Voenix Rising

I drove back down to Tucson yesterday (a horrific ordeal in and of itself which I’ll spare you; suffice to say I should’ve stayed home). I bought two “new” Miles Thompson gargoyles from the seemingly one venue in town still selling them. I’d bought the originals in the late 90s/early 2000s at Antigone Books on 4th Avenue, but when I called yesterday to see if they were selling his work the girl who answered said she’d never heard of him. So hrmph…

I was assured by the store owner where I bought these new masks that Miles is still very much alive and well (albeit 75 years of age now), and is still producing work. I mentioned to her that Miles seems to have no online presence beyond this shop’s website, and she said she’s been wanting to get him to set up online and his response has always been “I don’t want to become my work.”

As an on-and-off again artist, I can relate. When I paint, I do it for me, not to make money. If it was my sole source of income I’m sure I’d come to hate it in short order, something I have a very hard time imparting on my friends who tell me I should be painting more. It’s not like you can just summon the Muses, after all.

I am reasonably certain I rescued all three of the original masks from the house, before the restoration companies came in so they have to be somewhere, but I’ll be damned if I know where. (I did easily find one of them.) Perhaps now that I spent way too much on replacing them (Miles’ prices have gone up in the last fifteen years, go figger), they’ll finally reveal themselves.

I suppose I could always cuss out the Prop Master for not having those particular props ready for these scenes in my life. Maybe that will cause them to magically appear?