Yes it's true.

Rita sent us this postcard from Paris so when we returned
it would be some proof we were actually there. That's the way it looked.

conjuring steel

The steel looks to be conjuring and that's good because the twain shall meet above with more

up and down it's arms-stay tuned.... This is odd stepping away from something only minuits ago I was bending in to place-the place your looking at!.?

I went to Moon Rise to make an adjustment to Moon Rise Quartz Migration. large boulders were added to and rearanged while the entrance was expanded and unified with more gravel. Beauitfull! So I needed to add a few more white quartz stones to work with the other changes. While there I photographed something I made over the past winter. Their called
Moon Rise Uppings Their all hanging from the rafters that over hang the breezeway between the frontdoor and the garage.

P.S. The spiral cone in the back ground hanging from the eave, is incence that burns "24/7".

It smells like all the religions in the world got thrown in to a caldron and boiled down by half. The good stuff rose to the surface and was scummed off,dryed and made in to this incence. There ya have it. It's just my sence of smell.

Concrete complete

Now it's something else. The integrity of the two halve's is still de-intacted.

Quartz stones bubble up from the surface now and the holes drop through. The lightness of color will darken in time. The light ness is a result of a mix of 1/3 hydrated lime in the final mix ov concrete. Stay tuned for the next stage.....

Now all the structure is covered. The first coat of concrete receives a second and a third and maybe a fourth to get the surface where it needs to be. This is a new thing for me to do; showing you the various stages that go into a sculpture. I can imagine it will be good to know the history behind a set form. It too may be a surprise to see how many conscious decisions are attributed to an object that really has no direct reference to anything but it's viewers presents.
What a fresh beginning for you.

Often the internal structure of some of the forms I make are more interesting to people than what I want to ultimately see. So here is a look before it's covered. The brown lines are steel welded together as a framework to support the galvinized steel mesh that skins over the surface. This surface will have some pass through holes and some quartz will be cemented into some.

Eggplant

I selected two shiny, firm, dark purple Italian eggplant that were 2" in diameter and about 6" long. I'm writing this because I'm very happy with my technique of cooking it as follows.

Lay out left to right two dinner plates and one small flat bottomed bowl all right next to one another. Let two seasoned cast iron fry pans come to a medium heat dry and with no oil in them while you're working on the eggplant In the bowl add 2 tbls.each of olive oil and water, add two eggs. Whip it up with a fork.
Slice the eggplant with out peeling into disks about 1/4" thick. Dragging the tines of a fork down the length of them adds a place of purchase for the knife to dig through the sometimes bouncy resistance.

On the plate just to the left of the bowl add 3/4 c. of fine corn meal and a 1/4 c. whole wheat or white flour and mix together and spread out. . Add more later if need be.

Dip the slices in the egg mixture and wipe off excess on the side of the bowl. Lay on the bed of corn flour. When the plate is covered turn each of them over and pat the flour into the eggplant until they are dry enough to transfer to the empty plate on your left. Keep stacking them on top of one another till their all breaded . Lay them in the dry pan fairly close together.

They will kind of bake on the pan and the oil in the egg mixture as well as the flour is enough to keep them from sticking. keep watching but about 10 min. a side.

You'll notice that there is no salt in this recipe. I personally like the eggplant to be addressed from the outside by any salt or sauce; it's subtle integrity formally introduced at the plate.

Autum leaves in spring

This is what I found in the garden this morning. Male and female autumn leaves screwing in the lavender.

Kortney of the Quartz

Kortney was given to us by our neighbor Pete last year. For all her glory she stands only 18" tall. She could fill the Palace Royal in Paris. She serves the Quarts too.

Filtration

This is a water filtration "system" as it's called by the smart and confident people. I on the other hand wanted to filter out excess white material from the coffee machine water. It also had to be done with out spending any money. Here it is and it works beautifully. One gallon glass lined Thermos,circa 1920, porcelain Melita funnel,coffee filter and a home made spout. The perk is it tastes better too.

A diet of a peace after a peace after a peace.

I made this object on the right out of steel and quartz. It is called an Upping and there are going to be about 14 of them of various forms. They hang from architecture and are designed to sway back and forth in a breeze. They are being commissioned by a special client who likes living with them. They hang from a covered walk way open to the southern breeze. The bells ring, the birds sing and a resinous incense burns continuously. Sounds like a dream but it isn't. Or is it?

Sanitary Carpentary

This is a Sponge Bed and my design is inspired by a Cornell University study a number of years ago. The study found that wood and any kind of wood ,clean and with out varnish or sealers can destroy bacteria. It was found if memory is correct that 98.5% of the bacteria on a piece of wood is gone after a 12 or 24 hour period( I forget which).

I immediately thought of those smelly sponges and went to work on the above wood support. It works! My sponges never smell any more and last a long time. Feel free to make your own and enjoy the comfort of the Sponge Bed! And all you beautiful cutting board angels; it's Ok you can come back now, we didn't know any better then. Please forgive us.

comming home to roost

I made these concrete S.U.V's a few years ago. Their linked together by a chain running through their internal selves. Their each about 4" long (10.16 cm) . Where I live many people drive these look-a-like vehicles. They are bloated and top heavy and there american.

They are all ready concidered obsolete and will be abandoned on mass. What can be done with these forms? My first thought is to gut them, recycle the plastic and make them into a suberban chicken coops. This smells like a bussness oppertunity! You could even get the kit that suits your make and model. If any one has an idea to share it would be fun to read.

For the optimistic only

http://spaceagemuseum

This is not a photograph of Paris

My friend Roberta gave me this image to contemplate. The fashion of the two women looks to be 1920 ? I can feel the wind and the warmth of the sun and the smell too. Were going to Paris in September . Every molicule has been influenced since this picture was taken. This is not a photograph of Paris. Photography realy is a unique joke on time and space . I can't hold my breath as well as a photograph can.

Quartz Server is in the garden

After a long winter waiting for dry sunny weather to complete Quartz Server it's now complete.
I find serving is such an under appreciated act of faith. I wanted to reinforce the serve -serve-serve with the three trays. most of the quartz lays in the steel mesh trays but some are mounted in tiny pedestals to enhance the liveliness of what is being served. I hope you see the server ,if its you or another in a new way. I don't think I'm through with serving up the server at this time! Bon appetit!

This is about sculpture and I havn't shown sculpture too much .
The sumi drawing at the right is the begining of a sculpture and some progression will follow. The three trays will eventually be serving small quartz confection.

The farthist image is the sculpture and Iv'e called it Quartz Server. It is not finished. The quartz at the right on the table will go on the trays and the grey metal will be painted. Warm dry weather is all I need. It will be shown outdoors in the silver garden which I'll show you when the weather improves. It is great to have a speciall place where all the silver ones go.

last fall Rita saw this in our dining room window. I took this picture as we looked on. Just a reflection at the end of the day but what an end of day! We thought about the energy out and in the house . It captured our times. Burnnnnn Ahnn!

This is a sculpture that was made by me and installed by me on the entry way to the collectors home. there is alot of chatter today on collecting art that has me thinking. With all the bravery in accumulating wealth I'm thinking how timid those same people can be when it comes to buying art. But yes art IS another story.
Here is my FREE advice: If you don't want to become an art investor try using love. Love is always yours to give or withhold. It can take the place of money as a stand in for studying and "consuming" the very thing in front of you with out spending a dime. Think of it as your birth right commodity with which to rub up against art . With nothing to lose who cares if it's a STRANGER! You can get to know or not at no expense at all. When you are done move on. Put the money down only when you have a relationship with this"stranger".
The sculpture on the left was consumed with love and paid for with money. The money means it is now a part of this property. love was the vehicle that got it here and keeps it here. The one thing that dosn't go astray is change. Art for me is about loving a stranger even if it is us.

What goes up must go down

It's amazing what a small thing can do to lift the spirits. How many times with gained skill I fetched out of the drain hole any number of things. Grey slime, hair and other scumie stuff.

I made this brass drain cover and it was good! A little "home land security" goes a long way.

For Sensitive Skin

This is a good example of the kind of ingredients that are in my soup. I made this watering can with a cheap funnel and an old watering can sprinkler I had around. Some silicone calk and aluminium pop rivits to hold the funnel on. My sprinkler has a fine spray for seedlings. It can be made with out the sprinkler too. The recycling and carbon saving detail isn't interesting to me but it is a deal to make. I left the lable in place because now in it's altered state it makes me laugh.

Getting Started

This is my first entry and I like to show you some of the blogs that inspired me to begin. The blog search started with a search in Paris for any thing and every thing to do with the City Of Light. Rita and I are going to visit for the first time and I went over the edge searching the blog world on this subject. We especially want to see the things that are in museums, galleries and public places. I'm not saying the ........ word as a way to refresh myself toward seeing clearly.

This blog was my first and still a favorite kitchen-notebook.blogspot.com It's so well done and beautifull to look at. The next one I discovered is http://www.blogger.com/www.secretsofparis.com/trip-planning There are many more and they will follow but it's time to go to the studio, see you soon...

A soup of diverse ingredients

I love cooking pots pans and all kinds of containers used in cooking. Just looking at them brings out a kind of peace in me. The image is a sumi drawing I made.