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.
I awoke this morning, with a spirit on fire. I awoke with a mindful commitment to my higher purpose. I awoke with a physical body that is well prepared for the journey that lies ahead. I awoke this morning with an all-encompassing conviction that I am following the unwavering guidance of the God of my understanding. I know this morning, that I am precisely where I’m meant to be, doing what I’m meant to be doing, and feeling how I’m meant to be feeling. I’m ALL in!
I have fully embraced the understanding that I cannot follow my higher purpose without support from other similarly spirited, and likeminded, people. So, here I am, asking for your financial support. As an aspiring independent filmmaker, I am already aware that I will need to be looking to investors and financial supporters to raise the money needed to produce each and every film project that I choose to pursue. Right now, I am fully committed, in mind, body and spirit, to producing “Return to Hope”, a film that will also launch my independent film career when I graduate in the spring of 2025. For those of you who aren’t regular readers of the “Grand Providentia United” blog site, I recently announced that I’ve set intentions to film the pilot episode of the “Grand Providentia Projection” documentary in Hope, Rhode Island, the mill town where I grew up. For those who would ask how much I’ve personally committed (financially) to this purpose, I can honestly say that I’ve invested well over $20,000-, so far. Between buying the camera equipment that I needed, trips to Hope from PA, moving to Savannah from Allentown, and making two other residential moves since arriving here, I can testify that I am fully invested in this cause.
This camera and the equipment with it, are entry level(recommended for film students). I’ll describe each piece of equipment pictured here in a future post.
This journal entry is the first of what will be an ongoing fundraising campaign. The specific and immediate need for the “Return to Hope” project is that I am hoping to raise funds to take a road trip to Hope, in late November or early December, to shoot some positive interviews with Hope residents which will be included in the film. Return to Hope must be completed by February 2nd of 2023, in order to submit my application to Savannah College of Art and Design on time. My current day-job at the warehouse (see previous post on this blogsite) is not adequate to the financial requirements of making this trip. Please read on, to see how you can help in this cause!
Classic American Dream Catcher Medallions – Personal Dream Realization Devices(numbered one through five). One of these could be yours!I will also describe in detail, the concept and meaning behind these powerful objects of art, in a post, later this week.
Here is what I’m asking of anyone who has read this far – Whatever you can afford to donate today, I would be extremely appreciative of, even five dollars would help greatly! And if you’d like, I’ll send you a personal thank you for your donation (you would simply need to give me a way to contact you). For the first five donations over $50.00, you can select one of the five unique pieces of artwork pictured above. But be sure to message me here, on Facebook, or on LinkedIn with the number of the PDRD that resonates with you. I’ll put it aside as spoken for. I painted and signed them personally over the past weekend, and I will ship them, free of charge, to any location in the continental USA. If you are located internationally, then I would need to find out the cost to get one to you. After these five are spoken for, I have only ten others that I will paint and offer up during the coming weeks. Before I can cast any new medallions (quite possibly never) I will need to remold the piece. I intend to design a newly updated medallion, specific to the Grand Providentia Projection as it has evolved up til now, during the near future of now. After all, it is always now!
Seriously and sincerely though, as I know times are financially tough for a lot of folks around the world, I would ask that those who are unable to donate at this time, please consider subscribing to this blog. I fully appreciate, and I’m ready to embrace, any support you are able to offer!
At home in Savannah, GA.
If this project, or my higher purpose, speaks to you spiritually, mindfully or physically and you’d like to support either or both financially, then the easiest way is through the Donate * Contact page on this site. You’ll be asked to open a WordPress account (free) and then you’ll be able donate through a secure payment process, and you’ll also be able to ‘Like’ the posts that you like, comment on the ones that you have something to say about and subscribe to the Grand Providentia United blogsite. If you want to donate, but not through WordPress, then you can contact me here, through FB messenger, on LinkedIn, or send an email to smartcastings@live.com and I’ll offer other options for you to consider. Thank you so much for reading this call for support! I’m grateful for the time you’ve been present here!
For any new readers and those who are unfamiliar with the focus of my creative energies in the now, I’ll round up this particular call for financial support by making the case as to why you might consider supporting this film and the “Grand Providentia United” cause.
Over the past fifteen to twenty years, I’ve been following, and sometimes pioneering, a path that is as esoteric as it is unpopular. A path seemingly traveled by just a few diehard dreamers who believe that humanity has everything it requires right now to heal the damage that’s been done to the Earth and to secure a positive and healthy future for all of its current and future inhabitants. Fellow travelers on this path possess an optimistic outlook concerning the future of humanity, while also remaining positive about the progress we’ve made thus far. In recent months, I’ve noticed a worldwide uptick of interest in the practices of mindful living and present conscious awareness, and although the interest seems to be geared toward helping single individuals improve their lives, rather than including the collective, I am certain that this is a move in the healing direction. This trend toward mindfulness certainly encourages me to continue pursuing the work of my higher purpose, but it is by no means the compelling force which has been guiding me on this intellectual and spiritual journey for most of my earthly existence. The universal term I’ll use here to describe that ‘compelling force’ is “the God within”. The God within has taught me to offer unconditional love to others while also offering and accepting unconditional love for myself. The God within has guided me on a path of deep gratitude. While I am experiencing life’s harshest tribulations, the God within reminds me that there are others who are suffering far more than I ever will, and that by continuing on in a spirit of love and gratitude, I will indeed be lifting others out of their suffering. The God within has taught me that all positive spiritual and intellectual change starts local, within the heart and mind of one human being, and then it moves outward, through the hearts and minds of those who are attracted by the essence of that particular call to change. All of my motivations, intentions and actions are now falling into line with the work of this higher purpose – to send out a call for positive spiritual and intellectual change. The change will promote the idea that human beings have more in common with each other than they have differences. The change will demonstrate that we are all connected at the level of soul through conscious awareness, and because of that conscious connection we are capable of creating happiness and healing hearts effortlessly, if we collectively choose to do so. We human beings are always capable of being so much more than we allow ourselves to be!
This is the framework for a 13′ sculpture my friend Scott Russo (pictured) and I pieced together and installed within a 48-hour time frame for an event we organized at S.M.art Castings & Sculpture Services (2010?). We slept on the worktables the night before the event, just so we could wake up and get it finished in time for the show!Billed as a large-scale model for a “conscious energy receiver” the piece included sound and light elements to add more impact to our presentation. But the real power contained in the artwork, was added by our combined conscious intentions to get it done on time. NOTE: For fans of metaphysical phenomena, look for orbs in both of these images. I took the photos and I had never before even heard of orbs, let alone captured them in a photograph!
The creation featured above was part of the “American Dream Catcher” initiative, during the years before that project evolved into the current “Grand Providentia Projection”. The intentional determination that both of these creative expressions should share the same philosophical ideology has given the work a life of its own. I know that I’m where I’m meant to be, doing what I’m meant to be doing. This project will evolve into something unique in the world. Something extraordinary! Something that will aid in the healing of our planet and our human family. I know that I cannot accomplish this alone, but I also know that I will rally the personal strength, the financial support and the resources, to make this worthy dream become a reality!
Please consider subscribing to this blog and making a small donation to the cause if you are able. Thank you for reading here, your presence is appreciated!
Production of a Portfolio Film – Post #5 Concept Development
Introduction (continued)
As I mentioned in yesterday’s entry, the first section of “Return to Hope” will be structured in a very similar manner to most contemporary films. This part of the film will be considered the setup (or introduction) to what comes after it. It will act to setup the confrontation (middle section) and together with the middle section, the introduction will pave the way for, and justify, the resolution (end). All three sections will be of equal importance, and I intend to give them each enough unique visual and audio content to allow them to stand alone on their own merits, but I will also employ enough ideological connectivity within the three sections to bolster the film’s comprehensiveness as a cohesive and holistic production. I will venture to say that “Return to Hope” is to be a micro-movie trilogy, where all three movies may be viewed within a nine-minute time frame. As I’ve already stated, I will be pushing boundaries.
“Portal?” This tree is located directly across the street from Hope Mill. The house may have been the mill owner’s home. As a boy, I always wondered how the arch was formed. Back then I wondered about so many things. It was the wonder years, for sure!
In the last journal entry, I revealed that the opening narration for the film would be iterated by trees. The following is a rough version of what the trees will be communicating to us through “Return to Hope”.
Narration for Intro to “Return to Hope”
(Voiceover will be digitally altered to simulate multiple trees speaking to us)
Humanity’s strategy for the demarcation of time is intrinsically flawed, and therefore illusory.
Humans are inclined to seek the beginnings and the endings of every event in their short lives.
Our own perceptions of time and space are nonlinear, more cyclical and wavelike in nature.
We perceive an infinite multitude of singularities expanding and contracting presently.
It is always the present moment for us. There is no past or future event that concerns us.
All is unfolding precisely as it is meant to, and we trees have no desire to control potential outcomes.
We are one with all that is, all that has been, and all that will be, as it rises and falls, ad infinitum.
These lines will be delivered slowly and deliberately to the rhythm of film clips that are materializing and dissolving at a peaceful and calming rate. The imagery will alternate between film clips of magnificent trees and the now deteriorating Hope Mill. One of the elements that will draw the two subject matters together will be the vegetation that is already starting to reclaim the mill and its outbuildings. Besides the narration, I intend to include a soundtrack that is suggestive of lapping waves (slow and steady), or the inhaling and exhaling sounds of deep meditative breathing. In foresight, I am predicting that the most difficult aspect of this approach to the introduction will be in its execution. What I mean by that, is that I’ll want to sustain the slow-paced tempo for as long as possible (hopefully three minutes) without losing the attention of my audience. If I can accomplish this, I feel that the audience will come away with a better understanding of how trees might be perceiving the world around them, and how their perceptions might persuade humans to be more cautious in their actions moving forward.
“River of Roots” Photo taken at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida
In the next journal entry, I’ll wrap up my current thought process on the first section of the film and move into an explanation of the confrontation (middle section) of “Return to Hope”. Thank you for reading the Grand Providentia United online journal. I very much appreciate your presence here!
Production of a Portfolio Film – Post #6 Concept Development
Introduction (conclusion)
Before I move on to a discussion of the format for the confrontation portion of this film, I’d like to linger a little longer on the Setup (introduction). It is crucial to the intellectual and emotional impact of this film, that I manage to successfully capture a believable representation of how trees might be perceiving our human behaviors. Human beings have an incredible potential for the formulation of ideologies and philosophies that are beneficial to every life form on the planet. Conversely, humans also have the unsettling propensity to conceive of ways to destroy or dismantle every beneficial creation they’ve ever conjured. I can entirely imagine the trees standing by silently, bearing witness to these two opposing human traits, shaking their crowns in frustration and disbelief, while their human counterparts are building up and tearing down entire empires, sometimes within a few short centuries. It has become obvious to me that the trees are in it for the long run. They would continue to grow and multiply for the good of mankind, if we would simply allow them the space and liberty to do so. The trees and all the other forms of vegetation on the Earth, are acting as one enormous filtering system for our air and water. Shouldn’t we at least express our gratitude to the plant life on our planet by not clear-cutting forests or eradicating entire ecosystems?
“Preservation” Photo captured at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, PA (2021)
I was recently gifted a book titled “What We Owe the Future” by William MacAskill. The author is a 35-year-old philosopher who is currently an associate professor at the University of Oxford. The book cover’s bio on MacAskill asserts “At the time of his appointment, he was the youngest associate professor of philosophy in the world.” I would venture to say that it’s monumentally fitting for this young man to have achieved so much intellectual success so early in his life, as it appears to me that the younger generations are growing tired of outdated ideas and worn-out excuses. Young people are increasingly becoming the champions for an evolution of thought and action that may be able to turn this world around; set it on a course that is more sustainable and less self-destructive. Presently, I’m only fifty-five pages into the reading, and with all honesty, I can profess that I have never read a book that was more relevant and resonant to the current state of my mind and spirit than this one is. I’ve read books recently that have quoted certain scholar’s opinions that philosophy was “dead”. That modern philosophers were just parroting the works of the “greats” like Socrates and Aristotle. They went on to opine that there were no new philosophical ideas being generated, and that we had taken the entire pursuit of philosophy to its natural conclusion. In my admittedly uneducated opinion, I would say that William MacAskill has proven these particular skeptics wrong.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who believes we can change the course of this world for the good of all.
In the next online journal entry, I’ll start to describe the content of the middle section of “Return to Hope” and explain how the introduction sets up the confrontation taking place in the second section, which will then be resolved in the third and final section of the film. I also have a couple of artworks to offer up to financial supporters of the Grand Providentia Projection. I’ll be posting those within the next few days. Thank you for spending some of your time reading here. I truly appreciate you all!
"Grand Providentia United" 