I should first mention that I wrote the first portion of this blog post on May 20, so that the “tense” of the writing makes sense.
So, my brother, Doug, is in town for a visit (May 19 – 21) and as always, it’s really nice to see him and the chats we have are great – lots of depth and personal sharing. Keep that in mind.
Over the years I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a famous sibling like, say, if Bob Dylan was my brother or somebody else famous like that. Even, maybe, somebody rich with more money than God, so to speak. Let’s say Elon Musk or maybe Bill Gates. While I was showering today thinking about this famous brother business and thinking about the visit with Doug (before he arrived that day of course 😊), I thought, you know, I bet that if you had someone famous like that as a brother, when they came home to visit, all they would really be is your brother. That, along with all the stuff you grew up with and all your memories, things like that. I’m comparing it to Doug, and I have mentioned that he does sing on stage with his choral group(s). I’m sure Doug’s not rich like Bill Gates or Bob Dylan, but he still performs. I know he doesn’t tour but even if he had been on tours and had a huge fandom, when he came home, he’d still be Doug. That’s humbling, and it’s also reassuring. Knowing that we all put our pants on one leg at a time. We’re all humans, and unless we are only children, we usually have siblings or other relatives and you can either have a good relationship with them where you’re all mentally healthy, or you can have shitty relationships, which is not that uncommon either. In my case, I have a really good relationship with both my brothers. I cherish that and I look forward to when they come and when we visit; it’s a beautiful thing!
May 22. I won’t see Doug this morning, but he is heading back to Chestermere, just outside Calgary, where he lives. All in all, it was a lovely three-day visit, which reaffirmed my love for him and my family in general.
If you, the reader, have a famous brother or sister, or even parent, let me know in the comments how the words above resonate with you. Is it brother/sister first, and then the celebrity status second? Perhaps something else?
The feature image, seen again here, does not really relate to the topic of famous, or celebrity, brothers or sisters. It’s just a recent piece of art that I created for fun.
Radial Geometry – Created by Don Cheke
This piece was inspired by someone on the artist’s forum I participate in. He calls himself Vectorian and typically creates and shares geometric art. I can’t say that I like it when people use aliases, but what can you do!? At any rate, he produces some very interesting pieces of vector art.
To help with understanding what vector art is, I asked CoPilot.
Me:
Can you provide a short succinct definition of vector art, one that anyone unfamiliar with the term can understand. Try to lessen or eliminate the use of the typical terms such as algorithm or mathematical formulas. I want something my grandma could understand.
CoPilot:
Of course! Vector art is a type of digital artwork made up of clean, crisp shapes that can be resized without losing quality. Think of it like cut-out paper pieces that can be moved, stretched, and changed without getting blurry or distorted. It’s great for things like logos and illustrations because it always stays sharp no matter how big or small you make it.
I created the main geometry of Radial Geometry in my TurboCAD program and then brought it into my Rebelle paint program as a stencil for painting. I added some of my writing about spirituality and spiritual awakenings in the background, so maybe it is sacred geometry of some sort, as opposed to just radial geometry. I thought that the radial bits looked like a spiritual compass, or perhaps a first nations headdress, that of a chief, if you can imagine that seen from above or behind.
Dragon Birth – Created by Don Cheke
Like the radial geometry mentioned earlier, this one was started as an experiment using a specialized process using what are called blocks to help create the repeating patterns. It is not something you need to know about as the reader, but some of you with a CAD background might find this interesting.
I was on a role again with geometric experimentation when I created Dragon Birth. This time I used the symbol functions in Affinity Designer to create the main geometric/repeating bits. I then brought it into my painting program to use as a stencil to paint those main radial bits. A user is not confined to just radial patterns, but that is what I was experimenting with in the last two pieces. The embedded silver dragon is one of my early wire sculptures, photographed and digitized for use in this piece. It is nice to have so many tools to help create my various art pieces.
Can you see the stylized, minimalist, dragon, 36 of them actually? They are all moving out from the central egg. This symbolizes birth and moving out into the world, something that we all experience in our own lives, basically being born – leaving the safety of the womb. The dragon has a long history in the Chinese culture – their legends and mythologies, but here I use a different symbolization that sees the dragon as a symbol of humanity’s dual essence, the snake portion symbolizing our dark side or darker impulses and the wings symbolizing a higher enlightened side or state. As CoPilot offered when I discussed this topic with it, “Some modern philosophers and artists have adopted the dragon as a metaphor for internal human struggles – perhaps inspired by yin and yang philosophy, which emphasizes balance between opposites.” A lovely addition to the discussion, I would say!
I added the repeating pattern and the wire dragon to a background of leather, thinking the leather represented the skin of the dragon, basically tying it all together. Once complete, I found that the overall look was very Chinese, with a zodiac feel or temperament to it. Do you see or feel any of that?
To wrap up this part of the discussion, perhaps I can ask what you associate dragons with, if you think about them at all?
Thanks for taking time to read the blog post and share the journey with me.
Donald B. Cheke – June 2, 2025
Hi Don,
I enjoy your posts, but more importantly enjoy the fact you take the time to compile and post them. I especially enjoyed the first part of this one. I have three brothers two older and in their 70s. Its at this stage of life that any life style choices that your kin made in the past do not really hold significance as, like you, its just great to see them.
Well done for your food for thought. Keep it up.
Thanks Bruce, for taking time to read the blog post and to comment. It is always nice to see the occasional comment to know folks are actually reading what I write. That always provides encouragement to keep doing it.
It is interesting how folks react well, when I have made mention of my brothers. I guess, like you, that is something that they can readily identify with.