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SCHLIEFKEVISIONdotcom

The online chronicles of a painter living in Austin, Texas

THE CURTAIN GETS PEELED BACK...
A RANDOM DAY IN THE LIFE OF MICHAEL SCHLIEFKE
August 24, 2004

MORNING TIMES  My alarm started going off at 9:34.  I hit snooze, and for every nine minutes until around 11 o'clock, my dreams were interrupted with the din of my tinny little phone's buzzing.  I've always been very superstitious about setting my alarm to a number ending in four.  I don't know when it started, perhaps even before high school, but it's always been one of those little safety nets that cushions your consciousness. Anyway, no alarm was going to disturb me this morning, I was having another largely inexplicable dream, this one set at the ballpark:

I: Morning Times II: Hard at Work III: Breakin' & Paintin' IV: Dinner with Destiny  CLICK ON ANY THUMBNAIL BELOW FOR A BIGGER VERSION

Staged Sleeping Pic #1

Staged Sleeping Pic #2

Staged Sleeping Pic #3

GRAND SLAM DREAMS
I rolled around aimlessly for an hour and a half, in and out of dreams, when one took my subconscious by storm.  I ended up at the finals of a college baseball season, where a team in green and white was playing a team decked out in red and blue.  I stumbled upon the game late, and ended up in the outfield stands, which was a sparsely populated grassy knoll.  I took a seat, and caught an errant throw from some players practicing their throwing skills.  The excitement really notched up when in the ninth, former Pawtucket Red Sox slugger Sam Horn belted out a game winning grand slam that was caught by yours truly.  Before the excitement died down, a glowing oversized baseball card of Sam Horn rose above the field and shined a light down onto me.  With that, I rolled out of bed and made my way into studio, to check the lack of progress my mind has been making there.

Studio Shot - Argh.

Solar Falafel to the Rescue!

Rocky's Return

CHANCE ENCOUNTERS
I wasn't able to look too long before I had people knocking at my door - a fellow Austin artist who lived in Kansas City swung by, I met him at an opening on Friday night.  I showed him some of my work, showed off the Bolm Studios, and ran into my old friend Rocky, Joseph's dog who moved away to Joseph's new house about a month ago.  Reunited with my old friend (he still sits and gives me his paw, tricks I taught the young lad), Herb and I talked for a while about galleries, museums, and the affects of chasing off corrupt political machines to a city's soul.  As he was leaving, we were interrupted by a visit from Armando, who works up the block at Solar Falafel.  He was dropping off some free day old falafels and pitas for us starving artists to enjoy.  It's a regular treat, but one that never gets old.  Plus, they're pretty damned good.  If you see one in a supermarket, pick one up and support Armando and his hard work and kindheartedness.

Continue on to Part 2: Hard at Work