the art of love
Hearing intricate details about another person's journey through life is fascinating to me. I guess it's the process of documenting it, really. I am instantly captivated by a good story, especially when that individual is being completely honest, vulnerable, and raw. I love to watch them on camera, or read their words scrolled into print. I guess because I am so prone to share from my own experiences, I take great interest in hearing the same from others. I didn't really expect it today, but I literally found myself captivated by the story of someone's life... And saw that I had a part to play in it.
A couple of weeks ago my boss shared with us a new chapter in her sister LaShelle's life. As the art teacher in an alternative education high school, she spends her days shaping teenage minds, and trying to give them a better perspective of life. This has taken a new depth to her over the past couple of months.
One day last year the superintendent told her about an older man in town who has been working on an art project for over 25 years. He's developed a craft that he supposedly shares with only 4 other people in the world. In a large warehouse workshop (where he also makes a corner his home), he's designing a mosaic mural made entirely of wood cutouts.
The wood is collected from all over the world and is never painted or stained, just placed intricately within the mural to highlight its uniqueness and color. Each large panel is part of a continuing story, filled with symbolism, meaning and ultimately the story of love. 
Because "Mr. Ed" Lancer is getting older and his project is nearing an end, he deemed it necessary to seek a predecessor. He desired not only someone to complete the last panel of the story, but to carry the torch of the unique craft he's grown to perfect over the years. He found the perfect person in LaShelle, and a handpicked group of her students. They are beginning to learn the trade by turning various items into mosaic art.
Mr. Ed is a very knowledgeable and spiritual man. He's studied various ethnicities, and has even spent periods of time living submerged in different cultures. He has managed to intertwine these cultures with their dress, their customs, and their beliefs into the mosaic panels, each one intricately detailed and true to their origins. He believes his connection to LaShell and her class to be not only right, but divine.
So this is where we enter. We're shooting a documentary of the story. And it started today.
We learned some idiosyncratic details about Mr. Ed today. A 4-time heart attack survivor who has also suffered brain damage, he had been known to teeter between being in the "Zone" as he calls it, and on the brink of insanity from time to time. Sometimes working through several days without eating, he had to learn how to pace himself. Because of this, his daily schedule has grown to include 3 bike trips to the local Big Boy to eat. If he ever neglects to show up, they call and check in on him. Numerous times I caught myself feeling completely mesmerized by this genius of a man who turns a gift of love into the most beautiful art, even though he doesn't know how to write.
LaShelle shared with us many interesting 'coincidences' including a recent near fatal experience they had shared. One day LaShelle had decided to take the day off of work. She recounted to us that for some reason she changed her mind at the last minute and went to the workshop instead. When she arrived, she found Mr. Ed lying on the floor having fallen off of a ladder. She said he had lost a lot of blood and badly needed stitches in his head. She rushed him to the hospital consequently saving his life. LaShell indicated that this was particularly interesting because when she first met Mr. Ed and he learned of her family history in the area, he had a similar story to share. He told her how as a little boy he had accidently ingested something poison. As it turned out LaShelle and Jeannine's grandfather was the one to rush him to the hospital. Other experiences of astounding similarity have taken place within Mr. Ed and the group, further strengthening their bond.
Today was a moving experience for me. Not only did I find the work to be highly precise mathematically, but artistically breathtaking. As he described the symbolism in a particular piece, it literally brought tears to my eyes. Every inch is a labor of love and the result of years of learning. This is his life's work.
A couple of weeks ago my boss shared with us a new chapter in her sister LaShelle's life. As the art teacher in an alternative education high school, she spends her days shaping teenage minds, and trying to give them a better perspective of life. This has taken a new depth to her over the past couple of months.
One day last year the superintendent told her about an older man in town who has been working on an art project for over 25 years. He's developed a craft that he supposedly shares with only 4 other people in the world. In a large warehouse workshop (where he also makes a corner his home), he's designing a mosaic mural made entirely of wood cutouts.
The wood is collected from all over the world and is never painted or stained, just placed intricately within the mural to highlight its uniqueness and color. Each large panel is part of a continuing story, filled with symbolism, meaning and ultimately the story of love. 
Because "Mr. Ed" Lancer is getting older and his project is nearing an end, he deemed it necessary to seek a predecessor. He desired not only someone to complete the last panel of the story, but to carry the torch of the unique craft he's grown to perfect over the years. He found the perfect person in LaShelle, and a handpicked group of her students. They are beginning to learn the trade by turning various items into mosaic art.
Mr. Ed is a very knowledgeable and spiritual man. He's studied various ethnicities, and has even spent periods of time living submerged in different cultures. He has managed to intertwine these cultures with their dress, their customs, and their beliefs into the mosaic panels, each one intricately detailed and true to their origins. He believes his connection to LaShell and her class to be not only right, but divine.
So this is where we enter. We're shooting a documentary of the story. And it started today.
We learned some idiosyncratic details about Mr. Ed today. A 4-time heart attack survivor who has also suffered brain damage, he had been known to teeter between being in the "Zone" as he calls it, and on the brink of insanity from time to time. Sometimes working through several days without eating, he had to learn how to pace himself. Because of this, his daily schedule has grown to include 3 bike trips to the local Big Boy to eat. If he ever neglects to show up, they call and check in on him. Numerous times I caught myself feeling completely mesmerized by this genius of a man who turns a gift of love into the most beautiful art, even though he doesn't know how to write. LaShelle shared with us many interesting 'coincidences' including a recent near fatal experience they had shared. One day LaShelle had decided to take the day off of work. She recounted to us that for some reason she changed her mind at the last minute and went to the workshop instead. When she arrived, she found Mr. Ed lying on the floor having fallen off of a ladder. She said he had lost a lot of blood and badly needed stitches in his head. She rushed him to the hospital consequently saving his life. LaShell indicated that this was particularly interesting because when she first met Mr. Ed and he learned of her family history in the area, he had a similar story to share. He told her how as a little boy he had accidently ingested something poison. As it turned out LaShelle and Jeannine's grandfather was the one to rush him to the hospital. Other experiences of astounding similarity have taken place within Mr. Ed and the group, further strengthening their bond.
Today was a moving experience for me. Not only did I find the work to be highly precise mathematically, but artistically breathtaking. As he described the symbolism in a particular piece, it literally brought tears to my eyes. Every inch is a labor of love and the result of years of learning. This is his life's work.
posted by Amber | 9:17 PM
2 Comments:
Some people wonder why I became a journalist, wonder why I spend all my time telling other people's stories.
They read the newspapers full of crime and negativity, and they see the bad but never stop long enough to see the good.
I write because of stories like this, which are 100 percent captivating, real and amazing. I write to share things like you have here.
So thank you for writing this and thank you for sharing.
-John
awesome..
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