Welcome to the new and improved Oly's Musings

(wearing one's heart on one's sleeve... guerilla vandalism of Tom Otterness on 14th Street)

Hi, everyone. Welcome. Pull up a chair. Make yourselves comfortable. It's gonna be a long journey.

You're looking at what looks visually to be the same blog as before, Oly's Musings, but this time I have a URL that matches my blog's title; a fairly simple adjustment, and truth be told a practical need for an impractical world. When I first created my blog in 2006 I wasn't sure just what I was doing. To this day I have to go into "edit HTML format" continuously to take out the numerous hard returns that somehow make their way into my works. Today finds me with over 124 posts under my belt-- almost each a review or a critique, and 4 articles written for ArtCal Zine. I'm proud of my work and hope to continue to share it with a broader, more focused audience.

Anyway, as an introduction, feel free to send me an email or comment below. I want this blog to become more interactive. If you don't like what I say in a review, tell me. This is a learning process for me as well. I come from a background in journalism and a life steeped in a full-on saturation into art and all of its facets. From concept to completion, to historic relevancy, to the ins and outs of what sells and doesn't and why-- my mind is fascinated and inspired by every possible nook and cranny I can find in my endless exploration into a medium I truly respect and admire.

If you happened to catch me at the Red Dot 2008 Art Blogger symposium, I do have one thing to add that was not discussed with much fervor. With me you will never have me holding back on criticism. This is what I do. I am not here to rehash an artist's biography from a gallery, or spit back a reworded press release. I do not consider that to be writing, nor journalism, and my professors at Boston University's College of Communication would have handed my ass on a platter if I would have done so. I do not consider being "nice" is being fair to any of the parties involved. If I slam you and say that your art is insipid and uninspiring, I will not be ashamed of saying so. If I think you're the bees knees and the next big thing, enjoy it for what it's worth-- for after all, what the hell do I know. But one thing can be promised. I will have an opinion always, and I will share it with you. There will be no holding back. I believe that is the job of a critic. I am not here to make friends, nor enemies. If one leans on the side of either, so be it. For every friend I make, I will have 5 enemies, and for every enemy I make, I will have 5 friends. So I can't do math, but what I can do is share what I feel is from my heart mixed with the knowledge from my brain.

So I hope you enjoy and we'll see what happens next.