New Little Book

When the world no longer makes sense

it makes sense to turn to nonsense.

It is amazing how quickly the horizon line

can then shift from cluttered confusion

into something that might have calmness and humor

and that maybe, perhaps, if you will, have meaning.

This little 50-page cartoon collection is fresh off the press.

I predict that some of you will find this book

in a place where you least expect it.

And others will find it here,

where you most expect it.

 Shaboomah!

"Cossack by the River Flow"

(detail)

Here we are, looking out at what we do or don't understand, due to our life experiences being this way and their life experiences being that way. The secret to overcoming what looks strange to us is to see what is not strange. Add a drop of humor and you have a nice cocktail for learning something new in a colorful light.

"Beauty by the River Flow"

3"x4"

For those who soldier on in any walk of life.

"Thirst by the River Flow"

(detail)

My dentist has a calming waiting lounge. We sit amongst elegant living bamboo, art of the moon and sun, fresh trickling water soothing our senses. On the far wall are contemporary magazines to distract the jumpy mind. To the right is a large abstract print that gives off the sense of lightness, airiness, an uplift of the soul.

But I have been sitting here too long, waiting for my doctor who is behind in her schedule. I venture up to the abstract, look closely at the rough rectangular shapes that loosely line the lower edge of the airy space. Are these something specific? I turn my head sideways. An animal head? Oh... it's a horse head... and body. A dead horse. And next to it another dead horse. And a third. And here is one that is almost dead and here is one that is alive but suffering. And up there, in that lovely space of freedom, a heroic horse, riding off to war, proud and strong. And now I see, in the vaporously abstract background, a spirit horse, riding swiftly, upwards and away.

I sit back down and listen to the flowing water. It is all here in this small dentist lounge. Life. And that means death. And all that is in between and beyond. Forever flowing forward. Quenching our thirst for rejuvenation.