I’ll be doing my thang this Saturday, Sept. 22, at the 7th Annual Aaron Douglas Art Fair at 12th & Lane in Topeka, KS. It runs from 10am- 5pm. I’ve got lots of new prints & cards plus seven originals that I haven’t displayed yet that were part of the Grimm Brothers 200th Anniversary Exhibit at the Buell Children’s Museum in Pueblo, CO, for the last six months.
It’s been a long day of non-stop print making.. still going at it with a very early morning full of matting and bagging and framing and packing and whatever else ahead. New prints available include (only offered at Art Westport so far): Moon Dweller, Good Things Billowing Into The Night, Big Moon, Owl At Dusk & Night Bird.
Hope to see you there. It should be beautiful weather wise.
Dust from gravel roads lingering in the sun. Atchison County State Lake, September 2012.
Waking in the Middle of the Night by Robert Bly
I want to be true to what I have heard.
It was so sweet to hear music last night.
There is so much joy in being afraid
of the world together.
The snow in the branches,
the sadness in your hands,
The foot tracks in the mud,
the old Inca faces,
The trout who wait all year
for the acorns
to descend.
The sitar player is so much
like the crow, who rises
Each morning in the sky above
the black branches
And cries six cries with no memory
of the light.
Every musician wants his fingers
to play faster
So that he can go deeper into
the next kingdom of pain.
Each note on the string calls
for one note more.
The hand that has written
all these sounds down
Is like a bird who wakes in the middle
of the night
And starts out toward its old nest
on the mountain.
Robert, I don’t know why you
would have such Good luck today.
Those few lines about the crows
Crying are better than a whole night
of sleep.
An early morning on gravel roads. Crisp, clear star-filled sky. Car heat on low. Favorite boots. Hot coffee. Deer grazing on the side of the road. First light of day peeking over the rural horizon. Watching the world wake up. Heading into a full day of work. Starting it off right.
My last couple days have been filled with so much goodness.. No shortage of beauty and inspiration around me. Here’s a bunch of photos from a jaunt out into the country this evening — Atchison County, KS, 9/18/12.
I just poked my head out into the dark night and listened to an owl sitting in a tree in my yard seemingly calling to the neighborhood dogs who eagerly responded.
I spent the better part of both Thursday and Saturday baking, which was my profession in a previous life. It was a nice change doing it for fun and for family and friends. And I actually ate what I made and enjoyed it. (Vanilla & cheesecake cupcakes, a gargantuan red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, and an on-the-fly concocted cheesecake: chocolate graham cracker crust with a layer of crushed whoppers, then the cheesecake and a layer of chocolate ganache on top of that, lined with more whoppers and colorful sprinkles. whoooooo).
I’ve been away from home and from the internet world a lot. It’s good to be disconnected from time to time. Or in other words, it’s good to be connected only where it matters most.
I got a bunch more supplies in — printing to commence in the next couple days for the Aaron Douglas Art Fair in Topeka next Saturday. This is a new show for me and I’m looking forward to it. I’m also awaiting my works in the mail from the Grimm Brother’s exhibit in Colorado that closed last week, so those will be available next weekend.
Today I walked through the Zona Rosa Art Fair in Kansas City, which I participated in during 2010.. it sadly has shrunken to what seemed like just a handful of artists. I think it was the first art fair I’ve walked through when I wasn’t participating since I’ve been doing these shows. Next Sunday I’ll be hitting up the Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City as an observer only as well (and maybe a purchaser too, if I can’t fight off my art buying urges).
Lots of other good things happening as well. Trying to catch up meanwhile. Til next time.
(I’m borrowing this from a Facebook friend that posted it this morning.)
Friend do it this way – that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.
And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way – that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One – whatever you ask for,
that’s the Way It’s Going To Be.
Despite Friday’s rain during the three day Art Westport, it was a great show with beautiful weather for the rest of the weekend. Thanks so much to all of you who came out and supported! I’ve got lots of work to do to prepare for my next shows.. There were approximately 140 artists there, and three prizes were awarded: Best of Show, 2nd Place, and 3rd Place. I was very honored (and very surprised) to be awarded 2nd Place. I actually got a chance to walk around to about 70% of the show before it started on Saturday, and there was some really great art there.. so, even more of an honor to be recognized amongst the artists that I saw. Hope to see y’all again next year!
If you read my blog and haven’t noticed yet, I’m a bit obsessive about music. I’ve visited three record stores in three different cities in the last four days… Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis & some record store in Columbia, MO (didn’t buy anything there but almost did and ended up getting it at:) & Love Garden (as always) today in Lawrence (thank you fellas for pushing some of this music on me and for ordering my special requests..).. Anyway, don’t read on if you’re bored already. I’m always searching for something — and with records, there’s always something new to find. I promise, there’s paper cutting blog posts to follow shortly. Here’s what I picked up:
Yves & Serge & Victor (France) reissue from a private issue of only 300 records in 1975
Leo Kottke – Circle Round The Sun and 6 & 12 String & Guitar (I should have the latter already but I don’t)
Riley – Grandma’s Roadhouse (http://therisingstorm.net/riley-grandmas-roadhouse)
Jim Ford – Harlan County (who can resist a song “I’m Gonna Make Her Love Me Til The Cows Come Home)
Les McCann – Layers
Guitar Mood 2 – More Rare Instrumentals from the New and Olde Worlds
George Jones – Trouble In Mind
Spider John Koerner – March 1963
Buffalo Springfield – Again ($1 bin..)
Isao Tomita (4 different records of crazy synthesized music) – Pictures at an Exhibition, Snowflakes Are Dancing, Grand Canyon (with the Plasma Symphony Orchestra), and Bolero
Christine Perfect (McVie) – The Legendary.. (what I almost bought in Columbia, but got in Lawrence)
Happy & Artie Traum – Hard Times In The Country (completes my H. & A.T. collection – way excited)
Dave Von Ronk – Gambler’s Blues
Happy Traum – Relax Your Mind (always trying to HT, seriously, ain’t always easy..) Rod Stewart – Gasoline Alley
Jorma Kaukonen – Jorma
