Thoryn is Around

2011 Pilchuck Work

2011-08-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

sculpture like this

2011-07-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

an ethereal center and a mass that has moved on

left a skin

wasted and sour water taste

caught up in the words

Valle Grande 2011 Fire

2011-06-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

A wildfire erupted earlier today about twenty miles northwest of where I live. I began writing a blog post two weeks ago about another fire that started in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, but just did not post it for some reason. Now on the horizon two large fires smoke.

The scale of the smoke rising is staggering.

what yesterday feels like

2011-06-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

a minimal amount

2011-06-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

New Work

2011-05-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

The lathe is up and running and new work is coming out the doors. I hope to make a few pieces every week or so. I will keep pictures coming.

Also in the news, I just found out that I will be returning to Pilchuck this year as the Cold Shop Coordinator for session 4.

Counting Our Blessings

2011-04-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys for keeping radio silence for so long, but I have been out of town for three weeks working for Joe Hobbs in Mobile and New Orleans. It is always hard to leave home and get a new rhythm going. Joe is an old friend and he is an amazing guy to work for; we got right to work and started checking things off the list.

I have not spent much time in Mobile before this month, to report in Downtown is booming and coming up. Lots of youthful art and culture, a great music scene (The Suzies). It was wonderful to be in the South in spring time, but it was very hard to be away from my family in New Mexico. Though, New Orleans did keep me warm and fuzzy while I was away. I haven't been there since before Katrina hit, it is still not 100% there but that place has a heart that will beat long past when the clock stops ticking. Don't get me wrong, we worked hard but man that city will shake you awake.

I arrived home a few days ago and my parents came along to visit. I have been showing them around my neck of New Mexico and it has been great to rediscover with them how beautiful and expansive it is.

On one of our adventures we went to The Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Angel Fire. The memorial was built in 1968, long before our nation would leave Vietnam or Americans would begin to honor the sacrifice of the young men and women who were sent to serve the whims of men who sat behind desks. It is a beautiful piece of art that would survive the critique of even the most jaded. It is a beautifully somber and emotional place, I do not believe that anyone could walk the grounds there and not shed tears for those we have lost. It was an especially emotional experience for my father who is a Veteran of Vietnam; and though I may never be able to walk in his shoes with the weight he carries, I was lucky to have shared this experience with him. Never Forget.

As a kind of footnote, I hope we all remember that war is evil but the poor and disenfranchised that we send to battle are never to blame for the idiocy of bureaucrats.

"What a waste of life." Richard Ziemba

La Cienaguilla Photo Essay

2011-04-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

Andrew asked to see some pictures of what things looked like around my new house. I thought you all might like a look.

VID

2011-03-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

Normally the mail, I don't know about you, is pretty much no fun. However, today is an exception. For those of you who don't know the circular objects above are diamond wheels for glass carving/cutting. They are as valuable to me as they are expensive to purchase. I am very excited to meet them, as I am sure we will be spending many hours together. I was actually pretending to carve with them earlier.

I am as excited as I am nervous they were a huge investment=gamble. They are as necessary to me as the glass they carve away. Thanks to a great friend for the help in acquiring them.

It is a busy time. I have been running round working for others, getting the lathe ready, and moving to a new house.

On the Lathe front:

Everyday I make some progress, as you can see it is nearly complete. I have moved the lathe to it's new home where I will assemble, paint, plumb, and wire it. I will have to think of a name for this machine, any ideas? It has been quite an adventure building it, and many thanks are due to friends all over who have given their advice and support. It is not over yet, I imagine there will be a few hick-ups but I am very proud of my accomplishment thus far. It is really great to have an ever expanding group of friends, family, and other artists just in it to help.

We are moving a bit out of Santa Fe to La Cieneguilla. Above you can see me perched on Petroglyph Hill, in the background one of those blurry dots is our new house. Petroglyph Hill is a mesa that is on public land that Rousseau and I love to climb and explore; Christy and Shelby are coming around. We like the city but just love the outlying areas and can't wait for you to come explore with us.

Time and Another Moment

2011-03-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

Corey Black took this photo of a pear tree flowering somewhere in Louisiana. I thought it would be perfect for this post.
My last information drop provoked some conversation on time and life. High and low.

I just thought I would send a hug to my friends everywhere. Below is a link to a download of a little album I made for you guys. The track order is included, I haven't quite figured that part out yet. So, basically there is a little work that needs to be done on your part. Enjoy....

time and another moment LP

P.S. I am not sure if link will come through on email service of this blog. You may need to go to the page to use. CB, you DO NOT need to sign up for an account just use the slow service. You Will See.

days change

2011-03-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

Things have been a little stressful lately and it was boiling over a bit today. I was cold working for Richard Mole at his studio 15 minutes or so north of Santa Fe. I was looking out at the desert and it just hit me, enjoy the moment. I was in this beautiful place doing something I actually like doing.

This is Richard's back yard and man when the weather is nice, it is the best office ever.

After driving back into Santa Fe, I decided to stop in and get a little more work done on my lathe. I was able to put the parts together and make sure everything will work as planned. Good news, everything appears to be going as planned. I will be putting on the sheet metal and enamel paint in the coming week. Then, it will be a matter of constructing the tables for the water pans, getting all the plastic together, water lines, and a few other finishing touches. Wish me luck.

Just a little piece of the big blue for my friends. Come visit us soon. Christy, the dogs, and I will be set up in a new house in April. More on that later.

brown and blue

2011-02-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

   i see the moon in
   the morning light,
off mountains and
   the desert high

never meant to originate
or kiss dixie nite

but every now and then
  a plastic bag
caught on a cactus
looks like cotton

the mad scientist and the pirate

2011-02-16T20:48:00.000-08:00

snow and coffee

2011-02-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

While The Cat Is Away

2011-01-30T10:46:00.000-08:00

Elodie Holmes, being the amazing person she is, is kindly letting us take over her gallery while she is out of town at The Rosen Show. Please come by if you are in Santa Fe, and if you aren't I will add some photos of the show. If you will be in Philadelphia for the Buyers Market, stop by and visit Elodie's booth.

Two Bands Played

2011-01-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

Last night in Santa Fe all the charged particles connected in one place. I can tell you for certain that had CERN been looking for the Higgs Boson at the Corazon they would have found it.

Retribution Gospel Choir was doing a sound check as I took my pint from the bartender. They played Wonderful Tonight, well most of it, as if to tell us that if we waited patiently we would be rewarded. They did not lie.

RGC began playing and did not stop for a moment. I remember being amazed. I remembered feeling underfoot. It seemed like I could go on forever this way. Not indie, not hipster, but rock n’ rolling for the first time in generations. Let us be honest. It is what we are all trying to find.

Anywhere

Like a lost message

And they did stop for just a moment to tell us they had two songs left. Like they were saying, “hey kids we are coming down now”.

The whole time Retribution Gospel Choir played two people danced the most, hooted and hollered the loudest, and sung along. Those two people were Peter and Brian of Peter Wolf Crier.

Though the number of people on the stage diminished, from three to two, the intensity did not. One thing kept running around in my brain all day; how were Peter and Brian going to take an album that was so dense and convert it into a live show. The answer is, they didn’t. They clearly took songs that are lush and verdant and recorded them the way they are. These two gentleman play, if Brian is to be believed, folk music. If it is, it is a folk that owes more to Muddy Waters than Peter, Paul, and Mary. I would call it rock but no ones asking.

Peter Wolf Crier exhibited songs that they have to paint anew everyday. Though last night the colors were a little brighter and the pace more fevered. They played like the stars were aligned and the smiles shone on their faces. Peter sits while he plays guitar in order to control a massive bank of pedals, and even he got swept away by the magic at times and could not help but jump up.

Well not to make it seem less than it is

Retribution Gospel Choir played

And so did Peter Wolf Crier.

It was good,

It was very good.

Thank you guys for coming to Santa Fe, you are welcome anytime. I have a futon for you.

If you do not own Peter Wolf Crier’s debut Inter-Be or Retribution Gospel Choir’s 2. You are short two of the best albums of the past year. Buy them.

And if you are in their path as they continue to tour. Go see them. I bought a ticket for ten dollars and feel like I owe them more money.

Reanimate

2011-01-19T07:38:00.000-08:00

Look for new things in old places...
or vice virtue

on a New Year, a new day

2011-01-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

I hope all of you had a wonderful wrap up to your year. I know I keep saying this but, things seem to be heading in positive directions. I hope you can say the same.

There have been a few setbacks, but those setbacks proved to be positive. I was inspired to build my own lathe and begin accruing cold working equipment. A few days ago I received the first piece of my lathe project; the motor and controller!

I will keep this blog updated with the progress on the lathe. I have been getting great advice from Curtiss, Kerrick, and Damon. All three of whom should continue to expect phone calls from me.

I am working on some new ideas and traveling different roads.

The glass community in Santa Fe has been very welcoming to me; I am fortunate to have landed in such an amazing group of people. More on these folks later.

Making the most of opportunities here has allowed me to fill my studio shelves with glass. The other side of that coin, is that now I must begin a long road of cold working. Some of which will not begin until my lathe is completed, but you will start to see some new work here soon.

Or now!

It has been exciting to use new techniques I was exposed to on my journey this summer. I am very interested to get some reactions to the work, so please let me know what you think.

"I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference."

Christy decided to hike a new trail yesterday and it was beautiful and inspiring. It is amazing to me that just ten minutes outside of Santa Fe exists a complete silence; until Rousseau gets there.

something new . a little better . a little worse ...

2010-12-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

It is exciting to be working on my work again. I am experimenting, but i am also not.
Truth to the millstone and all.

I am excited and wanted to share an unfinished work with my friends.

Let me know what you think.

I challenged myself to listen to all The Rolling Stones studio records in chronological order. I would like to challenge all of you to take something you think you know and rediscover it.

2 books

2010-12-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

Just read the new Keith Richards autobiography. Super amazing, only man luckier than Paul Marioni. Which led into Treasure Island. The digression makes sense to me.

Keep it dark, Keith!

Illinois

2010-12-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

I spent the week before Thanksgiving in Illinois. Luckily it was colder in New Mexico.

I travelled to Illinois to give a lecture on my Windgate Fellowship to the glass students of Illinois State University, and spend a week working in their hot shop as a visiting artist.

I spent the time making a few pieces from a previous series with a new direction in mind but the majority of the time experimenting with new ideas. I will keep you all posted on how that plays out.

More soon..... I promise.

2010-11-16T20:20:00.001-08:00

Life is fragile,

everyday is a gift.

Adjustable

2010-11-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

August Muth

2010-11-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

I have just seen some very great work, the images are quite impressive but....
It is nothing short of amazing in person. Please visit August Muth at his website, very cool.
augustmuth.com

The above pictures are of one piece. As you move around the work it changes. Holograms!

Check It Out!

a day in the life...

2010-10-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

...i think that pretty much wraps it up.

Santa Fe Week one(onethree)

2010-10-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

First I just want to say that traveling the country was breath taking and working for three amazing artists remains undefinable. The best part is that now I call them all, friends.

....and right now I miss all my friends.

Santa Fe is great and everyone I have met is friendly, warm, and welcoming. But you know how it is, sometimes you just want to walk in a familiar room and see familiar faces.
No pictures this time either.

Don't get the wrong idea our spirits are up on this side.

and these sounds are helping:

The Walkmen................................Lisbon (Danger and Trey)
The Roots and John Legend ........Wake Up (Dessoma and Curt check this one out)

I will take pictures this week I promise!

Been Gone

2010-10-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for my absence but I am just now all moved in and the internet is on. I will be back up and running tomorrow with updates. I am around again.

Thoryn

Spectrum Glass Factory

2010-09-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

I want to apologize in advance for there not being any pictures to accompany this post, but due to proprietary issues Spectrum would not allow me to photograph my visit to their factory. Though I did find this picture on the internet of the rollers in a flat glass furnace that they do have at Spectrum.

Paul Marioni has a very long and good relationship with Spectrum and needed to get some sheet glass from them. He asked if I would like to go to the factory for a tour; I must of looked like a kid who was invited to Disney World. It was cooler than Disney.

Robots that ladle 80 pounds of hot glass in one scoop, furnaces that churn out flat glass all day long, 300 ft. long lehrs, and watching them make the Spectrum nuggets that are becoming the glass of choice for blowers. Such an amazing experience. Thank you Mr. Marioni and Spectrum Glass.

For those that have been wondering where Christy and I will be living after this adventure begins to wind down. We have made a decision.

And here we are...

2010-09-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Been in Seattle a week now. It is a place that makes sense, and I can't say that it wasn't meant to. In California Paul, Marsha, and I talked about here. What it was to them and what it might be to me.
I have been lucky to hang out with some beautiful friends that I have not seen in awhile. Andy, Karsten, and Jenny are very well; to anyone who wondered. They smile a lot.

It has also been very nice meeting and working with Paul Marioni. I could go into all the ways my mind has been blown the last couple of days. Instead, I want to tell you: My first Seattle rain has been coming down since yesterday.

Christy and I don't know yet where the next stop will be. So, we have that going for us.

Ray Caeser

2010-09-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

You may have seen a post I put up early last week, Hidden Drawer. The title is a reference to a phenomenon that artist Ray Caesar uses. I will let him explain, as he was nice enough to answer a few questions for me.

Please explain your process and why you choose to work this way.

I have worked with many kinds of media over the years and much of that was paint and sculpture. I began working on imagery with the computer back in 1984 ( I am 51 years old ) and much of my adult life has progressed with image making as computers have progressed. I have been using 3D modeling software since it was first made available and back then saw a great deal of potential in making imagery. I now use Maya to make my work and it suits me very well as I tend to think in 3 dimensions even when I am drawing or painting. I worked for 17 years in a Children's hospital in a photographic dept that documented Child abuse, reconstructive surgery and animal research and during those years I made art as a way of dealing with the difficulties of what I saw in that job. It was not the easiest place for me to work as I had a very difficult childhood myself for which I am now still in therapy. Much of what I did in the way of medical imagery at the hospital was done with computers so the method of using them for imagery became almost second nature to me. I also worked for some years in the film industry as a computer animator and digital matt painter and that helped me truly understand Maya and what I needed to know to create movable animated figures in virtual environments. About ten years ago I lost several people in my family to cancer and after some very strange lucid dreams and frightening bouts of sleep paralysis ...and what doctors and therapists call "hallucinations" ... I quit my job and just started to make these images. I always made art in some form or another but these images culminated in something I couldn't ignore. I always hated showing my work but I felt obligated to send them to a gallery and since that day my life has changed dramatically.

I read that building these images the way you do allows you to “hide” things in the pictures, could you talk about that a little?

Yes. It's what I love about digital models and images as I can build a cabinet with a drawer and in that closed drawer I can put a music box and in that music box I can put a locket and in that locket I can place a photo folded piece of paper with a letter on that I wrote to my departed sister. I cannot explain why that is important to me but it is and it feels like an energy I can place in an object that transcends the image itself. It is like burying a treasure that may or may not ever be found...a mystery that you can hint at in the image but not give away the secret. I feel it's like a dream that is a message from your subconscious to your conscious mind and that even though you forget the dream as you wake the hint of its memory is still there with you thru the day. It’s like cleaning a room but a part of you has to clean the closet too as even though it’s hidden the room doesn’t feel clean otherwise. Every time I see a piece of my work in a gallery and I see the cabinet with a drawer and know that inside is a box with a locket with a letter and photo of my sister ... I feel she is still there with me just waiting in that strange calm peaceful world I have made for her.

The pictures you create have a strong identity, could you talk about your choice of symbolism, imagery, and how they affect that identity?

As I mentioned I grew up in a very difficult and dangerous environment as a child. I developed a kind of trauma and panic disorder ( a kind of agoraphobia ) and more fundamentally a kind of dissociative identity disorder ...sort of like multiple personalities but not in its severest form ... I tend to know my disassociations as I also developed a strange kind of hyper awareness because I was able to draw pictures of them in such great detail. In essence I developed a very powerful coping method that worked extremely well as a child but it can be very difficult for the adult. Art and making pictures is central to all of this. Art was the one place all the diverse aspects of my personality came together ... as a child I drew myself into a world that was safe and pictures became the one place I could escape ... in a way it was my first virtual space and when I first discovered 3D software I began to build that sanctuary I began as a child. When I was very young I began a hatred of men and their small minded petty selfishness that preys on anything smaller and weaker than themselves for their own self-gratification. I began to hate every aspect of maleness in myself ...at the age of ten I began dressing as a girl and wearing bat masks and sneaking out at night carry knives and weapons ...I was fascinated with swords. I began to become a very dangerous little individual and would often climb to the roof of my apt building at 3am sitting on the ledge...I was very very angry ... it was a very difficult time and I learned that monsters can have children and make even worse monsters..I began to become afraid of what I might grow into ...I used to look at myself in the mirror and saw some other possible aspect of who I was ... another side of me...something more dangerous and ferile...as I looked in the mirror the one thing that saved me was that I had to make a picture of what I saw and it was in that world of pictures that helped me manage. A few years later at 15 in 1974 I met a girl I eventually married ...Michiko...her family was Japanese and her father was a quiet man who had been in a Russian prison camp during world war two. This man was kind and quiet and gentle very hard working and thru him I began to accept the idea of a different kind of man ...I had never met a man like him before and thru him I was able to build another aspect of my own personality that was stronger and calmer than the others. It also helped that he knew a lot about kendo and loved swords as much as I did. I married Michiko and we have been together for a very happy 36 years. Life changed for me and with it a world of very dangerous aspects of my personality where safe in the world of pictures.

How much of your work is intuition, how much is calculation, and is any of it therapy?

It's all Intuition and not much at of it is calculation ... that doesn't seem to work for me even though I sometimes try to build a formula into what I do ... the minute I do it seems to collapse. Intuition and working without thinking ahead of myself works best. I do this when I meditate too, as during that time I speak in voices that don't seem my own and they have very sound very calm advice. I have done this in therapy and it’s agreed that the voices seem to help me and often have a rather profound message. Some people call this channeling but I choose to not have an explanation for it ...( although I do believe the voices are not entirely my own as they are sometimes frighteningly pre-cognicient to do with future events ).. it’s a very intuitive thing and I also use it when I draw ... I just let my hand move on the page and before I know it I have pages and pages of drawings. I find its easier to draw this way in public ..Ha! I do it in Starbucks each morning with a Grande Americano and I often feel myself using the energy of those sitting around me. It sounds strange but I believe there are some very strange things that don't need an explanation ... and art is one of those things and love and music. It's all part of the irrational that if held the right way and balanced with the rational can be a very useful thing. I have done a lot of Psychotherapy over the years and I am still struggling with issues of my child hood but without art I would have been lost. It is the core of my self and it has helped me make that core of myself creative rather than destructive. I am not really sure what "Art" is but to me it's the creative aspect of our growing soul and a healing aspect of our soul. In life I believe the two greatest endeavors are to be creative and heal in whatever you do.

Where do you feel the viewer fits into your work?

My work begins as a form of communication from my subconscious to my conscious. It's a dialogue from the hidden mysterious part of my mind to the part we think of as aware and in the here and now....but these two parts of our minds must find communication. For me as a child it was the only way I was allowed to communicate emotion. It's this place of inner dialogue that I feel the viewer takes part in also. If they see this conversation between my subconscious and my conscious mind then they also intuitively feel and hear their own inner voice. Something speaks to them.

Millennia ago a man may have gone on a hunt and felled a giant beast and thru agony and pain and rage and pushing himself beyond what he could never imagine he drags the kill back to a cave and it is ripped apart as the tribe eats ...he has no words and he is full of an energy he cannot explain and he is not satisfied and begins to draw a picture on a cave wall with charcoal and blood and shit ... he scratches out everything he felt in rudimentary pictures. His rage his pain his triumph ..another person walks forward with no words and touches the picture and tries to scream .."I know this feeling"... "I feel this too" ....pictures, or art or what we make were our first ways of communicating our emotions and in some way I still think its the best way.

Do you listen to music while you work, if so what? Is there an artist or an album that can put you into the mode to work?

I listen to Eric Satie and Bach and Chopin, I also listen to Jazz ... Mile Davis, Jobim, Harry Allen, Gene Krupa, Charles Mingus Gene Amons... I listen to Japanese Minyo and Enka, Electronic Trance and Dance such as Infernal, Lady Gaga, Special D, Basshunter, Goldfrapp, I also listen to a lot of Brit music like Lily Allen, Duffy and Amy Whinehouse. I sometimes like working in silence and sometimes my voices speak out as I work and they help me work thru things ... but mostly I like the sounds of the street below where I live ... the echo is strange distant voices sometimes seem very close and you can often hear the oddest things.

Do you sketch? What is that like?

I sketch all the time and almost always in ink and its very much its own thing. I can draw very tidy and neatly and with great detail not too different from the models I build on the computer but my sketching is raw and rough and a little wild...I think it has a lot of movement ...I love to sketch and do it every day usually in a very public place like starbucks ...it has to be outside amongst many people for some reason. I have a few pieces on my website but in truth I have 40 or 50 moleskins and sketchbooks crammed with 4 decades of obsessive drawings ...some sketchbooks are so old I have to tape them together

Thank you very much for your time and energy Ray. For a look at more of his work please visit Ray’s amazing website: raycaesar.com.

Goodbye California

2010-09-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

It has been an amazing beginning to this adventure, a.k.a. The Windgate Fellowship. Working for Team Blaker/Desomma has been an amazing experience. An experience, that I am pretty much still processing.

When I arrived in Santa Cruz I was in a "forcing it" headspace, but I have since relaxed my grip. I feel much more in the moment and comfortable. I guess I feel very "California", bro. The truth is Paul and Marsha made this an easy place to live and work, so did all the amazing people and places we visited.

See you in Seattle!

Public Glass

2010-08-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Public Glass in San Francisco has it all hot, cold, and warm. This past Saturday evening they held an event called Hot Glass/Cold Beer. The denizens of San Francisco come to have a beverage and watch glass art being made. Luckily for me Paul and Marsha were the demonstrators, so I got to tag along and help.

The night was a great success; everything went in the annealer and lots of people had lots of fun. Including us.

San Francisco has a very supportive arts community and a thriving glass scene. It was an awesome visit to Public Glass, they have a great facility and I hope to return soon. Thank you to the staff of Public Glass and everyone who came out to watch.

hidden drawer

2010-08-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

Life In California

2010-08-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks, I have been waking up in the morning and then riding my bike a mile or so to Paul and Marsha's house and studio. I work with them for the day, usually in the hot shop but sometimes doing cold work.
It has been great working with them and watching them work. They are artists in execution and approach. They also happen to be great to be around, constantly collaborating. I am just lucky enough to get to work around them for the month.

But every now and then I get out and explore Santa Cruz....

I had a deep fried Twinkie at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

Then spent the next few days walking it off among the redwoods.

Oakland

2010-08-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

I went with Paul Desomma to drop off some lapidary wheels for resurfacing in Oakland. We drove in on Highway 17 and like most urban areas now you can not see into the neighborhoods due to the high walls and fences. Our exit deposited us in a very industrial and gritty part of town. I am not sure what I expected the machine shop to be like but it was awesome (in the Webster's version of the word). Five ton cranes, presses that looked like they could bend 4 inch steel, and amazing water jet cutters. It kind of felt like I slipped into a Coen brothers' movie, sparks flew as motors whirled and pictures of topless women hung at work stations.

We left the machine shop and Paul wished to make another stop at a stone yard for sculptors. Robert Black and his wife Rose are the proprietors, Robert's sculptures in various stages of completion were everywhere. The place is nestled in all this urban industrialness and yet it is as calm and serene as a zen garden. It was a wonderfully inspiring visit, seriously what artist can claim to have never had the desire to carve stone.

Music at the Moment

2010-08-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

Andrew suggested that I keep you all updated on what I am listening to. It would be great if everyone could respond and let me know what your summer jams are. If you respond I will send you a mixtape!(i will need an address) you can email it to: one1three@gmail.com

The Roots ....... How I Got Over

Menomena............... Mines

(two new albums I bought, both great)

then a bunch of singles

La Roux and Skream...............Finally

Kid Cudi, Best Coast, and Rostam................ All Summer

Bun B ......................................Put It Down

INXS...........................Don't Change (thanx Lane)

Welcome to California

2010-08-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

I worked my first day for Paul Desomma and Marsha Blaker-Desomma today. We pulled everything out of their shop cleaned it and put it all back in. It was great and a good way to see what I am in for. Paul and Marsha have a great shop, right in their backyard. It is basically a glassworkers dream. Oh, and they might be the nicest people ever. It will be a couple more days of just getting the shop ready and then the hot stuff.

Had another first today.....
got in the Pacific Ocean for a swim and though it was cold; it felt great.

Santa Cruz is as beautiful as everyone says it is, come for a visit while we are here.

This is one of Paul and Marsha's pieces.

found a battery in the desert

2010-07-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

We spent a couple of days in Austin TX checking out the culture, people, and nature in and around. Art is everywhere in the town and there were a few glass shops. Austin seems to be one of those places that really has “it” going on.

Christy and I have never traveled by car across country and it has been breath taking. Getting closer and closer to the sky and watching the horizon stretch. I now realize why the Native Americans of the southwest use such vibrant blues, reds, and yellows in their art.

Santa Fe is an aesthetic paradise; even the city parks look like Jun Kaneko and Richard Deacon collaborated. Best of all, it has a glass scene that has momentum and direction. I visited facilities and passed out resumes, looking to make some connections.

All this traveling is great but it is also completely necessary. In this lead up to working for great and amazing artists for the next few months, this time to recharge is crucial. I feel my batteries coming back on line and inspiration sparking its lighter.

moving West

2010-07-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

I hear a voice as I move, watching the land change.
West.

Stopped to taste local cuisine.
Andrew, has gotta try some creole sausage

In Texas tonight, looking at the sun
waiting for tomorrow's adventures in Austin.

Red and Scalloped

2010-07-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

We took two boats out on St. Joseph bay to dive for scallops. Most of the bay is only three to six feet deep. It was beautiful to snorkel along sifting through the sea grass and examine, new to me, marine life. I have lived in Florida most of my life but have never developed an immunity to the sun. I floated around and periodically reapplied sunscreen, but still got a little burned.
I am really enjoying these moments of relaxation before we travel west. It is also very nice to hang with family I might not see for awhile.

Florida.... Day 1

2010-07-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you Tennessee for the best goodbye party ever!

We arrived in Apalachicola Florida last night at 10:45pm. Today we woke up and went to the beach. The oil is not here yet.

It was great to see lots of people out enjoying the beach and hopefully spending some money at the local businesses. I saw oyster harvesting going on in the bay, and BP is employing local fisherman for some of the boom laying and moving operations.

Tonight we are off to a cook-out at my sister-in-law’s and whatever it is that the Apalachicola night brings.

2010-07-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Friends make us lucky.

Last night I sat around on my back porch with two amazing friends. We talked for hours about art and life. We argued, we agreed, we yelled, we laughed, but most importantly we reveled in the company. Both of these guys have been a huge influence on the last five years, teaching me amazing lessons about life and art.

Filling out a form today I realized that I only have 10 days left in Tennessee. Kinda scary, kinda amazing.

18 days

2010-06-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

Almost everything is packed and the countdown is at 18 days.

I have loved living in Tennessee the past five years, especially these last two in Silver Point.

My adventures hold to deep grooves in my grey matter. At least the ones that haven't been erased by late nights on porches or by the fire. I have met many great people that have shaped my life, or illuminated new paths. And I am ready to start traveling those paths.

Everyday Christy and I plan a new aspect of our adventure or debate what can be put in storage, but we are just over-thinking it and we know it. What else are we supposed to do? We are ready! Aren't we?

We took a minute the other day and sat on our porch, on a particularly sweltering afternoon, and drank a beer. It was beautiful. We are trying to take time and enjoy Tennessee while we are still here. One hand on the chalice and one eye on the prize.

One, One, and Three

2010-06-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

On a warm spring day, after getting two letters of rejection, I was told that I was a 2010 Windgate Fellow. Months of preparation have followed.

Some might say I am on a journey for craft. They would not be wrong.

Today as I was working for an artist in the hot glass shop, I told him I was looking for my voice.

This is true, or at least less false.

In the beginning, I wanted to make something. I wanted the world to stop and there be just this one thing; a thing that I had created and understood. I don’t have to tell you but the world is complicated and confusing.

We all make something.

Craft sometimes feels like unjustified meaning, but it most often means: “the art we can’t fit in this box”. Craft is the foundation of art. Craft is process; thoughtful process. Sometimes the most inexplicable shoes feel like your pair. Now that’s Art.

In the coming months, my wife and I will travel west. We have lived in the Southeastern United States all of our lives and may live here all the rest, but for three months we will taste the breeze. The Windgate Fellowship will allow us to travel, live in new cities, work with amazing artists, and produce unique artworks.

Join us….

....but first, Good-bye Tennessee.