The past week has been a continuation of the non-winter weather trend in Alaska. There will be a twenty minute tease of snowflakes filling the sky and then it rains again, so, to add a little variety into the day to day I drove out to Homer and spent a few days by the ocean.
It always amazes me to drive in any direction for a few hours in this state as in that time the surroundings will go from temperate rainforest up through the sub-alpine mountain pass, then, twist and turn along the banks of freshwater lakes and rivers, soon becoming muskeg bogs which may open into a black spruce forest twisted and stunted by the permafrost beneath. From Girdwood to Homer all of this is in the first two hours and then the Sterling Hwy bends back towards the coast and runs along atop a bluff overlooking Cook Inlet the remaining way. Traveling through these various landscapes is more than just a visual experience, it is a participatory one as well since each environment is home to its own climate. Can't get away with just your toothbrush and clean undies! Now back in Girdwood, having been inspired by the sea, I have been playing in the studio with sea lion and selkie forms for an ivory carving that would also involve knot tying to become a wearable form. Jewelry forms with talisman like qualities have always been my favorite, so, while this thought is still in early sketch stages, I hope it will take on an ageless look despite being freshly hewn. Otherwise the only true excitement is over SOLSTICE which marks the switch from the shortening of our daylight hours to their re-lengthening! It wont be long before the dark succumbs to more and more light until waking and sleeping are both beneath the summer sun.
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Sometimes the project bug gets at me the way the poetry bug can, suddenly and completely, and then there is the finished work smiling back effortlessly. I love it when this happens, even when the product is simple or unremarkable, because its just so satisfying to have had some bits of material become something with a use. In this case the function is decorative, as a pair of earrings to wear to the Bluegrass Ball should be!
Winter is approaching slowly in Girdwood, Alaska this December. This in-between time of year, with its super short days and lazy pace, always puts me in a reflective mood. Its not an unwelcome thing after a non-stop summer of work followed immediately by a September crammed with in state adventures preceding an October of traveling both to visit family and to pick up yet a little more work down in Bellingham, WA before landing back in this quiet mountainous valley at last. It wont be long, though, before this place too becomes a bustling whirlwind of snow related fun and punching a clock once again. That is exactly the beauty of a seasonal lifestyle after all, the ebb and flood, the constantly fluid flow of events. So although my outlook in life is unhurried at the moment experience has taught me that this time cannot pass unused.
All of that to say; welcome to my new website! It is, of course, still a work in progress but check it out nonetheless and please pass along your thoughts about its usability and the like. What I am hoping to accomplish is a cleaner, simpler site that focuses only on my current work instead of attempting to fit everything together. Also, I hope to establish a way to shoot more consistent photos of my work but that is still on the horizon for now. I am including with this post a few snapshots spanning the past months... enjoy! |
ART/LIFE
A periodic glimpse into the artist's surroundings, processes and resulting handy works. Archives
November 2023
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