I Got Shot

I got shot by the Man behind Gwadzilla.blogspot.com on my way to work the other day. I barely heard what he said while I was waiting for the light to turn green but I managed to gather the name of his blog. Boom.

Digital Hoarder

Truth's out. I have a paper hoarding problem. instead of piling it high in the basement, I've been scanning it all away at a high resolution. After the ghost of each scrap gets filed away, tagged with a cryptic title (e.g. 216114), I then throw it away. I am not one to hold on to things, so why I stow away ipod case receipts is kinda stupid. I realize the technology I am currently working with will be obsolete in five years. My little external hard drive might even get corrupted somehow. My problem is irrational, I don't NEED an inner cover to an old encyclopedia, but the texture of the paper and the aging patterns are so beautiful, why would i want to give it up.

Locksmith

I have been sitting here for about a week and a half trying to complete a sentence on why I decided to spend the next phase of my life creating art around the word Locksmith. The act of Locking/unlocking something seems to me to be one of the more sacred things man has accomplished. We have spent our lives trying to lock everything we find important; transportation, homes, money, our hearts etc., all while trying unlock the powers and mysteries that control our lives today. Fire, the wheel, agriculture, light, information and the atom are things that come mind when I think of the things Man have unlocked (only to lock again under chemical codes, patents and secret formulas). Locksmith is the title I've given my next Series. My aim is to try to create some things that express the magnitude of locking and unlocking. I'm starting by making a mix CD for my friend Patch in New orleans the holidays. The cover for that mix represents the unlocking of mass destruction.

Shanna Leino

Shanna Leino is a New Hampshire artist who makes handmade books as well as tools. Leino also explores historical methods for making books. Shanna was an exhibitor in this year’s Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair at the Civic Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her booth seemed intentionally minimal, strewn with little pieces of carefully honed bone and steel. To the left, highly polished bone-folders made of Elkbone. In the middle and to the right, equally shimmering awls, punches and chisels. The latter are made of high carbon heat-treated tool-grade steel. There have been many occasions where a sturdy awl was an essential tool for my work. I was elated to find a “maker” that took the time to make tools both strong and beautiful. The steel tools were made in two “flavors”; One ornate, the other hammered. I chose the only “hammered” awl/burnisher on display at the time (above). I am very grateful to add this to my collection. To view more of her work, visit shannaleino.com

Heart Throb

Cage

I dunno if rendering internal anatomy is considered body art, but don't see why not. I have some (a lot) of resource material on the subject, and I find it fascinating how intricate the body is, inside and out. So many processes are so over my head, I liked it better when I thought the body was filled with round, oblong, balloons and if you got injured one of them would pop and you would go to heaven. Life is Not like that, unfortunately. People get injured, they suffer, and then the rest is whatever. oh well, more to come.

Drip

Here are a few versions of some recent inkwork. Washes take a lot of patience and skill which I don't have yet. The first time I drew tje image i got carried away and tried to do a wash too soon. I started over and focused on the details rather than trying to render it fully on paper. I am lacking in many aspects of pen and ink, and probably won't be good for a while, but i gotta start somewhere.