Looking For The Magic (a tribute to James Thomas Miller)
This piece was included in the gallery show “These Days”, a collaboration with photographer Bill Webb, Jr. of Memphis, Tennessee. Bill’s photograph immediately brought up a memory of being at that location. In the summer of 2021 I went on an impetuous, Delta-based journey with a writer I had met, James Thomas Miller. We had intended to get tamales from that shop but it was closed for the day. To say James Thomas Miller was an interesting person is an understatement. I did not know him very well but knew he would be a great friend to have. After that fun weekend of adventures our text exchanges eventually waned into nothing and by the time I tried unsuccessfully to reach out to him again, to wish him a Merry Christmas, I got no reply. I assumed he had finally found the girl of his dreams and didn’t need to keep asking me out for dates he knew I would turn down. Months after that I decided to Google him to see if he had published new work. My heart broke when the first article in my search was his obituary. My mind flooded with the memories of our adventure, the silly to serious conversations we had, and the music he introduced me to. The piece I made is an expression of the magic we can find in the mundane if we just see our surrounding with a little magic instead of the usual lens which makes us take things for granted. I encourage you to listen to the song that inspired this piece, as it is one he introduced me too while sitting on a hot porch in the Mississippi Delta as fireflies blinked all around us. Also click on the link to an article written about him, interestingly written by someone with a similarly brief but impactful connection with “John Thomas”. There are links in that article that will take you to his work should you choose to read it.
Moss on wood, tie wire details dipped in abaca pulp. Six pieces of various sizes which can be installed to an arrangement of your liking. If you would like to purchase the photograph in the images please contact me. It will cost an additional $150.00.
This piece was included in the gallery show “These Days”, a collaboration with photographer Bill Webb, Jr. of Memphis, Tennessee. Bill’s photograph immediately brought up a memory of being at that location. In the summer of 2021 I went on an impetuous, Delta-based journey with a writer I had met, James Thomas Miller. We had intended to get tamales from that shop but it was closed for the day. To say James Thomas Miller was an interesting person is an understatement. I did not know him very well but knew he would be a great friend to have. After that fun weekend of adventures our text exchanges eventually waned into nothing and by the time I tried unsuccessfully to reach out to him again, to wish him a Merry Christmas, I got no reply. I assumed he had finally found the girl of his dreams and didn’t need to keep asking me out for dates he knew I would turn down. Months after that I decided to Google him to see if he had published new work. My heart broke when the first article in my search was his obituary. My mind flooded with the memories of our adventure, the silly to serious conversations we had, and the music he introduced me to. The piece I made is an expression of the magic we can find in the mundane if we just see our surrounding with a little magic instead of the usual lens which makes us take things for granted. I encourage you to listen to the song that inspired this piece, as it is one he introduced me too while sitting on a hot porch in the Mississippi Delta as fireflies blinked all around us. Also click on the link to an article written about him, interestingly written by someone with a similarly brief but impactful connection with “John Thomas”. There are links in that article that will take you to his work should you choose to read it.
Moss on wood, tie wire details dipped in abaca pulp. Six pieces of various sizes which can be installed to an arrangement of your liking. If you would like to purchase the photograph in the images please contact me. It will cost an additional $150.00.
This piece was included in the gallery show “These Days”, a collaboration with photographer Bill Webb, Jr. of Memphis, Tennessee. Bill’s photograph immediately brought up a memory of being at that location. In the summer of 2021 I went on an impetuous, Delta-based journey with a writer I had met, James Thomas Miller. We had intended to get tamales from that shop but it was closed for the day. To say James Thomas Miller was an interesting person is an understatement. I did not know him very well but knew he would be a great friend to have. After that fun weekend of adventures our text exchanges eventually waned into nothing and by the time I tried unsuccessfully to reach out to him again, to wish him a Merry Christmas, I got no reply. I assumed he had finally found the girl of his dreams and didn’t need to keep asking me out for dates he knew I would turn down. Months after that I decided to Google him to see if he had published new work. My heart broke when the first article in my search was his obituary. My mind flooded with the memories of our adventure, the silly to serious conversations we had, and the music he introduced me to. The piece I made is an expression of the magic we can find in the mundane if we just see our surrounding with a little magic instead of the usual lens which makes us take things for granted. I encourage you to listen to the song that inspired this piece, as it is one he introduced me too while sitting on a hot porch in the Mississippi Delta as fireflies blinked all around us. Also click on the link to an article written about him, interestingly written by someone with a similarly brief but impactful connection with “John Thomas”. There are links in that article that will take you to his work should you choose to read it.
Moss on wood, tie wire details dipped in abaca pulp. Six pieces of various sizes which can be installed to an arrangement of your liking. If you would like to purchase the photograph in the images please contact me. It will cost an additional $150.00.
Musical inspiration for this piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ6CflnSxyo
More about James Thomas Miller: https://atticusreview.org/the-business-of-the-living/