Brooklyn Art Library.

My Wayfarers will not be making the tour. Doodle on.

seems like it is

2011-10-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Recently I’ve had several reminders of a story that I wrote a few years ago.

It centers on a conversation between two total strangers and their hour or so together during a happenstance event of crossed paths. I’m personally drawn to each character’s voice. It's a unique tale with layers of vagueness leaving a pondering question of why. Nothing is clearly focused as either black or white aside from their joint celebration of the moment.

Much like a successful painting, the engagement of the gray area leave joyous uncertainties. Filling in those blanks allow us the opportunity to discover ourselves.

It may be time for me to revisit that crossed path once again.

all run together

2011-10-25T14:10:00.001-04:00

Days and gifts all run together.

For my birthday, I received several packages of whole bean coffee. Sipping from a hot cup of java is one of my favorite things in the world. It's right up there with watching classic cinema, listening to music on vinyl records, and taking long road trips. Each defines me.

Before my life of sobriety, which now defines me more than anything, beer too was once on my favorites list. I still enjoy an occasional tall chilled glass from time to time. The difference is that today it's poured from the non-alcoholic variety.

Yesterday I was ready to enjoy some of my birthday French Roast when I noticed that dreaded green sticker on top of the package. It read: Decaffeinated. "Decaffeinated French Roast?" Aside from it seeming like such an oxymoron my discovery released a vocal reaction of "....ahhhhhhhh!" But just as I had with N/A beers, I found the perfect place for that green-labeled beast in my life. I ran the water, ground the beans, and brewed a large pot last night. It was the perfect accompaniment for the mid-week after dinner tiramisu that our daughter made for dessert. The coffee, the company, the moment... all perfect.

I've always been a visual person, a visual learner, and one who just needs vision in my life. Sometimes however, the experience far outweighs the importance of the packaging. Regardless how it's wrapped, days and gifts all run together.

trinkets and light

2011-10-24T10:43:00.000-04:00

I dig the warmth that the autumn light brings.

The glow makes my office inviting. So I do. I invite myself. To be with the warmth of the light, the crispness of the air, and the curio hipness of stuff that undoubtedly makes me be me.

I collect life trinkets... and light.

autumn survival

2011-10-24T06:02:00.000-04:00

The cooler days of autumn have arrived.

Yesterday I made an attempt to remedy this seasonal drudgery with pot of homemade pinto bean, grilled chicken, and brown rice soup. Serving it up with a dollop of sour cream, saltines, Vermont white cheddar, freshly brewed Starbucks coffee, an ice cold O'douls and an afternoon of football watching in my hooded sweatshirt and shorts was the best I could come up with.

Damn this autumn thing. I’m doing the best I can.

waiting on friends

2011-10-23T14:07:00.000-04:00

There are days when I find myself waiting on friends. Fortunately, the wait is never very long.

autumn grace

2011-10-22T13:52:00.000-04:00

Seems as though autumn has arrived. There was a nip of chill in the air this morning. The dogs came running inside quickly after their morning business. Their paws wet from the dew-draped grass. The light is different too with its orange yellow cast. Time is calm.

I find warmth and gratitude in these sort of days. They force me to slow down, to find myself, and to listen. So I do… with a turntable, a pot of homemade soup, my best pups, and an appreciation for denim and grace and Saturdays.

decisions and balance

2011-10-21T09:54:00.001-04:00

I love the stillness, the calm, the quiet, the focusing of the unfocused, and the self-reflection of decisions uncovered in the nighttime hours. Life balance.

unwrapping 52

2011-10-20T09:11:00.000-04:00

Unlike choosing which pair of favorite blue jeans to wear or what album to spin on my turntable, I was never given the opportunity to pick my own birthday. In that sense, it's sort of like a gift that was given to me. My tasks then become unwrapping it, being delighted with what I find inside, and being genuinely thankful for receiving it. It is after all a gift.

Mom and Dad always taught to share, so I do. I've never met Tom Petty, but he and I share the same birthday. Over the years, he's become one of my music and poetic heroes. Running Down a Dream has become a fave tune that I find myself singing every year on this date. It's become my personal birthday song. I believe in it.

Looking at my dashboard this morning during my early morning commute, I noticed the number 52 staring back at me from the speedometer. Brilliantly perfect.

As they always do, Tom's words filled my thoughts once again while my favorite blue jeans were just that. Favorites… just like my gift.

"Runnin' down a dream,
Workin' on a mystery,
Goin' wherever it leads,
I'm runnin' down a dream"

read, rinse, smile

2011-10-19T19:45:00.000-04:00

You can tell a lot about a person through their smile, especially while waiting at the dentist office for your appointment.

sowing life

2011-10-18T20:35:00.001-04:00

Home is a place.

I find it somewhere in the middle, wedged between a mental snapshot and the earth beneath my feet. I sow the seeds there with hopes of harvesting faith and dreams and love and hope and tomorrows and passion and art and life.

It all begins with a seed.

followed instincts

2011-10-17T21:29:00.000-04:00

Never knowing what to do in a dream but to waken.

saturday faces

2011-10-16T12:04:00.002-04:00

Autumn Saturdays are filled with faces of spirit.

road cases and moonshine

2011-10-15T18:46:00.000-04:00

Nighttime whispered a hymn just before a love song.

bearing down with the tools

2011-10-14T15:08:00.002-04:00

I've come a really long way since my youth, but I'll never claim to be the most intelligent book in the library. If I were a book though, I'd probably be found somewhere between 640 Home Economics and Family Living and 788 Other Final Products and Packaging. There's plenty of other stellar stuff in between those bookends too including Beverage Technology; Numismatics and Sigillography; Human Figures and Their Parts; and Wind Instruments (Aerophones). I'm sure I've dabbled in all of these at some point during my "this is my life" roadtrip.

Tools. I can't express just how thankful I am for them, especially those that I use everyday like spellcheck. I'm also thrilled and beyond thankful to be creative. It saves me.

Between my tools and my creativeness, this blog post was fully conceptualized, photo processed, written, edited, and the end creative product completed… all while sitting in a conference, listening to an unbelievably tiring speaker, who only spoke with a monotone delivery and kept clicking through one of the most dreadful and long PowerPoint presentations I’ve ever had to sit through.

Death by PowerPoint is not a myth. It is a reality and I became the walking dead. Fortunately, I was resurrected from my zombie state by the sunlight of a Friday afternoon, an autumn drive with the windows down, and a cup of stale coffee.

I dig my tools and my creative ability to be somewhere else when it really, really matters.

patience for the finish

2011-10-13T17:37:00.000-04:00

Late in the 4th quarter, Logan Thomas waited for another opportunity to take the field.
He and the Hokie's time eventually came.

being american is american

2011-10-12T21:51:00.000-04:00

Over the course of two days I took in several things known as American: a rodeo, a college football game, and southern rock. I sang the national anthem, wore faded blue jeans, a baseball cap, black Ray Ban Wayfarers, and drove a Chevrolet.

I phoned my mother too, just to chat and to tell her that I loved her. It seemed as American as anything else I'd done all week.

stars align and chicken dinner

2011-10-11T21:27:00.000-04:00

I find it interesting how things just randomly come together. I'd already decided to serve chicken for dinner tonight, but wasn't quite sure how I wanted to prepare it. While sipping on another cup of morning coffee, the stars seemed to align right at the same time that a tweet passed by on my Twitter feed. My buddy Tim over at E.A.T had just tweeted to the world about his Lemon Rosemary Chicken recipe. My dinner dilemma was resolved somewhere between breakfast and lunch. Perfect!

I think one word describes Tim's recipe pretty darn well: "hotdamnalmightyson!"

If that one's too hard to remember, "delicious" will sum it up in a pinch.

I'm not sure if I have good tastes or my tastes are good. What I do know is that we rarely have leftovers around the Garbett ranch. Grab yourself a plate…. cheers!

spartanburg, a love song, and peace

2011-10-10T20:08:00.000-04:00

Quite a number of years plus a few extra days have passed me by since I first heard The Marshall Tucker Band. Last week I had the chance to see them live and it was great to hear those classic southern rock tunes again. The band's line up has changed a bit over their 40-year career. I've changed a little myself since Nixon had a desk in the West Wing and gasoline was 40 cents a gallon.

Hats off and a big thank you to those allowing me back stage with my cameras. Aside from hearing the great music, one of my biggest joys of the evening was seeing the word that I say frequently and have a lifetime of faith in. It was hand painted on top of a road case and pretty much summed it all up. Peace.

cadence and remembrance

2011-10-09T17:39:00.000-04:00

My son and I made our annual Virginia Tech run this weekend for our father and son football weekend. As we do every year, Saturday began early with a three and a half hour road trip to Blacksburg. Filled with hours of great music, laughs, and good conversation, those hours never seem quite as long as they actually are.

Our pre-game morning included our ritual of charcoal grilled fine dining, various sides, salsa, and numerous cold beverages. We do it right every year and I wouldn't trade these days for the world. Prior to what ended up being one of the finest college football games I've ever seen, the Marching Virginians emotionally thrilled us with their high-energy and spirited cadence just outside of Lane Stadium. Saturday may have qualified us as officially having lived the dream.

We make this trek once a year and every one includes a story from past years. Next year and those that follow will certainly include tales from yesterday. I doubt we could have made the day's sun-fueled spirit any better. You can bet though, we’ll do our best to add a chapter or two next year.

As night fell and we walked past the memorial in front of Burress Hall, the reality of the day was remembered in more ways than just tailgates, scoreboards, or drumlines. The day, just like every day, was a gift.

everybody wins

2011-10-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

Three tries for a dollar. Just toss the ball into the hoop or hit that big lottery jackpot by playing those lucky red numbers printed on the back of your fortune cookie fortune. It also happens when you miss that dreaded rush hour traffic by getting that five-minute head start out of the parking lot. But the biggest payoff always comes when you meet the love of your life.

It's easy to win, …just as long as you play the game.

trinket shrine

2011-10-07T14:09:00.006-04:00

It certainly looked far different at night than it did during the day. I wasn't quite sure whether to smile as I walked past or to kneel down. Whatever the case, he spoke with a reassuring tone leaving me feeling much more significant than I had before as the aroma of sugar filled the night air.

I wonder where he'll be on Sunday?

friday's cubicle

2011-10-07T07:31:00.000-04:00

6:15 AM: A large bowl of apple cinnamon oatmeal, the bucket-sized cup of 7-11 coffee, and processing photographs. Seems doubtful that Friday at the office could be much better.

I dig my job.

midway apple store

2011-10-06T23:19:00.000-04:00

It was a perfect night for an apple.

live by believing

2011-10-06T07:33:00.001-04:00

My talent as a visual designer and artist has greatly improved because you greatly improved the art of design and vision. Thank you for dreaming out loud, Mr. Jobs.

iThankyou.

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify and vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as crazy, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."