Let it be known that I have completely earned my way in life and in Art. Through twists and turns, slowdowns and blockades, I have always kept my focus on the path ahead, driven by unwavering positive expectations. I am incredibly fortunate to have had parents and grandparents who instilled in me from an early age that anything is achievable if I believe in myself and pursue it with passion and persistence. Thankfully, those invaluable lessons took root in my heart, where they will remain for the long haul.
In June of this year, I graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film and Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Now, I’m determined to find and secure an exciting creative position in the film and entertainment industry with one of the leading organizations in the field. Soon, the right opportunity will present itself, and I’ll be ready to immerse myself (mind, body and spirit) into the creative process without doubt or reservation. I’m here to make art that has meaning and adds value to society. I believe it’s my higher purpose in life. All I need now is to find the right creative team to join. I’d be thrilled to work for an organization that appreciates me for the skills, talents and experience I possess. When that door of opportunity opens, I’m certain to thrive in my new creative home under the sun. In absolute confidence I can attest, I will continue to earn my way in this life, by making art that comes straight from the heart.
Before I delve into the future, or even the present for that matter, I thought I should revisit the recent past. When I started my studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design on September 11 of last year, I was confident that I could publish regular updates to this blog while also being enrolled in three courses per quarter at the college. I knew that the blog would have to take a backseat to my education at SCAD, but I thought that I could accomplish both tasks simultaneously, as long as I kept my primary focus on the coursework. Within the first couple weeks of classes I realized that it would take all of my creative energies and my undivided focus just to reserve ample head space for the learning curve that would be required for my academic success. Was the past statement wordy? Yes. In short form, it reads more like this – I had to abandon my blog posts temporarily and adopt a new outlet for creative expression, namely the Film and Television Program at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
I feel extremely fortunate to be enrolled as a graduate student at the Savannah College of Art and Design! I’ve completed my first year of studies in the MFA Film and Television Program with a focus on Directing and Experimental Filmmaking. My current unofficial GPA – 3.66. I could never have made it this far without the incredible support of friends and family who have generously invested in my success! Thank you all, I truly appreciate your help!
Now, I’ll move on to a more comprehensive and detailed description of my experiences over the past nine months at SCAD. For readers who are satisfied with the big picture as I’ve already described it, this would be a good place to click your way to some other worthy story on the vast dataspace of the world wide web. Thank you kindly for visiting the “Grand Providentia United” blog site!
These photos were taken the first time I toured the Backlot at SCAD (September 2023). This is a partial view of Phase 1 of the Backlot project. Phase 2 is currently being built and construction on Phase 3, the final phase (likely to be completed after I graduate in the spring of 2025) has already begun. It’s an exciting time to be learning film production at the Savannah College of Art and Design!
As a sexagenarian and someone who had not been in the role of student at college for more than twenty years, I was quite self-conscious about my age while attending the first few weeks of class at SCAD. My classmates were all at least twenty years younger than me and most of them were obviously well ahead of me in terms of their technological proficiencies and knowledge concerned with the art of filmmaking. This self-consciousness was expected, in truth it had been nagging at me since I made the decision to apply to the program in February of 2022. In the lead-up to the first quarter of classes, I spent many an hour during sleepless nights worrying about my ability to make the grade and ultimately graduate with an MFA in Film. Throughout the first two quarters of classes, a nagging uncertainty dogged me day and night. I badgered myself with constant internal questions: Was I up to the challenge of graduate level studies at my age? Was I delusional, thinking that I could keep up with the academic demands and ultimately make the grade? Was the dream of becoming an independent filmmaker beyond my creative reach? All these questions, and many others, came to a climax at the beginning of the second quarter when I realized how much work was required to make it through just two of the three classes, I’d registered for during the winter session. Toward the end of January, I was so worried about the amount of course work in front of me, that I had an experience that I can only describe as a panic attack brought on by a massive wave of the imposter syndrome. Thankfully, a classmate (a new friend) was there to provide a more positive perspective on my circumstances. He advised me to stop looking at the whole staircase and focus on one step at a time. As soon as he gave me the advice, I realized that it was the same advice that I would have given to someone else if the roles were reversed. This snapped me out of my spiral thinking almost immediately, and once I had returned my focus to the work at hand rather than wasting energy on what-ifs and worries about inadequacies, I was able to prioritize the course work and finish the quarter on a high note. Even more importantly, I was able to relax and do my best work in the third and final quarter of my first academic year in the MFA program at SCAD.
From the 26th Annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival, October 21-28, 2023. What an exciting event it was, albeit a little overstimulating for me, considering that it took place during my first quarter of studies!
Graduate studies at SCAD are said to be comprehensive and fast paced no matter what creative discipline or area of focus you are there to study. In my opinion, that comprehensiveness and learning pace demonstrates that they are adequately earning their tuition fees, and this educational strategy on its own, effectively and continually grows their reputation as one of the top art colleges in the world. One of the things that I’ve come to recognize after finishing my first year at the college, is that I would right now be feeling disappointed and less accomplished had the last nine months been intellectually easy on me. As a result of my struggles, I experience growth, physically, spiritually and intellectually. The way I see it, my first year at SCAD was a great success!
Various BTS photos – Muta, Samantha, Ian, Ved, Eric and ScottLeft to Right – Will – Skeleton King vs. Timber Rattler – Scott, Lilly, Damian – Damian – VedImages above are behind the scenes photos taken on set of Father Nature. Photography by Kris Patel.
Father Nature was the first time I directed a film with a team of talented filmmakers. I wrote the script during December of 2023 and captured the principal photography in February of 24. I edited the film over the course of the Spring quarter, adding sound as I learned the process in Sound Design for Film and Television. There are certain aspects of the film that I am still not satisfied with, but I decided it was time to put it to rest and move on to the next big idea. Something I’ve practiced throughout a lifetime of creating art – know when to say the work is finished.
This film was intended to be a proof-of-concept piece and I was planning to further explore the concept for my thesis project. I decided at the last moment (during the Graduate Review Meeting) to leave further exploration of Father Nature until after graduation. The thesis will instead be a short film introducing the “Grand Providentia Projection”
Over the course of the spring quarter, I decided how I wanted to proceed with my education and the remainder of my creative journey. I enrolled in a class called Experimental Film and there I found an enormous amount of inspiration. One of the driving forces behind my decision to apply to SCAD was inspired by the work of the surrealist filmmaker David Lynch. After taking this course I decided to lean into the surreal – gravitate toward the supernatural – run straight into the horror – experiment with science fiction – and dream a fantastic dream. I want to make films that make people wonder.
A sudden flash of bright flame and then a slow burn – that’s the way I’ve perceived events to be unfolding over the past four decades while pursuing my life’s higher purpose. Sometimes it appears to me that patience and perseverance are the only character assets I possess, especially during slow burn seasons. In slow times, when it feels as though my will to press forward is being nullified by circumstances and situations which are seemingly beyond my control, I know from experience that it’s time for me to turn inward. I turn my perspective within for a while to touch base with my mind, body and spirit. By taking an honest look at my motivations and desires – by appraising the level of self-esteem I have in the current moment – by making sure that I’m not feeling superior or inferior to anyone else, but instead just being my truest self – I can usually conclude whether I’m off on a tangent or still on the right path. And when, eventually, I turn the focus outward again, I find that there never really was an impediment, and that the only thing that was slowing down the fire had been my own self-defeating thoughts and actions. Then, right on cue, there’s another flash and the life-force burns brightly once more.
These past three months in Saint Petersburg have been a whole new level of slow burn, but in an entirely positive way. If you’re a new reader on this blog, you may not know that three months ago, just as I was just starting out on a cross-country road trip, I was involved in a car accident that relieved me of my only vehicle. My dear daughter Victoria picked me up on the east coast of Florida and transported me to the west coast. I’ve been holed up in Mike Elwell’s warehouse studio ever since that fateful day. It has been an absolute blessing being here near my son Christopher and all his friends. We’ve all shared some great quality-time together. Chris and I even managed to work together (creatively) on a couple of projects. But now it’s time to be moving along. I’ve procured a new ride and I’m preparing to depart St. Pete, probably next Wednesday morning. There are still a few things that I need to accomplish before I get back on the road. Hopefully that road takes me back to Hope during late June and all of July this summer. I am intent on making the “Florida to Maine Expedition to Gather Film Content” a reality (please visit the GoFundMe page I’ve set up if you feel it in your heart to support me on this extremely important trip – https://www.gofundme.com/manage/crosscountry-expedition-to-gather-film-content). The trip will be as low cost as I can make it. I’ll be sleeping in the van most nights or pitching a tent, while also relying on friends and relatives for an occasional civilized (indoor) sleepover. Some of you may know that I have secured the funds for tuition at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I will be entering the Graduate Film and Television program as a Fellow to the college this fall. The fellowship award was one of only two offered to graduate students each year. It will pay for half of the tuition and federal student loans will pay the other half. Rather than going back to Savannah now, to rent a room and pay board throughout the summer, I am planning to spend June and July on the road, gathering documentary film content (mostly in Hope, RI). From the road, I intend to secure a room in Savannah via the internet, preferably for August 1, and return south during late summer to get ready for classes. This transition I’m now making between fine art and film has been a long time coming. I started dreaming about a career in the movie industry well before I left Rhode Island in 1996. In fact, that was the whole point of moving our young family to Florida to attend the Ringling College of Art and Design. Pamela and I decided that I should pursue a BFA in computer animation and then I could make a lateral move into prop design or animatronics where I could put my sculpting skills to good use in show business. In the now, I’ve set my intentions on becoming an independent filmmaker. I am to become a writer, director and producer of surreal documentary films, the most elaborate of which, will be a factual documentary on the creation and installation of Grand Providentia Projections around the world. There will be a fictional version of the story produced simultaneously. The two stories will run parallel, merging plotlines and characters until the audience is unsure what is actually happening in the real world. It may seem like I just released the ultimate spoiler for this surreal documentary, but I can assure you that if it is done with the right amount of filmmaking finesse, the intrigue will only be enhanced if the audience knows that it is on them to figure out what is real and what is movie magic. That’s just one of the beautiful things about making pictures move.
Still frame from “Return to Hope” If you haven’t already seen it, please do. If you have seen it, please return for another trip to Hope.Just scroll down a few journal entries and you’ll find a link to the Grand Providentia Projection -YouTube channel.
My first film, titled “Return to Hope” is on YouTube. I will be adding a new film during the coming weeks that is focused on the bronze sculpture featured in the film. The new patina is nearly complete (one of the finest patinas I’ve ever produced) and I’m putting together a promotional short film to show off the process and end result of the repatine. I will sell this one-of-a-kind bronze casting to pay for the road trip and help me to pay for books and living expenses at SCAD in the fall. Once I publish the promotional film, I’ll return here to announce it and leave a link.
I’m back! Introducing “Return to Hope” the bronze! Featuring time-lapse photography of twelve hours patina work, simmered down into 5 minutes of film. This is a promotional film with the intention of selling this one-of-a-kind bronze sculpture, but it is also a lot of fun to watch. Enjoy!
Thank you for reading here! I am truly grateful for your presenceand for your support.
I’m in a familiar place. I’m navigating the transition between an earlier, less evolved, version of myself and what I am to become. My feet have left the ground again. I am mid-leap and quite uncertain of how the future ground plane will have unfolded when I land. If I’m honest with myself, it becomes clear that none of us ever really knows how it will unfold anyway. There are so many mysteries to be solved in our lives, and so many more that were probably never meant to be solved. An understanding of this universal truth has taught me to trust in what will be, because any other strategy feels like a struggle. This is the third major leap of faith I’ve taken in this lifetime, and the lessons I’ve learned while going through the previous two transitions will surely see me through this one. And so, I must trust. In my experience, all trust, including the trust I have that all will be well today and in future days, must be earned by taking action. The actions we take today will ensure that the trust we have for a happy tomorrow has been well-placed. Mid-leap is primetime to take action because the leaper needs to prepare for an optimal landing. After all, what good would a leap of faith do, if it ended in a crash landing?
To some people this may seem like a minor leap of faith, but I can assure you that it feels major to me. At 60 years old, I enrolled in an MFA program at the Savannah College of Art and Design. This was more than 20 years after my last college enrollment. That alone took courage and faith. The fact that I’m radically changing direction in my creative career is another aspect of this leap that made it bold. I’m learning how to direct films. I intend to be an independent filmmaker with a signature style. A style that expresses my creative vision while also connecting with a broad audience. I’ll be making films that inspire positive change.
Thank you for stopping by to read this journal entry! I hope you’ll consider subscribing to the Grand Providentia United blog. It’s free! Also, please visit my other sites to show support for the Grand Providentia Projections and to keep up to date on the latest developments in the ongoing creative journey.
Production of a Portfolio Film – Post #1 Concept Development
The first time I laid eyes on what my childhood friends and I would eventually refer to as the “First River” in Hope, Rhode Island, I thought that surely it must be a magical river. Magic was the only explanation my six-year-old imagination could come up with as to how the river’s water could have been transformed into a wonderfully milky, bright orange flow.
The first river was actually more akin to a spillway than a river, being flanked by hand-stacked stone walls and gravel embankments from the point that it emerged out of the arched granite gateway at the rear of Hope Mill, all the way down to its reintroduction point with the Pawtuxet River. The mill had been using the Pawtuxet’s water to generate electricity for nearly a century before I first visited its spillway, a historical fact that was entirely irrelevant to my uneducated mind at six years of age. And on that first sighting, every gallon of water in between those walls, for the full half-mile stretch of the first river’s length, was a swirling Creamsicle orange. During the following weeks, I returned to the river often and I was thrilled and delighted to see that it would change colors regularly. Baby blue was my favorite because it appeared to be creamy enough to drink, but even at that age, I sensed it would be an unwise decision to do so. For weeks, I visited the magic river, and I kept it as a secret from my parents. When I finally told my dad about it, I was perplexed by his stern reaction. As we walked down to the rivers’ edge together, my father’s demeanor seemed to grow stormier with every step. When he saw it, he became downright angry. He said, “Son this is not right! The mill is polluting the river with their wastewater and that’s against the law!”
“First River” Hope, RI – June 2022
I’m not sure about this, but I think my dad may have reported the environmental crime to the local authorities. The mill, however, continued to pollute the river for at least another three to four years, because I can clearly remember watching the fish and turtles dying slowly through the passing seasons, presumably a result of the toxic dyes being poured daily into their habitat. That childhood experience has remained fresh in my mind for fifty-three years’ worth of water passing under a multitude of bridges in my lifetime. Memories of the experience have also evolved into the underlying premise of the portfolio film I am now producing, titled “Return to Hope”. The film is to be a crucial element of the submission package for my application to the graduate program at Savannah College of Art and Design. Although I have never created a film before, this one will need to be emotionally provocative and intellectually impactful, considering that I’m hoping to impress the college admissions board. The sole mandatory guideline given by the admissions department is that the film must be no longer than ten minutes. Well, as you might imagine, this requirement brought my confidence level up a notch or two. As a novice filmmaker, producing a ten-minute film seems manageable. As to how impactful it will be, well, that is entirely a matter of intention.
“Spillway Outlet”Hope Mill, Hope, RI – June 2022
The month of October is my personal favorite. Not only because it is the month I was born in, but because it represents the beginning of the transition between summer and autumn. I love the cool crisp mornings of fall; the coming harvest and the promise of snowfall; anticipating nights spent by the fireplace staring into the glowing embers and remembering the best of autumns long past.
This morning, October 1, 2022, I set the intention to turn my focus primarily to the work on this film. Journal entries on the Grand Providentia United blog site will also be largely dedicated to this intention. I will be documenting the process from beginning to end, right here on this site. Happy October everyone!
As soon as I published this post, a notification popped up to congratulate me on my 100th post on Grand Providentia United. In light of the transcendental level of intentions I’ve been setting this morning, I see most clearly that there is a high density of synchronicity in the air today!
grandprovidentiaunited.blog 