A Matter of Choice

“For most of my adult life I have chosen to surround myself with art, literature and music, including the art and writings of my own personal creative journey. I have also been inspired by the discipleship process of studying the kingdom of God and other spiritual studies. All together, these resulted in a critical thought process that gave birth to such initiatives as a nationally accredited advertising agency, a teaching ministry, an umbrella not-for-profit ministry organization, my Masterpeace Fine Art Studio, the Drawing Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Drawing online, and a “back-to-school” initiative at age 65 to complete a master’s degree and a doctoral degree. Many have supported and encouraged me en route, but it all began with a conscious choice to exercise my freewill towards quality decisions of excellence regardless of mistakes made along the way, and an abiding faith to ensure the foundations of my journey remained strong. Along the way, the environment of art has been a good place for retreat, reflection, illumination, and a sacred place to ponder the next steps forward."

Return to Drawing

After 4 years of research and writing, and having completed my Master of Arts in Communication and Technology and well into my Doctoral Program, I just had to take a break from my self-imposed studio sabbatical and return to drawing. Just to experience again the beauty of drawing. I am also writing about "the spiritual in art." The spiritual in art is the act of drawing itself based on intuitive and cognitive experiences, that is, inspiration grounded in a lifetime of learning contemporary and ancient traditions, and endless hours of drawing. So, I mounted a large piece of Japanese paper on Stonehenge paper and began a classical figure drawing of a model I had drawn many times before. The result was very satisfying and gave me the assurance that the assumption "use it or lose it," is not a foregone conclusion.

"Kriya," by Gerrit Verstraete, 2013. Cat.No, 1223. (22 ¼ X 30 in. / 56.7 X 76.4 cm, unframed) Wollf's Carbon Pencil.

To edify one another

What can I possibly contribute to a professional network when our respective journeys are so divergent and distinctly our own? Is there a “scarlet thread” that links us as people regardless of our similarities and differences? I think that “scarlet thread” is a mutual quest to be edified, or as the dictionary defines: to encourage, enlighten and benefit, especially intellectually, morally and spiritually.

Invitations to all sorts of social and professional media sites abound. But is there room for a network that encourages a new kind of dialogue, such as the exploration of questions we all encounter on our professional journeys?
1. How to appropriate satisfaction in achievement whether great or small?
2. What is fulfillment in a postmodern world?
3. What to share with others that is neither bragging nor opportunistic, but truly worth sharing?

For example: Over a period of 8 years, from 2004 to 2012, I completed writing an epic poem that filled 10 volumes. Joseph Glaser, a young composer at UBC took Cerulean, the main character of the epic, to heart as reflecting his own journey of discovery. He began work on a musical movement for volume 1 of the epic Cerulean Odyssey. It took him over a year. In the Spring of this year the movement was accepted by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for their annual Jean Coulthard Readings along with eight other young composers. The performance took place at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver on March 20, 2013. You can imagine my awe and thrill to hear the 7 minute movement played twice by the entire orchestra. There is was. My epic put to orchestral music. Now the composer wants to explore writing a full symphony for the entire epic poem. Imagine how difficult it is to share my joy with the hope others receive it as such, and not as me selling anything or proposing some sort of business opportunity?

Cereulan Odyssey is an integral part of my Doctoral work, as an expression of visual language and the experience of life at the intersection of art, critical thought, and spirituality such as the kingdom of God.

Essays and Papers on Hastac

For those of you interested in reading my essays and papers for research purposes or general reading, I have joined HASTAC to bring my voice to the public's attention. My first posting is a paper titled: "An Unfolding View of Cultural Engagement." http://hastac.org
(Gerrit Verstraete - keywords: culture, cultural criticism, communications theory)
I checked and it seems best to enter the search words "cultural criticism". I'm about 4 down the list.

About HASTAC:
HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory, pronounced "haystack") is a virtual organization of more than 10,000 individuals and institutions dedicated to innovative new modes of learning and research, with network members contributing to the community by sharing work and ideas with others via the open-access website hastac.org.

HASTAC was founded in 2002 by Cathy N. Davidson, Ruth F. DeVarney Professor of English, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Co-director of the PhD Lab in Digital Knowledge at Duke University and co-founder of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke University, and David Theo Goldberg, Director of the University of California's state-wide Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI).

"Back Again"

Too many blogs and only one that I really began as an encouragement to others who are considering going back to school - “back to school at 65.” So, here I am, still in school, having completed my Master of Arts in Communication and Technology at the University of Alberta, where I began graduate research at age 65. Now, as I approach age 68 in April, I am enrolled in a Doctoral program at St.Stephen’s College / University of Alberta – Edmonton. The format is still the same, as that of distance e-learning, research and annual Integrative Seminars on campus. My focus is a continuation of my Master thesis about “the intersection of art and critical thought,” with as a Doctoral focus, “the intersection of art, critical thought, and the kingdom of God (spirituality).” In the meantime, my actual studio work has all but slowed to a standstill, but that will only be for a season, until I have completed giving voice to my thoughts about art, critical thought, and spirituality. In the meantime, I find great pleasure in writing poetry and fiction. It's good to be back again, and I apologize for my absence.

"Follow me on......."

Well, for those of you who are interested in following me on my journey back to school beyond age 65 ( I will be 67 this year ), I am continuing my blog entries at the new site, while I remain enrolled in Doctoral studies at St.Stephen's College / University of Alberta. Follow me there at www.thekogblog.blogspot.com. It's an ongoing narrative that will hopefully continue to inspire you on your own journey of life. And thanks for inspiring me over these past years of graduate research. It's a blessed adventure with many more chapters to come. And your comments, either on the blog or personally, are always appreciated. Gerrit.

"I did it!"

On Wednesday, February 22, 2012, I received the good news from the University of Alberta that my Master's Thesis has completed all course requirements and was approved. As a result I have now officially completed the Master of Arts in Communication and Technology graduate studies and the Degree is mine. Wow! Just two months short of my 67th birthday.
My thesis is titled: "Think Art Think Smart: a dialectical model to examine the relationship between art and critical thought." Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement. Now it's onwards and upwards with my doctoral program in time for my 70th birthday, which a friend said, "is the new 50's."