eye on you


My head is splitting. I entered Communications Arts, Print Magazine, The Schweinfurth Made in NY 2008 show and prepped for the American Illustration/ American Photography--which is an online entry. Also entered and R got the art to the Kitchen Theatre for an art auction and art auction website going up in March. Each show was different, with different rates, expectations etc. I hope its worth the effort! It generally is try try try and you are out out out. But, who knows. If you throw enough seed, maybe some birds will circle...and if you are lucky, one might land to eat.

Had a lively chat with the cute Murray Tinkelman this morning. He was full of all sorts of news, ideas, thoughts. He wants me to give Memento Mori a break as it might not be the right project for my thesis. I will give over and see what happens. There is a wealth of stuff to do--and this work is not for naught as my hand has freed up; I am working positive/negative, negative/positive again; and I am taken with the content regardless of the final. Maybe something having to do with Hindu mythology? Likenesses? Images from the Pool of Dilemma? The Chinese signs of the zodiac. Murray hinted at more than a single potato from a composition standpoint. That's what I do...a potato...thats it. So maybe layouts with two potatoes, three potatoes and a radish, four potatoes, a radish and a daisy? If this thing doesn't push me, then what sort of educational bang for my buck will I see? So, now I have something new to worry in the timecracks during the day.Lucky you. You get to go up and down the rollercoaster with me while I piddle my way through all of this.

The eye is the graphic for a possible 1" button for the Chicken Chokers (along with some copy? some color treatments of the Chicken etc.)? Should be fun. The buttons are really cheap (500 pieces for $65).

Spoke to the fabulous Richard Williams. He is teaching everywhere--but on a class by class assignment which sounds like lots of time in the car. It sounds like he is getting worn out. We talked about possible other ideas for bodies of work that might really get him noticed....and he seemed excited about one in general. It would be cool if he pursued it...as he truly has the skills to do it...just the push to make it happen and do a bang up job would get it noticed for the content alone. If it starts happening...I will give you a peek under the tent. Also heard from Ross Hogin, SU classmate and Art Director extrordinaire, who is painting up a storm in Seattle. I betcha he is getting traction...as there was tremendous promise in the paintings he did while he was with us at Syracuse. Maybe I should beg for a jpg?

Gotta go. Mike Callahan, a friend that goes way back with us, is playing at the Pour house.

A domani.

Honk for Service


Guess where the Wonderbus is? Right! at the House of Service at Ithaca Honda (with an interesting waterfall, yes, Taughannock Falls from Tburg, as their logotype). Hopefully, we will have a functioning sliding door (which hasnt worked since day one)--and which, we have tried more than two times to get fixed. Always an issue--a part, a this, a that. I am optimistic. They say third time is the charm. I am hoping.

New CD pack designed for the Chokers along with a sticker (from Sticker Guy) and possibly some collectable pins too. They are doing a "repressing" which is exciting as they have sold out of their stock. Jim Reidy has mentioned that there is another CD in production from old performances possibly coming out in the next year. I will, of course, update you all as we go. Chokers to play with the Toughcats this Saturday at Castaways. Chad Crumm and Friends are playing at Felicias from 5:30-8:30 this Friday. So--amusement galore.

Got the samples of the Memento Mori Vol2 in the mail. Overall, the square format is working, bigger type is working and the brevity of copy is a nice change. However, there were some fingerprinty types of white marks in the luscious blacks that I need to check the files to see if they somehow are there. It looked like a onesie...but, it was marked the same way in all 3 books. Wierd. Will amend and then do the first printing. Movement.

Another bit of Memento Mori news: Amanda! Amanda, our gal Friday and future Cornell student (we hope) has tattoos. Yesterday, she asked if she could use one of the illustrations from the Memento Mori Vol1 book to be tattooed on her upper arm. She is going to get the"deco" area (I hope) and we will revise accordingly (adding another thistle etc.). So, that will go in the thesis as well as the other random stuff that has been falling out of this sketch process. How does one work the rights? I guess its a one time use?!

More later>>

Big melt





The thermometer on the wonderbus read 41 degrees this morning after the vigil at the House of Health. Every teacher who has the day off today was there...happily doing their own thing, talking smartly and acting efficiently making the regular attendants (me) feel like maybe staying in bed was a def. option. However, after slugging it out--I gave myself a treat and drove the long way home through Taughannock State Park on beautiful Cayuga Lake. There were three of us entralled with Taughannock Falls and the tremendous volume of water streaming from the top. The bowl of stone surrounding the falls still was covered in ice, snow and spray--but it was so wonderful I had to dig out the little picture machine and take these for you. Every little fall, little creek and stream were raging this morning--and with snow and ice back on the schedule for later this week are trying to become one in the lake...with more water promised later. I would like a mess of snow though. Grass seed (another favorite of mine) becomes an option on fluky days like this.

Got all my stuff done for Hartford. Room scheduled, slides collected, little "this and that" about me, etc. All I need is to get my physical done, with the requisite paperwork completed. Soon.

Choker mini poster done. Same with the Sticker. Need to call and confirm the sticker. Toughcats playing with the Chokers this week. More later on that.

Keith Frank played at the Rongo last night...to a huge audience. Its great that the Embassy got a good group and could be vital. Gal Pal Amanda said it was an impressive show.

Gotta go. Work awaits. More later>>

Good stuff

Esquire recognizes the best sandwiches>> and guess what? Primantis in Pgh. ranked! No surprise here... Here is what they say:

Ham and Cheese
Primanti Bros., Pittsburgh

A relic of Pittsburgh’s steel days, this sandwich was made for steelworkers who had to eat fast. Everything that typically comes with a sandwich comes on it: meat cooked hot, bacon, tomato, provolone, pickles, slaw, an egg for fifty cents extra, even fries. Shove it in your lunch box. (46 Eighteenth Street; 412-263-2142)

So when down in Burg...do what the locals do...chow down on one of these goodies.

tburg dim sum


Yesterday was back to back fun. We took a carload of teenage boys (stony silence peppered with the twing of their cellphones texting them from the random slew of girls) out to Dryden for a scrimmage with other guys the same age. We took the queen of fun, K...so we were bound to have a lot of laughs and talk around the "seriousness" of our sport. So after dropping these guys off for a half an hour of warm ups--and skittled off to Cortland for lunch at Doug's Fish Fry (another part of the Skaneateles Doug's empire). We had an engaging conversation about "America's New Top Model"--and it rang bells for me about how huge this is for the teen set. Can you say Ca-ching? How do you play this out further? Magazines? Websites? Its a lifestyle thing for this group of teen girls. Even the most sensible, Queen of Fun, is crazy in love with this stuff.

The drive to Dryden was beautiful. High blue skies, lovely blue shadows on the sculpted snow. Days like this makes you love winter for the color, shape and liveliness outside. Growing up in Pittsburgh, winter was always grey. Blue skies were not an option.

We took the troop of boys out for a big mexican food lunch which they vaccuumed into their gullets (continuing the stony silence with the bleeping texting)-- with K playing solitaire while we waited for the consumption to finish. It was a speedy time with the significant caloric input. Amazing.

Then home to buy a case of vitamin water type stuff at the Cheap Store (Shop +Save) for skiing on Sunday. R. was busy splitting wood into little pieces for the cricket on the hearth, the Jotul 602. Shady met us with a pinecone in her mouth for us to toss for her. I grabbed it from her and looked in my hand. No pinecone! YUCK! IT was a deer hoof and first(short) little bone to the first bone all nice and freezy with hair and the whole works. A perfect specimen of deercicle. And Shady was so pleased with herself.

We had a a nice hot fire in the Jotul--which R exclaims " you know, I haven't yet had to shovel out the ashes" (meaning it burns hot and completely). We now have shortie logs (poplar, walnut, oak) which is tailor cut ( bespoke?) for this great stove. If you are thinking a little wood boost for your house, this is the stove for you.

Had a nice time Friday night getting a pile of stuff ready for Hartford. Am a bit twitchy about it...but have focused the thesis to being 12 illustrations derived from the sketchbooks...in color and black and white. Plus, if there is time, I would develop the illustrations into 6 products/housewares/etc. and have comps made. Those might include a skateboard, a pillow/purse thing, a quilt, glass bottles/rondelles, a brooch?

Am immersing myself into the world of Jim Flora for now. He is sooo good. So original. So happy. I am trying to understand his design and thinking to see if I can learn something from him. Working on an illustrator silhouette--for an idea or two. Also want to cut a few animals to test out an idea as it could really work for a client's holiday card coming up this spring.

More later.

IF: Theory


What has any poet to trust
more than the feel of the thing?
Theory concerns him only
until he picks up his pen,
and it begins to concern him
again as soon as
he lays it down.

John Ciardi, poet
Recalled on his death, NY Times 2 Apr 86

I love this quote and how it relates to those of us who are maker doers--makers of images and art. Theory gets the artist to to the process of rendering the image and picks up as the pen is returned to it's stand. The artist is no longer theoretical when he acts and renders the reality of the image. It is sad to think that we then need theory to justify or define this product of action and not thought.

White out


Have I praised the wisdom, wit and teaching of the Business of Illustration guru, Jim Carson? I am so thrilled I am re-upping with him at Hartford as his class alone, has been worth the price of admission. I just had a wibbly wobbly with a client who might be wanting to fiddle with an illustration I have done, and because of my class with Jim, I have the confidence (and language) to stand up for my rights, what surrounds those rights and what I plan to do. Prior to my new life as an illustrator, I would have fumed and whined and not been effective...plus, I would have given away the store. Now, like the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, I have a cerficate that affirms that I know something...and it has given my the push I need to move forward positively.

Snowing steadily--hasn't ceased since early this morning. I think it might mount up. Shady Grove is delighted. She loves snow more than anything...and sets about making snow angels, digging up pinecones and overall leaping and frolicing in the whiteness. A is home with the stomach/head thing. K. has been going full force with the fetal pig project. R had a successful day in NYC getting everything done despite the early shuttle home (schedule moved due to the predicted bad weather).

Need to get down to business. Had 3 hours at the school to be the parent rep for the Committee for Special Education (thought it was an hour...but it wasn't). As usual, it was educational and fascinating to peer into that silo of life...and hope there was something we did would help these kids learn and build their lives into something that gives them happiness. These are all good kids that just learn differently and have different abilities. My heart is lightened with these meetings as I know we can help.

More later>>

Tuesday morning


Snow on hand today and tomorrow. R. to NYC today after his car didn't start in the lot last night (I am thinking tooooo cold to turn over though he has other ideas). K had a real growing experience with being pushed out of her corner to be the hands to perform the fetal pig laboratory in Biology. She had been worrying it for weeks (we had hints but not a direct confirmation that this was going on)--and had all the workarounds and thinking all worked out. A. is busy with basketball and friends. Not much bugging him these days other than there aren't enough girls or time for those girls. I, had the deer incident... but was really productive (with more today).

Spent an hour hunting down eccentric Caslon fonts yesterday. Am working on a logotype for a show for the Corning Museum of Glass based on antique bookplates and handbills. I have some caslon...but the italic is blimpy and round...not pointy and eccentric with whack ligatures. Found a handful and today I will need to buy one or two. The type is good for this Museum piece...and we are building some funkiness into the look.

Talked with my mother who hates my memento mori work.She doesn't get it...and making no bones or attempts to understand it. She was poo pooing the first book and hoped that would stop with the first batch of images. The fact there was a second book on the way, the body of pictures and that this was the basis of my thesis work really didn't work for her. Then, when I told her that the work was a treasure trove for a series of illustrations for the the Steuben funeral, memorial program they are developing. Even linking a dollar sign to this obscene work didn't legitimize the work, the thinking, the pursuit. I am not waiting for any sort of approval or I wouldn't do anything at all. Come to think of it, this headset would only be happy if the work served her and the "small season" of entertainments and friends that she has embraced. So, acceptable work needs to be lightweight from the content standpoint and "pretty". However, it does point up that I need to distill what this work is, what it is about, where the themes and content flows from, where the technique and style comes from etc. Sounds like I need to do some writing to give me an "elevator speech" (a distilled mission/vision) on this work.

Are you ready for valentines day? Amazon awaits!

potpourri


The Democrats came, drank coffee and red wine, ate boxed cookies and speechified to all of our delight. There were an amazing group of people--all very bright exuding excellence and inspired. These are giving people who give to their community who are working to preserve and intelligently develop a strategy and plan around how our little village and slightly bigger town can grow and change. We had a great time learning about the projects, efforts and thinking of this small group of excellent people. Had a great talk with Jules Burgevin about Memento Mori. Turns out, that Jules was teaching at Ithaca College taught on death to a group of 250 students for a semester. We should get together get a glimpse of his thinking and impressions. Jules is the personification of effusiveness...he is lovely (as is his wife who fell in love with a heron I had illustrated)...and would inspire more thinking. He wears a coat with patches of all the fire departments he volunteered for with the words, (in all caps in an arc) TREMENDOUSBURG shouting out how he feels about our little hamlet.

Carol Tinkelman sent a totally excellent schedule for the up and coming trip to Ft. Worth...with a great lineup of illustrators and sight seeing. She is so amazing and through...I cannot believe it...from what we are doing, when and where to the hotels etc unlike my former program which I found part of the degree was to be a travel agent as well. We are so lucky to have her smart brain, her unparalleled organizing skills, and her focus on doing things the right way. I feel absolutely privileged in having her as the iron behind the program.I am psyched. Am trying to sum up what my thesis is...and will try to see someone about the idea and where it could go. It will be good to see where the current second/going to third year students are...their thinking, the breadth of the work etc. to gauge where I could go.James Tennison, Ray-Mel Cornelius, Gary Myrick, Dorit Rabinovitch, Jack Unruh, Phil Boatright, Don Punchatz, Real and Muff Musgrave, Bart Fobes, Jose Cruz are some of the illustrators we are going to see. We are also going to Billy Bob's and the Rodeo as part of the fun.

On the way to the Pool of Dilemmas, I was slowed down and driving the speed limit in Jacksonville (40 mph) and clipped a deer who approached the car from my blind spot. Scary. I am okay...It cracked part of my bumper (bummer) but all else seems okay. I did swim (thank goodness) and worked to a normal state. Still am a little rattled as you never want to do that.

Need to go. Work continues on.
Later

Gerlof Smit





Amazing, amazing work. Gerlof Smit is a wonderful artist--who stretches the idea of silhouettes to a new, fresh place. He infuses them with a new vision, a modern image--mixing them with photography, or using them in a way to build a community, express a couple's life through a distinct portrait. He cut an entire village's portrait, "Everyone from Schingen"--of each and every person--Here is what he says about that:

Last year I spent quite some time on a bus to San Francisco and waxed lyrical about all the different silhouettes around me. Capturing it all is hard when you're sitting on a bus, but I live in Holland where I'm also surrounded by lots of beautiful silhouettes. So why not make cut-outs of everyone from Schingen, the village where I have lived for about 30 years? In mid-June I dropped a letter in everyone's mailbox. In this letter I explained what I was planning to do, and a week later I rang the doorbells of all the scattered houses and farms, drank many a cup of coffee, and took digital photos of every single inhabitant. I started working on the cut-outs for the Schingen project around mid-September. When you cut out a portrait in A4 size, the hair really shows up in the silhouette and you can easily spend two hours on the portrait. But it does give you the opportunity to become fully absorbed in a person's portrait. You notice that the person grows on you and becomes increasingly nicer. Each time I finished a few portraits I put them on my website and the subjects of the portrait could see themselves on the internet. By early November, everyone was cut out and I invited the entire village into the recently restored church of Schingen. I had a 30 ft. long table set up in the church. All the silhouettes were displayed on the table in three neat rows and everyone was able to see their silhouette in the original for the first time. The cut-outs were exhibited in the church on two weekends. I had already announced in a letter that everyone would receive their own silhouette as a gift. After the close of the exhibition, all Schingen inhabitants took their own silhouette home with them, during which the village surprised me with a few original gifts. Giving away these portraits was a small happening, and the responses were overwhelming, and sometimes even emotional. All the silhouettes can still be viewed on my site: www.gerlofsmit.com. You can also see what everyone's name is, where they were born and how long they've been living in Schingen (the youngest inhabitant is 0 years old, the oldest is 81-year-old Ale, who has also lived in Schingen for 81 years).

Smit tried to cut the entire night staff of a McDonalds in Texas and was stopped. The work he did was sublime. What I like about this work is that his cutting reminds me of the work I do in illustrator, the cutting of hair, the curves and interpretation that happens when one is drawing with vectors. But, his work is inspired and fresh. I think he is now one of my new heros. Move aside Shepard Fairey!

black paper





Have been doing a little survey of silhouettes--both american vintage silhouettes, english silhouettes, german and dutch ones. I love the mexican cut paper decorations (and bought quite a mini collection on Olivera Street in LA over the holidays), and the chinese decorative ones. But these American/and European ones are thought provoking relative to Memento Mori. Many are actually concurrent with the puritan community represented in Allan Ludwig's Graven book. Can I mesh them together? Do they jive (I think they do as they fit the whole "big black shapes" search, there can be some whimsy brought with them...and to be honest, I want to fiddle with them!). There are three different kinds of silhouettes--cut paper, cut and paste and the final, inked. So, it fits with the technology practiced here...along with some of the random "hobo" style, klutzy frames I have cut for MM. Keep going...keep seeking.

Here is a great link that can take you around the world with paper cutting>>

I am loving the old stuff and the new twist...is very cool.

Memento Mori Vol2 is done! Uploaded! Sample Ordered! Yippee!!

Democrats coming here tomorrow. Yipes!

IF: Choose [choice]


We do not choose the day of our birth nor may we choose the day of our death, yet choice is the sovereign faculty of the mind.
Thornton Wilder
The Eighth Day Harper & Row 67

Choice rules! Our lives are filled with opportunites to choose from the ordinary to the extrodinary, from what's for dinner to what will I do with my life. Those choices can change and bend around other choices--but we must own these choices, taking responsibility for that moment of decision.

from the desktop


Steady and slow. Wet snow with big big snowflakes. Winter is back. Slugging away on project work. Touching everything, moving things left foot/right foot forward. Need to go deep and look at a bunch of different (more historical reference) Caslon fonts this p.m. to tune up and funkify a mark for the new show at the Corning Museum of Glass, Glass of the Alchemists. Need to make some changes to a big trifold for the Museum on the soon to open show, Reflecting Antiquities. Moving and grooving.

Schedule it in: ICON 5

ICON 5
July 2-5,2008
New York City
(a block of rooms are available at the Roosevelt Hotel)
The Icon Blog>>on the doings of the conference.

Whitney Sherman, inspirer, innovator, illustrator and educator, is heading up the conference. I wish there was a bit more on the plans etc. but, it will be a fun time...and a real charge. I wish I could fit it in--but with Hartford starting a few weeks later, I will have work to get in front of prior to the two weeks doing full time illustration. If I wasn't doing the education thing, ICON would def fill the brain juice department. Think about it. Will be fun and rewarding.

Working on a bunch of corner and border elements as it relates to Memento Mori today. Am blocking more solids in and not slashing in as many highlights and saw tooth shapes in as much just to see how it looks and balances out.

More later>>

Twinkling grey


I am thinking about the future education component at Hartford this summer and have been worrying over the pending projects. I think that the Pool of Dilemmas might be an interesting self authored/illustrated book to do with Ted and Betsy Lewin. Its a great topic that I think could have legs--and it would give my ink style a chance to stretch a bit outside of the land of remembrance. I could introduce Skittles, The Russian Ladies, the look of the people with goggles etc, the distance between the crosses, the dumping of the worlds problems, the olympic swimmers, the water runners...etc. It has a color palette (blues, greys), and it could be designed/laid out to be in the windows like a graphic novel. Could be interesting to develop and render the cover and 3-5 spreads. i want to do the images anyway. So, this gives me the opportunity to think about it..and take it further.

The other children's book options are: something using the translation of Stuwwelpeter/Slovenly Peter; the little book of "epitaphs"--taking memento mori images further...; or something more traditional... I think the original writing and images might be good. A bigger stretch. Maybe chippy little poems?

All the streams and waterfalls are swollen with rain and snow like springtime today. Raging water swamping the banks...particularly Taughannock creek by route 96 is particularly impressive. It was misty and cloudy this morning. Very romantic and beautiful with mist and spray rising out the morning greyness. Hanging in the air below the bridge.

New client prospect linked in today. Also, new potential work with Steuben. Finishing up Ithaca Art Trail application--its a good thing to have to assess my resume/statement etc. Only yucky part is having to get my picture taken. How I hate it.

More later>>

Super Fat Tuesday


First, vote. Then, eat pancakes and King Cake. Red, white and blue mardi gras beads? Is Obama the Mardi Gras King? Hilary the Queen? Why hasn't there been a photoshop merge of these ideas. A big super fat event...complete with a color palette, staging and entertainment with a full fledged cuisine that could drive extra funds for Katrina victims while amusing us with donkeys and elephants. Why didn't I think of this earlier?

One more page of the second volume of Memento Mori and then it will be ready for Lulu. Lots of moving the images around to make more complete ideas. It is interesting as doing this sort of project as themes emerge along with approaches. It seems that I am more deliberate with the work recently. I am doing today- I work through an approach with 3-4 renderings which may not be the end of the pursuit. I did about four looks at this layout of a head and wings (not the one posted today which was a random one off). Volume three is in the works...with writing, quotes etc. 

Heard a great story on NPR today about a musician in the Reich-ian mode, Stephen Scott, who writes music for bowed piano. The music is wonderful--trancemaking again, but a bit more emotional, range-y than Reich. His newest album was sampled-- The Deep Spacesis bright and listenable.

This is the Bowed Piano Ensemble, Colorado College for your amusement and inspiriation. NPR said that seeing this type of piano performed was like watching an operation. I think they have it.

More later>>

a nod to the Burnt Over District


Just out of the Pool of Dilemmas. Phew. I must have left a good 4% of the world's problems behind. I pity the Pool Man who has to scrub all the residue and debris left by all the swimmers in the pool that the chlorine cannot scrub out--all the personal detrius, political strands, project grains and all problems that are dispelled in the daily back and forth in the magical blueness down the tiled line, between the blue crosses. Think about the leavings. And the takings? The Pool of Dilemmas solve more than surface them... Or maybe it dissolves them?
Could it be the chemistry of the water? Or just the flow of water to water...the osmosis of our 94% water to the pool and vice versa?

The Mount Everest of Super Bowl dining (making a pile of chicken wings) was attempted--and from the responses--it was achieved. The novel phrase "Mad Chill" and "Madgood" were impulsively spouted by the silent and stoic, non-evocative teen male. Our gal was, as always, positive, bubbly and happy to eat any and all (no sauce please). We are down to 2 scones and a pyramid of chicken bones. Those went down too...without a blink. It is nice to have an audience to perform to ...and all the output is input immediately. The Super Bowl made the boys happy. I watched YouTube videos about Gordon B. Hinckley, the former President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I am interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--This has been a longterm fascination for me after visiting Salt Lake City in my teens on a family trip out West. Since then, we have visited Independence, MO (on a business trip...with a side bar to Independence), the the NYC church, to Palmyra NY for the annual Hill Cumorah pageant. Since high school, I have been devouring books about the LDS faith, Joseph Smith and all the history and controversies surrounding the faith, the facts and the lifestyle. It was coincidence that we moved here, to NY State, particularly that of Central New York which was the hot bed for social changes, religions and religious communities and thought--giving this region the nickname of the Burnt Over District. Some of the leading lights of this time period (1800- 1900) include: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglas, The Fox Sisters, Joesph Smith( First Prophet of the LDS Church), William Miller and the Millerites, The Shakers, The Perfectionist Community --The Oneidas, to name a few. I love all of these local groups and delve into their history and imagery.

However, the LDS Church has become more dimensionalized for me since the web has come on with the blogging community and podcasts. I listen to most of the Mormon podcasts with my favorites being Steven Kapp Perry's Cricket and Seagull, a weekly half hour music and church related interview show; and John Dehlin's Mormon Stories. John Dehlin presents all sorts of aspects of the church, turning over ideas, philosophy and practices with experts in a very thoughtful, careful and prepared way. He shows great respect towards his listeners and his guests--providing, I would think, a huge resource for those members of the faith who may have questions without a place to go within the church at large to surface questions and get some direction. I admire the work and time John Dehlin gives to his podcast, his candor and the strength of his beliefs. Combined with my reading on history, lifestyle, the FLDS subset, and visiting the various locations, John Delhin provides balance and makes this American church real and somehow less victorian and kooky that is presented ink on paper. He has made me think of religion beyond beliefs--but that of community and lifestyle that are meshed together.

Take a listen through iTunes. It is an education--particularly in the visibility the church has with Hinckley's death, the new Prophet (to be announced), Mitt Romney and all the other LDS people and organizations beyond the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Donnie and Marie.

More later>>

More stuff.


I was wandering around the web and found these cool Ackerman pens at Comic Artist Supplies. The Ackerman pens have this bladder system (like the old refillable fountain pens with a lever that one raises to fill a bladder, in place of a refillable cartridge) that you can fill with paint or ink. There are three types: a brush (with replaceable tips) a nib and a crow quill version of the pen. It eliminates the tedious dip,dip,dip thing. Seems like something worth trying as the cartridges seem to burn out with my pens, and I can use the divine Star Matte Black full time in this guise. There is also a brushpen in the Manga supplies at Comic Art Supplies-- the Tria Brushpen--also with a refillable ink reservoir that work with a Tria ink, Metallic ink or an Aqua ink. Need to look into that.

Great story on NPR this morning about the anniversary presentation of Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich performed by students and faculty of the Great Valley State University--now available from Inova, I love Steve Reich--his clean, trancelike music and sounds--and the state it can take you to--floating somewhere between here and there--a netherland of sound--that holds you in a place that imagination cannot take you away from but is very much here and now. iTunes rates this as a 4.5 stars --and the reviews confirm my thinking. I think this is a must buy. Steve Reich, in an interview on American Public Media's site with Gabrielle Zukerman said this about 18 Musicians:

So “Music for Eighteen Musicians” happened. We were living across the street, believe it or not, in a loft building on Warrant Street. We had the top floor. I rented four spinets, which I kept set up in a large room in there. And I guess about every two, three weeks we rehearsed for a period of two years.

I wrote the piece in sketches in my notebook. I was working with multi-track tape, playing things against each other and then putting down what I needed to put down. And then I transferred it out in parts without the main score. On the parts would be: “Look at Russ here,” or “Bob nods.” Essential information!

The piece was written so that a conductor would not be necessary. Now to do that you must substitute, if you have eighteen people playing, something else has got to take the place of that. The conductorial responsibilities were delegated to the vibraphone player who, every time he played, it was a cue to, “Get ready, here we [gong] go,” and everybody changes.

That was an idea I took directly from Balinese and African music, where the drummers--as you know--will make the [call]. Everybody knows, when these guys start going fast, you go with them. In African music there are what they call “changing patterns.” Very simple patterns that sort of stick out because they’re so simple. That means, “Get ready, and off we go!” Everybody changes on a dime to something else.

Then there were soft-edge changes, based on the human breath, which is a big part of “Music for Eighteen Musicians.” Pulses that are played by the bass clarinets. To people who don’t know what they are, they think they’re sort of electronic frogs or something. It’s bass clarinets played very rasping with a microphone shoved way down into the bell almost. And it’s a very characteristic sound in the piece.

NPR did a great interview with some of the musicians who spoke to the technical aspects of physically making this music--using Sol Lewitt-y type of direction (with illustrations of how the musicians should situate themselves relative to each other to the direction to do 4-8 or this sort of repetition--making the musician an active participant in the presentation and the actual music). Reich spoke about his inspiration around this trancelike, non precise music which dovetailled nicely with what the musicians spoke of. And the aspect of the spiritual plane, the trance, the suspension that this music provides for the musicians was something else surfaced....which I loved hearing as the recordings do this--imagine being within the tangible sound--it must be amazing.

Whomped out a lot of cooking and baking after dropping K and A and friend off at the 7:45 ski bus this a.m. 2 big plates of lemon/cranberry scones, some oatmeal/peanut butter/chocolate bars, and a gigantic pot of chicken chili which I modified (spicier than usual) with a sprinkling of chipotle pepper powder. A sprinkling is enough. Plans are a foot to attempt the Mount Everest of Super Bowl dining--chicken wings--this p.m. Super Bowl is a culinary event here as many of us know nothing about the sport...so a reason to eat homemade junk food is reason enough to celebrate. Sort of a pre-fat Tuesday event. We will see how this goes. I think the trick is hot fat...and I am getting skills with this with the recent eggplant parm boom that has been occurring here. We will see.

Must go as things need to get pulled out of the oven NOW!