Life Beyond A Day Job

 (Today's word will be in red, and bold.)


For most of us, our job is what we do to pay the bills.  A rare few are lucky enough to have their "dream job"; most of us though do our "day job", relegating our passions to the sidelines.

Then there are those, like Gene Presler, who works for The Standard.  By day Gene works for the insurance company; devoting his spare time to music.

Born in Vancouver, Washington, Gene was the middle child of nine born to Ed and Faye Presler.  Gene grew up in an atmosphere filled with music.  Most of his relatives played an instrument and everyone sang.  Some of Gene's early influences were Hank Williams, Hank Snow, The Sons of the Pioneers and the Carter Family; all favorite artists of his parents.

While living in Montana, Gene's music genre knowledge increased when his older brother introduced him to the music of artists like Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys.  It was also during this period that Gene first heard the Beatles and was completely hooked. He wanted to be one of the Beatles; actually, he wanted to be all of them!

At the age of eighteen Gene learned to play guitar, though it wasn't until he was in his thirties that he really devoted himself to the craft. Even now he says he really only plays rhythm guitar.

For the most part Gene has sang harmony for others. When he began writing his own songs however, he also began singing them.  Over the years Gene has written more than a hundred songs, with as wide a range of musical styles as those that influenced him early on.  One of my favorites is called "That's Called Love".  It's a beautiful song, and Gene's voice enhances the beauty of the lyrics and music.

 Along with his group, the Vantucky Ramblers, Gene performs at local venues in the Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, Washington region.  One of the songs the group performs for audiences is called "If I Had To Climb Me A Mountain".  The song, heavily tinged with bluegrass, was written by Gene after a trip to Nashville.

 This is just a small post about Gene Presler and the Vantucky Ramblers.  If you like what you've read and heard, be sure to check out Gene and the band on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/public/Vantucky-Ramblers, or look them up on YouTube.

The Arts Project

On Thursday, June 16, 2011, the company I work for held it’s very first employee art show.

The idea came from an employee as part of a leadership course she was taking.  Part of her task was to do something that would engage at least twenty-five people.  She came up with the idea of the art show because of her love of photography.  She felt that if this was a big part of her life, away from work, there were probably other employees that were the same way.

The turn out of employees was huge, for a first time event; so big that the organizers decided to put a cap on the number of entries each person could have. In all there were 125 entries from 44 employees; and this didn't include those that were turned away after the entry deadline.

After a lot of planning and hard work, the day of the art show finally arrived.  A large room in one of the company’s buildings had been transformed into an art gallery, to display the art submitted by employees.

The art itself was quite varied.  Employees submitted photos, paintings, drawings, jewelry, pottery, fabrics, and everything in between.

I’ve never considered myself an artist; I just like playing on the computer and coming up with things, using Paint Shop Pro 7.  A friend convinced me to at least submit some of my stuff though, so I did.  This is one of my entries, under “Graphic Arts”.  I got the idea from my son, and because my parents collect Santas.  My son said they didn't have a "Camo Santa".

 

 On the day of the art exhibit, a co-worker and I went to check it out.  When we got there, I discovered as an “artist”, in the show, I had a special badge to wear.  I have to admit, the littlest things make me feel special; enough so that I’ve scanned the badge for this post. 

 It was really cool to see all the different items on display at the exhibit.  Our company definitely has some really talented people working for them.

One of my favorite photos was of a Rock Squirrel; it’s just sooooooooo cute!

 Another piece I really liked was done by one of my former co-workers.  It’s a painting she did for her grandma, and is from a photo of the co-worker when she was 2 years old.

 One of the textile entries really caught my eye also; and was done by another former co-worker.  It’s a scarf that has combined felted wool with silk.  The title of the piece is “Undersea Garden”. 

 These are just a minuscule part of all that was on display at this first art exhibit.

The feedback from this one-day event was so positive, it was turned into a week long showing.  Even though this was the first employee art show our company has had; I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last.