December 22, 2007 ~ I recently sat down with Artist/writer/philosopher Michael Mollick in his Kennesaw, Georgia home. His life, for the most part, is surrounded by love and laughter, and more creativity than is likely safe for one man’s energies. A huge, retarded cat named ‘George’ paced against our shins as we sipped ice tea on his wrap-around-porch languishing in the cool autumn sunshine while we awaited the youngest pair of his five children to arrive home from their daily dose of public school education.
Jesteur: So Michael Mollick blogging for Pixiport. Tell me exactly why the hell anyone should care?
Mollick: Ooh, good question! Well, I suppose in a way, my brain is like an Alpha Channel–
Jesteur: You mean obscure and really hard to find?
Mollick: Funny… No, I simply mean there’s an etherial world out there which draws everyone, some of which I’ve been learning to filter. Hopefully, some can consider me a shortcut..
Jesteur: To what? 
Mollick: To what else? Global Art!
Jesteur: Is there such a thing as a ’shortcut’ to great Art?
Mollick: <He smiles as he absently scratches George’s butt, then his own> Okay, you got me. The true answer would be an emphatic “NO”!…

…Any answers I may have gleaned are the products of millions of years of Human aesthetic evolution. Of course the busiest period of personal mutation having occurred in the last forty.
Jeasteur: How old are you?
Mollick: Amost Forty-four… <He suddenly brightens> But my wife insists I have the emotional maturity of a thirty-four-year-old!
Jesteur: Yeah… Well that’s something, isn’t it?
Mollick: Is it?
Jesteur: No, not really.. But you supposedly started picking out tunes on the piano at four, right?
Mollick: <He sniffles, his chin rising> Oh yeah. You know – a few of the classics… “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, “Yankee Doodle Dandy”…
Jesteur: Quite the prodigy, Amadeus!
Mollick: Okay, Okay… But me and ’Vulfgaang’ DID seem to share the arrested emotional maturity thing… along with something else, about which you’ll learn more in time. For now, call it an obsessive interest — in patterns, of all kinds, Artistic, Historical, Mythical, pretty much the original seven liberal arts and sciences. Forty years spent chasing mastery of these lends a global perspective. It allows one to sometimes SEE what others miss… It divulges secrets.
Jesteour: And shortcuts?
Mollick: Exactly! Insider tips to effective or innovative communication of Artistic trends, techniques, and tools; to deeper, more meaningful expressions of who we are and what we’re about. We’re ALL philosophers, each capable of works of art or thought which makes eyes go wide in-awe or hearts ache with the transcendent beauty, like mine does, you know? When my five-year-old proudly displays his crude set of smiling crayola dragons, the larger labeled “Dad”, the smaller labeled “Me”… Through disciplines of music, painting, athletics, writing, CG, digital art and photography, I’ve worked obsessively for that kind of artistic transcendence all of my life.
Jester: Wow! You sound like you must have accomplished some truly astonishing works of creativity!…
Mollick: Well, no, not really, but I’ve tried and failed at nearly all of them, the results which, on occasion, have led to modest amounts of money or small pockets of interest and attention, and a fairly accomplished, global sense of both humor and philosophy. Thank God I’ve learned to appreciate the “process” and the “search”. For me, it’s all about the journey, never the destination, not anymore.
Jesteur: So what, we should be interested in your failures?
Mollick: ABSOLUTELY! Failure is the greatest teacher of all. There’s nothing quite as inspiring as a truly miserable failure teetering on the edge of success. As a student, I’ve been kicked out of college; as a painter, snubbed by the likes of Frace and Doolittle; consistantly fired as a photographer; languished in Hollywood screenplay purgatory; my novel arrogantly ignored by scores of literary agents… On the other hand, even the rejections have been tempered by encouraging praise and professional approval, such that for most there’s an assumption of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ my champagne will eventually flow. I HAVE been fortunate enough to meet an amazing array of people, recognizable names, scholars, politicians, Hollywood insiders, some of whom I hope to convince into an occasional “guest-blog”. Until then, I hope you’ll enjoy the open, humorous, and hopefully interesting processes and discussions about “gloBALartry” and the realm of Alpha…
Jestur: … Truth. You did a lot of drugs when you were younger, huh?
Mollick: Much younger, but now I don’t even drink. Haven’t in years! And hey, ’til you learn what this is all about, don’t knock it! ‘GloBALartry’ is every bit as real as you and me and Pixiport’s specific goals for this new website!
Jaesture: … Yeah… But quite obviously, I’m nothing more than a cheezy fictional device you threw together for the purposes of this first blog!
Mollick: … <Michael scratches his ass again in silence, remembering how annoyed he usually gets when people talk about themselves in third-person.>
Gestur: …Plus, isn’t Mike Mollick sort of making all this stuff up as he goes along?
Mollick: …<He grins, rising as he hears the hydrolic squeal and hiss of his kid’s schoolbus…>

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