I'm Fiddling While Rome Burns

As I watch world events unfold in the media I continue to take and edit photographs of toys. This feels a little bit like playing the fiddle while Rome burns.

I have no answers to the many crises that face the world right now...all I know is that it all seems to be building at a rather quick pace. Yes, I do know that our world has always been fraught with a certain about of war and conflict - but right now there seems to be a heightened sense of impending doom. It feels as if we are poised at the edge of something ominous and dangerous.

Is it right to be spending energy taking toy photographs and trying to creating art that makes people smile? Am I turning a blind eye to the elevated levels of human misery on this planet because it is easier?

I have no answers to anything right now. I am not looking for justification to my behavior, but I do wonder if my time could be better spent on a worthier endeavor.

~ xxsjc

Since the toy community spans the globe, do you think about your internet friends who may be in living in danger? 
Does local or world events effect your work? 

The Burden of Dreams

I confess I've been watching documentaries again. This one was about Werner Herzog and his epic struggle to complete his movie Fitzcarraldo. The documentary, Burden of Dreams, concerns a movie maker on a seemingly Sisyphean task who's main character is on a similar, nearly impossible task. 

As Werner Herzog is talking about his project, after hitting the umpteenth major snag, he said the following:

 "If I abandon this project, I would be a man without dreams and I don't want to live like that."

The above quote really struck home. 

It is good to remember that dreams are a burden. They ask much of us; sometimes too much. But like Mr. Herzog you have to keep going, no matter how tough it gets. You have to  nurture your projects and the dreams they come from. It doesn't matter if success or failure await you; living without dreams would be a very bleak existence. 

~ xxsjc 

Have you ever though about quitting?
If so, what kept you going?

Alea iacta est ...

While Shelly is exploring her creative inner self with new powerful filters on instagram, this side of the pond was extremely busy today with slightly more down to earth artistic errands like creating and submitting a portfolio for the entrance exam with the grand jury at Fotografiska in Stockholm for their autumn group exposition, called Höstsalongen.

Having the graphical systems back up and running to get access to all the digital raw data did help in getting the job done a few hours before closing time ...

Now the big wait has started to see if the grand jury will accept some of the selected works.

Fingers crossed while we keep watch over Hill 937 ...