New Degree, New Website, New Adventures

My art is like my life—an evolution of influences that inspire creative ways to connect with the world. Armed with my crayons and finger-paints, I became an artist before I ever learned the ABC’s. I began expressing myself with complete disregard for rules, coloring on walls and everything “outside of the box." As I got older, my appreciation for art grew with me. Over the years I got to experiment with other mediums, such as acrylics, oils, woodwork, graphic design, and jewelry. Each and every style has a special place in my heart, and I utilize each medium to express myself in unique ways.

When I finished high school, my parents weren’t too keen on me pursuing my passion for art in a college setting…something about, “you’ll never make a living as an artist.” This was followed by the dreaded, “BUT you can get a real job and if you still want to do art you will find a way.” Sure enough, my passion for art never died. As I made my way through college, I came across tons of influential people and styles that inspired me creatively, emotionally, spiritually, and everything in between. One of the biggest influences that came into my life was my fiancée Amanda Songy.

The day we met, I was sitting in front of the LSU library listening to music, trying to play it cool as I watched her drawing in her sketchbook. I was so nervous to speak, so I just sat there and watched—a beautiful girl, with a look unlike anything I’d ever come across, that was artistic and clearly a total badass. Before I knew it, we were expecting a child, and trying to maintain our creative passions. She started creating handcrafted, unique jewelry ranging from wire-wrapping and beading to silversmithing and pearl knotting. The whole time, I was so caught up in the chaos of becoming a dad that my art somehow ended up on the back-burner.

Then the best day of my life came. On October 7, 2010, she gave birth to our first child, Anthony Joseph Bacala, IV. I’m not sure if it was because I didn’t feel like repeating my name every time I talked to him, or if we were just dying to express ourselves creatively, but we decided to call him “IV” for the Roman numerals. Once he was born, all those ideas that were floating around for nine months started flowing out, like our never-ending love for him. As I got ready for my last semester of college, I knew that it was time to take my passion for art to the next level. Since then, I have started taking all the necessary steps to ensure that art will always be a part of our lives.

I have currently been working on my first website, www.TheFineArtExtraordinaire.com which has been one of the coolest and most frustrating projects I've ever worked on. I'm happy to get the experience though because it will help when I work on Amanda's website next. She has been taking off in the jewelry scene--her very first class under her business Comfy Creations not only brought in 18 girls, it was also featured on the homepage of the "Game Plan" section of Dig Baton Rouge.

I truly am looking forward to sharing my work with everyone, as well as growing as an artist over the next few years. As I venture into unknown territories—like silkscreening, printmaking, woodburning, and jewelry, I always think about my amazing family and all the blessings that have come into my life. They are my inspiration, and my reason for creating expressions of the love they shower me with everyday. Great adventures are ahead, and I'm looking forward to wherever this crazy ride we call life takes us!

Awakening From Life's Dream

Eyes wide open, we walk in a slumber,
Dreaming of dreams of the life we think we should live,
As we smile and remind ourselves to keep on living.

We walk the planned path of life that is laid out before us,
As we infectiously perpetuate the cycle of our demise,
Never allowing ourselves to wake up from this dream.

We look for outside sources to make us who we are,
As we build and acquire a life based on lies,
That can only grow as big as our wallets allow.

We think happiness can be found in the biggest “thing,”
Be it property or possession, as we abandon rationality,
Losing sight of self-thought for self-worth through materialism.

Television shows us this life, music brings it to our ears,
And our books and magazines let us read about it,
As we fall victim to the beliefs that this is life at its greatest.

Would you not agree that one dreams until he wakes?
Knowing that dreams can be a thing of beauty and awe,
We must also accept that they can be hellish nightmares.

When we allow ourselves to be told what is of beauty and awe,
Anything short of that becomes a nightmare,
And we will live in this nightmare until we awake from the dream!

When was the last time you were happy just to be alive?
When was the last time you went out of your way to help someone?
When was the last time you opened your eyes to the truth?

We find ourselves so caught up in the pursuit for happiness,
We forget to stop and ask ourselves whether we’re happy now,
As we continue in a waking dream-state of false hope.

All I ask it that you stop for a moment and ask yourself,
“Is this all a dream? And if so, how do I awake from my slumber
So that I may finally live for myself and not what I am told to live for?”

Grand Afternoons In The Park

With only a few weekends left, I wanted to let everyone know about "Grand Afternoons In The Park" going on at Perkins Rowe. It's every Sunday through May from 12:30 to 3:30 and there's live music, entertainment, and also a lot of talented artists, including my friends Sallie and Halley, working on live paintings. There's also a lot of work on display from these artists.

So if you have some free time, or happen to be eating or shopping at Perkins Rowe, come check us out!