Social Woes in America

The failure of the American Education System .... a deeper look into the troubled American socio-economic systems....

Undoubtedly EEOC and other cultural changes (farmers moving to cities, increased industrialization, and the information technology transitions of the workplace and its expectations) in our lifetime were accomplished at the expense of previously established social systems. Social systems that denied women and minorities equal opportunity in the workplace and in their lives..... perhaps the quest-for-equality and equal opportunity social revolution is not yet finished and until it does so globally, there will be continued social unrest in all countries and not just our own.

America is no longer living on self sustaining farms where the more children born made the work easier for everyone. By prohibiting child labor and “protecting” them perhaps children no longer had the early awareness learning that one must work to earn their living (the economics of living and facts of life)? Child labor is better than child wastefulness, but child abuse of any kind can not be allowed.

When both parents work to support the home and family, children perceive a partnership and sharing of tasks by both the Mother and Father in maintaining the home and providing for their welfare. The previously assigned roles where Mother is the homemaker and the Father the breadwinner now provide more individual self determination and offer more freedoms in the family familiar and much  less stereotype role playing. It is not the modern day working Mother who upset the social fabric and educational achievement but perhaps it was the many welfare Mothers with yet another baby addition, increased crime due to confused morals, ethics, and  government inadequacy to be effective in managing national resources or providing proper pathways for economic achievement. Divorces have increased statistically, but that may also have been necessary for the women to resist domestic violence, for them to not be submissive to spousal emotional and physical abuses, or being unable to live independently to fulfill their own potentials and life goals.

America's baby boomers are now senior citizens placing economic stresses on outmoded social systems.  Social systems and government budgets presently are unable to accommodate the elderly, disabled, unemployed, and the many incarcerated for social crimes without depriving the young a quality education or the working adults their pay without burdensome taxation. Ironically, America is still engaged in foreign wars and generously helping the world while seemingly unable to help itself.

Art Is .....

For me, art is not for making a living
but for making living worthwhile ....

Originality versus Creativity

Originality (Idea generating, theoretical conceptualizations)

Originality refers to the production of a new idea, without any particular care for whether these ideas will be useful or not. So when you’re brainstorming and trying to turn out as many possibilities as you can; psychologists would call this originality, not creativity. Originality is the switched on light bulb in the darkness, the "Eureka" moment.

Creativity (Idea executing, applications)

So what’s creativity then? Well, while originality is judged by the sheer number of ideas one can come up with, creativity places a more stringent criteria on these ideas – they not only have to be original, they have to be worthwhile or useful. Creativity is exploring around using the light bulb in the darkness to see what can be done but also doing it, the performance and productivity process.

A friend thought the definition of originality not quite adequate so I replied with the following...

A better definition of originality: an idea’s conceptual genesis, first time ever existing in mankind’s history?

What is possible for a human mind to apprehend uses the process of cognition and idea formulation.

The mind can apprehend or cognize

1. a perceptual true and valid reality,
2. one existing outside of itself, conceived as an extended supra or sub reality,
3. or an imagined fantasy reality.

Intuition, observation, experience, agreement, compromise, change, adjustment, validation, recordation, reference, work, testimony, and other activities of mankind stimulate our actual intellectual experience and the constructs needed to cope with reality of living existence or to escape it. Originality and creativity are used for discovery, learning, and achievement, expanding our realities proficiency attainment.

The Artists Media, Tools, Art Studio

Regardless of media used, more important is the artist and his originality, creativity, and imaginative intelligence combined with quality, visual communication abilities, skillfully all coming together, birthing another fine art's real existence, universally appealing, perhaps timeless, revealing to others the artist's attitude as well as his aptitude. A poor artist is better than one who thinks he need not improve or has nothing left to learn. 

The artist's tools and art studios vary greatly, but they are not what define fine art, their user may only be a craftsman, tradesman, or artisan skilled in the process, one who does not have an artist's many talents and inspirations.

Art is the language of the soul. The soul of an artist is indelible, highly refined, and dear to many. Artists are above all others, essential to the human condition as we know it. They uplift, motivate, encourage, beautify, entertain, console, heal, and help us through what would otherwise be an ordinary, common, and utterly boring, experiential existence. The world would be a much healthier place to live if everyone would develop their artist soul within.

One may prefer to express their artistic talent by appreciating the art made by others and by being a patron of the arts they are often inspired to think about art and support art in their lives and community ... For instance consider the "Art to be found in "...

The artful assembly and the artistry of the dining room setting itself, the furniture style of the table and chairs with their textures and colors, the upholstering of the seats, the curtains which harmonize and accentuate the dining room table and chairs on an oriental expensive imported rug, the aesthetic décor, the food, the sterling silver pattern, the crystal glasses and vases with floral arrangement and the presentation of magnificently prepared food served with eye appeal... all are artistic, elegant, and display the gracious intelligence of the hostess who has invited guests to partake of the beauty and tasteful occasion of celebration. Also consider the invitations and the fine stationery paper on which they were engraved and the art of the stamp that was pasted on the envelope so artistically calligraphy written with care.....

Oh what crass and crude depravity of those who are at best McDonald's do you want fries with that mentality.... but there is art to be found there too ...

I myself bypass the dining room all together and use my table for many pragmatic purposes befitting my present lifestyle, but it could be used for dining it I chose to live so well. Then also observe there is the chandelier and aesthetic beauty of the lighting of the room both natural and incandescent or florescent..... the art of the aromas that the air carries from the kitchen heralding the coming main event to savor and remember..... good for the soul, the mind, and the body so artistically elevated.

Why Did Van Gogh Cut Off His Ear?

Self mutilation is hard to understand and yet persons do that for many different “reasons” ... sort of like “cutting off your nose to spite your face” cliché demonstrated for real either for the victim or others to experience and know the psychological pain must be relieved by the physical pain endured... sort of fighting fire with fire but in this case fighting pain with greater pain or at least an obvious pain more easily dealt with in reality.... many persons self harm their selves... obesity, drug addiction, and even joining in dangerous practices that might be fatal ....

Loughner was intentionally choosing self harm while harming others ..... if the person feels injured, they tend to injure other or make their psychological perceived injury real in some visible way that others can see and sense their pain within that led to self inflicted harm ... Here is an art work with a poem done by my friend Bob Eaton who has rationalized that his pain of old age is proof that he is still alive .... the ability to endure pain either self inflicted or as a consequence of the physical aging process gives meaning to the cliché “no pain, no gain” ....

Christ endured intolerable pain and achieved enlightenment in his suffering and others might think to follow that line of reasoning .... Van Gogh lacked a satisfying sex life it seems and his relations with other artists friends may have been platonic but also looked like a form of masochism to me...



mas·och·ism –noun

1. Psychiatry . the condition in which sexual gratification depends on suffering, physical pain, and humiliation.


2. Gratification gained from pain, deprivation, degradation, etc., inflicted or imposed on oneself, either as a result of one's own actions or the actions of others, especially the tendency to seek this form of gratification.


3. The act of turning one's destructive tendencies inward or upon oneself.


4. The tendency to find pleasure in self-denial, submissiveness, etc.

 Pathophysiology

Self-harm is not typically suicidal behaviour, although there is the possibility that a self-inflicted injury may result in life-threatening damage. Although the person may not recognise the connection, self-harm often becomes a response to profound and overwhelming emotional pain that cannot be resolved in a more functional way.

The motivations for self-harm vary as it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness and a sense of failure or self-loathing. There is also a positive statistical correlation between self-harm and emotional abuse. Self-harm may become a means to manage pain, in contrast to the pain that may have been experienced earlier in the sufferer's life (e.g. through abuse) over which they had no control.

Other motives for self-harm do not fit into medicalised models of behaviour and may seem incomprehensible to others, as demonstrated by this example:

“ My motivations for self-harming were diverse, but included examining the interior of my arms for hydraulic lines. This may sound strange. ”

Assessment of motives in a medical setting is usually based on precursors to the incident, circumstances and information from the patient. However, limited studies show that professional assessments tend to suggest more manipulative or punitive motives than personal assessments.

The UK ONS study reported only two motives: "to draw attention" and "because of anger". For some people harming oneself can be a way to draw attention to the need for help and to ask for assistance in an indirect way but may also be an attempt to affect others and to manipulate them in some way emotionally. However, those with chronic, repetitive self-harm often do not want attention and hide their scars carefully.

Many people who self-harm state that it allows them to "go away" or dissociate, separating the mind from feelings that are causing anguish. This may be achieved by tricking the mind into believing that the present suffering being felt is caused by the self-harm instead of the issues they were facing previously: the physical pain therefore acts as a distraction from the original emotional pain. To complement this theory, one can consider the need to "stop" feeling emotional pain and mental agitation. "A person may be hyper-sensitive and overwhelmed; a great many thoughts may be revolving within their mind, and they may either become triggered or could make a decision to stop the overwhelming feelings." The sexual organs may be deliberately hurt as a way to deal with unwanted feelings of sexuality, or as a means of punishing sexual organs that may be perceived as having responded in contravention to the person's wellbeing (e.g., responses to childhood sexual abuse).

Those who engage in self-harm face the contradictory reality of harming themselves while at the same time obtaining relief from this act. It may even be hard for some to actually initiate cutting, but they often do because they know the relief that will follow. For some self-harmers this relief is primarily psychological while for others this feeling of relief comes from the beta endorphins released in the brain. Endorphins are endogenous opioids that are released in response to physical injury, act as natural painkillers, and induce pleasant feelings and would act to reduce tension and emotional distress. Many self-harmers report feeling very little to no pain while self-harming and, for some, deliberate self-harm may become a means of seeking pleasure.

Alternatively, self-harm may be a means of feeling something, even if the sensation is unpleasant and painful. Those who self-harm sometimes describe feelings of emptiness or numbness (anhedonia), and physical pain may be a relief from these feelings. "A person may be detached from himself or herself, detached from life, numb and unfeeling. They may then recognise the need to function more, or have a desire to feel real again, and a decision is made to create sensation and 'wake up'."

As a coping mechanism, self-harm can become psychologically addictive because, to the self-harmer, it works; it enables him/her to deal with intense stress in the current moment. The patterns sometimes created by it, such as specific time intervals between acts of self-harm, can also create a behavioural pattern that can result in a wanting or craving to fulfill thoughts of self-harm.

The Monster Me ...

Creating Art,

Working With Colors,

is

Healing to the Spirit,

and Restorative to the Soul.

Creating Art Using the Computer

Allows More Dimensions of Healing To That Process,

Time Being One

of Those Most Crucial Elements

of the Healing Process

of One’s Mind, Body, and Soul.

An online friend recently asked for the full resolution size of this art work (top image), one I created while attending Dr. Paula Artac's Workshop (hosted by Arizona Artists Guild), November 1, 2008....

(visit Dr. Artac's web site Colors of Life at http://www.colorsoflife.net/ ,

you may want to Contact Paula Artac at:

 paulaart@cox.net  or paula@thesundancecenter.com

or by phone: 510-917-1650). 

My friend has also suggested an alternate title, instead of "Crucible", to be "Soul of the Beholder".  He said he sensed violence in what he viewed but liked it anyway, although he normally prefers calm and serene art (he is a composer and musician). I replied as follows.

Yes, my thoughts also as I created it .... not consciously but with out controlling my conscious mind only allowing it expression to emerge from the inner consciousness of my person. In the creativity development workshop about 4 years ago, about 20 participating artists joined hands and tossed water on torn bits of bleeding tissue in a pile in the center of our circle of joined hands, and then we meditated, disassembled and began our own individual creation of collages made of glue, selected bits of the colorful bleeding tissue from the pile, and out own fluid energy drawn from the artist group and from the pile of the group fluid energy mentally endowed its presence.

It is sometimes scary to look at your inner self just as this is scary art.... but it is also healing in the process to overcome the animal nature within us, the human faults, and the vices common to man often suppressed but without question always there to some degree or another ...

When I showed the material collage that I had giclee photographed professionally at a local art printer shop then photoshop its duplicate mirror image and joined to be surprised to see the “spirit” angel Goddess at the center top .... I was amazed and realized that sometimes in the real world, it is inadequate to see the entire image as we exist in the spiritual world.... and while the other artists at the workshop had done their traditional art thing painting on top of their collage, I was the only one to say to my instructor that I was going to finish mine with the computer .... she was amazed at the results I later showed her....

The art work first titled “Crucible” is now a large 4 ft x 5 ft framed work original over my fireplace (appropriate location in my home) .... since just like in metallurgy it takes intense high heat to forge the finished work so does the spirit and soul of man.

????

The world we can not escape and all live in is very violent, All of the animal species in it struggle for existence in violence and even nature creates its many violent natural disasters .... as humans we filter out much of what we don’t want to acknowledge but the inner consciousness is aware and sometimes emerges such as it did in this art work .... one artist friend sees the Nutcracker Rat King in it ... and another friend sees animals that she point out to me and even a dog’s face .... our being is an amalgam of lifetime experiences, thoughts, and events .... so too our inner consciousness.... we must have the courage to boldly look at ourselves introspect and acknowledge our imperfections, our animal self, our soul however low it may be .... but keep sight of the “God, pure divine sprit that is our highest expression of being” .... ???

I can’t really say I like what I created .... but then as a Mother, I can’t deny it or throw it away.... can’t even ignore it so I framed it and proudly show it to many .... titled as “Therapy Art” ..... that fits, doesn’t it? Crazy or sane ..... we all can benefit from therapy art.... Art Therapist is a very fulfilling occupation and if I had my life to live over I might choose to be one. The workshop was taught by a supreme artist .... who is a psychologist Dr. and researcher Art Therapist...

Surely I sent my friend the .psd full art work and said... and of course you can modify it, change its colors, or do what you like with it .... Have your way with me so to speak.... it is too large (almost 90mb) to attach so I will upload it to my site now (takes about 25 minutes to upload), and then you can download the .psd work file (you do have Photoshop, right?)... I also have the slightly larger .tif file (99mb) of it the giclee printer (Dec 2008) gave me when I asked him for it ... http://ymmartin.com/Crucible_New.psd .... (Art is to show and be appreciated) ...

Go ahead.... Make me famous by having you as my prestigious patron .... (trading art for your music) ... remember I have Cherokee ancestry and our Cherokee Trail of Tears does represent a lot of violence against my ancestors .... and Cherokees were one with the creation..... considered heathens....

I have waited till the upload to my web site is finished, and I have tested it to see it is ok before sending you notice it is ok to download in Denmark.... What I am sending may or may not have a border .... "Melt Down" could be another apropos title for this work ...

The media used for this art work cration began as Fluid Energy Bleeding Tissue Collage then became a Computer Digital Art from the photo giclee of the paper backed Collage and now the art is purely residing dormant electronically to be executed into what ever future form desired ... one of those “lives” is as giclee print on canvas framed above my fireplace and the colors used are harmonious with other accessories in my living room ..

It might be used as a textile print design or curtain/slipcovers design, playing cards (back of card), etc .... who knows .... it is just “interesting” and “violent too” like the interplay of good and evil in the world or in our being.

The Monster Me,

Macabre We See ....

Is it You or Me,

What Others See ....???

Yolly.

The Tooth , dental work, it gets expensive

 My real teeth represent a lot of life time dentistry work.

A while back I posted photos of my trip to the dentist and was undergoing restorative periodontist dental work including  6 weeks of deep periodontal cleaning needed to prevent serious development of various gum problems that often causes persons to lose all their teeth after age 55. 

My saga of dental work continues on, but now at another dental establishment that does more procedures and one that my dental insurance has contracted with to accept what they pay according to customer expectations. With the previous dentist, I was scammed by their telling me they were a Delta Dental Insurance ppo provider when after all the work was done months latter they then presented me a bill for the difference between the insurance contract price and their approved price which is less than their real price.... oh yeah..... hundreds of dollars different.... What could I do since I didn't want to compound further problems and complain to the Attorney General about the deception and fraudulent practice.... I simply paid what they claimed I owed them, but vowed never to return.

Yesterday morning, with my mouth locked wide open via a large rubber bite prop, Dr. Edwards, a specialty surgical dentist at Southwest Dental Group in Peoria, Az, was routinely inserting a long needle syringe into my mouth's gum, deadening my upper left mouth area around a missing tooth soon to have my first modern dentistry dental implant. Oooooh, that smarted! 

The missing tooth was extracted about a year ago (by him) leaving a unsightly problem causing toothless gap midway of upper left set of teeth. Food and medicine would trap inside the hole. That hole was created by a  tooth had to be extracted, a root canal procedure done 10 years earlier by another endodontist became infected, rejecting the material the root canal used. That tooth with root canal also had been given a crown, that extracted tooth represented a lot of money (several thousands of dollars), now a loss, costing more money to replace it.

While Dr. Edwards was drilling a hole and placing the metal anchor screw into my jaw bone (the screw had to be special ordered. I had previously waited a week for it implant sized to arrive, I felt no pain but did hear a lot of disconcerting and distressing noises of jaw bone removal and metal anchor insertion.  After that was finished, Dr. Edwards sewed up the gum tissue around the anchor and stuffed a wad of gauze in my mouth THEN his assistant asked what kind of pain medication did I want him to prescribe (I couldn't talk).... of course there was a 500 mg 4 times a day amoxicillin antibiotic prescription to be filled also and dutifully ingested at appropriate times until all gone.  I sat in the dental chair while they took another x-ray and instructed to come back monthly for the next 4 months to have x-ray of the implant's bone around to see that all was healing as it should. Afterward 4 months healing time, I am to see a prosthodontist next door down for dental implant abutments, the bases of implantations. They transfer the load from the teeth to the dental implant.  The implant is hidden just like the dental implant abutment, but the post of the abutment extends into the crown.

All in all, the cost is around $3000 for the dental implant, abutment, and new tooth.  The process takes about 5 months time to complete.  Additionally, there can be complications that I don't even want to think about but had to sign off that I was aware of them. There are dental implants being done in a day, but my dentist says their success rate is low and fraught with problems.... oh well, I have the time to invest in my dental work and fortunately for me also the money to pay the bills.  It is not vanity but health that motivates me to keep my health clean, restored, and healthy as can be for my age.

Politics at its best ...

Politics at its best ...

 

"Politics is the art of compromise.

The challenge is to find a compromise

without making anyone feel like a loser,

and that takes a lot of work."

John Emerson, retired minister

Win Win .... Together .....

 

If we could each improve individually

by never trying to prove our selves

at the expense of others, ....

wasteful arguments would be replaced with

mutually agreeable productivity, progress, and prosperity collectively.

 

Conflict resolution is most difficult to resolve amicably

when the interest of one must be sacrificed to satisfy that of another.

It is a challenge that makes us grow and tests our soul. 

I do not believe in self sacrifice,

but then neither does the other.

 

Together we search for a solution,

one that surrounds and replaces selfishness...

with sensitivity,... sharing,...

saving what matters most of all...

friendship.

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Truth in Art .... ???

Art is representational or non representational .... realistic, impressionistic, abstract, or any of a number of other adjectives used to describe the artist's creation.... I read the following in this morning's Robert Genn's email to me this morning and am still thinking about the concept of truth being used as he has extended it to be.... ???? Wouldn't that be stretching the truth more than just a little? Perhaps truth does have these different "faces" , but the truth of error?  This is a very creative use of the meaning of the concept of truth indeed.... I  find what Robert wrote to be very thought provoking and true....

.............Art has the potential for another kind of truth--the truth of illusion, distortion, anomaly, enigma, exaggeration, paucity, understatement, embellishment and error. If everything in a picture were exactly as in nature, there would be little to engage anyone, much less give them something to talk about. Art fascinates for reasons the artist and the viewer cannot always define. We sit in front of our work and say, "There's something funny about this, but I don't know what it is." .................  

.... truth's deceptions stripped of all pretenses ?

"FRIENDS" FOR INSTANCE..... AS PORTRAYED IN THE ANIMATED MOVIE "CARS"...
Wonderfully imaginative and lovable.....