• rhapsody

    well, i have finally started mosaicing rhapsody, the second piece in my music to my eyes: opus in 24kt series.

    weeks ago, i thought i had a rough design for this piece. i cannot say how many hours i have spent 'refining' the design... somehow trying to make it be THE design for this piece. i thought i knew how i wanted it to feel, and that that is what the design was expressing. however, no matter how much i played around with it... moving lines here... opening up lines there... it just did not feel right to me.

    finally, last week, i gave up on that design... and said ok... i am just going to draw what i feel... what does the material say to me (red, orange, and violet gold)... what does a rhapsody make me feel... where does it take me... forget what i think the feeling should look like...

    i just started to draw... right away... and i was amazed at what i drew! very simple... very provacative... i had to keep telling myself to just go with it... don't think about it. while this may seem so obvious a process... i am not a natural artist... too left-brained... i really have to work at spontaneous and intuitive... i know, what a contradiction!... me in a nutshell...

    so, i am going with it. started mosaicing it today.. will use contorno and black smalti or black granite... not sure yet... but it is mostly gold. how many times did i say to myself today 'does it have to be complicated... does every mosaic have to be such a big deal... can't i just do this and not worry about it? that remains to be seen... so does the mosaic... if it turns out halfway decent!

  • orsoni prize 2007 update

    the entries for the orsoni prize 2007 have been posted on the orsoni website. look under the news link.

  • favorite vacation pics

    ok... here are 4 of my favorite pics from our eastern vacation. click on the thumbnail to see the full image.

    1 - what we think is an albino squirrel on the mall in d.c.
    2 - my favorite photo from a wonderful photo exhibit at the smithsonian
    3 and 4 - amazing pics from inside luray caverns... the first one shows an awesome reflection from a completely still pool of water inside the cavern.

  • old testament

    about all those rocks and things that i have been collecting...

    as soon as i got back from vacation, i was ready for that little piece with natural materials. i had a design before i left, so was ready to give it a go. i really loved working with these types of materials, and am anxious for the next one... probably later in the year... i have to finish up 3 others before detouring again. i am happy with my first serious attempt, though.

    click on the thumbnail to take a look... the piece is titled old testament, and is done with an ammonite fossil, marble, smalti, coco geode, pyrite, sodalite, turquoise, faceted garnet, and amazonite; dimensions are 14 1/2" x 5 1/2".

  • eastern vacation

    late july we took a vacation east. it started on the 21st, as we flew into cleveland, rented a car, and drove about 30 miles south to stow/stowe, ohio. the cleveland symphony orchestra's summer home is the blossom center, in the cuyahoga springs state park. this is a spectacular park, with an awesome outdoor theatre and sprawling lawn, where people can enjoy wonderful performances throughout the summer.

    read more...
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