j/c

This is one of the most uplifting personal stories we've had in quite some time, and it couldn't have happened to a more deserving person... and I use the word 'deserving' intentionally.

Over some years, I've been lucky enough to watch Our Dawg Portland through pretty much every step in his journey. It's been an education for me, because I'm not professionally attached to his vein of the Arts scene. Nonetheless, each branch of the Arts requires certain attributes from its (successful) practitioners:

1. Passion. The motivation/inspiration must come from an absolute fascination and affinity for the art form. And it must come from within. It must be the North Star that drags you through the truly tough times, when the work is hard and the rewards are few. Tons of talented people leave the calling when they hit this wall... and The Wall is in the path of every single person who has ever wanted to do Art.

2. Discipline. To have the fortitude and wherewithal to do the boring, daily stuff that builds the foundation- but feels like meaningless grunt work. Discipline is that trait which compels the person to do the ugly, daily work even on days when the calling feels like a thankless chore. I still work to refine my bow strokes, after 48 years of following this calling, and I know that Portland still works to make the most seamless, natural-looking, invisible welds on his large-scale steel projects. Did he tell me this himself? No. He didn't have to. I've seen his work, and I've heard him wax eloquent about the process when he's in the shop. It's a common trait in this community. The passion, discipline and dedication shows up in attention to the details, while everyone else is gobsmacked at the big-scale final result.

3. Stubbornness. When "the entire world" is telling the person that "This is stupid- noone wants to see/hear/experience something this weird..." "What makes you think you can do this, when so many others couldn't?" "This isn't a real job. How are you gonna feed yourself offa something like this?" Many times, those 'bad birds' chirping in the person's ear are the voices (s)he has heard the most: family, neighbors, 'friends'... folks who perhaps mean well, but simply do not understand the drive, passion and dedication that compels a person to reach inside himself to find that thing he NEEDS to share with others.

I was lucky. I found My Voice when I was 9 years old. I was raised by two parents who not only told me, but actually believed that "You can become anything you want to be, with hard work, a plan, and the spine to make it happen." They found a support system (through the public/state school system and local Arts community) that nurtured me through the exacting process required to make a living in an incredibly competitive field. My passion was allowed to be realized by a farm system that had been set up for me, and other kids who grabbed a musical instrument in elementary school.

Portland had no such organized support system. He had to:
Find his voice
Find his purpose
Find his people
Find his path...

...all on his own.

Although I deeply appreciate his kind words in his OP, I see it as my responsibility to The Arts World to send Portland his well-earned flowers... and to project to us all what we can aspire to.
He's Dawgtalker's current reigning OG of YOLO.

He is deserving of our deepest level of respect.
I look up to him as an inspiration- and the role model for my next chapter, after I retire from this institutionalized professional thing I've been doing for almost 40 years.

(my side hustle has been funk/jazz-inspired improvisatory/experimental jam music)

________________


And hats off to any and all of our other Dawgs who pursue/share their artistic passion. Those who choose studio music, painting, nature photography, [insert your passion here]. When you find the courage to share what moves you the most, you bring our community closer together. Our passions are what make us known to each other. We've all been brought together by our shared love for a professional football team... but we are all so much more than that. I love that we have this place-this space where we can be more than just anonymous fans who high-five each other at the stadium when the Browns score in a game.

We each contain multitudes (see Walt Whitman for reference).
The exploration of those multitudes is what bonds us as friends... and breaks the bonds which limit our understanding of each other.

Do your passion.
Live your passion.
Share your passion.

It's the only way I can conceive of how a person could lie upon his deathbed with zero regrets.



.02,
clem.