Arithwyn’s
forest
A QUARTERly
newsletter
Celebrating
the artistic endeavors OF
Sasha Wolfe
Fine Art & photography
INTENT: To share stories and thoughts of being an artist
or any creative passions; to initiate dialog to pursue what we experience
through life and discuss some of the issues that we strive to overcome in
personal and professional life. It’s an effort to strive to be a good person in
life and follow the heart’s desire. Why do we do what we do? What drives us and
how does that affect other aspects in our lives?
Note: If you do not want to receive these newsletters,
please let me know and I will take you off the mailing list.
Date: October 19, 2014 Volume: 6
My
plans for doing a monthly newsletter fell by the wayside as life became very
hectic. Oh, it’s all good. Perhaps it is better to do the newsletter four times
a year.
We
are now in autumn full-swing and although many leaves have fallen, there is
still plenty of color to be seen. I’ve taken some short photo excursions for
fall foliage pictures. Of course, the journeys were never just about taking
pictures. There is always more on the agenda. Everything I do is a potential
work project; be it for the newspaper, the next book, or art.
The
downside is that from the time I get up in the morning until evening, my brain
is in work mode. It’s not easy with fingers in so many pies, but I love what I
do. Life is so interesting to me that I could not commit to only one
medium/subject of work.
Enjoy
and Thank-YOU!
Theme:
“It doesn’t interest me if there is one God or many
gods…”
The words of the poet David Whyte echo in my head as I
think of religion, politics, the world. Elections are coming up and we are
being inundated with all the campaigning, promises, and the fault-finding
between opponents. It’s the same or similar no matter the country or religion.
No, I don’t know the particulars of many world governments or the intricacies
of religions, but there are similarities about power, those who have power and
who want to keep that power. To what end will they go to keep in control? And
yes, in my mind it’s all interrelated because it all IS about power.
“It doesn’t matter to me if there is one God or many
gods…” and as I thought about this, I realized that if there is one God or many gods, it
really doesn’t matter. We “wear many hats” as human beings in all the jobs,
duties, and responsibilities that we carry. If the one God is all encompassing,
all powerful, why wouldn’t the one God be Allah, Buddha, Great Spirit, and
whatever other gods people pray to? If God is so omnipresent and loving, why would
He resort to the pettiness of humans? Or if there are multiple gods, like in
Greek and Roman mythology, would a god treat humans as play pieces on a giant
game board?
Sometimes, with all the information coming at us, I don’t
know what to believe any more. All I can do is be a good person, do the best I
can, and help others where I can. I’m refusing to get caught up in the
negativity of the greater world which means narrowing my world to what is close
by and what I can affect. I am a much happier person; I am perfect at being
imperfect.
News:
This year has been an “Oh, my God!” exciting and
stressful year. The first big news is that I became THE editor of the InterTown
Record newspaper in June. Yes, I put THE in capital letters because I still can’t
believe it. ME, an official editor! And this opened an entire new thrilling segment
in my life.
I always considered myself a good writer, but the
recent promotion has brought my skills to a much higher level. Now I have to be
particularly careful of being correct in what and how I write. I keep by my
side printed copies of writing rules (especially for punctuation as there are
far too many rules to remember), an AP cheat sheet and the AP Stylebook
(critical for newspaper writing) and a dictionary. I am constantly checking
websites to make sure of the official names and titles of organizations; when the
state’s name is spelled out, when it’s used with periods (such as N.H.) and
when it’s OK to use NH.
Another huge accomplishment was the publishing of my
book, Too Cold for Alligators. This was an 18 month project not counting the
actual trip and preliminary writings. Feedback from those who have read the
book has been great. Most are saying, “I felt I was on the journey with you” and
“It was wonderful reading.”
Too Cold for Alligators is for sale at amazon.com
both in printed black and white version and a color e-book version. You can
contact me for an autographed copy.
This has brought me a couple of side editing jobs. Two
things really stand out in my mind about anyone wanting to write a book: 1.
Always have someone edit your work! No matter how good a writer you are, it’s
too easy to make simple mistakes and errors will jump off the page at the
readers. I am so thankful for those who edit and proofread my work. 2. The
voices in your head are NOT good writers! The precision for professional
writing (and you want your printed words to be professional) comes from a
different part of the brain than the chatter. Oh, the chatter has wonderful
ideas and tells great stories, but those voices are not good at spelling,
grammar, or punctuation.
What this has all meant is that my life and work have
taken leaps and detours. I’ve had to adjust my time management, rearrange
schedules, and reinvent the type of artist I am. I also picked up a few
photography commission jobs which sometimes makes me feel I’m walking a
tightrope between one type of work to the next. And through it all, I still
have to be the photojournalist covering town events and getting interviews.
A third bit of news is the invitation to go to Florida
this winter. I interviewed and became friends with the owners of Ruggles Mine
in Grafton this spring. They winter in Florida and invited me to visit. Oh, to
get away from the cold and the snow for a few weeks. How exciting is that! And
yes, there will be another book in the works.
Current art work
exhibits:
I have photographs
on display in Goffstown, pictures at Tall Pines Realty in Bradford, two
drawings and two photographs at Sunapee Lake Massage, two drawings at Z
Pharmacy in Newport and photo notecards at Newfound Grocer in Bridgewater.
More photos have
been posted to my online sites. I also recently updated my website.
Upcoming shows:
I will have a
number of prints and cards at the Gallery of Gifts, the Library Arts Center
annual holiday shopping opportunity of juried art in Newport, Nov. 8-Dec. 20.
Photographs will
also be on display at the Annual Autumn Exhibit at the Jaffrey Civic Center
from Nov. 21-Dec. 20.
I will have two
photographs at the 16th Annual Member Exhibit of the New Hampshire
Society of Photographic Artists at the Exeter Town Hall Gallery sometime in
January.
See more of my work
at:
On Facebook at
Sasha Wolfe Fine Art & Photography
Please become a follower of my blogs. Thank you.
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