Happy New Year

...so, what can I say? Been a long time and I see from my stats that some folks are still carrying a torch, still hoping that I might find my way back to the keyboard and here I am. Much has happened in the last few months and part of why I haven't posted is I've felt overwhelmed by how much stuff I had to write about. Well, one step at a time. I don't know if I'll "catch-up", but I will try to pick back up on posting something. Here's the latest African Mask drawing I'm working on. It's nearly completed and I hope to finish it off before the ball drops tomorrow night and we roll into 2008.

This is from the Kra in Liberia, a small (4 inches) brass lost-wax casting.

Happy New Year!

OK HW

Happy Walter Gets Cred and More

Happy Walter has gone legit with an official IMDB listing. That gives me my second acting credit, may have to get a head shot and pay the money to post it there. IMDB is the standard and the first place people go to research films and filmmakers. Folks know you're "for real" if they find your work listed there, so this will only help Zoje in her efforts to get HW screened else where.

Speaking of which, the other big HW news is the film has also been accepted into the The Directors Chair Film Festival (Oct. 4-7) at Staten Island, NY. Apparently they screen the festival selections on Staten Island Community Television, so for those in that part of the world you wouldn't even have to venture out of your house to attend the festival. Not sure if I'll be able to attend, but I will try and hit it if possible.

OK HW

July hiking report

Thought I should get the July hiking report in before August was over. Summer is a miserable time for hiking. At least I think so. I'd much rather hike in 28 degrees F (and have) then 88 and above. Nonetheless, the goal taunts me, so heat and humidity be damned. Through the sweat and the bugs I stomped down 50 miles in July bringing my year-to-date total is know 332. I'm still 18 miles under 350 miles, or the average of 50 miles per month. So far August has been much better, I've managed to get off my butt and lay more miles down, so I'll eat some of that deficient up and get back on track. Will I make the goal of 600 miles for 2007? Stay tuned.

OK HW

My Natural State

Recently got a call to do some carving on a theatrical stage set production for a show called "The Gypsy". It's been two years since I've done any work for the scene shop. Two years since I've done any sculpting of any kind. Two years too long. I got lucky in that the job was fairly small and simple, something good to warm up on and get the blood flowing. The job was to carve in styrofoam (the medium of choice in the stage production trade) a column of stylized leaves held together by ties of fabric. The column is eighteen inches wide and ran around a large portal about 18 feet high by 30 wide. The first day of work I was a little nervous that I'd forgotten how to shape the foam, but in no time I knew that the hands didn't forget and the foam started to fly. I had not realized how much I've been missing sculpting and working hard and physically with my hands until I was doing it again. My day job is mostly sitting at a computer, so to crouch and sweat and make art in the muggy heat was a joy.


By the end of the first night, I was working two-handed, a blade in each hand, blurry samurai dreams in the back of my mind and a deep sense of satisfaction rolling through neglected parts of my soul. Sculpting and art-making is a natural state for me. Too often I forget this as my life is consumed by job and house duties. Having said that though, I don't feel the urge to try and make a living from my art as I once did. I found it is a tricky balance between commerce and art; the demands to sell my creative efforts often smothered the good feeling of just making stuff. For now, I'm glad to have an outlet for my creative urges. In the future, when life is soft and grey and slow, I need to remember my natural state and pick-up the pen or knife and get down and create.

zahdah,

OK HW