The Comic

This print is available on ebay












We love the crazy antics of our closest animal relative, the chimpanzee. They can be so expressive, so human and for that reason we find them adorable.

I relate to the monkey because I relate to the comedian. I've had several friends who were professional comedians and I found them to be brilliant. One such comedian told me that all comedy comes from pain. When he said this I told him he had a sick sense of humor and that I did not agree.

Over the years, I've changed my mind.

I now believe all comedy comes from pain or better yet, it's the comedian that finds the humorous side of pain. We just don't give them credit for pulling us out of that pain. It takes a strong intellectual mind to rise above the pain and look at life through humor. I didn't see this as a talent till much later in life and after experiencing a lot of pain and like the comedian, I've had to find the humorous side in order to dig myself out of the darkness. It isn't easy but on my sharpest days, I can do this.

We don't give a lot of credit to comedians for having this extraordinary talent. We love to laugh at the jokes and sometimes we do realize that they have given us something to use in our daily struggles.  A huge percentage of comedians never strike it rich. Most of the ones I've know work at a humble working class job during the day and tell jokes at a comedy workshop at night. Many times their tax forms or applications do not reflect their talents, instead they read cab driver or waiter.

This humble cab driver pictured above was created in oil pastel on thick black paper. The black paper makes the colors glow. I was asked by a friend to create a monkey king but when I began drawing this little guy it was if he said to me, "I'm not rich, I'm a working class, kind of guy." Luckily for me, she loved the painting anyway!

Stained Glass Jewelry Box

This item is available on ebay 

We all know the story of Pandora and the box that was given to her and her husband by Zeus with a warning to never open it. What kind of a sick present was this? Surely Zeus would know that humans have curiousity and would want to open it, yet this makes a great parable for how our curiousity gets the best of us. Perhaps it reflects on the human need to snoop into things that are not our business. When the box is opened, we suffer the horrible fate for having our natural curiosity to explore by seeing all the problems in the world unleashed. We no longer can live a life of luxury and ease. We must work and deal with problems that occur everyday in our stressful lives. Doesn't this story sound very much like the Garden of Eden. How long could you walk by a tree that bore fruit you couldn't touch with a serpent saying "Hey You, come here"? This type of temptation seems torturous for the average human because it is our destiny to explore and solve all the mysteries of life. This is why we love mysteries in the first place. We want to solve the puzzle! We need to solve the puzzle!

The image above is a photo of a hinged stained glass box I created. I am selling this on ebay. The top has a beautiful carved jade stone soldered to a sheet of copper. It is large enough to keep jewelry, crystals or other precious treasures inside and makes a great table or desk ornament. You can see how it opens below:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121532133260?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649