Art Chowder November | December 2021 Issue 36 | Page 17

my life forever , leaving me in a creative and mental funk . Mary and I eventually got divorced , leaving me feeling horrible for failing another marriage . Life got more complicated so I ended up taking a one-month construction gig in Seattle , which turned into a six-month stint , which morphed into a rekindled friendship with Lynda , which led us straight back into each other ’ s lives . I ’ m together again with my art school sweetheart after being separated for 15 years . Miracles are real .
While encapsulated , this is just a bit of my story to enlighten you as to the thrills and spills of my journey . I feel fortunate to have been able to share and express my world through art . It has been an odyssey filled with confidence and insecurity , inspiration and lethargy , productivity and procrastination , happiness and sadness , but emotional at all times . Time well spent . I told Lynda once early in my career that I could never be a successful artist because I lacked the angst necessary for greatness . It ’ s been 44 years since art school , and I ’ ve had my share of angst , despair , loss , anger , and forgiveness .
The last four years in our country have been rough times , indeed . We are a divided country and my heart is heavy with the divisiveness , hatred , and racism taking place today . The Black Lives Matter movement made a profound impact on me . We all are worthy of the same dreams , goals , desires , and rights . I wanted to create paintings with serious depth and a twist of whimsy representative of this awareness .
To help bring our country together , I reached out and recruited the ant world to help tell my story . Ants must work together or their worlds collapse . “ Krewe of Ballyhoo ” is a series of nine small paintings depicting cutter ant colonies and their friends who march to bring awareness to a nation full of disgruntled and jaded citizens . My ants are hip to how divided our country is and want to help bring to light common threads to unite us as Americans . They
are intended to remind us of the splendor in life which brings joy .
These ants want to point out some good things by honoring favorite local landmarks , icons , attractions , restaurants , activities , art , sports , etc ., to emphasize our common interests and to break down barriers , bringing us closer together . They march with scissors to represent the urgency to “ Cut It Out !” “ Stop the Madness ” “ Stop Hate ” and “ Do the Right Thing ” “ Chop , Chop !” What smarty pANTS . Plus , cutter ants have amazing collections of cool vintage scissors . Any excuse to show them off , they ’ re all in !
Learn more of Tim ’ s story and see “ Planet Earth Needs a Good Fairy ” at a TI-KI-DA , a November 5-30 gallery showing featuring TIm Lord , KIm Long , and DAra DeBast at New Moon Gallery , 1326 E Sprague , Spokane , WA .
Scan the QR Code to visit tim lord ’ s website
November | December 2021 17