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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