GIVE HIM A MASK, AND HE WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH

“MAN IS LEAST HIMSELF WHEN HE TALKS IN HIS OWN PERSON. GIVE HIM A MASK, AND HE WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH.” -OSCAR WILD Nothing could be more true for an artist whether they are an actor, musician, painter, sculptor or author. Having experienced performance in all of these areas accept sculpting, I would have to say that allowing yourself to be vulnerable behind a mask is often times one of the hardest steps for an artist to take, and yet, the results can be the most rewarding. I remember the jitters before going on stage. I also remember how everything seemed to go blank in my mind right before I went on stage, but once I was there, it all came out. The lines and the rehearsals were lost as the first contact with the live crowd opened something up inside of me that was beyond the role that I was playing. I remember hearing and feeling their energy and their breathing. It was actually amazing to me how each crowd had its own personality and my character would change ever so slightly to meet the challenge of the different audiences. I also remember walking off of the stage completely exhausted, sometimes bursting into tears because I had opened myself up completely and left myself on the stage. I remember the discomfort of waiting for comments from others as they looked at my water color paintings and wondering if the comment that they gave me were honestly what they thought when they saw them, or if they were being polite. I made it through each and every one of these performances, losing myself in the character or the media in order to set the crazy, pent up person out for others to see. However, none of these things hold a candle to the intimacy that comes from inside of an author as he expresses thoughts and feelings in such a way that the reader holds the fate of his soul in his hands and turns each page to critique him. It is often a silent and intimate response that will influence and affect the reader for years to come. The responsibility is as heavy as the revelation. Therefore, often times, moving past the fears and insecurities and finishing a book is the hardest art to perform. Having said these things, I place the mask on my face and present to you the first four episodes of "The Wolf of the Highlands", now available on Amazon. The Wolf of the Highlands on Amazon

COMING SOON!!!! from Bella Colombiana Publishing

COMING SOON!!!! Bella Colombiana Publishing presents "Zipaquirá" by Bel Bedoya. This is book one in "The Belle of Colombia Series" Set in the struggle for the independence of Colombia, this book and series paints a portrait of love and turmoil as a nation and its people struggle for independence.

ZIPAQUIRA': As the struggle for independence has New Granada (Colombia), in the turmoil of revolution, Maribel faces her own inner turmoil. She has given her heart to a commander of the revolutionary forces (Santiago), who has marched away from Zipaquirá with its youth eager to meet the Royal Forces of Spain, advancing from both the north and south toward the plain of Santa Fe de Bogota. As the conflict rages on around them, Maribel and Santiago struggle to bring to life their love and their dream of a building a home together.

Muy Antioqueno

One of the things that I love about my new home is the Antioqueno Heritage. This past Monday, Sandra and I took a trip up into the mountains to the pueblo of Santa Elena. I felt so at home with the wind “whispering” in the pine trees and the crisp clean air that it was somewhat disappointing to go back down into the valley and back into the city.

Let me explain further. I am from a small town in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and grew up listening to the wind whispering in the pine trees and the gentle quaking of the aspen trees, which my father called “quakies” for as long as I can remember. Our little trip started off as kind of a research project for a children’s book that I’m writing called, “Huey and the Parade of Flowers”. The historical background for the story was to see firsthand how they make the silletas (literally a chair that is carried on the back with a strap across the forehead and shoulders), which they use to carry flowers in the parade on the last Sunday of the Flower Fair of Medellin. While visiting one of the fincas (small farm), and getting a great presentation about the work that they did in order to create the silletas covered in flowers that would be carried in the parade, we ran across this already finished silleta. My wife insisted that I take a picture with it. “You are muy antioqueno,” she said. I gave her my one eye-brow raised look, which is multi-lingual and did as I was told, wearing the poncho that we had bought in Santa Elena folded properly over my shoulder. Later, I came to understand the significance of what she was telling me by placing me in front of that particular silleta. The Antioquenos (more commonly referred to today as Paisas), were the mountaineers and early settlers of the area around Medellin and the Department (state), of Antioquia. They were well known for their humble honesty and strong work ethic, something that reflects precisely the same attitude of the Gunnison country where I was raised. Therefore, in honor of my family, friends and heritage in Gunnison, as well as, in honor of the Antioquenos of my new home, I stand with my cowboy hat and poncho combining the symbols of the two.