Old Stamps - 4/22/15 - Image-a-day

I collected stamps when I was a kid. I remember riding my bicycle down to the Woolworth's in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin and buying the "Big Bag of Stamps of the World", which was a little canvas sack full of stamps from all over the world, still stuck to the corner of an envelope (who was doing that job?). It was a gold mine wrapped around a treasure chest and I would loose entire weekends combing through those magical bits of paper. I had a basic, starter stamp collecting book that has organized alphabetically by country and date. Each page would have a scattering of pictures of some of the stamps from that time and place and it was always an extra thrill to find a stamp that matched one of those.

These stamps where another gift from my pal Ralf Schulze included in the mail art post from last time.

Thank you my friend!

OK HW

I Got Mail! - 4/20/15 - Image-a-day

My old friend Ralf Schulze of Aardvark Farms sent me some real mail today. Ralf has always been the master of mail art! He fully decorates the envelope front and back and then fills it up with all manner of Dadaist weirdness. Today I'll share the front of the envelope. Hand drawn popcorn mixed with some rubber stamp ants and bugs, finished off with interesting postage stamps.

Thanks' Ralf!

OK HW

Amsterdam - 4/10/15 - Image-a-day

Today's image is another in the series of sculptures that I did of Chet Baker inspired by the Bruce Weber documentary "Let's Get Lost". This was the last of four pieces that I did called "Amsterdam", which was where Chet Baker died under mysterious circumstances when he fell (or jumped) from a hotel window. I love the rhythm of the lines in his face. The paint job was fairly simple washes and then some steel wool to accentuate the texture and then another wash. Of the four pieces in the series, this is the only one I still own.

OK HW

Chet EXCU - 4/9/15 - Image-a-day

Chet Baker's moody, blue jazz music entered my life through the lovingly black and white gaze of Bruce Weber's documentary, "Let's Get Lost". I knew nothing of Baker or his music before seeing that movie, but became an instant fan of both his music and sad, tragic life. Bruce Weber's stark, black and white images emphasized the tortured crags of Baker's face and I explored that landscape in a series of four bas-relief sculptures. It was the early 1990s and I was working on the moniker of "Kan-Ken Studios" doing a few outdoor art shows and making a very modest living with my art. This piece is called "Chet EXCU" and was sculpted in oil-based clay, then molded and cast in dental stone and painted with acrylics. It lives in a collection in Richmond, Virginia now.

OK HW

Hello Monkey Boy - 4/5/15 - Image-a-day

I was back in the studio today doing a little whittling. Well, I don't know if it technically qualifies as "whittling" but it's close enough. Here's a WIP (work-in-progress) photo of my latest Lo-Fi-Ga. I haven't given him a name yet, but I was thinking of gorillas and apes and monkeys when I was working on him, so that will factor in. I really love making these silly little faces. I don't know if they amount to a hill of beans in this crazy old world, but they make me happy and I hope they put a smile on somebody else's face too.

OK HW

I Hate Moving - 4/4/15 - Image-a-day

My family moved around a lot when I was growing up. There was rarely any preparation, just talk of the move, then one day a U-Haul would show up and we'd start loading, usually packing as we went along because nothing was ready. Early on there would be talk of being done in time to have some lunch before hitting the road, but as the day wore on and lunch turned into dinner and then we hoped to finish before midnight. By then of course, it was too late to leave so we'd either crash on the floor in the empty apartment or go ahead and get on the road, only to pull over at the first rest stop for a few cold, restless hours of semi-consciousness before rolling off into the pale dawn light toward you next big adventure. Where ever we were going to was always going to be better then the place we were leaving behind, until that place turned out to be a dud and nine months to a year later we were loading another U-Haul truck. As a result of this repeated experience, I got really good at packing and loading trucks and I cultivated a deep animosity toward moving.

Today, I wasn't the one moving, so I was able to keep a handle on my move-rage. I helped my old pal Casey of COG-Photo blog load up a truck of stuff, so he benefitted from ninja-like packing and moving skills. It's never any fun to pack and move stuff, so that's the true test of friendship. The folks who show up to help are the keepers.

OK HW

American Tiki - 3/31/15 - Image-a-day

"American Tiki" stay away from me!

I've been getting some regular time in the studio lately, so actually finishing some work that has been sitting on the bench too long. This is another little woodcarving in the Cedar that was left over from a fence we installed last year. It started as a doodle of sorts; I always love drawing Tiki faces and had sketched one on a block of wood while thinking about another piece. I would whittle at it when I had a few minutes here and there. The American Flag felt a good counterpoint to the grimace, primitive face.

OK HW

Smashed - 3/29/15 - Image-a-day

It's been a while since I've seen a dead bird or animal of any kind on one of my walks, but today that drought ended. While out on a 5-mile walk today, I came across this dead and thoroughly flatten bird. Some may see this as a morbid exercise of sorts, but I see it as opportunity in abstract art and natural study. It is also a little reminder why it is important to live each day as fully as one can.

Farewell little bird. At least you had your time in the sky. Peace.

OK HW

The Future - 3/28/15 - Image-a-day

 I got a great 9-mile hike in today. My route took my by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Environmental Center. They have two wind turbines generating clean electricity. It was a windy day and those suckers were really spinning. Always makes me feel hopeful for a better future where we are free of having to be so dependent on fossil fuels.

OK HW

Put the Phone Down - 3/26/15 - Image-a-day

I saw this display on the drive home today. I appreciate that some city worker took the time and creative energy to try to do something fun to get this message across. It occurred to me that this is probably a futile effort as it isn't illegal to talk on your cell phone in Virginia. Maybe they meant, "Stop Texting". Whatever the intent, I dig the big traffic cone creatures.

OK HW

The Door - 3/20/15 - Image-a-day

I took a different route home today to avoid the Friday traffic. Along the way, I saw this mysterious door in a stone wall protecting a hidden space. This door is an eccentric detail for the neighborhood; the entire area as there's not much in the way of original architecture here. I wondered who carved the door. Was it a commission? Did the homeowner carve it him (her?) self? I will carve a door like this one day.

OK HW

Love Yourself by Ralf Schulze - 3/17/2015 - Image-a-day

Today's image is a drawing done by my good, old friend Ralf Schulze. It was in a crazy package of bootleg movies and music and random DaDa bits and pieces. Ralf and I met through the underground comix zine scene way back in the late 1980s. We have managed to some how through the years, maintain a friendship. He's always been good at constructing elaborate packages full of art and silliness. It's like unpacking some lost time capsule from a tribe that got wiped out by unknown forces. I've tried to repay in-kind with my own packages, but they always seem to fall just short of Ralf's weird, eccentric glory.

I love this demented piece of art called, "Love Yourself". I see a skull fragmenting across some cyberpunk universe. If you can't love yourself, then who will?

OK HW

Where Do Lo-Fi-Ga's Come From? - 3/15/15 - Image-a-day

One of my regular hiking routes takes me through a nearby park that has several Hickory Nut trees along the path. I'd seen the broken nut husks on the ground for years and never thought much about them until I was invited to take part in the "Small Works" art exhibition held at the Charles H. Taylor Center in Hampton, Virginia ever fall. I was looking for a fresh idea and seized upon these naturally discarded nut containers. Their shape suggested to me tiny, primitive masks and so the Lo-Fi-Ga's were born! Im careful to only select sound fragments that won't break or crumble. Today's image is the harvesting grounds.

OK HW