Ulasovetz Artist Statement

I have always used an “Artist Profile” document to serve as both an artist profile and an artist statement. Today I have created my current “Artist Statement” document to supplement the profile document and to describe very briefly why I create art, and what it means to me. It can be seen here.

Creativity; Unblocked

Having to cope with all the changes brought about by Aggie’s death, the past year has been very traumatic and difficult for me. My artistic life has been, to a degree, blocked and is only now beginning to move ahead again. I have made a strong effort in the past few weeks to unblock my creativity and now I finally feel that I am again making progress in the *forward* direction.

The key for this happening was to firstly, each morning, review my inner feelings about my life, not only with thoughts about my life but reinforcing these feelings in my conscious mind, by writing them down, every morning, for about half and hour.

Secondly, of major help to me was this quotation by Chekhov: “If you want to work on your art, work on your life.”

I considered this quotation seriously, and by working on my life, I now see that my art is by itself, in a magic sort of way, moving ahead again. I feel free to create, to paint, with renewed motivation, and growing productivity approaching that of previous years. I have stopped using the excuse that I have no time to paint. I do have time. I can make time. I am an artist, again.

Always a Child

This morning while I was looking for some of Aggie’s sketches that I had set aside a couple of months ago, and couldn’t find today . . . I ran across these thoughts hand written by Aggie on a piece of paper. I posted these thoughts in “Aggies Gallery” and they can be seen here.

Linux – Turning back is no longer an option

I have been using linux for almost two months now and I can’t see going back to Windows now . . . or really, ever. The choice of ubuntu was made because it seemed to be the easiest way to migrate to linux. There are many other distributions of linux and probably all of them have been in use longer than ubuntu, but I made the choice of ubuntu because it seemed the most user friendly distribution available. I am glad I made that choice . . . the transition away from Windows was, I think, relatively painless. Now that considerable fine tuning has also been completed, I have even more functionality than I had with Windows. And linux, to this point has been more stable than Windows ever was. The available linux software easily replaces that available for windows and generally is of better quality. The only negative I see is the time and effort required to learn how to use the new software, but once that effort is made it reinforces the fact that the move to ubuntu was worth it. At this point, going back to Windows is not an option for me. Ubuntu has *totally* replaced Windows.

Now I am looking at using another linux distribution (Fedora) to be able to create a node for IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project) which is used to link amateur radio repeater sites or simplex stations to the world using dedicated servers and nodes offering a very stable worldwide network between hundreds of towns and cities . . . worldwide. Linux was chosen for IRLP in order to provide inexpensive unsurpassed uptimes and telephone quality audio. IRLP is a system initially designed by David Cameron (VE7LTD) in British Columbia and continues to be improved and used worldwide by the amateur radio community. The Yukon Amateur Radio Association has installed a IRLP node for use with the upcoming Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse.

New Print “Fraser BC” Available

I have a new limited edition print available of a scene close to the Alaska BC border near the Fraser Canadian Customs Station. It was a place where Aggie and I enjoyed picking blueberries in July. You can see the details here.

Just Another Depressing Day

It’s cold, -23 degrees. It’s still snowing. According to the BBC the U.S. bombed Somalia based on “credible Intelligence”, to kill some Al Qaeda members. If innocent people get killed, well, too bad. The U.S. is bombing Iraq again. Israel is threatening to bomb Iran and if that happens the U.S. will support them. Another U.S. war? By proxy? The U.S. is talking about escalating the fighting in Iraq with more troops. Aircraft carriers have been moved closer to the *action*. Who is supporting all this? I really hope it does *not* include Canada.

What Is Charity?

This morning before going into my studio to paint, I was thinking about charity, and what I think it really is. So I decided to put some of my thoughts about this on my blog. Don’t ask me why . . . I don’t know; probably because more and more people are having difficulty these days.

I remember about 20 years ago when Aggie and I had a hard time finding enough resources for the necessities of life, including finding enough food to eat. We were living in a 35 foot motorhome in Vancouver, I was unemployed, and most of the time whenever we had to go anywhere, we walked. Sometimes we were forced to take a bus. This was very private. People thought we were well off; afterall we were living in a new motorhome and most people wished they could own one like it. Anybody with a nice large motorhome is rich, right? One day we were walking down Robson Street in Vancouver and we came across a man poorly dressed and looking very much in need. We passed him on the street, then we turned around, retraced our steps to go back to him. Without a word, I took my last few coins from my pocket and handed them to him. It amounted to almost three dollars. Then without a word being said between the man and us, we continued on our way. Aggie turned to me and said “I’m glad you did that.” Later, that week Aggie and I went for almost a week without food and without money for even a loaf of bread. I don’t think I ever thought about that again . . . until now. And I don’t know why it comes to me now.

Now, I think about Bill Gates and his multi billion dollar charities. Good for him. It is without doubt a charitable act. But what bothers me about his charities, is that there are many strings attached to his giving. There seems to be many self serving reasons that determines where his *giving* goes. Do the people he helps really appreciate it? Do they really *need* it? Or is it something that Bill Gates enjoys doing . . . something that makes him feel good? Or does the tax deduction make it worthwhile? Afterall, he does get billions of dollars in tax deductions  without his charities. Do the recipiants of his charities receive a windfall that they could just as well really do without? Is that really charity? Or does Bill Gates also give for *real* need . . . without expecting rewards for doing so . . . without *advertising* it . . . without first creating a foundation to look after it . . . does he ever give only because he sees a need and because he can help that need to become smaller? I think and I hope he does. We will probably never know. That’s okay. That’s good.

Here is another example. Aggie once told me about her brother giving groceries to his father to help feed his family. His father, grateful for it, becuase he certainly could use it to feed his family, in turn gave much of it away to others in the community. Aggie’s brother didn’t like this and he told his father that the food was for *his* family not for others in the community. His father said, “you gave it to me, and I thank you for it, but it is no longer yours. I can do whatever I want with it.” Where is the *charity* here? Obviously it lies with *both* Aggie’s brother and Aggie’s father.

A New Page – 2007

This year, 2007, has begun on a proper note, of painting again after a pause during the Christmas season. It is a solitary event that takes place in my studio and and involves only me, my art work, music and solitude. At times it is a lonely task but most of the time it is very satisfying. When any work is completed, I especially enjoy it, like a parent enjoys a new born child . . . it becomes a part of me; and some day it will touch somebody and become a part of their life also.

I suspect my blog postings will decrease . . . when I am painting, nothing much else happens to write about. My *other* life is normally put in “pause” mode when I am in my studio. But I may be wrong, as my *other* life seems to be often punctuated with anything but what could be called normal events. All of my life, when I worked, I worked hard, and when I played, I played hard. And when I gave, I gave much. I’ve been there, I’ve done that. And *that* is never boring. And *that* will continue to be me.