Tag: Unity

Road Trip to Nowhere

Eventful Embarkation #3

Grand Providentia United

The Road Trip That Wasn’t Meant to Happen – Post #3

In the fog, all things are uncertain and precarious. Forms lose their edginess, while people gain it. In our efforts to extract meaningful images from a white-on-white canvas, we strain our eyes and whiten our knuckles if we’re sitting behind a wheel, and if we’re on foot, our imaginations can misconstrue a hellscape as safe passage and a clear pathway as brambles. I was feeling alert, alive and present on the morning of March 1, at 6:00 AM, as I drove warily through the dense fog blanketing Okeechobee County well before the sun could burn its way through. The interior of Florida is notorious for dangerous highways that slice across the state from the west coast to the east at regular intervals up and down the American mega-peninsula. I had nearly completed the turn-off from one of those highways when disaster struck. A nano-second of horn blare, screeching tires and the crashing sounds of metal and glass reconstructing each other, and then I was spinning. I became a moving part on the inside of a much larger moving part (the Honda Accord). A three-quarter turn and then a complete stop. Car still running, lights still slashing at the fog, I unbuckled and disembarked. The dazed walk I took to the other side of the vehicle gave me all the visual information I needed to conclude that my road trip was over, at least for today. After hurling a couple of profanities at the passive whiteness, I came to my senses and walked away from the crippled hulk. My next thought was for the occupant(s) of the other vehicle. With prayers and fears overflowing, I approached the driver’s door. And that was when extreme gratitude made its reappearance on the scene. One occupant, and although she wasn’t speaking, I could see that she wasn’t critically injured or unconscious. Cars are disposable, people are not.

According to fond memories, I enjoyed driving this Accord.

Two days earlier, on Monday afternoon, I left Savannah for the second time during the month of February. I had decided days before to consider the first trip a trial run; a learning experience for the real “Cross Country Expedition to Gather Film Content”. I’d also decided to scale back the distance covered. Instead of driving from Mile Marker 0 on Key West to the farthest reaches of Alaska, I opted for the farthest northwest point in the contiguous USA, which is Cape Flattery, WA. By the time I finished sorting through and selectively packing everything I could think of for the trip and recording the following video, it was already past 2:00 PM. I drove away from storage locker 88 and headed south.

https://youtu.be/rDGBs347XK8
The official start of the “Grand Providentia Projection” is now! Join us for “A True Story, as Yet Unfolding…”

I left the storage locker and Savannah late in the day. I couldn’t imagine hurrying toward Sanford, Florida and the American Bronze Foundry because that was 5 hours away and would be closed by the time I arrived. I decided to head south and take an easterly detour to the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a coastal preserve and it is where I had previously filmed a few scenes for “Return to Hope”. I was not disappointed by my intuitive side trip. It was wonderful afternoon weatherwise, and the refuge was nearly deserted. I ate dinner by the water as the sun set and then I set forth. Spirit untethered.

“Speak to Us” Live Oak, living in the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Remember – all photos are available as gifts for a $20 donation to the cause. I will email a high-quality image, which you can then print to your specs.
“Infrastructure Undone” The Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge was established by the U.S. Fish and Game Commission on an abandoned military airfield in McIntosh County, GA. Apparently, when we’re all done with the fighting, we sometimes go fishing.
“Thistle” One of the most beautiful weeds I’ve ever seen… or heard.

By the time I hit the onramp for I-95 South it was getting dark. I drove for a couple of hours before turning into a rest stop for a dinner out-of-the-trunk and a pre-bedtime brush and splash out-of-the-sink. As uncomfortable as the passenger seat was for sleeping, I was feeling extraordinarily blessed by the freedom to make my own choices and set my own pace. In the morning, I drove off as the sun was revealed by a horizon in perpetual motion. Next stop, American Bronze Foundry in Sanford, Florida. But along the way, off of historic Route1, I followed signs to a town named Lincolnville. That is where I captured the last good photo of my home away from no-home, the cranberry Honda I choose to call Accord.

“Cutting the Accord” Take note of the signage.
“American Bronze Foundry” My foundry of choice since leaving Bronzart (Sarasota) in 2008.

After a short meeting with Charlie (Charles Wambold III) to drop off the model and discuss a bare-bones version of my hopes and dreams concerning the “Grand Providentia Projection”, I drove off in the direction of Key West. Timing is everything when you are preparing to drive through Miami, so I fully expected to stop and sleep again before getting to the keys. Another sidetrack to Mullet Lake Park in Seminole County and then I would dine, and squirm through the night in the cramped bucket seat of Accord.

“Mullet Lake Park”

I didn’t see any mullets, in the water or on people’s heads, but I did enjoy a nice lunch by the water, while being entertained by an airboat pilot showing off his fancy fan skills.

I’ve never been skilled at predicting the future, even when the future is as close as the following morning, but if I had that skillset, I’m sure I would have lingered longer at the rest stop waiting for the fog to lift before resuming the drive south. In a single moment, all things can change. I love change, though, because it enhances our flexibility and expands our ability to accept the way things are in the now.

Return tomorrow for a report on where I’m at and where I’m planning to go from here. Thank you for reading this Grand Providentia United journal entry! Please feel free to stay awhile, scroll down, scroll back up, and read until you yawn. Good night, good people!

Film Journey

Big Trust

Grand Providentia United

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.

https://www.youtube.com/@scottmoore4601

https://www.facebook.com/scottjoseph.moore/

https://www.facebook.com/grandprovidentiaunited/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottmooresmartcastings/

Patrons and Supporters

Fundraiser for “Return to Hope” #2

Grand Providentia United

Urgent Call for Support! – Post #2

In this, the second of three posts dedicated to this call for support, I’ll introduce you to the Personal Dream Realization Device, also known as the American Dream Catcher medallion. I designed, sculpted, molded and cast the first run of PDRDs back in 2010. The medallions were designed and created to be an integral part of the American Dream Catcher Initiative. The focus of this initiative was the “American Dream Catcher” bronze sculpture, which has since evolved into “Providentia – A Harmonic Dream Conservatory” (See image below). This 42″, 100-pound bronze sculpture was intended from the start, to be a small-scale model for multiple monumental size pieces. Each of these large-scale bronzes would be collaboratively produced at 16′ tall and installed around the globe, as focal points to receive and transmit the positive conscious intentions of the collective human race. During concept development discussions at S.M.art Castings & Sculpture Services, we often referred to these sculpture installations as being like acupunctural therapy on the planet Earth. What I refer to today, as the “Grand Providentia Projection” has its roots in the fertile spiritual and intellectual soil of the American Dream Catcher Initiative. For those readers who’d like a more comprehensive history of the American Dream Catcher and how it evolved into Providentia, I can point you toward my Facebook page. During the 365 days of 2021, I wrote a post each and every day; I called it Perspective Collective 365. It was the first time I have ever completely followed through on a New Year’s resolution in this lifetime. If you’re willing to take the time to scroll down through the posts, all the way back to 5/26/21, you’ll see the first post of “The Evolution of Providentia”. The story spans 79 posts, from May through August 10, and then nine more posts during the first nine days of November. Even if you don’t care to read the posts, I’d be greatly honored if you’d send me a friend request! https://www.facebook.com/scottjoseph.moore

The American Dream Catcher (Left) is now “Providentia”

Now, moving on to the Personal Dream Realization Device, aka – the American Dream Catcher medallion.

The American Dream Catcher – Personal Dream Realization Device

Here’s how they work: If you happen to have any intentions, goals or dreams that are worth pursuing, then a PDRD can be a valuable tool to have in your pocket or on your desktop! Whenever you are making a decision that might be critical to the manifestation of those intentions, goals and dreams, simply focus on the medallion and let your intuition guide you in the right direction. At the center of the PDRD is a stylized representation of a human figure with arms upraised. The golden orb is representative of our consciousness and our ability to manifest our dreams. The black and white orbs on either shoulder are there to remind you that your decisions, and the actions you take based on those decisions, are the deciding factors in bringing you closer to, or further from, your goals and dreams. If you happen to be a positive person and you’re seeking what you consider to be positive goals, then gauge each decision based on how much closer it will bring you toward the white orb. If you are a negative person and you’re seeking to dominate others or destroy the world, then you should gauge those decisions on how much closer they’ll bring you to absolute blackness (the other orb). The orbs on either shoulder do not necessarily represent right or wrong, or good or bad, but they can represent those values if you decide that they should. Personally, I’ve chosen to designate the white orb as being pure positivity, and each decision that I make which moves me in that direction, will bring the best results for all those who may be affected by that decision. A Personal Dream Realization Device can be a powerful meditative tool, acting as a focal point in the manifestation of all your deepest dreams and desires.

Get your PDRD today! For details see the last journal entry (below) here on the Grand Providentia United blogsite.

In my next post, I’ll present the case on why I think you should claim one of these medallions, and furthermore, why you should share your hard-earned money with this cause. Right now, I just want to thank you for reading this post and for sharing some of your attention here!

Film Journey

Return to Hope #3

Grand Providentia United

Production of a Portfolio Film – Post #3 Unexpected Production Delay

Here and now, I am returning my focus to the making of “Return to Hope” (the portfolio film that I’m producing as part of the application process to the MFA program at the Savannah College of Art and Design). To any readers who have been patiently waiting for my attention to return to this blog, I feel obliged to offer you an apology and an explanation. Please accept my apology for having left you hanging for so long. I confess that it has been twenty-three days since my last journal entry. Please know that my deepest intentions are now motivating me to write regularly here from this day onward, at least until the project is complete. The reason for my absence was as simple and ordinary, as it was difficult and unexpected. Some of you may recall that my roommate unexpectedly informed me that she would be moving out and breaking her lease on the apartment where I was renting a room from her (see my post on September 26th for the details on that bombshell). She went on to declare that she would be moving out within two weeks. This left me in the precarious position of having to find a new room to rent from someone else, or entering into a lease contract with her, her boyfriend and his friend. I could not even imagine signing onto a one-year lease with the three of them, because we choose to live completely contradictory lifestyles. Without going into details, let me summarize our differences this way: while I am practicing making healthy lifestyle choices, they are living habitually unhealthy lifestyles. So, the explanation for my absence is that I needed to turn my attention to finding a new place to live, moving out of that unhealthy living situation, and moving into a more positive, and healthy, living arrangement. Well, I have found my new home, perhaps even until graduation from SCAD in the spring of 2025. I moved in over this past weekend and I’m excited to report that it’s the perfect place for me to thrive and create! Positive and progressive, healing and rejuvenating are terms I would wholeheartedly use to describe the atmosphere of the home I am now renting a room in. My new roommates are much more compatible and a lot less negative than my last roommate and I even have use of an outdoor space (backyard) that I didn’t have in my previous living arrangement. Now, I can get back to purpose. Reclaim the reigns. Move forward with the manifestation of destiny. Return to the “Return to Hope” project and continue the journey toward making the “Grand Providentia Projection” a reality.

A place to live and dream!

More to come, soon! Hopefully, tomorrow…

Film Journey in the Now

Return to Hope #5

Grand Providentia United

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!