Ah-tis spring--perfect time to spend time with the multi-talented artist, Sylvie Carr

It is my great pleasure this month to feature the quiet, unassuming but incredibly talented artist, Sylvie Carr, and introduce her to all of you. I bet you’ve seen her work: just meander through downtown Pleasant Hill and enjoy the murals she has created. They are colorful, fun, totally pertinent to their environment, blending in easily with their surroundings and the outdoor vibe and spirit of the area.

I met Sylvie when she and her family first moved to the East Bay area. I’m embarrassed to tell you that I didn’t even realize what a talented artist I had the privilege to work for until her husband spoke up during one of our meetings and told me a lot about her work. Since then I have followed her artistic path with admiration and awe. My daughter Meredith was fortunate to take a few art classes from her as well, where she learned a tremendous amount about color in a very short time.

Please enjoy reading about Sylvie’s path, enjoy the art she shares with us in her Blog, and find out how you can view her work in person, take a class from her and even have a chat with her yourself.

Meet Sylvie’s family: Don, Sylvie, Annie, Emma, Katelyn and their family dog Chunk.

Sylvie, tell us about growing up and discovering your artistic talents. How did you know you were meant to be an artist? Did you follow in a family member’s footsteps? What’s the childhood of a budding artist like?

It was my 5th grade art teacher who pulled me aside after drawing an underwater environment and told me to stick with art --- that I had natural talent! I decided then that art is what makes me the happiest. I LOVED all of my high school art classes: sculpture and painting particularly. In fact, I was a sculpture major for a year at the Maryland Institute of Art before transfering to Parsons School of Design in Environmental Design. Neither of my parents had studied art, nor really any blood relative. I have eight siblings and as you might guess, sports was the focus. I was not very coordinated and searched for another direction. My paternal grandfather, who had a passion for opera and painting, took me (one of 31 grandchildren!) to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and introduced me to the French impressionists. His encouragement, along with my Mom’s support, helped me to define my path. A word of advice to all grandparents: your words and interactions can make a lasting impression!

Danville Hotel, 2009

Parsons School of Design in New York is a very prestigious institution. Tell us how you chose that school, and where your journey took you in your early professional days after you graduated, with honors.

While at Parsons, studying environmental design, I was a Teacher’s Assistant in my drafting class for two years. My professor gave my name to a New York City architect and I was hired after taking three months to backpack through Europe with two of my sisters. I also spent three months living in Arizona with another sister, exploring the Grand Canyon and the Southwest. I made money in Flagstaff doing architecture renderings on a freelance basis.

The architect I worked for in Manhattan trained me not only in drafting and rendering, but also in being a Project Manager. I traveled nationwide overseeing the construction of Laura Ashley stores. That is how I first came to Walnut Creek, as I was in charge of the shop construction in Broadway Plaza in the early 80s. Little did I know that I would land here!

What did you envision as your career path early on? Did things evolve as you expected? What has surprised you about your journey as an artist and who would you say provided you with the most inspiration?

In 1984 I married my husband, Don Rubenstein, and we moved across country both taking jobs in San Francisco. I worked for a San Francisco architect, and later an interior designer in Pacific Heights. As much as I liked drafting and rendering, my true love was always “fine art” (drawing, painting, and sculpture). Late in 1986 I took leave to have our first child. I loved being a stay-at-home Mom, and I was thrilled when our second child was born 18 months later. I took occasional night classes at Cal, and joined a studio in Alameda to paint from live models. It wasn’t until our third daughter was in kindergarten, that I took a painting class during the day. I remember seeing Wayne Thiebaud's painting in the mid 90’s and feeling a powerful spark of inspiration. Once I found Plein Air painting, I was hooked! I took classes with Pam Glover, from Orinda, for many years, and I’d say she was a wonderful influence in my life. More recently I have been inspired by the work and teaching of Timothy Horn. My favorite painters are mostly from California.

Larry’s Truck, 2009

Let’s focus on your current work. You are becoming very famous through your amazing murals, especially in our local community. Share with us how murals became a focal point for your work and tell us about some of your projects.

While my girls were in Pleasant Hill Elementary School, I taught after school enrichment classes. One class I named Mobile Murals, where we painted on large sheets of paper and lined them up to create a band or strip mural. Then we painted on boards. The following class was a mural class where we tackled an eight foot high by 60 foot wide outdoor wall. It grew from there --- five murals at Pleasant Hill Elementary, four at College Park High School, two at Fair Oaks, one at Mt. Diablo Adult School, one at Ygnacio Valley High School, and two at Valley View Middle School --- until now there are 22 in the community! I love working with the students, collaborating on ideas and images and techniques. The murals have included not only the work of very talented artists, but kids and adults who have never picked up a brush! It is a labor of love that unites us while we paint, and creates a wonderful sense of ownership and pride.

Sylvie’s mural in progress; behind Sweet Tomatoes in Pleasant Hill, 2008

Browsing through your website, I was interested to note how many different styles and areas of interest you embrace. Is this evolutionary, or do you simultaneously work on many different projects?

Like many artists, I am inspired by so much of my environment --- from a rolling landscape, to a pair of my daughter’s platform shoes lying in the hallway. The other thrilling challenge is to capture light and shadow. I work simultaneously on many projects because I am both scattered and focused at the same time! I don’t really see myself as having a “style” --- I just do what comes naturally. Every time I get behind the wheel of my car, I scan the landscapes looking for light and shadow patterns, figuring out how I would mix that color tree, taking mental pictures to sketch when I get home. In other words, you might want to stay away from me while I'm driving!

Emma’s Platform Shoes, 2011

In addition to your beautiful murals, you are also known as a teacher. Tell us about how students find you and what you hope to inspire in them. What is your teaching style and what ages do you work with? How do you help each student find their own unique “voice?”

All of my students come to me by word of mouth. Generally the work of my students is my best advertising! I teach children seven years and up, and adults year round. I work on drawing, painting (watercolor and acrylic), some model making, along with clay sculpture. My hope is to help my students “see” the world around them, while exploring their individual passion and vision. I don’t have a generic set of lessons; I try to tailor my lessons to connect with the student’s interests, all the while teaching the basics of color, composition, and techniques. It is through teaching that I get to share my deep love of art and plant the seed in the next generation!

You are married to a great guy, Don Rubenstein, and have three amazing daughters. How did you and Don meet? How have you successfully blended the challenges of being a wife, stay-at-home Mom all the while staying true to and focused on your own artistic passions?

Don and I will celebrate our 27^th anniversary this June. He has always been my closest friend (since five years before our marriage). We went to the same high school in New York, but didn’t really know each other until my sister introduced us in our college years. We married in ’84 and decided to move to California with every intention of returning East once we started a family. The Bay Area captured our hearts and we now can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Golden Hills of Cambria, California, 2010

There is a constant inner voice in me that hungers for more time to paint my own work. I am finding that time more as our girls become independent. I see my life in stages. While I stayed home to raise our daughters, the inner voice was more of a whisper, maybe because it wasn't quite the right time. Parenting is a work of art in itself!

Do you think any of your children will follow in your footsteps?

All three of our daughters have distinct natural artistic talent. It is thrilling for us to watch it develop. Our daughter Katelyn can draw beautifully. Annie went to UC Davis for Interior Architecture and Emma is soon graduating from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. It is one of life’s greatest gifts for me to share my passion with my girls.

What’s next for you as an artist, Sylvie? And are there any other things you’d like to share with us?

I just took an online workshop on opening your studio to the public. I am working on pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and learning about marketing myself. I have also been a P.E.O. member of Chapter SB, Moraga, for 12 years. I have held the Vice President position for the past three years. As mentioned in one of your previous blogs, this organization is made up of women helping women to further their education with grants, scholarships and loans. Some of my dearest friendships have been made through P.E.O.

I think many readers are going to be so happy to know the artist behind the beautiful murals they see every day! If they are interested in viewing your work, or talking with you in person, what’s the best way to reach you both on-line and in person?

My work can be seen on my website: www.sylviecarr.com. My phone number is 925/451-2284 and my email address is: rubecarr@sbcglobal.net I am happy to hear from any of your readers!

Crockett Hills, California, 2007

After reading about Sylvie and enjoying her fantastic art that she has shared with us, I think you’ll agree that she is a truly remarkable talent of our times. I encourage any of you budding artists out there to contact her and treat yourself or a loved one to some time and classes with her. For those of us who are “art impaired” (ME!) but who appreciate the beauty of lovely works such as hers, enjoy her website and perhaps contact her to acquire something for yourself. A great way to celebrate spring!

Life in a 3D World: Featuring John Ballou

Those of you who have worked with me for many years know that I am not at all beyond using my family mercilessly as examples of everything from the trials and tribulations of living within a budget to how to blow that same budget while raising kids! And of course who features prominently in many of my tales but my tirelessly supportive husband, John.

John was the co-founder of what was once known as Ballou Financial Group. Playing the role of Chief Technology Officer (aka the person who kept Lynn from throwing her computer out the window during numerous moments of frustration and sheer disgust!) and General Handyman, he was the guy who told me I could do this --- go out on my own and succeed --- and never gave me a moment’s worry that we couldn’t survive the long hours and hard work launching one’s own firm really takes. So, in honor of the first anniversary of our Blog, I’d like to feature the firm’s very first client, my husband, John Ballou.

John and I actually met at UCLA, a story he often denies since he went on to graduate from Cal, but hey, I have pictures! He did leave UCLA after a couple of years, migrated to Cal, and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Going to college with John was pretty irritating in a lot of ways. Typical evening: I study my brains out, putting in long hours at the library etc; John thumbs through a book while partying and listening to Procol Harum (or some such group). Next day, we take the same test --- I do okay, John aces it. Sigh…..there isn’t much point in competing with someone for whom everything in school is both interesting as well as relatively easy, who has a photographic memory, perfect pitch, is a natural athlete, blah blah blah --- well, you get the point.

So as I launch into this Blog you’ll understand that there are many things about John that I could choose to feature. Since this is a Blog and not a novel, I decided to narrow this down to John’s passion of 3D photography (with a little bit of remote controlled airplanes thrown in --- you’ll see what I mean shortly) and his life-long love affair with music.

John with his remote control in hand. This photo was taken on 7/13/98. This was his first flight with a camera on board. He took the picture by activating a servo through the transmitter that he’s holding. The inset on the lower right is a self-portrait that he took during the flight.

You were really early to the table with 3D photography, John --- seemingly one of the first of our contemporaries to embrace it. How did 3D come about?

Actually 3D vision was first described by the great geometer, Euclid, many centuries ago. (Editor’s note: I warned you, irritatingly bright….) The first person to build a viewing system was a physicist, Charles Wheatstone. The most popular viewer was made by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. in around 1860, and was immensely popular. Many 3D photographs from the Civil War to the present day are still in existence, and can be found on E-Bay. My introduction to 3D photography was through the “Viewmaster” with quite a few reels of 3D pictures. My maternal grandmother had a large collection of these reels, which are now in my possession.

One of John’s best aerial photographs taken from a remote controlled airplane.

Not only are you a “normal” 3D photographer, but you also actually build remote controlled airplanes, strap 3D cameras to them, and fly them up, successfully snapping some amazing photographs from otherwise inaccessible locations. What made you think of that?

My path to becoming a 3D photographer was somewhat accidental. Around 1998 I started experimenting with R/C (remote controlled) gliders. After many crashes and repairs, I became proficient enough to control a glider and often land it without major damage. At that point, I decided to mount a point-and-shoot 35mm camera on a glider just to take aerial photographs. I began to become more proficient at flying such that I was able to use “thermals,” (rising columns of air) to gain enough altitude to get some pretty spectacular photographs. However I was limited in locations that I could launch to even have a chance to catch a thermal. At this time, electric powered R/C aircraft were becoming less expensive and lighter, so that it was practical to construct a platform on which to mount a digital camera, which saved a lot of money on developing 35mm film. I built about six different models until I found a combination that would provide the altitude, stability, maneuverability, and glide characteristics that would produce decent aerial photography. On these aircraft it was important to reduce drag. This made it necessary to mount the camera so that it pointed to the side and a little down.

After one particular flight in which I took pictures about every two seconds, I reviewed the pictures at a rate of about one a second. While doing this, I thought I saw two identical pictures in succession. After stopping the slideshow, reviewing the photos revealed that they were not identical, but covered roughly the same view. A light went on in my head, and I put both pictures on the screen next to each other, and crossed my eyes. I saw three images, but the one in the middle was 3D! This was so exciting that I stayed up until about 3:30 a.m. looking for other pairs of pictures from the archives.

Award winning photograph: Flags, Berkeley Kite Festival. To view this 3D picture, use the same technique that the “Magic Eye” books use. Relax your eyes, or look off into the distance until you see three images. The one in the middle will be 3D. If you feel eyestrain or a headache coming on, stop. Just enjoy the photo as it is.

To view some of my 3D photography, check out: http://home.comcast.net/~jlballou/stereoaerial/

Not only are you a photographer in this medium, but you also are very active in the Oakland Camera Club. Tell us about your involvement with this art form: what type of equipment is needed, how you decide what to photograph, your connection with this organization, and your recent awards.

Actually, I was the Oakland Camera Club president for five years, but my responsibilities now are just as important: I’m the projectionist! As you can guess, projecting 3D images is a little different than just firing up a projector and a laptop and enjoying the show. The accomplishment that I’ll remember the most is bringing in new members to the club and getting them started on becoming 3D photographers, but another important one was putting together the club’s digital 3D projection system.

Barrie Bieler, a 3D photographer with over 50 years of experience, helped me in many ways to develop my skills in 3D photography. He encouraged me to enter Exhibitions recognized by the PSA (Photographic Society of America), and taught me what I needed to know to become the Chairman of the Oakland International 3D Exhibition. Since first competing in 2006, my entries have earned me a three-star rating, recognition for the Digital 3D Picture of the Year in 2008, four Gold Medals, and many other Medals and Honorable Mentions in Exhibitions around the world.

For equipment, many “newbie” 3D photographers are choosing the products offered by Fujifilm. Please see the following Wikipedia entry for links to information on these cameras: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujifilm_FinePix_Real_3D_series

Currently, my camera bag has three pairs of cameras in it. First, a pair of 4MP Samsung cameras that I opened up and wired the shutters together. (Warning: flash units can deliver a nasty shock: only do this if you are an experienced electronics person). This camera is good for slow-moving things because it is not well synchronized. Second, I have a pair of Canon SD100IS cameras that are synchronized through a hack that is available as freeware from “Stereo Data Maker.” http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/sdm/index.htm

This website contains the information necessary to build yourself a system that is more flexible than the Fuji, but be aware that flexibility breeds complexity, which means your results will vary.

Lastly, I have a pair of Canon XTi 10MP DSLRs. They are heavy, difficult to set up in a hurry, but can take spectacular pictures. Oh, and none of these cameras go up in the airplanes. I use cheaper cameras for that!

Big Sur as taken from one of John’s remote controlled airplanes.

Now we seem to see 3D this and 3D that--- everywhere, movies, TV, new game consoles, etc. Are you surprised at how prevalent and accepted 3D has become? What do you think is next for this particular viewing form?

The way I look at this market is this: When the studios started making 3D movies (starting with Chicken Little, I think), there was a little too much “waving stuff in the audience’s face.” While this gets a good reaction from kids (and adults too, for a few times), I see it as being rude. Since then, I think that the directors are trying to use 3D as a way of immersing the viewer into the story and drawing them more directly into the story being told. Examples of this are “UP,” “Coraline,” and “Avatar.” All three of those were box office successes, and did not rely on gimmicks for their success, but were built on solid storylines, character development, and compelling themes, while using 3D only to augment a strong story.

As far a display technology, everyone is looking for a passive system, which means one in which the viewer does not have to wear glasses. There are some systems that allow viewing without glasses (the Fuji cameras have such a display built-in), but current systems cannot be viewed by more than 2 or 3 people at once. I am sure that a lot of smart people are working on this, and I look forward to seeing what they can provide in the future.

Just one more comment: I am in favor of “active” systems. By this, I mean that the systems that they put together should be accessible to people who want to create their own content (pictures, movies, animation, etc.) and be able to share them. From what I’ve been able to learn about the current display systems, that has not started yet.

You are also an accomplished musician. How did your love of music start and how was it nurtured? Have you always been able to pursue your music? What instruments do you play?

My parents were both musical, and music played an important part in my early life. My dad built a “hi-fi” set from scratch, and used it to tune into classical and jazz music (KJAZ came on the air when I was 5, and my dad often tuned to it). So both those kinds of music were put deeply into my brain. I started playing piano when I was about 3 or 4, with piano lessons. When I stopped taking piano lessons, I played the trombone in the high school band and the local Junior College Jazz Band. By my sophomore year, I was playing lead trombone. As a senior, I received a trophy for an improvised Jazz Solo by Mundell Lowe, a jazz guitarist. I gave up playing the piano for a time during high school, but picked it up again, and I’m still playing it now. Rock and roll also came into the picture in high school, and the band I was part of performed at a rock concert as a warm-up group for Crabby Appleton.

John with his two littlest musical prodigies, Meredith and Nick!

Whether we admit it or not, I think we each do have a kind of “bucket list” for our lives. I know that one of yours has always been to play in a top notch jazz band, have your own music played live, and also to perform at Yoshi’s. Last March, all of these things came true for you all in one night! Tell us about your current band, how you write original music and arrange music. What was it like for you to have all three dreams come true in one night?

Yes, that was a special night, the culmination of a lot of hard work and practice. What I’ll remember the most is how hard the rest of the band worked on performing my newest composition, “Tropic Breeze,” that night at Yoshi’s. What really topped it off is that our director used the song as the closer for our final concert of that semester, in which the band surpassed their performance at Yoshi’s.

The band is the DVC Night Jazz Band, and we’re performing at Yoshi’s next Tuesday, March 29th, with two shows; 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Phil Woods, an excellent alto saxophonist, will be our guest artist. Rory Snyder, our director, has scheduled my arrangement of “Lady Bird” as the second number in the second set. Here’s a link to a YouTube video of the band from last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYbCD9WdGTI

If someone reading this is interested in learning more about 3D photography, what should they do?

Come to a meeting of the Oakland Camera Club! See http://oaklandcameraclub.org for details.

So, as you can all see, life in my home is never boring! As one of my questions to John I asked him “So, what’s next in your basket of hobbies and interests?” He didn’t answer me, so maybe that’s just as well, right? I mean, why spoil the surprise!

So I hope you have enjoyed sharing a slice of our life and that you can now understand why I say I have three kids, and not two! If you can come by Yoshi’s next Tuesday night and listen to the fabulous band, come up and say hi to John between sets! And last but not least, be sure to check out the links he’s provided about 3D photography in this Blog. If you are interested in learning more, John’s agreed to be available at: http://www.blogger.com/jlballou@comcast.net

Wishing you much joy with all of YOUR passions and pursuits!

Featuring the multi-talented Jim Hale

Jim and Jacquie Hale have been in my life since the early 80s --- days of visiting clients at their homes while preparing their income taxes. Both are amazing, with an incredible variety and scope of interests and talents that make my head spin trying to keep up! We’ll definitely feature Jacquie in an upcoming Blog, but I really wanted to focus on Jim, newly “re-retired” as he’ll point out, and back to working full time in music, much to the delight of his many fans. Here’s a chance to have one on one time with a local musical artist of world renowned fame, who defines retirement as a time to pursue one’s passions without pause.

Jim, you are an accomplished musician, especially well known as a singer. Tell us a bit about growing up with that talent, how your musicality impacted your educational path after high school, and who your early influences were.

Music has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was singing harmony with my brothers not long after I learned to talk. I started talking at a late age. As I explained to my mom when I finally came out with a sentence and she asked why I hadn’t spoken before, “Up until now, I did not need to talk – everything was fine.”

My first big influence was the Everly Brothers. I could never get enough of singing in harmony. I would add a third part to all the Everly tunes as I played them on our 45 rpm turntable. My brother Steve and I got our first guitars when I was 10 and all three brothers, Steve, Larry, and I, won 2nd place in the first (and last) “annual” Hemet, California, Amateur Talent Contest singing “Bye, Bye, Love.” (On the trophy, the engraver spelled it “amature.”)

At Pomona College I majored in math, but when I heard the men’s glee club sing I realized that I really wanted to be part of that. This connected me to the music department, and during my sophomore year I switched my major to music. I also switched my musical focus to Monteverdi, Bach, Brahms, and especially Schubert. To me, Schubert’s lieder were the pinnacle of artistic achievement. When I discovered that Schubert played guitar (classical guitar was my specific major) I also discovered that the piano accompaniment for many of his songs fit the guitar rather easily, so I could do Schubert lieder all by myself, which I have done many times.

Walk us through your life’s musical journey including the wide variety of groups you’ve belonged to and performed and recorded with. What are your most memorable performances and groups?

In high school my brother Steve and I helped put together some folk groups which gave us an opportunity to perform at the Palladium in Hollywood and at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which had just opened. At Custom Fidelity studios in Pasadena we recorded a 45 rpm single of a tune I wrote. The session was produced by Clarence Treat of the New Christy Minstrels, one of our favorite musical acts (along with Peter, Paul, and Mary, The Kingston Trio, Bud and Travis, and the Limelighters).

During college I played electric guitar with the City Lights rock band in L.A. Coincidentally, this band also recorded with Custom Fidelity, and through that I got to do a session at the home of Alex Hassilev, bass player for the Limelighters (small world). My next major musical endeavor was a men’s trio, the Troubies (short for Troubadours) all Pomona grads. We sang English madrigals on the streets of San Francisco and got invited to:

• A wedding in Roaring Camp – they rented the entire park and later flew us to Encino for a follow-up reception,
• An ‘orgy’ in Nevada – really just a toga party,
• A celebrity golf banquet at Harvey’s Casino in Tahoe.

One of the Troubies got married – to a Pomona woman, of course -- and we were off to Europe as the Quatuor Vocal de Berkeley – posters, tee-shirts, and everything. We managed to mount a full concert for the mayor and about 1,000 citizens in the Mairie (town hall) of Brussels. During my stay in Belgium, I met my future wife, Jacquie. When I returned to California, Jacquie soon followed.

The Troubies (Jim Hale on the left)

Since I’ve known you for these many years, pursuing music has been more of an avocation rather than your main vocation. Tell us about your “other” professional career. How were you able to carve out the flexibility in your schedule to pursue your musical interests and continue to develop your incredible talent?

Up until this point I had supported my music with part-time work in computer microfilm, but when I got back to California I decided to make it my career – the old math major resurfaces. Music took a back seat, and getting to retirement while putting two girls through college took priority. My computer work parlayed into MRI research at UCSF, which I stayed with for 24 years. Our financial planning (thanks, Lynn) got me to be able to retire at a fairly young age, and although the recent crash forced me back to MRI work for another two years. I am now once again retired.

Meanwhile, although music has been an avocation, it has remained an important part of my life. Thanks to the relative flexibility of my research job, I continued to take voice lessons and eventually joined the Pacific Mozart Ensemble (PME) – through a Pomona friend, naturally. PME is a semi-professional chorus with singers like me who have day jobs and have to juggle their schedules. 23 years later I am still singing with this group.

With PME I have created hundreds of a cappella arrangements and compositions for our annual Jazz and Pop show. We have done two tours of France and performed in such places as:

• Notre Dame de Chartres
• Zellerbach Hall with Kent Nagano many times, including the west coast premiere of Messiaen’s St. François D’Assise (I had a small solo)
• Zellerbach Hall with indie rock star Sufjan Stevens
• Masonic Auditorium with Andy Williams and Bobby McFerrin (two different concerts, thank goodness!)
• Carnegie Hall with Meredith Monk and Björk
• Philharmonic Hall in Berlin (Nagano again) where I had a solo and we got a Grammy nomination for the recording

A PME spin-off group I helped create was the a cappella quintet Clockwork. We twice won the regional Harmony Sweepstakes and placed second and third in the finals. For me, the peak Clockwork moment was singing at Birdland in New York and being asked to do an encore. We also worked with vocal jazz legends Phil Mattson and Kirby Shaw.

Clockwork with the Birdland MC (third from left) -- that's me on the left

What musical endeavors are you working on now?

Another PME spin-off (and still spinning) is the Spuddle Brothers, a (sort of) blue-grass quartet. I have begun learning the mandolin and lap steel guitar and have revived my banjo chops from my high school days. We are more intent on having fun than being seriously professional (as opposed to Clockwork), although we do have our standards. We are writing some original tunes in addition to arranging some surprising covers (Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello). So far, singing on the streets of Berkeley and doing a few open mic evenings around the Bay Area are the extent of our public performing.

Spuddles with me on banjo

What do you see for the future of the arts, such as yours? These very hard economic times have affected so many artists profoundly, and not typically well.

Many of my friends have careers in music, most of them as educators. They tell me that music and other arts are the first casualties of economic decline. My own group, PME, has seen a significant decline in donations both from individuals and foundations. As politics swing from right to left to right, organizations such as the NEA hang in the balance. Pop music tends to survive these swings, but other music, like, say, Schubert, does not do so well.

Like so many people, Jim, you are facing some health challenges. Do you mind sharing those with us, and tell us how they are impacting the choices you are making in your life now? You recently retired, and so I’m wondering if that will affect your future choices in pursuing your beloved avocation?

These two questions bring up some related issues. It is inevitable that aging affects the ability to do music. The joints get stiff, the voice loses its flexibility and clarity, and my eyes aren’t what they used to be. I know I cannot keep doing this forever. Thus, although I do have more time for music now, Jacquie and I are thinking about the fact that we both love to travel and will likely shift our priorities in that direction while we can still enjoy it to its fullest.

A compounding factor is the current repair project on our house. The noise makes it difficult to practice, arrange, or compose. As I write this, hammers and drills are blasting away at the wall in my “second” office. My “first” office has no floor. As the other Jim says in last month’s Blog, don’t try to live in your house during a renovation!

I know our readers will want to hear you perform or snag one of your CDs. Where will you be performing? Can we keep up with you on-line? And how can we acquire past CDs?

You can find photos, sound clips, and upcoming concerts (where you can buy CDs) at www.pacificmozart.org. The Spuddle Brothers have a presence at www.reverbnation.com which you can find through Google. We just did open mic night at the Starry Plough on Feb. 22 and are hoping to do open mic night at Freight and Salvage in March.

Jim and Jacquie on the slopes

Jim’s story reminds us, I think, of the incalculable importance, not to mention rewards, of keeping up with one’s passions and not letting even a moment of life slip by unintentionally. My family was fortunate to catch him at the (then) brand new Cal Shakes Amphitheatre in Orinda. His solo performance of “The Rose” was stirring and gave us all goose bumps! I hope you have a chance to catch him live, or recorded. A true treat! Jim has also agreed to chat with anyone who is interested by email. You can reach him as follows: jim.hale47@sbcglobal.net Many thanks, Jim, for sharing such a personal view of your life and times.