Happy March.

I am currently running the spell check and finishing up this letter in my hotel as I prepare to travel back to the southwest from my fire assignment in central Florida. This month was composed of contemplations, moments of ah-ha’s and hmm’s, initial attacks, tick avoidance, ash pits, the smell of 2 stroke and smoke, prepackaged food, humidity, freshly planted fruit trees, and over exaggerated stories.

At the beginning of the month, I attended a leadership staff ride at the Pea Ridge Civil War battle site in Bentonville Arkansas. I have to say that was probably one of the best training I have been able to be a part of. The proctors were retired Marine officers with their own experiences and philosophies of leadership on top of being civil war experts. The battlefield was the backdrop used to facilitate the conversations around leadership and personal development. If you know me at all, I love this kind of stuff. It felt good to be reaffirmed that I am on the right path and even better to know that there is a lot I still need to work on. Feedback and self reflections, my jam.

March was also a month of reading about some extraordinary outliers of humanity. Poor Charlie’s Almanac by Charles T Munger is a brief biography but mostly a collection of speeches from Charlie himself. Charlie was Co-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and through his “reasonable” approach to life’s problems and the use of mental models, Charlie explains how he believes one can live a prosperous and meaningful life. He was adamant that the fundamental laws of nature, such as thermodynamics, inertia and momentum, psychology, mathematics, biology etc don’t stop at the classroom door. Something like why habits can be so hard to change and break. We have years of momentum and beliefs behind them. It’s not as simple as just stopping but it will take time to slow them down and change direction. Another one of his favorites was inversion. He would start by asking, “how can I guarantee failure? Alright, well I will just avoid doing that. Tons of gems and a reminder that I have some brushing up I do.

The other awesome book was about Charlie Munger’s role model, Benjamin Franklin, an American Life by Walter Isaacson. What a character. I found myself literally laughing out loud with his wit and quotes (so many good ones).  He was a forward thinker and an individual who was so charismatic, articulate, individualistic, inventive, curious and motivated that he found himself helping write the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and helped found the United States. He was not without his faults and was influenced by the era and beliefs of the day, but he was always looking to improve not just what was around him but himself as well. “Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome [pride], I should probably be proud of my humility.” Definitely a great read to gain a better understanding of what was happening at the time from the perspective of one of the founding fathers and also for some surprisingly good belly laughs from someone who was a true character.

Ok, enough about books and self-help, let’s move onto art. Coming up this April I have a workshop I will be attending for the Hispanic Contemporary Market in Santa Fe, NM. This is a world-famous art show in the art hub that is Santa Fe. I am currently an alternate and at the top of the waitlist. Yes, the waitlist, but I’m not mad because this was my first year applying to this show. I was invited to attend the workshop to rub shoulders with the other artists, promoters, and directors. This will be a great chance to channel my inner Ben Franklin and network.

As of now, I have three shows coming up that I have been juried and accepted into. The first is the Mother’s Day Spring Fling at Wine’s of the San Juan in Blanco New Mexico, May 10th. The second is The Broadmoor Traditions Fine Art Festival in Colorado Springs, July 4th and 5th. The last (for now) being The Highlands Summer Finale Fine Arts Festival in Denver Colorado, August 29th and 30th. I am still hoping that something (but nothing serious) comes up for the Hispanic contemporary market and that I will be moved to the accepted list. Between the art shows, an impending crazy fire season, and honey-do’s, it’s looking to be a packed summer. That is what I was hoping for though! It’s all progress and momentum in the direction I hope to be heading.

Back home in the studio I am still working away on this acrylic 2 foot by 4 foot beauty that is part of my visuals collection.