Gallery St Clair

Laura Adkins -  There is more to life than Nielsen. There is more to life than Hindemith. When you first learn to play in a woodwind quintet, these pieces are your whole world. There are just a handful of them, and they're all you know. Now, I'm not knocking their musical merit by any means. But there is a distinct failure among woodwind quintets to move beyond these works. Sure they're great, but there's so much more. This is what we've always wanted to do with Eleventh Hour. We've all already played these standard pieces, and while we could approach them from different directions and struggle to pump new life into the proverbial dead horse, we figured we might as well find a live horse and see what it could do. So when we were offered the opportunity to play the Green Mill , we looked purposefully for new pieces, less-popular pieces, and pieces that pushed the envelope in one way or another. Eisler's quintet is often overlooked because Eisler

This is the logo I designed for the Eleventh Hour Woodwind Quintet.  I looked for inspiration from the style of new music that they embrace.  Since they are very artsy and somewhat avant garde I was drawn to using geometric to create the illusion of passing time.  I didn't want anything to be too obvious but it needed to clearly project the message of excellence in artistic performance. Shel St Clair

Sigh... He exists, but in a dream. And dreaming, I draw from him What there is to draw from illusion, Life, breath, reason, insanity. I pull close only to find that I have passed through. He is afraid of reality And I must wake. Shel St Clair

Shel St CLair    Business Plans Are Vastly Over-Rated I have been starting and developing small businesses as a consultant for 20+ years and I have been paid to work on countless plans that were not worth the paper they were written on.  The uncontested winner for first place in the category of most important item in starting a small business is, (drum roll) have a solid idea .  That’s right, have a good business idea.  It doesn’t have to be completely unique or original but it needs to be good.  For example, a neighborhood grocery store specializing in gourmet deli items, not unique but if well run it will be a winner if…  Well, if what?  If the location and merchandising of the store are correct.  If not all the best planning in the world will bomb.  So what is your idea?  What do YOU want to do?  Would you buy it?  Why would the people around you buy it?   Imitate What Works Not What Doesn’t Even if your business idea is entirely original and no-one else has ever t

Supreme Court set to rule on health care reform This is the title of an article on CBS News this morning.  who would have thought that when Obama took office that right before his second political campaign for the Presidency the U.S. Supreme court would be ruling on a maverick act that his administration will be judged by.  Obama, the feel good President.  I always find a comparison between him and previous Presidents interesting.  Ronald Regan for instance was a true celebrity, talented, driven, a personality, heart, and intellect that were larger than life and instantly drew people to him.  Regan could be right or wrong but either way you knew he was truly great.  Not so with Obama, he seeks the part of celebrity alright, in the same tacky way that Paris Hilton did, using the office of President to promote a type of individual popularity that is strikingly Junior High.  Reagan said a few golden things that will last in history as the earth changing cries of a society that demanded th

I drew this with oil pastels from a photo that I took early in the morning on a vacation that we took to WY.  - Shel St Clair

The Whole Market and the Hole in the Market Shel St Clair Some 50 years ago a man by the name of Kozy Boren had a vision; he saw a hole in a market, and he found it in an industry that exists solely to make its own customers money.  I point this out because both of these are unique and Kozy touched each in a manner that affected thousands of people individually and the entire U.S. Economy.  Rarely does a man find himself in the exact position on the earth to understand the alignment of the stars and see into the future.  However that club is not as exclusive as the one whose members are made up of those who did something about it and had a positively impact.  This is a truly special man.    In the U.S., the development and growth of small business is encouraged because of the way our economy is tied to the greater philosophy of individual freedom.  Small business is the American way.  This covers the entire spectrum of representative citizens regardless of background, education,