Crunch Time
I wrote this as a piece of fiction for another project and then thought, “hmm, seems not so fictional”: “The world had come to a point of decision, the cusp of light and darkness. A vileness had, for centuries, infused…
Powershift
Eccentric Giants
Two of my favorite Japanese painters are Soga Shohaku(1730-1781) and Ito Jakuchu(1716-1800). Contemporaries, their paintings are very different from each other but share an extraordinary dynamism and ecstatic eccentricity that lands them solidly in my Hall Of Fame. My taste…
Frozen Genius
Why is it that winter appeals to some so deeply and others loathe it? It does seem we line up in camps around temperature. It is possible to be quite comfortable with proper clothing, in temperatures around 10-20 F which…
Men Of Steel (and wood, gold, bronze, and pen & ink)
This is a restoration of an earlier post. The first paragraph and first photo are new. Damien was up for Thanksgiving and we had our usual fine time with lots of conversation ranging from shop-talk to the Simpson’s and much…
Humanity across time, space and culture
This is a restoration of a post from 2011: Among the highlights of all my trips to Japan was the opportunity June 2011 to see an exhibition of metalwork of many, many of the great metal artists from the Meiji…
Unseen Hand Revisited
This is a restoration of an earlier post. The piece is titled Unseen Hand Of Water. My aim with this work was to evoke the mystery around a narrative that has already passed. I had begun the carving before the…
Bejeweled Days Past
We are now in full-blown “twig” season(no leaves). It is always a difficult transition for me and I suspect many others, from psychedelic autumn to astringent winter. The added circadian clunker of the hour change does not help. But I…
Unseen Hand
I am regularly gob-smacked, particularly after high-water events, by the seemingly aesthetic placement of sticks, leaves and other detritus among rocks in streams that I frequent. There is something about the care/no care, eye/no eye, mind/no mind aspect of this…
Wealth Of The Soil
During a recent trip to Japan I rode the train more than usual with almost daily trips from 45 minutes south of Kyoto, up and back. This and a Shinkansen (bullet-train) trip to Tokyo gave me the opportunity to view…
Tatters Reborn
Due to an oversight on my part, all my earlier content has been lost. Being your own web”master” has its disadvantages. I have texts and photos saved for many of the posts and will restore some as time goes on.…