Melancholy Me

 

A common sight in Idaho - a row of Harleys.

2011 has started off on a somber note here in the studio. A year that promised so much rebirth and revitalization has instead morphed into one of unease and reflection. 

In keeping with this unexpected mood, the Boise spring has taken on a mix of Seattle and Canadian weather. But I'm not complaining. I love overcast weather. My fair, sensitive skin really needs the soothing blanket of "Mother Ireland" rather than the arid deserts of Idaho. And while I adore the warmth of the sweet sun, I recoil in its rays. Its blaze turns me into a lobster, only without the fun bits like eyeballs on stalks, antennae and lots of little legs.

To me the misty, bleak atmosphere of an overcast day seems more honest than the garish sun blazing in a blue sky, and kinder than the bite of a winter's cold. It cloaks the valley in a forlorn grey -- a little mournful, a little mysterious, perhaps reminding us of regrets while at the same time offering hope. It's bittersweet, like life.

But if I tire of the hazy day...hey, our weather motto in Idaho is "wait ten minutes." Keeps things interesting. I don't think I could ever go back to the 365 days of nice California weather. Something about the seasons and mercurial weather here in Idaho feeds my creativity. It reminds me of the passage of time and how fleeting each moment really is. It asks me not to take a day for granted.

So last week, when we had a rare patch of sun in late afternoon, we hopped on the Harley to enjoy it. We took a nice leisurely ride to Idaho City and stopped at the Kodiak Grill for dinner. Of course other riders were out in force, too! As we left the restaurant, I snapped that photo (top) of the row of Harleys whose riders had the same idea we did. Enjoy the moment while you have it.

A north view of Lucky Peak Reservoir, coming home after dinner on an early overcast evening.

In that vein, I apologize for being remiss posting to this blog lately. Yet so much has happened in the last two months that have reminded me quite a bit about time lately.

One big reminder was a terrible accident with my father early March. He's alright (praise be!), but his situation has now changed all our lives. The years quietly take their toll on all of us. If we aren't careful, the sound of our life's clock is that of a ticking time bomb. The second reminder has been the diagnosis of Stage III cancer in a dear friend, seemingly out of the blue. So young and so vibrant! How could this be? Sneaky time, unfairly ticking out consequence right under our noses. The good news is she's doing just fine in treatment...something wonderful to cling to!

I'm still reeling from the shock of these two events, still trying to process them. Never forget how fragile and precious our lives truly are. Cherish each moment and each other.

Preparing my taxes also took me for a loop this year. How did April come so fast? We're nearly through the first quarter of 2011 and I've been, quite literally, totally taken by surprise. So many projects have consumed my attention that I just didn't pay attention to the days flying off the calendar. And still so many projects yet to be done! How will I find the time? Bitter irony. Note to self.

Another reminder is the countdown to the end of my hubby's temp job, which is coming quickly and we must be prepared. Yet with all that's come down lately, it's hard to get the creative gears going full bore again. I'm in a strange place of time stopped and simultaneously sped up.

Luckily the healing magic of mud has proven to be a welcome grease, so look for brand new tiles in my Etsy store soon, and perhaps with some new whimsical and unexpected additions, too. The smiley faces created in a special project have been a needed balm to my heavy heart.

It's no surprise then that PJ Harvey's new album Let England Shake has been an obsession of mine since I got it yesterday. It's been on a loop. Serendipitously, this album is in sync to my mood, fitting like a glove on my vexed soul. Only Harvey can create such singular, haunting, disturbing and yet enchanting music that gets inside your soul and lives there forever.

Here's a sneak peek of Dante, the Murgese stallion, with a headless Alfred in the background. Both are 1:24th scale. I'm eager to get back into the studio to finish these two patient fellows. 

So while treading despondency, I'm determined to channel my gleeful passions into my work. This year they will be vessels for my joy, embodiments of my defiance of time and all the sorrow and certainty it brings. Let them be a revelry of life, to carve my line in the sand in mockery of mortality.

"The soul would  have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears." ~Native American saying

Melancholy Me

The B-52s and Baby Powder

My worker bee hive since yesterday. I've been listening to the entire collection of The B-52s on my iPod dock -- really really loud. I learned it takes 3.5 loops of their entire anthology to roll, cut and stamp 300 tiles. And since I use baby powder as a stamp release, I reek of the stuff. Happy and reeking.

Every once and awhile, the Universe gives us the opportunity to make a positive difference in the life of a dear friend in dire need. When myself and others in our art community were alerted to the plight of Melissa Gaulding and her husband, Herman, we were compelled to act. They are dear people -- the kind you immediately adore, and feel you've known all your life even though you met them only two minutes ago. Thoughtful, intelligent, fun, witty, supportive and talented, they charm you instantly.

So what began as Heather Malone-Bogle's plaintive question of what could be done for them has now bloomed into a joyous, enthusiastic snowball of generosity from every corner of the industry. It's times like this that remind us what's important and what unites us, and so this effort has been a true celebration not only of Melly and Herman, but of what it means to be fortunate enough to have them as friends.

While many artists and collectors are donating exquisite pieces for the cause, I considered what I could do. So many of these pieces are expected to go for high-ticket amounts, and I pondered what could allow lots of folks to participate in this giving party, too...and it popped into my head: The stamped tiles! Of course!

So I set myself on a plan, now formally termed The Terracotta Tile Project! Fellow mudhen Marge Para suggested using terracotta clay to make them really distinctive, which was a stroke of genius. Thanks Marge! And since Melly's logo is a flying heart, I decided to create a little heart stamp to make an additional imprint into the clay, making these stamps doubly unique.

A bit of epoxy clay shaped into a heart stamp, wrapped in foil and rapidly cured in the oven allowed me to get to work immediately. While Melissa's logo has a winged heart, I thought it fitting the horse in the tile would "fly" the heart instead, neatly tucked in his chest. Lots of meaning fit for the occasion.

So since yesterday afternoon, I've been a Sarahsaurus Rex possessed, cranking out three hundred beautiful 3" terracotta tiles, which are now happily drying. The eight day countdown begins now! Once they're bisque fired, a slew of incredible glazing artists have volunteered to glaze many of them, and then sell them on Melly's behalf. Here's a list of the current glazers hungry to help: Karen Gerhardt, Barb Ness, Jen Kroll, Joan Berkwitz, Adalee Velasquez, Lesli Kathman, Cheryl Farrens, Marge Para, Jenn Danza, Elaine Lindelef, Margaret Olson, and of course myself. Stay tuned on their blogs or lists for updates regarding their tiles, and other fund-raising contributions. And stay tuned here for updates on new glazers jumping into the gleeful glazing fray!

Even Hubby got in on the action!

Here's a sneak peek at this special tile! The white bits are the baby powder, which will fire off.

Each participating artist gets to glaze and decorate their allotted tiles however they wish, making each of these tiles super special three times over! And not only that! Everyone who buys ones of these tiles is entered into a drawing for two more special items! HAZZAH! To learn more about The Terracotta Tile Project, and to stay updated on all fund-raising activities, bookmark the Flying Heart Fundraiser page. Things are developing very quickly, so revisit it often to keep up with the breaking news! Also, the selling process for these puppies is still being formulated, and this project will have its own page soon, so hang tight for more as it blossoms!

To learn more about the cause, visit Joan's blog post, Karen Gerhardt's blog post, and Lesli Kathman's blog posts here and here.

"All you need is love." ~ The Beatles

The B-52s and Baby Powder

At long last...

Black Butte, Oregon, from which Deschutes derives the name for its "Black Butte Porter," one of my favorite beers!

...the report from our trip to Tacoma, to see AC/DC! I figured I'd better get this puppy posted before diving into my recent island trip -- I just couldn't bring myself to post them out of order. I'm also rather useless in the studio for a good week after a trip of the scale of the island excursion, so I figured this would be a better use of my time than lounging around in a daze.

I've uploaded lots of photos to my Photobucket account, and I'll refer you to the respective links to peek at them (if you wish) throughout this post (the links to my images will be identified with a "*" so you can tell them apart from the other links). Almost all the photos come with commentary to add detail to this report, otherwise this post would be outrageously massive! And feel free to download any images for your own reference or enjoyment, too.

OK...so...we spent nearly three days in Bend to visit with my brother, Alex, and his wife, Megan, and their two craaaaaazy dogs, Noah and Laker. Here is a typical "Noah-stance" (who is now a bazillion years old, but still kickin')....

You can see some images of our adventures in Bend *here. We love Bend, Oregon -- very outdoorsey and down-to-earth, but still rich with community. Also, there are ten super breweries in little Bend! Hazzah! We intend to try them all eventually. Anyhoo, we took in an art show in the park, which was similar to Boise's Art in the Park, only much smaller. But though it was small, the quality was off the charts. Amazing work! Here are some links to some of the artists there:

• Brilliant pottery: www.standhardtstudio.com
• Amazing handmade clothes (I loved her sense of design and color use): sarasutton.com
• Gorgeous ceramic works (I really liked the bells and wallpieces): www.geraldandkellyhong.com
• Fun fused glass bugs (she was at Art in the Park, too!): www.adamsonglass.etsy.com

Then we walked around the Old Mill District -- I love it when cities refurbish their old buildings rather than demolish them -- and along the river on the greenbelt pathway for awhile. We then walked to Deschutes Brewery (one of our fave brewers -- they have a Black Butte Porter XXI that will blow your socks off, but cha gotta love super dark beers, like me!) for one of their *tours. The tasting room is free (YES), so we indulged in some libations before the tour. It was terrific -- we got there early, so it was just the two of us, and the (charming and funny) tour guide -- our own private tour! After that, we walked to downtown Bend for lunch at the Deschutes restaurant for a wholly amazing foodfest. After hearing on the tour that they use the spent barley for veggie burgers in their restaurant, I had to order one. It was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Even Hubby -- who's a diehard carnivore -- loved it. We walked around downtown some more, and ended up at Mirror Pond in the park right next to downtown to relax. So beautiful!

The next day, we ventured over to the High Desert Museum -- an excellent place to spend the day. If you're in this neck of the woods, I highly recommend it! So many *beautiful artifacts, art and animals. The animal shows are terrific and educational.

This Barn Owl was particularly hypnotizing (Aunt Christine, there are more images of the owls in the link to my photos! I thought of you while I was snapping them). All the animals in the educational shows are either too socialized or were injured, and so cannot live in the wild.

Suffice to say, my inspiration bubbled out of my head after the Museum! That night we saw "District 9," which created a bit of amusing controversy. Alex and Megan didn't like it, but Hubby and I kinda did, despite the problems and the violence. To be honest, though, I was actually rather traumatized -- I was horrified over the treatment of the aliens. Deplorable! I wanted to save them! It's not a movie I'll watch again (or even recommend) -- it's too upsetting, at least to me. But we had a good time just being together and being silly, nonetheless. If you think I'm goofy, little bro is even quirkier, though in a more controlled, "dry" way than me (wink). I kept telling Hubby, "SEE - it IS genetic!"

The next day, we had breakfast at an awesome organic place (I had a very filling banana-peanut butter sandwich -- I swear, I wasn't hungry the rest of the day!) and Hubby had a terrific homemade breakfast burrito. We said our good-byes and we began our *journey to Tacoma. We were destined for Seaside, Oregon to stay the night there before we hit the final leg to Tacoma. Along the way, we'd stop in Mcminnville, Oregon to visit with one of Hubby's friends, and another stop to visit with another friend. However -- note to self -- never use Google Maps! UGH! At key points, Google Maps was horribly wrong and we got horribly lost. And when riding a bike, mileage and gasoline are a big deal, and to make matters worse, they also make using atlas maps impossible. We lost so much time trying to find our way, that we had to cut our visit short in Mcminnville, and cancel the other one altogether -- poop! Oh well -- it's a good excuse to return later! Plus, we want to go to that famous air museum there. We need to get a Garmin or Tom Tom or sumpthin'.

On our way to Seaside, Google Maps again got us lost, and we finally pitched those directions altogether and simply went by instinct. We knew the ocean was to the west, so we just headed that direction. Phew -- we made it! Once we were on the coast highway, it was smooth sailing into Seaside. But by that time it was dark...and rainy...and cold. Oh my gosh it was cold. When we rolled into our Seaside hotel (which was on the beach -- score!), we were exhausted, freezing, stiff and hungry. While this would seem awful, it's to be expected on a bike. We always seem to have a "testing one's mettle" part of any bike journey, and this portion of the trip certainly was that. There can be no light without dark! So we scarfed down a dinner in the hotel restaurant (which was surprisingly really good!), and took a bottle of wine up to our room. We thawed out in the jacuzzi tub, then sat out on the balcony, sipping our wine and enjoying the sound of the waves until the moon was high in the night sky. Boy -- did we crash that night! Out like lights. Here's the view that greeted us the next morning:


So after breakfast, off we were again. It was a thrill going over the Astoria Bridge into Washington. You go up this wild corkscrew spiral road to get up to the entrance, then gazing over the expanse of the seascape from the bridge is stunning. Then the bridge does a biiiig dip down into Washington -- it was like a carnival ride!

Hello Washington! Along the way, we took a detour to ride up the "Longest Beach in the World," Long Beach, Washington. Originally, we wanted to ride out to the tip of the peninsula, but gads -- it's a long beach! So half-way there, we just ran out of time and had to turn around. Next time! The ride was gorgeous and we got to our hotel before dark -- phew! We certainly didn't want to head into Tacoma, and do city riding in an unfamiliar city -- in the dark! We stayed at the Silver Cloud Inn, which was marvelous, not only because it was on the water, and within walking distance of a few good restaurants, and the room was really nice and reasonably priced, and the hotel was within a couple of miles of the Tacoma Dome (where AC/DC was to play that night)...but the staff were really terrific and their free shuttle took us everywhere in Tacoma! We only had to get a taxi twice while there cuz we needed transport after shuttle hours.

Apparently the hotel was full of fellow AC/DC concert-goers, which as a hoot. The hotel offered several shuttles to the Tacoma Dome, and we hopped onto one to fulfill the primary reason for this journey! I hadn't been to a stadium concert in years --- gosh, easily eight years, at least. The whole place was sold out and there was definitely electricity in the air! The band formed back in 1973, and became one of the most significant influences in rock music. Living legends. So seeing AC/DC in concert was one of those things we both wanted to do before they stopped touring, and before we checked out of this life, and it was such a thrill to finally be there, experiencing it -- together!

The opening band, The Answer (an Irish band), was super (I kept thinking -- man, can you imagine being the opening act for AC/DC?! Holy cow! That must've been a thrill for them!), but we didn't really get to see them (though we could hear them!) while we waited in line for our obligatory tour t-shirts. You know a band has you wrapped around their little finger when you wait in line, standing for an hour, crammed with a bunch of other people waiting in line. But that's part of the concert experience! We finally got our t-shirts (with great rejoicing) and went back to our seats, just in time to catch some songs from The Answer and catch AC/DC as they opened up.

HOLY HELLS BELLS.

If I had half the energy these aging rockers had, I'd get way more done in half the time. GEEZ. They played for a good two hours, giving it 100%. They played all their old hits, and some new ones, too. The place went absolutely crazy nuts. Angus played like a man possessed and Brian belted his heart out. AC/DC blew the top off the Dome and the crowd was lovin' it. It was just full-bore rock and roll. We were all going wild!

Here's a (bad) shot taken with my cell phone of the famous bell coming down to open "Hells Bells." Brian swung from that thing like a crazy man, and it went, "BONG BONG BONG" in a deafening cry.

What was really cool was the diverse demographic of the crowd. One would think that this kind of music would appeal only to young white males -- nope! I guess a band with this history has a broader scope. Everyone was there! Even all ages! Even Grandfathers bringing their grandsons, or great grandsons! That was truly cool. Here's a good review of the concert in the Seattle Weekly. What an amazing time. Wow.

But it didn't end there!

We got up the next day to go to the famous Museum of Glass! Oh. My. Gosh. What a brilliant experience! What a treat! I adore art glass. I have a great passion for it. So this visit was a smorgasbord for my visual sensibilities -- in short, I went ape-crazy bananas. I was almost in tears, it was so amazing. And you had to cross the famous Chihuly Bridge to get to it.

HOLY HOT GLASS.

An entire ceiling and wall and towers of Chihuly works -- out there to oogle shamelessly! I couldn't believe my eyes!...

Here's one portion of the entire wall of Chihuly works.


Here's just one panel from the ceiling of the Chihuly Bridge.

Here's one of the outside installations, with the roof of The Hot Shop in the background.

Here's another outside installation, created in The Hot Shop during the visiting artist's residence there.

Now I couldn't snap photos inside the museum, but take it from me -- unbelievable exhibits. Breath-taking. Everything about the place was astonishing! The Hot Shop was particularly fascinating, since it's an actual working glass blowing studio for the visiting artist, and you get to watch him or her work their magic and ask questions (which are answered by a knowledgeable docent). When were were there, an artist was creating lovely, sublime penguin sculptures, but shame on me -- I lost the piece of paper on which I scribbled his name! ARGH. Anyway, here are some *photos I was able to take, and explore the web site -- lots of great stuff there! We also were advised to return and see the outdoor exhibits at night (since they're lit up!), which we did (after dinner at Stanley and Seaforts), and luckily my camera was able to get some nice shots, which you can see in my photos. If you're in Tacoma -- go to the Museum of Glass!

Then after that, we shuttled off to the Tacoma Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium! Hubby loves aquariums, and we were lucky since this is the only combined zoo and aquarium in the Northwest! And it's a nice one! Wow!

They had a Leafy Sea Dragon! WOW!

A dainty, cross-legged camel! I don't think a horse could do this -- at least not intentionally! He was just chillin' like that, in between the camel rides.

Sorry Joan - I couldn't resist. It was just too funny.

Ham gets inspected by a curious 3,000+ lbs. male walrus.

These Chinese Clawed Otters were hysterical, playing and gadding about!

To see more photos I took, go *here. There was a particular exhibit in the children's section, that featured a big red button. I wondered if it should be pressed (me being a born red button pusher), and Ham said, "Go ahead -- It's a big red button. Kid's height. I think it's meant to be pressed!" So I did. After seeing what the big red button illuminated inside the habitat, I advised Ham, "DO NOT PUSH THE RED BUTTON -- EVER." See, he has a decided aversion to spiders. And what was lurking in that habitat was something eight-legged, hairy and UNNATURALLY LARGE. And staring straight at you with all its eight, glistening eyes. UP CLOSE. HUGE. Now I understood why kids came screaming out of that exhibit.

Anyway, on our way out, I discovered one more priceless gem this zoo had to offer -- a *wooden carousel, the Paul Titus Antique Carousel! I kid you not -- I got verklempt and teary-eyed. I almost started balling.

A jaunty walrus

A beautiful outside armored jumper

A splendid Sumatran tiger

I adore carousels -- real carousels, not the fiberglass knock-offs. There are so few of them left! As a very young kid, I remember watching a short movie on certain mornings on TV -- I've never forgotten it. It showed a carousel early in the morning, quiet and still. Then it starts to move by itself, whirling faster and faster. Then the picture fades out to white horses (maybe Camarque horses) running on a beach, galloping through the sea spray in slow motion. Then they fade out back to the carousel, as it slows down and comes to a stop. This movie left me spellbound every time, and in tears. Since then, I've had a fascination for carousel horses (and animals) and I've always wanted to carve a full-scale one out of wood (so a wood-carving class is on my horizon soon!). I've also been meaning to design some carousel animals for ceramic casting, as Christmas ornaments -- one of my projects for 2010! The whimsy and "narrative" of the carousel animal is similar to medallic work, which is one of the reasons it appeals to me, too. I am so thankful that there are collectors and restorers out there who are rescuing the antique carousels! And carousels are making a comeback -- check these out!

• www.carouselworks.com/figures.htm
• www.mycarousel.com
• www.carouselstore.com
• http://nca-usa.org

Then the next day we took an express bus to *Seattle!

What a glorious day! We lucked out!

For $12 we got two round-trip tickets -- you can't beat that with a stick! I also got a bus schedule, so we'd be flexible in our stops and our times -- we intended to eek out the very last minute out of Seattle. Luckily, downtown Seattle is unusually easy to navigate, so right off the bus, we bee-lined for the wharf-front to visit the Seattle Aquarium. It's a nicely put together *aquarium, and a good complement to the Tacoma Aquarium.


Then we hit Pike Place Market for lunch and to take in some sights, and pop some money into Rachel. I'm crazy about big markets like this -- like the one Kay took me to when in Philadelphia. Too fun!

Rachel says, "Oink!" (translation: "Hello!")

Then we walked to Pioneer Square, and took the hilarious (and educational) Underground Tour of Seattle. Oh my gosh -- you have to take this tour! Not only is it funny as heck, but a very eye-opening educational experience. Let's just say that Seattle's beginnings were very interesting. Afterwards, we wandered around Pioneer Square and downtown, and meandered back to Pike Place Market for dinner at the Athenian where I had the most amazing seafood "bowl" and Ham had a scrumptious salmon gyro. After we were sated, we skipped off to the Can Can to catch the show and for me to get my desired absinthe (it's the only place in Seattle to get it)!

I was enjoying my rare Absinthe!

Poor Hubby though -- he was expecting Can Can girls, but what he got was an interesting array of risque modern and interpretive dance. He'll tell you about it sometime -- his confusion over the whole thing is quite a funny story. I'll tell you this though -- it's an experience he won't forget! I really enjoyed it, Ham's befuddlement over the whole thing, and I enjoyed my absinthe even more! Yay! It was very late at that point, so we set off for our bus stop to catch the 11pm bus back to Tacoma (it's about an hour bus trip back).

At 11pm, we walked passed this street musician -- a harpist! How cool is that?

We got up early the next morning, checked out and began our day-long 8-hour trip back home. We where beat when we stumbled through our front door, but boy -- what an amazing trip! We were glad to be home -- ready to be home, but wow. From beginning to end, our time together on this adventure was a wonderland of sights and experiences! A wad of wonderful new memories!

"Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time." ~ Leo F. Buscaglia

At long last...

Now for some BIG things...

I'm playing catch-up...again. My life feels like a mad scramble up a speeding escalator these past couple of weeks. I'm chin-deep in the Summer 09 issue of The Boat (we have three proofers on this issue - it's that big!) and getting back to work in the studio (more on that in a bit).

Anyhoo....check out that double rainbow (above), seen from my parent's back yard a couple of weeks ago. It was impressive. Clear as day and complete, from end to end. Perfect. Oh, to have a wide angle lens! Doh. One often forgets the scale of a rainbow, and I think including some mortal debris in the shot helps to convey it.

Speaking of feeling one's mortality -- we took a day trip on the motorcycles with my cousin, Greg, (who also rides a Harley) up to Galena Summit. If there's anything that can make me feel part of a bigger picture, it's a vast landscape. Galena Summit (where this shot was taken) is about 8,450 feet in elevation and in the background there are some of the Sawtooth Mountains. It's truly impossible to impart the sense of distance and scale when it comes to things like this -- it's just something that has to be experienced. Oh, to be a bird and simply jump off a hill side and swoop around! If you'd like to peruse more shots, please visit my album here. By the way -- if you're "into" big puffy clouds like I am, you'll like quite a few of my pics!

There's a couple more shots of this bitty Blobby in the album, too. I went nuts with all the little squirrel-blobs running amok at the visitor stop on the summit. And when he goo-ed out like that...well, you can imagine. Well well WELL.

Anyway...the studio. YES. I'm back to work! Finally -- something has lifted and I'm feeling myself again. It's odd. If I don't have dozens of different projects going at once, I get bored. Yet if one of them "stops" me -- I get stopped on nearly all of them. It's like one of the millions of hamsters in my head gets stuck in a habit-trail tube and creates a big back-up. A ham jam. I think the Haffie mare was the jammed ham. Hey, it had to happen -- I had to learn and she was the teacher. But learning and art come in their own time. They cannot be rushed or forced. I guess my "sub-routines" finally worked out the problem cuz her sculpting is done! Yes -- DONE! Well...."done" for now. I'm going to put her away for a week or two and come back to her with fresh eyes. If she's still "done" then, then she's officially done done. And yes -- she left her big lesson for the last, but I'll talk about that later when she's truly done. The thing is -- now that she's taught me what I needed to know....

I'm now earnestly working on the mini-stock horse! I couldn't have attempted this piece without first completing the Haffie mare. I had to learn from her before I could tackle this fellow. And I have to admit that I was a bit trepidatious about him. You really have to know your stuff to sculpt a convincing stock horse. Their muscle quality requires a kind of knowledge and nuance about musculature that isn't for the timid or unknowing! It's very distinctive. It's also very easy to get carried away with their muscling and you end up with some kinda weird "Marvel Comic" version of a horse. Then again, it's very easy to go the other direction and create a kind of puffy-blob of a horse, with muscle more akin to Drafter bulk than bone fide "stockyness." It's also tempting to focus too much on muscle delineation, and you end up with something that looks like a skinned dissection illustration rather than a depiction of "living flesh." So riding all those tight-ropes is definitely tricky, and challenging! But thanks to Ms. Haffie -- I'm hummin' along on him splendidly! What I expected would be a hair-puller has been easy and second-nature. I guess my sub-routines experienced a necessary upgrade thanks to the mare. So all anxiety about him as been replaced with excitement and obsession. He's also grown, which is what I expected anyway. My sculpts tend to grow as I work -- once the length of the shoulders (which is here I start sculpting), back and hip are fixed, then it comes together. But until that time, the size of the piece is in flux. So here are some sneek peeks of the Haffie mare (again) and of the (very much in progress) mini-stock stallion:

Haffie hinder

stocky sneek peek

Speaking of obsession...this new PJ Harvey album, A Man A Woman Walked By. OK -- granted -- her music definitely requires a "taste." It's certainly not for everyone (Hubby refers to it as "freaky harpie music"). But, to me, if any "rock" musician can be considered a true artist -- she's it. I'm bonko over her work and have all her albums. Well, I got this new one on a loop as I work on The Boat while I wait for the epoxy to set up on the stock horse (so I can refine it more). But I hear those songs in my head when it's not playing! Ack! You can listen to "Dark Hearted Love" off the new album here.

Anyway...where was I?....oh yeah...The Boat. Working on this e-zine is a blessing. Being so right-brained in the studio, I need a balance with some left-brain work, which this puppy provides. It also helps me to "fill in the gaps" between epoxy-time and paint-time to keep me busy. It's a new kind of challenge, too -- between gradually learning the bells n' whistles of this fabulous program InDesign®, learning new spins on design concepts (from cereal boxes!), writing articles and relating with the wonderful authors....well....it's been awesome. If I could somehow make a living doing this and my art -- I think that would be perfect. One of my big passions is sharing knowledge -- I cannot contain what I've learned. It has to burst out. Even better -- The Boat attracts fellow artists (columnists and article contributors) who have that same yen. So working on this e-zine fulfills my soul as well as my left-brain needs. Anyway -- in a few weeks, I'll post some teasers of the issues here, so you get an idea of what I'm so gaga about.

"The cyclone ends. The sun returns; the lofty coconut trees lift up their plumes again; man does likewise. The great anguish is over; joy has returned; the sea smiles like a child." ~ Paul Gauguin

Now for some BIG things...

Blue skies...

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend! That's the view from my parent's backyard up to Bogus Basin on Easter Day (above). And (below) is my Mom's Easter necklace she wore. She has a whole collection of holiday-inspired jewelry -- it's really quite impressive. The puffy cheeks on those bunnies slay me. We had a wonderful meal (lamb kabobs) and Mom and I watched Kung Fu Panda when the guys retreated off to do guy things (Viva Master Oogway!).


Spring has sprung with a vengeance here in Boise, and thank goodness! Glorious days where we can open up the entire house to the sweet air of a new season. We were both ready to be done with Winter. Hubby has already given his Harley a good wash-down in anticipation for long blissful miles on the road, and we're thick into planning our year's rides and rallies, something which Hubby gleefully fixates over. As for myself, I'll be planting my petunias in my front door pots soon for my guard frogs to watch, ever-vigilantly, and begin cogitating the giant Spring-cleaning both my office and ceramic station desperately need. Family is scheduled to visit in summer, Mayhem and JuneJuju dates are set and we luckily snagged tickets to see the band AC/DC in August (score!). AC/DC is the one band we both like, other than Dick Dale, techno and classical...his regular "ugly noise" makes me cringe like a Blue Meanie (Yellow Submarine being one of my very favorite films), and my "screeching banshee" music drives him up a tree. This will be the first time either of us have seen them live, too, so we're....in a word...stoked. The concert sold out in mere minutes...an entire stadium...so we're still kinda in shock we even got this lucky! So lots of great stuff to look forward to in 2009!

I also organized a whole shovel-full of tax stuff and mailed it all off today. What a production. Ugh. And what a weight off my shoulders. I have an accountant do the work, but golly -- it's still a major undertaking. I know my brain would simply liquefy and drain out my ears if I had to do it all. So I feel renewed with that out of my life and now I can focus on studio work and getting The Boat published -- yeah! The fun stuff! Play time!

Anyhoo, much to our delight, a little finch has built a nest in the Christmas wreath I neglected to remove off the front porch, so rest assured...I'm waiting anxiously to snap a pic of the little critter with wee babies! Plus, a pair of mating ducks has again...hopefully...set up shop in my parent's pond and we're hoping that adorable baby ducks will show up soon! Fingers crossed! Speaking of babies...our fish are still having babies (ack!), so I had to buy a nursery tank to keep them from getting gobbled up. Now Todd, Steve, Rodney, Teylah and Sheppard are happily swimming and growing in safety. Also, here's Eppie sweetly snoozin' away, with his little arm tucked under his head -- too cute.

I hope your Spring is as lovely as it is here! Off to the studio to work with a renewed sense of freedom and rejuvenated inspiration! Hazzah!

"Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others." ~ Albert Camus

Blue skies...

It's a bug hunt! Game over man!

In case you're wondering what that little blue arrow is pointing at....no, it's not a blob of snot...it's a wad of baby praying mantids clinging together as they hatch from their egg sac! Hubby purchased quite a few egg sacs, and together they're expected to hatch out about 1200-1500 of the little guys to deal with the grotesque earwig problem this year, in an eco-friendly way. Haven't seen much of the mantids, but the earwigs sure have vanished. Chomp!

Speaking of "game over man," it's that time of year again---publication of The Boat time! "Team Boat" has been madly working to bring the Summer issue together for publication this month and it's shaping up very nicely. One would think we'd run out of topics or information for a 150+ publication twice a year, but wonderfully I end up having to chop stuff out to save it for the next issue. Who knew that "realistic equine sculpture" could have so many relevant tangents of information? I mean, really, there's only so much a working artist can read every six months!

Suffice to say, I've had my Mazzy Star albums on a loop in my iTunes program throughout all this. They lend a vibe that really allows my brain to concentrate while still eased by cool tunage. I'm also a sucker for a good hypnotic melancholy, haunting tune, I admit. Anyway, as soon as The Boat is published, it's back to work in the studio, though, since I've got lots of paintjobs needing attention and sculptures in the works. For instance, besides that Arabian mare I mentioned in a previous post, I'm also working on that little foal's Mom! Here she is in her armature glory, as she currently sits on my work table (Boat readers may recognize her from the article I wrote about sculpting her kidlet)....
Lynn Fraley was kind enough to lend me a picture book on Haflingers because despite my pile of reference photos, I just couldn't find one of a Haflinger mare's hiney directly from the back, and if you know anything about Haflingers, the structure of their hefty hinders is rather important. Those babies gotta "have back." However, this feature can be very easy to get wrong if you don't know exactly how they're structured, because they're similar to a draft horse's hinder, but not quite, and then you add in the broodmare factor, and well...it's a delicate balance of bulk, curves and angles to make it look right. Ultimately, my goal is to make her rather "broodmareish," with the expression, belly and the slack musculature thing going on, which is something you don't often find in sculpture, with artists tending to choose a young "fit showhorse" type of mare. I don't know, though, I like the "patina" a mare develops as she ages. I think it lends to her appeal, especially for sculpture, or maybe I'm just able to identify with that type just a little bit too much now! So we'll see how she turns out. Sculptures so often take on a life of their own, one you just have to follow rather than fight.

So until this Summer's Boat has left dock, I'll sign out for now and hopefully have some images of completed paintjobs and in-progress images of the various sculptures coming down the pike soon. I've got more "minis" in the works and I've started on Stormwatch's base for his bronze edition that I hope (fingers crossed) to get started early next year. I'm really excited about the prospect of producing in bronze. Something new to explore and experience. Happily, my Uncle Mike and his fabulous wife, Mary Teresa (Hello there, you two!), live very close to the foundry I've chosen so what could be better?....family and new horizons, a golden combo!

"A perfect method for adding drama to life is to wait until the deadline looms large." ~Alyce P. Cornyn-Selby

It's a bug hunt! Game over man!

Rites of Spring: Harleys and Surf Guitar

My goodness. It’s been an abysmally long time since my last post! It’s uncanny how quickly time cooks away when your fire is roasting too many irons, snapping and sizzling with sounds of the future and enticing possibilities. The Year of the Rat has lived up to its promise of new beginnings and change for us, and it’s not even half over! Good beginnings and good change, though. Sometimes the things that appear most wrenching and catastrophic really are the most cathartic and rejuvenating. So it’s fitting this blog entry comes during spring, a time of rebirth and renewal blooming from the desolation of winter.

In Idaho, spring isn’t heralded just by the Canadian geese and the gluttonous rush of the Snake River, but by the rumble of Harleys! Idaho has a large and very active HOG community, one that longingly waits in hibernation during the Idaho winter. Yet the nanosecond the weather warms in spring, these impressive machines are coaxed into gleaming glory by loving polishing hands and ignited awake from their winter slumber, to thunder out in eager hordes as if to chase away the winter solstice. Each day blessed with glorious spring weather will cause the roads to be generously seeded with these two-wheeled harbingers of summer, as social bonds are re-affirmed and new adventures are mapped out and planned.

Another messenger of Spring for me is surf music. I have long been enamored of this eclectic and idiosyncratic form of music, one that’s unencumbered by vocals and so allows room for the instruments, especially the guitar, to “talk” and the mind to wander into curious places. There’s something about the energy, the airiness and the peculiarity of this style of music that speaks to me of shedding the grimy cloaks of winter’s chill to bask in the new glow of whimsy and unconventional wisdom. My husband and I were lucky to catch Dick Dale’s last tour back in 2006, as it kicked off here in little ol’ Boise. What a great concert, by such a grand old school musician! My signed poster (above left) beams like a beacon in my office during winter's grey gloom, promising Spring just around the next sunrise.

I love Spring. From the deep hole of Winter, this season allows us to open up our house to let its freshness in, filling the house with sounds, smells and sensations almost forgotten during the oppression of snow. What was that?---a bird! Ahhhh---a warm breeze blowing through the living room! I smell a BBQ somewhere---in the office! Beautiful weather allows us to bring the outside inside, reacquainting us with Nature and arousing our senses once again to the tingly life of The World Outside.

Spring also is a joyous time for the Green Thumb, a thing I enviously am not. All of my houseplants are very good plants. Very strong, determined plants. They survive on sheer will power. I think I have very little to do with their continued survival, and I suspect they’d like to keep it that way. Yet those friends and family sanctified with that blessed shade of digit are now speaking of planting, potting and matters to do with dirt and seeds and clippings. I shall rejoice in their new shoots and buds, and daydream of luxurious gardens full of secret places, inner moments and the buzz of tended Nature flourishing unabashedly.

So I sit here, typing this blog entry listening to The Ventures with all the windows open, and gazing at my tulips popping up in my flowerbed as my husband polishes the chrome on his Fatboy. I hope your thaw is as restoring and invigorating this year, too! Welcome, Spring!

"I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face. " --Langston Hughes

Rites of Spring: Harleys and Surf Guitar