Spence Smith

For all of you Nashville area folks who enjoy art, wine, cheese and good hang time, come to Randy Elrod’s Book Tasting!

This Friday evening, Jan.23 from 5-7pm at Landmark Booksellers in historic downtown Franklin, TN

Complimentary wine & cheese and a free wine glass and signed print if you buy a book(s).

One thing is for sure. People are always looking to learn something new. The older I get, the more I want to learn. The more I learn something the less I knew in general. The less I know the more I want to learn. Ohhhh such a crazy cycle. The art of learning is about the journey and the journey is a great process that keeps my life just a little on the spicy side.

Right now, my life is consumed with learning. My forms of learning range with various media outlets like the internet, books, tv, training from instructors, or conversation with a friend or co worker. I find myself asking more questions all the time trying to soak in just a little more knowledge.

This is a process in life I have loved for some time now. In fact, I’m humble by the art of learning as I talk to people who are much older than myself and hear about the passion for new experiences and the learning process involved.

When I was in high school, I was fortunate to sit under the instruction of a great drummer for one day. Ed Shaughnessy. He was the Tonight Show drummer for so many years playing for the Doc Severinsen Orchestra…The Johnny Carson show…are you following me? This band was and still is amazing. Ed…slammed on the drums and he came to play with our jazz band and do a clinic. Back then he was around the age of 60. He now is around 80 years old.

After watching Ed sound check and blow through an amazingly powerful groove filled solo, I walked up to him and said WOW!!! That was incredible!!! I hope to be that good one day!!! He said to me… Son, I still have so much to learn. Never stop learning the craft.

I’ll never forget that moment. Never stop learning the craft.

When Randy and I get the chance to teach people our thoughts findings and tricks of web 2.0 and all that comes with it, something happens. Randy and I continue to learn new things and how to apply them better with each day. Those that we teach, learn something new that is way out of the box for them. it challenges them to view what they do so differently and helps to open their minds to the ulimited power of the internet community.

For example: Teaching someone about Twitter is not about convincing someone that twitter works. It’s about convincing them to try it to see how it works. Once you see how it works, you learn how to make it work for yourself. That’s the beauty of learning. The process…

It really feels more like an art form to me. The journey is half the fun right?

HT:Watercooler Wednesday

Yesterday at Kalein, Randy Elrod (pictured below) gave one of the most inspirational talks I have ever heard in a long, long, long time. He talked to the heart of the artist. We were standing at Kalein, 100 of us, artists of many types. Listening to a man who had transitioned from worship pastor to entrepreneur to dreamer. It’s the dreamer part that really got to me. You see, because when Big Tent came off the road, so much of my identity was wrapped up in this little band from Memphis. I landed this great job I have now and because I was an artist, I could now speak to the artists I work with in our own little artist speak language and make it a better relationship for the artist and Compassion. Not a bad deal at all. So over the past 7 years a this amazing job, I’ve gone from the typical artist to the connector of people that I am. But yesterday, i heard this like a great thunderous eruption… "WE WILL ALWAYS BE ARTISTS". Just as Randy said it, my heart, my mind, my soul…they were filled with the ability to realize my greatest dreams. what?

That’s right…my greatest dreams. My job is a dream job, my life has been the craziest dream possible with a few nightmares masterfully inserted. But no matter what, my creative side doesn’t just rest in playing drums. My creative side rests in building the dream. What’s my dream? To constantly create something that is uniquely me.  That is uniquely Spence. I’ve searched for significance and I have found it in some very wrong places and stumble upon it in some very right places, but no matter what…the dream continues to take me places I could have never gone without the freedom of mind to dream the big dreams. This is where my creative side sits.

Whether it’s blogging, writing a book, marketing, brainstorming with friends, training for triathlons, or playing music…my mind is actively pursuing and filling its time with making life sweeter through creative thinking. Some days I might wear a suit and some days I might wear jeans and a t shirt, but for me…the artist inside me walks me over the edge of impossibility and into the dreamy world of possible.

I will always be artistic, I will always be an artist. How does your artistic side manifest itself and how do you nurture it to use it for what you are doing in life today? Are you challenging yourself to step outside that box of normality and into something crazy ad exciting?

Dream today and dream big. Be careful though…You might actually like it and you might actually change your life and your culture.

This post is apart of Watercooler Wednesday

Who is Thomas Arvid? Well come to find out, he is a painter and wine lover from Georgia. I was walking in a shopping center in Vegas and some artwork caught my eye as I was walking into to this little gallery. What I saw on the wall BLEW me away. I thought I was looking at a photograph of a Silver Oak bottle and wine glass. Oh no…I was wrong. It was an oil painting like the one pictured here today!!! WOW!!!! This most certainly a new favorite. Especially since he has done paintings of two of my favorite Napa Valley growers, Silver Oak and Cakebread Cellars. Here’s his website. You really should check it out. www.thomasarvid.com. Relax and enjoy…

Back in October I was in Napa Valley, CA. I was in a place called the Napa Wine Company. It’s an awesome place. The people are great and very helpful not to mention they really know their stuff. As I was standing there I saw this piece of art. I stood looking at it straight on. There was something that looked so real about it. It was then that I noticed there were parts of it that actually were coming out of the painting!!!

So here are two pictures of the piece.
The first picture is a view from almost straight on.

The second picture is a side view shot. I was blown away by it. If you ever go to Napa then stop by the Napa Wine Company. It sits right behind Oakville Grocery (pictured below) where you can get an incredible sandwhich.