Wisconsin- Otherness

Forgotten battlefield with ghosts of Highlanders fighting for freedom and claymores set in museums but still know the way of battle recognize that I am Clan Morrison. Ancient Zen art with black ink stone and Asian graphite recognize that I am an artist. As an artist, a return to nature is important as it is letting God express Himself. One could say Wisconsin is a good example of this. Living in Indiana and watch Chicago television, Wisconsin had a certain otherness. Their ads are great too. When I got there it looked a lot more like northwest Indiana. I enjoyed the tour at the Jelly Belly (C) factory in-spite of the fact that it was during their Christmas vacation and got a sample at the end and bought a bag of their misfit candy.( It was good.) I had friends from Wisconsin, they had accent like on Prairrie Home Companion, but that was when I was living in the Chicago area and mostly we talked about if green bay or the Bears would do better that year. I drew one of my greatest piece s on the subject of a great highland battle in the which the Morrisons fought.

 Wisconsin has a certain otherness with its mythology. Everything is resting on a large fur.  It stands for the Bray Road Beast and the large black bear population. The Wisconsin Bray road Beast is similar to the Highland wulver which is best described as a mixer of man and wolf but not aggressive unless provoked. Behind everything is a butte and Lake Superior from the Apostle Islands. According to Ojibwe who were the first inhabitance of the area, the island were formed when Winneboujou ( a spirit) threw rocks at a dear that was swimming in the Great Lakes. The French gave the Islands the name it has now. The little ball on the fur is a cheese. Original, the state was known for wheat but that declined due to poor soil. Cheese is what rescued the state with the farmer puling to process the dairy. There were 1500 factories there by 1899.  The flag standing in the Cheese is Von Bismark’s German flag. The greatest immigration to the state was from Prussia and northern Germany in the 1840’s/50’s and the state is still very German. I drew this picture this year with pencil and white charcoal and is 8” x10.”

       The name of this piece is “Oak Trunk” and is done in ink and was draw about two years ago. Oak trees have always had a mystical quality. The Celts view it as a symbol of stability. This particular one was one in which children played. They were at school when I drew it because it had an interesting trunk. It was directly at the road so that one could see the effect of the road. I only had a few pen at the time, but did the best I could. If you would like to buy this or any other of my artwork email me at MatthewMorrison76@yahoo.com.