That trip led to more trips, including a week-long private salon with Christensen. So I flew to Idaho and immersed myself in the world of plein air painting. Christensen, a landscape painting master whose work I admire. My wife convinced me to use vacation time and take a painting workshop with Scott L. That’s when I gave up editorial cartooning and turned to landscape painting. And the police chief said, “Weiss, either you become a cartoonist or a police sergeant. Folks who disagreed with my cartoons began calling the police chief to complain. I used to moonlight as an editorial cartoonist for local newspapers when I was a police sergeant, but soon everyone knew who I was. Of course, I worked with great people, but the stress was always there.ĭuring this time, I started painting in oils. It’s one thing to be responsible for yourself, and quite another to be responsible for others.īy the time I promoted to Lieutenant, I was in charge of half the police department, which included personnel, equipment, budget issues, and community relations. And for me, the stress grew exponentially as I rose in the ranks. Unfortunately, police work is a dangerous and stressful profession. Sometimes we stumbled, but for the most part, we kept our community safe and served with integrity. I’m proud of the work my colleagues and I did to help people over the years, from accident and crime victims to folks struggling on the margins of society. I spent twenty-six years in the law enforcement profession, serving the last ten as Chief of Police. How do we escape all this? How do we undo the damage of haste, or at least find a reliable sanctuary to periodically restore our spirit?įor me, the answer is a creative practice. We are deluged with emails, texts, notifications, information, deadlines, and the crush of endless responsibilities and commitments. It’s always with us, maybe more so in this age of instant communication and persistent modernity. Just when we feel ourselves finally slowing down, the trip is over and we reenter the rat race. Vacations offer a kind of refuge, but their therapeutic value is spoiled by their impermanence. But companies shut down, layoffs happen, and the pace of technological change leaves many scrambling to keep up. Even our children, who most of us love unconditionally, can move away (physically and sometimes emotionally).Ĭareers give us some financial security and a sense of purpose and/or achievement. Relationships offer solace, but they can be capricious and unreliable, as evidenced by infidelity, divorce, and death. Our homes come close when no one rings the doorbell and we can catch our breath before the next rent check or taxes are due.
We don’t get many reliable sanctuaries from the indignities and relentless pace of life.
0 kommentar(er)
