Choose a Different Path - 5/26/2015

Met my old friend Casey of COGfoto for lunch today at a Sandy Bottom Park. I'm grateful for a break from eating at my desk and it's good to catch-up. It feels good to get outside and after lunch, we usually have time for a quick walk around the lake. Today we took a different route that led us to a long row of these incredible, Thistle-like flowers. We both saw an opportunity for today's blog post, so hauled out our phones and got a couple of shots. I think it's interesting to see how we each shot the same subject. Stumbling across these flowers made me glad we tried a different path.

If anyone knows what that flower is, please let me know.subject.

OK HW

Furiosa - 5/25/15

I saw "Mad Max Fury Road" over the weekend. It was an intense orgy of action and weirdness and I loved it. George Miller is a student of cinema, a lover of the silent era and it shows in the masterful design of the ballet of death and the relationship of humans against a desolate wasteland. This film made me think of "Lawrence of Arabia" and John Ford Westerns. The production design was straight out of "Heavy Metal" magazine, in fact by my estimate this was the most Heavy Metal movie ever! But all that aside, the image that stayed with me the most was the Charlize Theron character, "Imperator Furiosa" with her black warpaint and tragic, liquid blue eyes that seemed to always be somewhere between rage and sorrow. Today's art time was spent carving a new Lo-Fi-Ga inspired by that character. It's not meant to be a portrait, I just loved the style of black make-up covering the top half of the face and those blue eyes. This is the first Lo-Fi-Ga that I've painted, all the others I left totally natural. So what do you think of the paint?

OK HW

Romaine Will Never Die! - 5/24/2015

Last week my mother told me about growing more Romaine lettuce from the "butt" of an old head and I had to give it a try. All you do is trim the root end a little and place the core in a little water. It took a couple of days before I saw the sprouts, but now they are going strong. I did some research to find out what's next, (SPOILER ALERT - you plant it in dirt), so that'll be next. Give it a try it's easy!

OK HW

Hello Stranger - 5/20/15

A new Lo-Fi-Ga was born tonight and I have no idea what to name him. Got any suggestions?

OK HW

Alien Roadkill - 5/18/15

I found this alien carcass in the parking lot in front of the laundromat tonight. This poor visitor from another world had a "Close Encounter of the Last Kind". Perhaps I should do an autopsy on him.

OK HW

Rising Sun - 5/17/15

I got some time in the studio today. I should be working in there everyday. It's good for my soul. This piece was inspired by a Mayan Sun glyph. Cedar is the wood; more scrap from the fence project. This could make a cool belt buckle.

OK HW

Happy Friday! Here's a Dead Squirrel - May 15, 2015 - Image-a-day

It's been a while since I posted a dead animal pic, so here you go. I found this little fellow while I was out on a four mile walk. I also found five pennies and cleared a fragment of a rusty saw from the road. Whenever I'm out for a walk, I like to clear nails, screws and any other tire-threatening metal from the streets as a way of taking care of my fellow motorists. I figure it's good karma too, something that this little, half-mummified rodent could have used more of.

OK HW

Ralf and I Make an Exquisite Corpse - 5/3/2015 - Image-a-day

My good, old pal Ralf Schulze over there in the Aardvark Farm sent my a sweet mail art letter recently crammed with all kinds of weirdness. One interesting bit was an unfinished drawing with an invitation to complete, so I did. This is kind of collaboration is sometimes called an "Exquisite Corpse", a game that artists, particularly surrealist will play to keep the creative juices sharp. I feel fortunate to have a friend like Ralf who prompts me to continue to play at art; just have some fun and not take the art-making too seriously.

The animated GIF is fun, but makes it a little difficult to clearly see the two individual drawings, so here is the original drawing that Ralf did on April 10, 2015.

And here is what I added this morning.

I look forward to many joint projects like this in the years to come!

Thanks' Ralf!

OK HW

I Want My Mummy - 5/2/15 - Image-a-day

I was happy to get some time in the studio today. I have a couple of woodcarvings started and moved them a little further down the line. Then I jumped into a new Hickory Nut Husk carving and another Lo-Fi-Ga was born. I don't have a name for it yet, but it looks a bit like a goofy mummy. What do you think I should call it?

OK HW

Nothing is Perfect - 4/30/15 - Image-a-day

Last fall, my office was moved into a new building. It's modern, clean design, all shiny and perfect. The ground floor and the staircases are gleaming white terrazzo that sparkles in the late afternoon sunlight. Today, while leaving work, something caught my eye. At first I thought it was a smudge, but on closer inspection I found that it was a nail embedded in the floor, like a fly in amber. It was sanded flush with the surface. This small imperfection made me happy because it betrayed the hand of the human who made it. I like this new building a little better now.

OK HW

Rain Barrel Deployed - 4/29/15 - Image-a-day

I finally set-up the rain barrel for the season. I always take it down for the winter. It's a reassuring to have a full rain barrel come storm season. You never know when you need to have some extra water.

OK HW

The Bench - 4/26/15 - Image-a-day

Today was a good day. It was a dreary, rainy morning, so lazy, newspaper-in-bed and French toast breakfast. The rest of the day was mercifully free of a set schedule, so I headed into the studio and laid out a couple of new carvings in the scrap Cedar wood while my sweet girl worked on her photo collages. It always makes me happy to get some new work cut-out and ready for carving. Now, next time I get a free moment, I can slip into the studio and get some carving done. Stay tuned...

OK HW

Hypno-Pollen - 4/25/15 - Image-a-day

It is that time of year when the pollen is flying free and thick. Mercifully the rains came and knocked the yellow plague from the atmosphere. The only evidence left behind; the swirling, abstract lace floating in the puddles and ponds.

OK HW