Thought-Full Art Studio

A conversation...

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Long Hot Summer Ahead!

The Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts was great – and extremely hot! Normally that show is held in April when weather in Oklahoma is punctuated by cool evenings and occasional rain. It was a marathon to get through, and I am so grateful to all my former and new patrons who went out of their way to attend and purchase art!

For the first time in many years, I came back from my very short “art season” to a garden still in active production. I’m enjoying gathering in cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes! I do not have any other shows on my calendar at this time until Fall. I’ll post those dates when they become available.

With the rise of the Covid Delta Variant, numbers are again ticking up here in Texas and across the country. For us to beat this thing and get people safely back to work, make events as safe as possible, make school as safe as possible for teachers and our children, and to enjoy a Fall of true Thanksgiving and holiday blessings – we HAVE to work TOGETHER.

Please – if you have not been vaccinated – reconsider and take action. Getting vaccinated was the most personally liberating act for myself and my wife. Not only do we know that we are safer – we know that we are doing the best we can to help others remain safe. Nothing is “foolproof” and from the beginning, scientists have made it clear that these vaccines are about 95-99% effective against Covid 19. But, in addition, for those who do contract Covid and are fully vaccinated, hospitalization is typically not necessary and they can very often be treated at home.

At this time, over 95% of those being hospitalized are unvaccinated. The AVERAGE hospital stay for Covid patients is seven days. I don’t know if you have ever been hospitalized, but even without life-saving heroics such as ventilators and ICU care, the costs are prohibitive even if you are lucky enough to have insurance. This isn’t political. This is just good, basic science. God bless and I do hope we can have a Fall art season. It really does depend on people stepping up their game in regard to Covid.

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New Year – New Hope

Happy New Year 2021! I hope that you and those you love are remaining safe and well. My wife and I have been blessed to remain so and we are very hopeful about the vaccine. It is a bit of a delivery nightmare and I thank God I am not responsible for all that – I can only imagine the hurdles. But I am confident it will get sorted out. One thing I have learned over my many years is that while large organizations might have problems, there are numerous “little people” in the mix who are proud of their work and determined to get the job done. I have confidence those people will do their very best behind the scenes to get this delivery better organized.

This past year has been a terrible one in so many ways. We have not been immune from the heartache. But we also have had many blessings. My wife and I are enjoying time together and away from the “show circuit”. I have enjoyed working in my garden and tending to all those home repair and improvement activities I have had to neglect in the past. We miss our friends, going to church in person, and our son and daughter-in-law. We have had friends and acquaintances have to deal with Covid. We have friends who have suffered with other health concerns that had to take a back seat while hospitals are overrun and overburdened. But we remain hopeful that 2021 will bring relief on many fronts.

God bless you and I look forward to seeing you “on the trail” later this year or next, God willing.

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Shop Local/Shop Small

This holiday season, I want to encourage people to shop local/shop small. While the big online and big box stores have been a blessing during the pandemic – and we are all grateful for the services they provide – they are doing pretty well right now. That cannot be said of the countless local/small business operators/vendors/artists/craftspeople. Doors are closing that may never be opened again and we are going into a winter that looks like it is going to make the first wave of the pandemic a walk in the park by comparison.

Within your local community – your circle of friends and family – I am certain there are people who have small businesses. Please consider buying from them first this holiday season. The cheer you spread will not only be to those receiving the gift – but a welcome addition to the lives and dreams of those who are struggling so hard to stay afloat.

Not planning on giving? You are not alone! This year there are so many still without work and more may be out as cities try to get a handle on Covid-19. I urge you to fight against the fatigue of staying in/staying away. It stinks. Wearing a mask is a pain (sometimes literally). But EVERY generation comes up against a test of what they are made of.

Our grandparents had WWI and/or WWII (depending on your age). Some faced the horrific Flu Pandemic of the early 1900s. Our parents faced Korea, the polio epidemic, the Great Depression. More recently we have faced economic black holes, Vietnam, Desert Storm and related conflicts, the AIDs crisis. We have seen the horrors of terrorism in Oklahoma City, and in New York. Some of us have survived several of these crises.

We CAN get through this.

We WILL get through it one way or the other – but I hope that we can get through it with grace, humor, a sense of care and obligation to those around us – and push back on the very human urge to give in and give up and be selfish about what we “want” and think “we deserve”.

Shop local/shop small if you can. It helps. If you cannot shop these days, then just help your neighbor keep moving forward with a kind word, perhaps a helpful hand (masked and at a safe distance). We can all be mindful and thankful for the graces of each day. God bless and keep you and those you love.

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The Three Truths

According to several different dictionaries, the term “trumped up” was first used in 1728. It appears to have meant “to deceive or cheat”. It did not always have a completely evil connotation. It was also used to mean someone offering an “imaginative use of truth” (like a kid saying it was the monster under the bed that spilled his milk).

Today, truth often comes at a premium. Those speaking it can often be derided, even harmed, by those who are “unhappy” with facing that particular truth. Figuring out when we are being told or shown the truth – rather than the “Trumped Up Truth” is important.

This isn’t a political message. It is meant, like all my work, to spur your imagination and conversation. The “Plain Truth” is we all need to think a lot more about the life we live and the life we want to leave behind us. Happy musing!

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Video: Through the Curtain

A short video about my original “Through the Curtain”. This piece is available for $3000 (plus applicable sales tax). Due to the size it cannot be shipped. I can arrange personal delivery within a reasonable distance from the DFW area. Please use the Contact Us form if you have any questions/ are interested in purchasing.

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Stay Safe – Help Others Stay Safe

I’ve got a beard. I’ve had one for most of my adult life. In fact, my wife of 43 years has never seen me without one. So masks are not my favorite adornment. But I really want shows to open back up. I want my favorite suppliers to stay in business. I want my wife and I to stay out of the hospital and I want that for my friends, extended family, and my customers. So I wear a mask.

I know that there are a lot of conflicting messages out there – and especially when this all started. We shouldn’t be surprised. We haven’t had a pandemic in this country for several generations. But now we know. It makes a difference. Perfect solution? Absolutely not. We need more testing so we know who actually needs to remain quarantined and who can return safely to work, and a vaccine. But, in the meantime, wearing a mask helps. Washing our hands helps. Social distancing helps.

There are so many things I cannot do to help make this whole situation better. But I can do these three things without even blinking an eye or breaking into a sweat. So why would I NOT? The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is a whole lot easier to maintain outside a hospital.

Be safe and help others to be safe as well. Peace.

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Cottonwood Arts Festival News

Update – 7/18/2020 – Cottonwood Arts Festival Fall Show has been cancelled. We hope things will be better in 2021. Be safe and do your best to keep others safe as well.

C.J. Bradford

Festival leaders are trying hard to figure out how to plan in this environment of change. One festival that has been very active in keeping in touch and promoting artists in the DFW area is the Cottonwood Arts Festival team.

I have been blessed to be part of this festival most years since 1985. I am very honored that they are highlighting my work on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CottonwoodArtFestival/videos/197180664714693

There is a special promotion for the month of June so I encourage you to visit their page and come back to shop!

I hope that you remain safe and well. I miss seeing you and interacting with you. I especially miss hearing the stories from young and old about how they are trying to explore art themselves. I look forward to seeing you down the road.

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Documentary Video

I’ve been really blessed in the last few weeks – in many ways. While I miss my art show community and the opportunity to interact with customers, I’ve found some times of real joy and peace working in my garden.

I’ve always planted lots of flowers and have had a vegetable garden since I had my first home. But typically I plant the garden in early spring and then am in a mad dash to shows, with only a couple of weeks of free time here and there. So my garden would start out lovely and by the time the shows settled down, they were overgrown, weary, sun baked.

But this year I’ve had the opportunity to really enjoy Spring for the first time in nearly 40 years. I realize that this time is absolutely horrendous on a national scale, and I would gladly give up my garden time to be back selling art and knowing that those I care about are safe from a pandemic and economic ruin. But we look for small blessings in this midst of these kinds of events and I am truly grateful for the vegetables now coming out in my little “patch”.

Also during this time, a long awaited documentary of my work has now been made available. Ms. Sissel Anderson is a college student who does extraordinary film work. She chose me as a project for a competition. She and her team worked tirelessly over many weeks to put this together. I’m so excited that she won 3rd place in the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association for Excellence in Texas Collegiate Journalism! Below is a link to her YouTube. I have also posted the video on my Facebook Page

A Documentary by Sissel Anderson

I know we are going to see/hear more about Sissel in the years to come. Hope you enjoy the video!

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Stay Safe

All spring shows have been cancelled. While several hope to reschedule in the Fall, we won’t know for some time. My prayer is that each of you remain safe and can avoid this disease.

My wife and I are practicing shelter in place. We are grateful for the world of technology that allows us to stay in contact with friends and family by telephone, email, and virtual meetings. I hope that you are finding ways to stay connected.

To the health professionals, first responders, and the many people who are continuing to work in essential businesses, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Your service is critical for us to get through this. We know that an unprecedented number of people are suffering terrible economic issues and that is heart breaking.

We are going to beat this thing. We must practice social distancing and do our very best when we must get out to protect ourselves – and to protect others – by respecting the laws of science in regard to this virus. The more we do this, the quicker this will be over and the faster we can all get back together and work to rebuild what has been lost and damaged.

God bless you and keep you during this time.

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Enjoying Down Time

One of the great things about being a working artist is that there are times when I can take a breather and do some of the other things that give me great pleasure. One of those things is working in my yard.

Lately, I’ve been working on streamlining the amount of time it takes to keep up with all my plantings. I enjoy having plants that “take care of themselves”. With all the varying weather conditions in Texas, it can take some time to figure out which ones can survive the heat and drought, which require “weathering” in the winter, and which are simply unsuited. This year I’ve been focusing on adding some “native” plantings.

When I draw, I pull a lot of my gardening work into my imagery. There are almost always plants, flowers, or trees in almost all my work. God’s creativity is boundless and it is a joy to plant something and watch it grow and thrive. I’m grateful that God gives us this bit of insight into how He must feel all the time.