Rorschach 02
© 1987 Craig Ashby
9″ x 12″
Acrylic

Rorschach 02 is not my favorite so I thought I would get it out of the way early in the series. It’s mostly due to the limited color scheme. That and the dominance of the black.

Speaking of black and darkness, this weekend was a return to old darker times. On Sunday I received a Facebook IM from my former boss Stan Mitchell saying he was staying in a hotel in my neighborhood. I immediately jumped in the shower.

I might have hugged him for too long when I found him in his hotel lobby. It was like seeing a parent that you haven’t seen in years. An old friend from a really dark dream.

On Monday we met for drinks and some food and talked about old times. I remarked how influential that time was for me. I don’t think I would have survived this long in New York City without it.

He agreed that it was both a magical and dark time. We marveled at how it prepared us for so much in life. Then we went on to drink some more and talk about old comrades.

The night ended with me dropping him off at his hotel and heading home. I thought how amazing it was to reconnect to someone that shared the same experience. It felt like we were really connected.

Sometimes living in an unreal city makes the past seem like mythology. A story we tell that could even be a lie to ourselves. But I got the exact opposite. What I experienced was real and my friend and boss Stan experienced it too.