Monday, December 31, 2007

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

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

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

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

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

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

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

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Happy Does NYC



Happy Walter had it's second public screening at the Two Boots Pioneer in Greenwich Village in the fair city of New York. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, but Zoje Stage, the fearless writer/director of HW was on hand and recounts the experience on her own blog. It sounds like it was a fine time and congrats to Zoje for the getting some attention from a production company. I am still working on getting a screening here in Virginia and will post with the news ASAP.

OK HW

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

On the Rot

Just added a link in my film stuff section for Karma Critic a web site started by disgruntled former On the Lot contestants. One of them wrote an open letter to AICN detailing the problems that contestants had with the corporate powers-that-be and decided to create something real, hence Karma Critic. The only thing that surprises me about this whole drama is the fact that Spielberg allowed himself to be associated with such a disingenuous and artificial "competition" served up as entertainment. Apparently, as the season rolled on and the ratings plummeted FOX decided to slash the budget, so the filmmaker's presented films made before the show was ever produced. Now I have no problem with that, as long as they were honest about what was going on and not imply that the filmmakers were still being given tasks that they were supposedly responding to. Frankly, one of the few positive things that could come from this mess is the producer getting booted Off the Lot.

Thanks' to Scott Eggleston's blog Film Flap for the great post that brought his thing to my attention.

OK HW