Out my kitchen window
Feeding the neighboring birds & squirrels (and sometimes a stray cat or two) has become one of my daily rituals. I enjoy having them around.
Making like a tumbleweed and tumblin’ around country roads.. with my camera
Gilbert the cat
“There are two means of refuge from the misery of life – music and cats.” – Albert Schweitzer
Colorful Colorado
One of the fringe benefits of doing out-of-town shows is that I sometimes get to “vacation” around in my off-time. Already day-dreaming about spending a few weeks in the mountains next summer. This will be my fourth summer trucking around the state, and my third summer that includes art shows.
And since in my head, everything ought to be a poem, here’s the first verse from one of my favorite poems, Song of the Open Road, by Walt Whitman:
AFOOT and light-hearted, I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune—I myself am good fortune;
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Strong and content, I travel the open road.
The earth—that is sufficient;
I do not want the constellations any nearer;
I know they are very well where they are;
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens;
I carry them, men and women—I carry them with me wherever I go;
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them;
I am fill’d with them, and I will fill them in return.)
Read the rest of Song of the Open Road on Bartlby.com.
TateShots: Maurice Sendak
“We all have to find our way.” -MS
Smokestacks
This photo came out a little blurry, but I still like it. Shot while driving over the train tracks in my hometown.. makes me think of Carl Sandburg’s poetry.
Good Night by Carl Sandburg
Many ways to say good night.
Fireworks at a pier on the Fourth of July
spell it with red wheels and yellow spokes.
They fizz in the air, touch the water and quit.
Rockets make a trajectory of gold-and-blue
and then go out.
Railroad trains at night spell with a smokestack mushrooming a white pillar.
Steamboats turn a curve in the Mississippi crying a baritone that crosses lowland cottonfields to razorback hill.
It is easy to spell good night.
Many ways to spell good night.
Read more Carl Sandburg poetry at Bartleby.com.
Happy New Year
“New Moon” – 8 x 10 inch paper cutting. Sold.
2011 was truly an amazing year in my world. It isn’t all that long ago that what I’m doing just felt like a distant dream that would likely never be realized, and I am forever thankful at this point, and surely all points forward, that I am where I am. And I wouldn’t be here without the folks who’ve inspired me, supported me, bought some art, followed my blog or facebook, gave me encouraging words, or on the contrary, told me that I’d eventually have to get a ‘real job’, etc… Life is what we make it. Thanks for helping me along. Happy New Year.
Kansas Country
I spent a little time out on some country roads today.. Pretty sure I’m at my highest, happiest self out there. I had this idea in my mind that I’d get a shot of the mysterious snowy owl that’s been making appearances this far south in search of food, but instead I was surprised with several bald eagle sightings. I’m pretty sure my next equipment investment will be a bigger zoom lens.. Getting a good nature shot is almost as good as making a good paper cutting, and sometimes I just can’t get close enough..
2012 is almost here..
..and I’ve got lots of things on my to-do list for the new year already when it comes to making art and making a living making art… and the way I make art and the way I work and the themes within my art all tie in with my personal dogma. That said… here’s a list of my 2012 New Year’s Resolutions and Remembrances to keep me on my artistic and dogmatic path.
Things to do:
Read more
Be outside more
Explore more
Be more present
Keep trusting my gut
Keep evolving
Keep on keepin on
Things to remember:
We are what we think and do
Everything is and will be as it’s supposed to be
Every situation is an opportunity to learn
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2011 has been an amazing year for me all around. Thank you for being a part of that.
Winter Solstice
I’m lucky to live in a place that experiences all the seasons to the fullest. Keeps it fresh, I think, and makes me appreciate each season that much more. And as a person who loves the nighttime (I say as I type this at 3am), I really enjoy the darkness of winter. I also love the idea of being snowed into a warm house.. cancerian hermit crab in me talking. In a nutshell (crabshell?), I have some pretty romantic notions of winter that push it towards being my favorite season.
That said, my travel plans for a couple days in Colorado have been thwarted by snow to the west and icy interstates. (Aside: If I could take roads like the one in the picture everywhere I went, I probably would).
Happy Winter.