Marty D. Ison

Disillusionment and Metamorphosis by Marty D. Ison

So I know I talk a lot about Zoetrope Virtual Studios, which is Francis Ford Coppola's generous contribution to writers/artists internationally, but I really have met some incredibly talented people there. Because by nature I'm an introvert content to stay alone at home and be somewhat reclusive, for the past couple of years Zoetrope has been my social life. Yeah, yeah, of course I've met many people from Zoetrope in the real world, too, and I must admit, I've had some, um, very good times.

One man I met a couple of years ago is named Marty Ison. I was originally drawn to his incredible poetry and just knew from the way he wrote that he had to be an artist as well. So we got to talking, and I find out, yeah, he is -- even an art school grad -- but his stuff is all dusty in the attic; he hasn't painted in years, blah blah blah. Naturally me being me could not bear to hear that and asked to see a digital photo or two of his work.

Needless to say, when I saw the extent of his talent, I gasped, and asked to see more. I could not believe he wasn't painting anymore, and we talked about that back and forth, and trust me, I'm not patting myself on the back or anything, but I guess something I said must have touched a nerve, because after a long dry spell, Marty took out his paints and the next thing you know, he's got a gallery down in Florida where he lives representing him and um, his paintings are going for almost as much as I paid for my house.

Anyway, in addition to the above, Marty is now art director at one of the best 'zines around, Smokelong Quarterly (Have I mentioned a story of mine is in their anthology along with Steve Almond and Stuart Dybeck? Hahahahaha - only a few thousand times, I bet). In their brand new, spectacular issue, Marty is interviewed and he actually mentions me to the point where I started crying. Okay, I was teary eyed before I got to my name because when you read about Marty's childhood, you'd have to be made of stone not to get emotional. Read Marty's interview right here. And after you have finished reading it, click on Smokelong's main page and enjoy the awesome short stories and interviews in this issue. They are all really something special.

And to view more of Marty's extraordinary artwork, follow this link.

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So I heard the Beatle show at Indre Studios really rocked last night -- I cannot wait to go tonight. I made an error in yesterday's post -- Eric will not be there this evening, he's got a gig in Delaware, but Julie will be accompanying me and it's gonna be weird to return to Indre with Julie sitting next to me instead of me watching her on stage, but hey, time moves on, or as my favorite waiter in Chinatown once remarked to me when I came for dinner with Julie and Eric and he hadn't seen them since they were babies -- "Wow. Time fries".

I love that.