“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of the infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.”
― H. P. Lovercraft, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories

From the 2022 Cedars Open Studios Tour.

I saw this window displaying the back side of James Allen Tucker Rodriguez’s work at Good Coworking during the Cedars Open Studios tour.

I thought to myself – cool – that looks like Cthulhu – the giant head with horrific tentacles. It’s hand was cradling a shark with a laser gun.

But from the other side – it was a portrait of a woman – the tentacles were just hair.

I’m sorry , I was a little disappointed. The art is way cool, though.

James Allen Tucker Rodriquez Instagram

“Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.”
― Oscar Wilde

From the 2022 Cedars Open Studios Tour.

Modest Museum is an installation artist, Madison Mask.

Modest Museum Webpage

Modest Museum Instagram

“It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”
― Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata

From the 2022 Cedars Open Studios Tour.

“Ol’ man Simon, planted a diamond. Grew hisself a garden the likes of none. Sprouts all growin’ comin’ up glowin’ Fruit of jewels all shinin’ in the sun. Colors of the rainbow. See the sun and the rain grow sapphires and rubies on ivory vines, Grapes of jade, just ripenin’ in the shade, just ready for the squeezin’ into green jade wine. Pure gold corn there, Blowin’ in the warm air. Ol’ crow nibblin’ on the amnythyst seeds. In between the diamonds, Ol’ man Simon crawls about pullin’ out platinum weeds. Pink pearl berries, all you can carry, put ’em in a bushel and haul ’em into town. Up in the tree there’s opal nuts and gold pears- Hurry quick, grab a stick and shake some down. Take a silver tater, emerald tomater, fresh plump coral melons. Hangin’ in reach. Ol’ man Simon, diggin’ in his diamonds, stops and rests and dreams about one… real… peach.”
― Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

From the 2022 Cedars Open Studios Tour.

“Things aren’t like this,” he kept repeating. “It shouldn’t be this way.”

As if he had access to some other plane of existence, some parallel, “right” universe, and had sensed that our time had somehow been put out of joint. Such was his vehemence that I found myself believing him, believing, for example, in the possibility of that other life in which Vina had never left and we were making our lives together, all three of us, ascending together to the stars.

Then he shook his head, and the spell broke. He opened his eyes, grinning ruefully. As if he knew his thoughts had infected mine. As if he knew his power. “Better get on with it,” he said. “Make do with what there is.”
― Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet

From the 2022 Cedars Open Studios Tour.