“Character” (oil on wood, 6”X9”, 2001)
by Jazz Minh Claire Moore

“ 'What are your feelings compared to eternity, to humanity?! They are the fart of a mosquito!' George exploded during a conversation with a sensitive Jewish man over tea one day. He despises clubs of any kind, and challenges anyone who subscribes to any set ideological system. George is a seventy year old Swiss man I met in Adamant, Vermont, population 25, where I was an artist in resident for a small piano college. I knew George and I would be great friends when my caretaker, shaking his head, spoke of this eccentric old man who delighted in offending everyone he met. I immediately asked George over for afternoon tea. Over triscuits and homemade rhubarb jam, George and I began a series of conversations that lasted the three months of my residency. We conversed about history and the future, hypothesizing on the nature of love, and all things important. I would sketch him as we talked. This is a small painting I finished during one of these sessions.”

This is the fourth Alternatives front cover by Jazz Minh Moore, a 23 year old artist from the west coast, USA. She is currently visiting the island of Koh Phangan, Thailand, taking a yoga teachers training course.