Art: Life Strains by John Hansen
The Man Inside
At Christmas, Nick dresses as Santa. He likes pretending to grant wishes. They give him some
semblance of decency. He looks dignified, not like the thirty-year old drunk, son of a runaway
father, a mother who buried herself in Tchaikovsky and the past.
Kids ask for weapons, video games, desires sliding with ease.
One day, a boy asks for a new mother.
“Where’s the old one?”
“She left.”
Nick wants to tell him the trajectory’s set. But Nick envies the child’s cheer,
obliviousness to cynicism.
“Can you get it?”
“I hope so.” Nick tries to smile, Santa suit feeling false, light.
About the author:
Mir-Yashar is a graduate of Colorado State’s MFA program in fiction. The recipient of two Honorable Mentions from Glimmer Train, he has also had work nominated for The Best Small Fictions. His work has been published or is forthcoming in journals such as The Write City Magazine, Fleas On The Dog, Cicatrix Publishing, Rue Scribe, Sinkhole Mag, and 100 Word Story.
In the artist’s words:
John Hansen. I started out with a windows 98 computer, with 815 megabyte hard drive. I somehow got online, and was messing with the “windows paint”. Then i got Twisted Brush, TB program size was what got me my first big puter (30 giga) and on to broadband. Once on broadband i got hooked on using Dogwaffle.
I started out with the Dogwaffle 3 (I think?). Whatever version that was available back in 2004. I’ve been using PD Pro since 2006… and Art Rage along with Adobe photoshop 6 … it’s been a life changing experience.
I truly now believe that me doing art in any medium is existential to me! I am blessed with the gift of digital art.