M-78 - The Latest Lo-Fi-Ga - 8/9/15

Today was a good day. I spent some solid time in the studio catching up on some mundane, but necessary tasks. I've been having a lot of fun carving new Lo-Fi-Ga figures and they've been stacking up. The boring bit is fabricating the bases and doing the final finishing work. I guess I need an assistant. The good news from today's effort is I have doubled the number of Lo-Fi-Ga pieces in the world from six to twelve!

This new one is called "M-78". Is he a secret agent? Is he a wrestler? Maybe a secret wrestler? He is marked and mysterious and blind.

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My Eight Mile - 8/1/2015

 Yesterday I got out for an eight mile hike. It's a route I know well in the neighborhood. I have mapped out several routes of varying lengths that begin and end at my front door. I'm fortunate to live in an interesting area with a beach close by and a park only a mile and a half away, so the walks are not just a bland sidewalk stomp through suburbia. I've been thinking about the passage of time lately; how quickly time moves through me or am I moving through time? How my walks and runs and hikes are small journeys that slip away before I can focus them to a point in my life. I wanted to do something to document what an average walk like this is like because one day, I may not live here anymore or I may not be able walk eight miles. I do know I am getting older and the old body will waste away sooner then I expect and the eight mile walk will be something I'll miss. So, "Hello there elder Hal Weaver in the future! Remember when you would tie on the old hike boots, plug-in the ear buds and stride on strong and springy legs down the lane? If not, then here's a little reminder of this time in the summer of 2015. Enjoy old boy!"

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The link to the route. You can match the photos to the mile markers.

Mile One - The Happy Mailbox - Those colorful reflectors always catch my eye.

Mile Two - Bayville Park - I love the tall pine trees in this park.

Mile Three - Pleasure House Point - Great nature area that I did not hike through on this route. Note- mind the low hanging fingers.

Mile Four - The Lesner Bridge - Here's the construction gantry lurking through the trees. The new bridge will be ready June 2017.

Mile Five - Live Oak Trees - Also in the Pleasure House Point  Nature Area.

Mile Six - I Got Fat Hands! - I must have had a lot of salt in my system as my hands ballooned up.

Mile Seven - Random Crepe Myrtle - My neighborhood is full of these beautiful trees and the bloom is on!

Mile Eight - The End of the Line - This is not my house, just a little cottage behind our house.

Dreamtime - The Japan Trip - 7-25-2015

It has been a lifelong dream of mine to visit Japan and hike Mt. Fuji. With my fiftieth birthday falling this year, it seemed appropriate to finally get this dream trip done. Besides, who knows how much longer I'll be in good enough shape to hike a mountain. I diligently saved (and hacked) as many frequent flyer miles as I could and managed to score a business class pod; Washington DC direct to Tokyo. The trip last two weeks and I did indeed hike to the Top of Mt. Fuji, spent time in Lake Kawaguchiko, Numazu and Tokyo. In the following weeks, I'll be posting about different parts of the trip, but for now, I want to share some photos from the trip. Here's the link.
Photos from the Japan trip on Flickr.

Enjoy!

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Monster Hail! - 7/19/2015

Yesterday evening, we had a surprise storm whip up. There had only been a 20% chance of rain, but that quickly went to 100% when a late afternoon thunderstorm ripped through our neighborhood with little notice. It started with some light rain, but quickly intensified with high winds and a torrential downpour. Then the hail started. We heard it before we saw it. There was a drumming on the roof that made us look outside and we were shocked to see quarter-size bits of ice coming down. A few pieces were more then two inches in diameter! That's the biggest hail I've ever seen. Here is a little unedited clip of the stuff coming down.

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A Meager Harvest - 7/14/15

Back in May I planted some radishes. Here's the post when they first started to pop up. Fast forward to now and a few of them have survived, so I have started to pull'em for salads. This was the first one. Although it is misshapen, it taste delicious and I may put in more and see if I can get a second round in before the days get too short.

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There Goes the Neighborhood, UP! - 6/24/2015

The neighbor across the street is rebuilding his place. The old place was falling down and kind of scary, so we were glad to see it go. The lot was vacant for seven months. During that time we had an unobstructed view of the Cheasepeake Bay, then the building began. We were told the new building wouldn't be any higher. Yeah, right! The old place was only three stories and this one is four. It'll be interesting to see if it starts a trend in the neighborhood. OK HW

Say Hello to My Little Friend - 6/22/2015

I found this lovely little green snake on our patio tonight. He was perched up on this plant and looked comfortable. I wondered if he was trying to catch some bugs.

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Blind Willie - Lo-Fi-Ga - 6/15/15

Last fall I started my series of "Lo-Fi-Ga" carvings. Tiny, forgotten gods that are coming back to set some things right in the world. The motivation was an exhibition of miniature art at the Charles H. Taylor Center called "Small Works" that's done every year around November. Last year I submitted two Lo-Fi-Ga pieces and a small woodcarving called "Maya Bird". They all sold before the show opened, so the curator, James Warwick Jones, asked me if I had anything else, so I created two more Lo-Fi-Ga carvings. "Blind Willie" is the one of those and he sold too, so I haven't seen him since the show. I love blues and jazz music and was thinking of the faces of some of those old musicians when I did this piece. "Blind Willie" is the god of the late night steam whistle cry from a westbound train.

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Hopping You have a Jiang-Shi Birthday - 6/12/2015

So I had a birthday recently and it was a "Big One" by most standards. I turned 50 years old. How I got here and the speed it happened is a discussion best left for another time. Even though the official day was last weekend, the party is still going on. Today I received in the mail an awesome package of hand-drawn birthday cards from my older sister and her daughter (my niece) and my great nieces. It did my old heart good to see those sweet bits of colorful construction paper magically transformed into birthday cards by toddler's hands. What I'm sharing with you tonight is what my big sis did for me. She sent my 3,000 yen for my upcoming trip to Japan and did this fantastic drawing of an Asian Jiangshi or "Hopping Vampire/Zombie". She is a better artist then she knowns! I love this drawing. Thank you sis!

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Summertime Traffic at the HRBT - 6/11/15

I commute everyday through the HRBT and in the summer, the traffic is often a nightmare. Today's one of those days.  

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A Sideways Grin - 6-1-2015

I did this Lo-Fi-Ga a couple of weeks ago and posted him on Instagram, but forgot to put him on here until tonight. I don't have a name for him yet, in fact have a  bunch of nameless heads rolling around the studio. For now I'm calling him "Sideways Grin", a line from an old Tom Waits tune. He's lying on a stack of unfinished bases, which I need to sand and paint, etc., the kind of easy, mindless work that's good to do while I wait for the muse to return.

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Rise of the Radishes - 5-31-2015

Well, actually so far, it's just one, but I'm excited anyways. We never do a big garden, just a few small things, but it is still fun to eat veggies you grew yourself. This year, we have some Better Boy Tomatoes, Basil, Rosemary and Radishes, which I'm growing from seed. I like growing Radishes because they are easy to grow, come up quickly and taste great on a salad. I threw about a dozen seeds in this pot, but this is the only one to sprout so far. Stay tuned for the full crop report to come!

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Speed Art - 5/28/15

Janet and I attended a wonderful art social event at the Chrysler Musuem's Glass Art Studio in Norfolk, Va, called "Come Art My Party" and it was a bit like speed dating. The price of admission was 3-5 images of your art and during the evening each artist was given one minute to show their stuff and talk about it. I thought it was an effective and fun way to build community. I enjoyed seeing such diverse work and having a chance to share my efforts. I choose my Lo-Fi-Ga" series and folks seemed to enjoy the idea and scale of the work.

Most importantly, connections were made, met new artists and enjoyed talking with them about their art and getting acquainted. One person I chatted with was William Sprueill who shared his moody, black & white human figure photographs; his website (Bonehead Art and Media). I also met Robin Rogers, who works at the Glass Studio and he and his wife Julia are glass artist and currently have a show at the TCC Visual Arts Center in Portsmouth, Va called Percipient Minds that will be up through June 24, 2015.

Thanks' to Charlotte Potter and the good folks at the Glass Studio for putting the event on. It was an inspiring evening that fed my creative soul.

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