Web Galleries of new work

So my website is embarrassingly oudated, and I can't be bothered to update it anytime soon... in the meantime, I've finally figured out (with the help of resident html genius Jeff Rau) how to put web galleries of my work here on my blog, via Flickr slideshows. Nice trick Jeff, thanks.


So look to the right. You should see the first one there, for my Northwoods Journals series. More to follow... eventually...

Printable Pinhole Camera Designs

A new twist in making your own pinhole camera:

click here to download/print the designs

"Making Art as if the World Mattered"

“Vision that responds to the cries of the world and is truly engaged with what it sees is not the same as the disembodied eye that observes and reports, that objectifies and enframes. The ability to enter into another’s emotions, to share another’s plight, to make their conditions our own, characterizes art in the partnership mode. You cannot exactly define it as self-expression—it is more like relational dynamics. Once a relationship is given greater priority, art embodies more aliveness and collaboration, a dimension excluded from the solitary, essentially logocentric discourses of modernity. Partnership demands a willingness to conceive of art in more living terms. ‘Compassion is the rooting of vision in the world, and in the whole of being,’ states David Michael Levin. It is a way of seeing others as par of ourselves. When art is rooted in the responsive heart, rather than the disembodied eye, it may even come to be seen, not as the solitary process it has been since the Renaissance, but as something we do with others.”

From Suzi Gablik's “The Re-enchantment of Art,” pg. 106.

Still Life with Peeps

morning thoughts

"Art is neither safe nor predictable; it requires, and rewards, a deep engagement of our imaginative facilities."

"Art, like religious faith in general and prayer in particular, has the power to help us transcend the fragmented society we inhabit... the intuitive language of the imagination is so vital. Reaching deep into our collective thoughts and memories, great art sneaks past our shallow prejudices and brittle opinions to remind us of the complexity and mystery of human existence. The imagination calls us to leave our personalities behind and to temporarily inhabit another's experience, looking at the world with new eyes. Art invites us to meet the Other-- whether that be our neighbor or the infinite otherness of God-- and to achieve a new wholeness of spirit."
--Gregory Wolfe, editor of Image journal


"Redemption comes in many shapes, with many kinds of pain."
--Dolly Parton (yes, seriously. Give her songs another chance if you haven't already.)

Sacred space, place, and time... Portland meals.

Surely the time we get to spend with friends who live far away is sacred time... physical, shared, embodied time with them is rare... I can't often see my friends in Portland, London, Minnesota, Orlando, Denmark, Denver, or fill in the place for yourself... so those times are a gift when they occur, and it seems to me that something about that time and place creates a sacred space.







Meals. The shared table... the conversations... the pleasant and comfortable silences... the amazing Borsch home-cooked by Julia, the "laughing and riding and cornholing... (except Buster)"... I'm beginning to think that there is nothing I enjoy more fully than meals with good friends. At its best, this sacred space allows for a shared presence... being... to be together... to be known and to share that knowing presence.







'






Portland was full of this, and I'm grateful for each meal... for both the pure enjoyment of the food but also for the time shared at those tables with Tom, Adam, Tim, Adrian, and Reuben... the borsch at Julia's cart, the coffee and red velvet muffin at Crema, the toffee cupcakes at St Cupcake, the Rwandan coffee at Stumptown (which I tried and failed to brew on my own today), the all-too-rushed meal of kelp, ribs, and dumplings at Biwa, the snakebites over pipes at the Horse Brass, the meat platter at Two Brothers Serbian food (Ayvar!), the black molasses bread and watergames at Otis Cafe, the extremely fresh crab and cod in Newport, and of course, the schnitzel, spaetzel, wurst, and steins brought to us by our sciatic-nerve suffering waitress, Sarah, at Gustav's German bar. I hope she got the massage she needed.

New Work, New Exhibit- "Through a Glass Dimly"

"Through a Glass Dimly," the 5th and final Biola Art Alumni exhibition, opens Tuesday, 2/26.

The artist reception will be from 7-9pm, though the exhibit will be open through March 20th if you're not able to make it. (and remember, March 14-15th is our alumni reunion weekend and our major symposium "On The Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art"- see an older post about this). The show also features new work from Jonathan Anderson, Natalie Anderson, Tony Caltabiano, Jon Puls, Brandi Nuse-Villegas and a host of other alumni and friends that I can't think of right now.

Visit the BiolArt website for further details

I am very excited to finally exhibit some new pieces-- they are part of a "new" body of work that I've been developing slowly-- one piece (the first one shown below) has been around for a few years, but the other two have been printed for the first time... and all of them will be making their debut as finished, framed pieces (I built the custom frames myself, which I must say, I'm quite proud of.)














I don't know what to say yet about these pieces. They come to me slowly. I can't force them, they arrive like surprises/gifts. That's why there's only 3 and it's been 3 years since the first one. They're untitled so far. Something about tension... something about the search for the sacred in the contemporary... something about "standing in a circle of quiet, waiting for the world to turn..."

L'Abri

In honor of Sydney Van Orden who is spending this weekend at the English L'Abri, and in honor of the annual L'Abri conference that is being held in Minnesota (England AND Minnesota shout outs!)...

I checked out the English L'Abri website and found that they had put up galleries of my pictures. So not to toot my own horn, but I'm honored and excited to see them- check it out

English L'Abri-photo page

They make for a wonderful distraction.

A little more Flight of the Conchords for you:

(if you haven't been initiated yet, you really must watch their HBO show- now on dvd- and/or get some of their songs on itunes)

Just because it's stuck in my head.

Goodbye Polaroids.

Read this link if you want to ruin your day:

BBC News- Polaroids


From the article:

"The firm was founded in 1937, making polarised lenses for the science world, introducing its first instant camera in 1948. Polaroid peaked in popularity in 1991 when its sales - mainly instant cameras and film - hit close to $3bn.

However it failed to embrace the digital photography revolution and went bankrupt in 2001, before being bought, four years later by a Minnesota-based consumer products firm, Petters Group Worldwide. "

Let's hear it for the Minnesotans who tried to save the day! Good effort boys. But, the good news:

"It says there is enough film in stock to last until 2009, and it hopes to sell licensing rights to another firm to continue supplying enthusiasts who still use their Polaroid cameras."

Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down

Just because I'm having a cup now, and because I agree that all of the world's problems might just be solved by having a nice cup of tea and a sit down, here's a link I'd like to share:

http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/ or, the facebook group of the same name


So it's not the most clever or artsy site, in fact, it's pretty awful, but, it's got links to the British Tea Council and my favorite feature: Biscuit of the Week.

This week's biscuit: Encores

From the site: It's the year end and we thought it would be nice to round out 2007 with some biscuits that we can all go out buy in the UK, as opposed to something exotic from foreign shores. Having said that these are those French biscuits we mentioned a while back in our news section LU's re-branded range of classics for the UK market, Encore, which includes their flagship Petit Ecolier. And seeing that team NCOTAASD has spent quite a bit of time in France this year we thought we would bring you a few highlights of our exploits in the land of the Petit Beurre in the manner of a special festive season BOTW.

I honestly don't know what half of that means. But I have had Encores, and they are delicious.

Great music / video site

I may be late to the party on this one, but I've just discovered this great site for live and casual performances-- Les Concerts A Emporter at www.blogotheque.net


David Bazan-- "Cold Beer and Cigarettes/The Devil is Beating His Wife"





The National- "Start a War"

The Resurrection of Pinocchio

Today here in Long Beach we celebrate the annual washing up on our shore of everyone else's crap. Thank you, Southern California, for throwing all of your tennis balls, styrofoam, shoes, toys, condoms, and wrappers into the street, so all of us here in Long Beach can enjoy Monet haystacks of crap whenever it rains.










In the midst of this, I was inspired to do a little performance art of sorts. What follows is the Resurrection of Pinocchio.



































ps- it should be noted that an actual body did wash up on the shore in the midst of all of this... so this one's for him.

Cats and Sunsets

Let's hear it for cliche photos... I'm enjoying the mundane right now:
















New Year's Day sunset over Bluff Park. Cat found on 6th St. in San Pedro.