Diet Spoon

Want to lose weight? Try my new and improved guaranteed weight-loss Diet Spoon.

No? Then how about a rice salad that I (yes, me) make? Which is for dinner tonight, along with pan-fried tilapia for me and a crabcake for Susan.

This recipe is an old one we've used for years but the only place we could find it for you on the internet was here. Sometimes we add sauteed mushrooms and almonds that have a special name but I'm not sure what it is - sliced? slivered?

Susan, The Blog Wrangler, speaks: Today Janis told me that this blog has been pretty thin lately. She's absolutely right. However, in my defense I'll have to point out that her blog is totally non-existent. And it's the summer. And I'm lazy. I'd like to promise I'll do better but that sounds like too much work.

Buried Treasure

Seth has started up another Buried Treasure online collaboration. Go here to see what I'm talking about and, while you are there, take a few hours to browse through his blog and see some of his incredibly creative work. And take a look at the great collaborations he has done in the past. Maybe you'll need more than a few hours...

I asked Susan to help me pick an older post ("buried treasure") that new readers might find interesting.  She thought it was only fair that you get a little more insight into both me and and a special friend who is, as I have just said, incredibly creative.

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Blog Post from October 29, 2009:


Sometimes it seems like a lot of mixed-media artists who blog do a lot of ... pink. Girly stuff. Pretty stuff. Feminine stuff. I think it's because a lot of them are women and pink stuff comes more naturally to women than men. I'm not being sexist here, I'm just making an observation. And it seems like a lot more women than men have blogs where they talk about the process of making art.

When I go to art workshops I'm usually the only guy in the class. Wait! I'm NOT complaining -- being one of only 10 men in a group of 400 people is a very nice situation to be in.

[Susan speaks:

This is what I hear all day long, as women read my nametag:
"Oh, you're Don's wife."

"Your husband must be Don. He's in my class."
"Tell Don I said Hi."
"Oh. I didn't know Don had his wife with him."
"Where is Don?"

Trust me on this fact: No one ever says to Don, "Oh, you're Susan's husband."

Does this bother me? Not in the least. The man is so oblivious to predators that he had to ask me if a woman inviting him to her room for a drink after class was coming on to him.]

About a year ago Susan made a connection with a woman via this blog. They started out as strangers exchanging email about something they found in common only to find out that they had a lot in common and they now refer to themselves as Evil Twins Separated at Birth. When we were in New York City last spring we met up with her, and she and Susan and I all felt as though we'd known each other forever. The two of them are very much alike and yet very different and I had fun watching them interact with each other.

This time in New York City we met up with an artist we'd connected with via this blog. He was an artist who understood what I meant when I talked about the "pink" stuff. A guy! A guy who makes art! We talked about metal and rust and dirty, worn stuff and it was easy to talk to him, as though we'd known each other a long time. It was a very, very nice connection.

[Susan speaks: It was cool. He is very much like Don -- a gentle, grounded soul. The two of them are very much alike just as they are very different and I was delighted that Don found someone he could talk to. They are in the picture above.

As for the pink, feminine stuff.... I had to remind Don that although he may call his ceramic pieces "dudes", they could also be considered dolls. So now, once again, he is fully flummoxed.]

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Now, if you are this far down, maybe you'd like to see what my Buried Treasure was last year.  Click here to go back, which is sort of like going into the Twilight Zone for me with my feeble memory.

More Spoons

I'm still working with spoons. Check out the photo below - sometimes I like the effect of soldering that shows up on the back better than I like the front. Susan suggested putting a little piece of mica under the handle and I think that made the piece perfect.

Just Call Me Uri

Remember Uri Geller? He was a paranormalist who used his mind to bend spoons. And I used Wikipedia to find out what a paranormalist was.

Anyway, I bend spoons, but not with my mind., although I do a lot of thinking about what the design will be.  The interesting part is how the back of the spoon looks after I've soldered on it, like the one above. The one below was the first one I did. No clay this summer, all jewelry class instead.

Parking Lot Entitlement

I'm finding this to be a really appropriate definition:

Prozac Parking:  Anywhere but between the lines.

Techno-Romantic Jewelry

A lot of May was spent traveling and taking art classes. July snuck up on us because somewhere along the way we lost most of June to intertia.  My Blog Wrangler has been having fits about her new computer's new operating system and new version of Internet Explorer and new version of Blogger for her to cope with. Not to mention the many programs she has had to re-download that have resulted in her getting a newer version of the program that she now hates because a lot of her favorite features have disappeared.  All of this makes me dare not even think of asking, "How's my blog doing?"

One class I took was from Thomas Mann, a very talented and prolific artist. This is my first attempt at making a complex (for me) piece that is a "sandwich" brooch, about 3½ inches high. There is plexiglass in between the pieces of metal and lots of very small bolts holding it together. By small I mean that each bolt is almost less than the thickness of pencil lead. I'm getting much better at sawing curved edges.

The little doodad on the top is just something I pulled out of my junk box. I thought it was a bee but someone told me it was a fly. My response is one that usually makes me grit my teeth when I hear someone say it but it is appropriate here:  Whatever.

Below is a picture of some of his sample pieces that Thomas brought to class. I can only get better. I hope.

Remembering on the 4th of July

On the 4th of July it's easy to recognize our flag and wave it proudly at parades and picnics. Just in case you don't remember, the second flag here is the POW-MIA flag. There are now 1,714 veterans listed by our Department of Defense as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

I've talked about this and about being in Vietnam (here and here) in the past. It still saddens me to think that James Clifford McKittrick's family is still waiting for him.

The 4th of July is our Independence Day, when we celebrate our 1776 Declaration of Independence, which includes this statement:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Don't forget the men and women in our Armed Forces who are making sure you have those unalienable Rights.

House Art

If it's outside, it's Yard Art. But if it's on your house, it has to be House Art. Right?

Very small and subtle. Very perfect.

Late edit, in response to an email received: No, I'm not making a religious statement here, it's an ART statement.

House Art courtesy of Bloo Plate Special, Austin, TX

Zach Anner Auditions for Oprah

There are days when I think it's just too much trouble to get off my lazy butt and do something. Zach would probably think that is pretty funny.



Go here to see what Zach is up to. Be sure to check out his "Thank you, Internet" video. Go here to vote for him.

Late note: Somewhere, somehow, in a perfect world videos would show up centered in the blog and not whacked off at the right. Maybe your view of it works. Maybe not. Something to do with the format so I fiddled with Object Width. Nada. Beats me. Guess you'll either have to tell me how to fix it or else just live with it. I'd like to play around with another blog format now that they have new templates but... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. ----- Susan, The Blog Wrangler.

Susan Finsen

On our recent trip to the East Coast we spent an afternoon wandering around the Torpedo Factory. One of the artists we met was Susan Finsen, a very articulate, interesting artist who graciously spent a lot of time answering questions from both of us.

The artists in the Torpedo Factory usually don't want you taking pictures in their studio spaces but Susan had no problem with us taking this video as she worked:

It's nice to be able to wander through many studios in a short period of time but it's even better to be able to watch them work. The images here are of Susan's work, so be sure you check out her website.

The picture below is from the installation she did for The Crystal City Art Walls project.

Today, 43 Years

To Hold

So we're dust. In the meantime, my wife and I

make the bed. Holding opposite edges of the sheet,

we raise it, billowing, then pull it tight,

measuring by eye as it falls into alignment

between us. We tug, fold, tuck. And if I'm lucky,

she'll remember a recent dream and tell me.

One day we'll lie down and not get up.

One day, all we guard will be surrendered.

Until then, we'll go on learning to recognize

what we love, and what it takes

to tend what isn't for our having.

So often, fear has led me

to abandon what I know I must relinquish

in time. But for the moment,

I'll listen to her dream,

and she to mine, our mutual hearing calling

more and more detail into the light

of a joint and fragile keeping.

Li-Young Lee

from "Behind My Eyes"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Photo-November, 1965.

Man-Purse?

Choosing the right bag to carry as a tourist can be a tough decision for a guy. [Susan is rolling her eyes and sighing.] Man-Purse or Bicycle Bag? Fake it with a big tote bag? Small bag or bag large enough to carry a lot of the extra stuff Susan somehow manages to gather during the day?

To solve the problem I've always carried a plain black Man-Purse type bag so I can tote my share of maps, water bottles, camera batteries, umbrella, Advil, kleenex, sketchbooks, pencils, Metro cards, and all the accumulated what-ever we seem to accumulate. When you walk out of the hotel room with a long day of sightseeing ahead of you you really wind up carrying a lot of .....stuff.

But now I'm considering this fashion statement. What do you think?

Fade to Black

Susan speaks:
At Art and Soul I took a Journal Spilling class from Diana Trout. She provided very good product information and had lots of stuff for us to sample. One of my favorites was pens that provide a very strong resist so you can put watercolor or washes over them yet they still shine through.

She spent some time talking about being sure you banish your "Inner Critic" from your art environment. This was pretty much contrary to what I do. My Inner Critic stands right behind me and she talks to me constantly, telling me I can do better, or that I should try something different, or that something sucks and it's time to throw it away ("The horse is dead. Get off."). She often tells me "Damn, that's really good!", although by the next day she'll often say What was I thinking?" My Inner Critic is the one force that keeps me from thinking that I'm finished, that I've successfully conquered Art, and now I can move on to other things. I really like my Inner Critic.

If you've seen some of my other work (here and here) you'll know that I like to use dark colors. No, I don't have a dark side to my personality, I just happen to think black and raw umber and navy blue are really great colors. And don't forget dark grey and Payne's grey. Some of the class supply lists this time said to bring some of your favorite paint colors so I thought this would be a good opportunity to get outside of my "comfort zone" and try some paler colors and "lighten up" my art work.

The picture above is an example of what I was doing in my pages for this Journal Spilling class. The object of the class was to experiment with all sorts of media and try different methods of applying acrylic paint, watercolors, markers and ink to make a background page to later do journaling on. The theory seems to be that if your page has background stuff on it you won't be as reluctant to mark or write on it.

I thought I was doing pretty good with pale (for me) colors. Not happy with them but trying to use them. Diana came by, took one look, and said, "Oh, no! You need to get out of your comfort zone. Use more intense colors!".

Yes!!! Little did she know, I was out of my comfort zone. But who am I to argue with an instructor who just gave me a break? I dumped those wimpy colors and went straight for my favorite black:

For the record, I don't journal. If I write something that is journal-like you can be sure it is 100% fiction.

Signs of the Times

Well, did you miss me? You probably didn't notice I was gone because the blog has been in Future-Post mode for the past month. The Blog Wrangler and I have been on TBRT (The Big Road Trip) to the East Coast. We spent most of our time in Washington, DC, and Alexandria and Hampton, VA.

The sign above greeted us on our first Metro ride. Take that, you New York subway riders.


We still aren't sure how to take these two signs (above) that Alabama displayed together at a rest stop. However, Alabama had very clean rest stops and friendly staff at the state line Welcome center.


But we definitely got the message on this sign, posted at the back of a rest stop on IH-20 in Texas.

We spent 5 days in classes at Art&Soul in Hampton but for some reason took very few pictures. Susan is still storing out our boxes of supplies and junk and dirty clothes and will eventually get a few pictures on the blog to show you what we did.

We are glad to be home but are commiserating with Risë and EGE on their road trip pain - we've been there, seen that. Just in case you were wondering, Risë is actually more colorful in person than in her blog picture. And, according to Susan, Earl really is Ever Gorgeous.

Tap Your Toes

Our nephew, Chris (second from right), played in a Brass Quintet at a State Competition here in Austin this week-end. At the last minute we were able to get into the room where Susan surreptitiously took this video. I was tapping my toes too!

They did great and we had fun visiting with them. It was also amusing watching them change in just minutes from t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops to this polished looking group.

After it was all over we had the guys include their Director in a picture -- but Susan asked for their Goofy faces on this one.

Remembering

On this Memorial Day weekend enjoy your picnic, your barbeque, your family gathering and maybe a long break from work.

But before you do, please go here to see why it is so important for me that you take a few moments to remember those who gave their lives defending our country and the freedoms we have.

Captain Barry Lynn Brown, Killed In Action, Vietnam, 1968

Major James Clifford McKittrick, Missing In Action, Vietnam, 1967

Earth Day

Somewhere along the Natchez Trace

It's our Earth.

Let's do our best to nurture it.

And enjoy it.

Somewhere along the way I missed Earth Day (April 22). Better late than never.

More Yard Art

Recognize anything here? If you spotted the drive-in movie speakers you have just identified yourself as being over the age of 40. If you remember necking at the drive-in movie you have just identified yourself as being over the age of 50. Give yourself 5 bonus points if you know what necking is. Give yourself 10 extra bonus points if you ever drove off with the speaker still attached to your car.

Yard Art courtesy of The Bloo Plate Special, Austin, TX

Yes, Hell Yes, It IS Art

This video has been floating all over the internet but I wanted to be sure you saw it. For me, the music is secondary, the birds are the real beauty. Orange, grey, black and white -- can I possibly achieve these colors in my ceramics?



Late edit: If the video above asks you to sign in as Friend, forget it. That's not me, that's the provider of the video doing that. Try going to this YouTube link.

Graffiti Guys

Thanks to A New York Magpie's Eye, I have two more Graffiti Guys to add to my collection. The one on the top was spotted in New York City in Chelsea, the one below it was spotted at 34th and 10th Avenue.

The pictures above and below are reruns. The two guys are really the same one, photographed about a year apart, in front of the American Folk Art Museum in New York City.

This guy was spotted in Sommerville, MA, by a loyal blog reader.

People, keep your eyes open for Graffiti Guy!!!

Armed Forces Day

DaNang, Vietnam, 1969

Army Nurses, DaNang, Vietnam, 1969

Today is Armed Forces Day, a day to recognize and honor the men and women of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

Not happy about the way your government is doing things? Protest (peacefully). The people serving in your Armed Forces are making sure you can.

Yodocks

Yodocks, named after their inventor, are used as barriers by being put into place and then filled with water to make them stable. Earlier this year a temporary (3-month)art installation went up at one of the entrances to our neighborhood, Barton Hills. The video below is of the volunteers working on the installation on a windy Saturday and, for the record, none of our property taxes went to pay for it.



Later that day was the Opening Reception and we walked over for it, delighted to see that at night it looked like a giant Lego castle.

This hill area was choked with weeds and never noticed, it was just there. Now this art installation has changed how you see the area and it will always seem different, even when the installation is gone. Like it or not, it is art. Art? Got your attention, didn't it? Art.

There has been a lot of discussion about this on our neighborhood newsgroup and none of it is neutral. People either like it or hate it. For the record, we like it. It isn't necessarily attractive or that well done but it IS an attempt to alter your perception of your environment. And it makes us smile, not only because it is amusing but because we can picture the sputtering and frothing at the mouth of those who hate it -- the ones who devoted the time, effort and money to put up this psedo-official sign:

Mother's Day

Steampunk Heart, unknown artist

If you are a Mom, Happy Mother's Day to you. If you have a Mom who is nice to you, consider yourself lucky and wish her a Happy Mother's Day. If your nice Mom is no longer here, think of the good times and consider yourself lucky.

Oh, Dem Bones

Bleached animal bones have a special beauty all their own. Jerry Alexander, one of my Ceramics Professors, lives out in the country and he brought me these bones. I thought about cutting them up and using them in some funky jewelry pieces but they look great just as they are.

Instead, I'll have to think of some special sort of Nicho for them. Jerry's art work really enhances the bones he used, especially with the Raku technique he uses.

Yard Art

Are you a Yardist? Check out the pictures from the sites that were on the Austin Art Yard Tour and see if you qualify. Robert Mace and his wife, Wendy, creators of The Bloo Plate Special, are bottle collectors and have made a "Bottle Prairie". When they got married they asked guests to bring blue bottles to add to their collection. They are especially pleased with their Cowboy Scarecrow.