A Message in a Bottle

   This morning I set my alarm to get up early while everyone else is sleeping, the house is quiet, the cats lounging in a shaft of morning light.  I didn't get up to cook.  I got up so I could write before I cook.   I'm thankful. So thankful.
 I'm just happy to be here, Bob.
  I'm not sleeping well.  Poppet stories invade my dreams, wake me in the dark, trail behind the night as it leaves and bloom before my eyes in the light of day.
  I've made poppets for many years.   My fingers have shaped thousands.   I can make them with my eyes closed.  I can make them behind my back, underwater, in a boat or with a goat.
Poppets have been a constant through nearly two decades of this human's curriculum, the dark days and the light. I've made them through hopeless tears and with joyful abandon.   
   Poppets are bigger inside than out.  The number of poppets that fit on the head of a pin equals the number of ideas that fit on the head of a pin.  Yet, look what a single idea can do.
 
 I'm thankful for the journey I'm on. Many of you have traveled with me.  A few have been with me from the beginning. I'm thankful for you. My stories are yours too.
  Poppet stories, like poppets, are bigger inside than out. The books will be too. They won't defy gravity, but they will defy definition.  They will if I do this right. Chances are, I will.  I've certainly done my homework.  And I'll put my heart and soul and the best of everything I've learned into them.
  I know this, because I am already. 

  After the turkey, the shopping, the apocalypse, Santa and the New Year, I'll be asking you to help me launch this project.  I don't know how many of you are here. (I'm a little afraid to ask.) Writing this blog always seems a little like putting a message in a bottle.   But if you're reading this, you're very likely interested in what a poppet might have to tell us. 
A few of us can do a lot. Silly humans.

  I hope you find happiness today.  I love all of you. Thank you.
 

Colder Air

Was colder today with a winter-hued sky.  First day that even remotely seemed seasonal.   I'm still dealing with back pain, but it's not debilitating.  No sudden moves.  Bend but not twist.  Really, the thing that's most likely to get me - if anything does - will be one of my classic Wile E. Coyote moves to avoid stepping on a cat.

  Otherwise, a breakthrough with the book, which has cast its own light over everything else.  It makes the rough spots look softer and gives the darkness perspective. It gives me an espresso shot of willpower.   A long time reader of fiction, I understand why there are so many stories about protagonists who must battle opposing forces and why those forces are often personified. Sometimes it seems that to accomplish a goal we have to fight battles as well as jump over hurdles.
Honestly, I have the deepest admiration for anyone who manages to out-maneuver the absolutely obdurate daily grind. 

It's 5:32.  I can stop now, or I can have coffee and go back into studio for a little longer.  I figure I'd better use it while I've got it.  Off I go.

How to paint a 2mm Cardinal

 
  A winter cardinal that would fit easily on a grain of rice.  I don't paint rice, but these sit quite well on the branches of trees that fit on Poppets.   I thought you might like to see how it's done.

 

Hope your Wednesday is good.

 

What Works

        I've just poured my third cup of coffee  and settled back against the microwave heated pillow.  It's one of those herbal scented, buckwheat-stuffed things I got as a gift several years ago from a good friend.  Little did I know how valuable a gift it would turn out to be. It's lost most of its scent and looks a little worn, but leaning on it relieves the pain and also forces me to sit straight, therefore avoiding the hunching that put me in this shape to begin with.
  Silly artists!  I'm here because I stopped swimming and started sculpting sitting crossed legged on the sofa in front of the television.  Months of this back-straining position combined with an over enthusiastic game of Frisbee and voila! an injured muscle that leaves me slightly skewed, so that I seem to lead with one shoulder as I enter the room like a drama queen from some forties flick.
  I'm fixing this as I type, sitting with excellent posture in a chair that allows for such.  I'm thinking of the little repetitive things we do that trip us up.  Sometimes the stumbling is moderate - like my being incapacitated for days.  Sometimes it's the big trip - like getting lung cancer after all those little cigarette breaks.  But more often it's accumulated time and quality lost in by repeating damaging or, at the very least, inefficient behaviors.
 Life is full of those.
  Here's another one:  I have a herd of cats. That's as inefficient as it gets, but I love this herd and they bring a whole level of warmth and entertainment to this house.  I recently relocated their feeding area to the back of the house, near the garage studio.   All this time I've fed them in the kitchen - why?  Because their food arrived in the grocery bags with ours and it seemed convenient to feed them in the kitchen.  But it's not.  Given that we have white tile floors, every speck of food shows and it's time consuming to keep it spic and span enough for a kitchen where we humans eat. 
  But in the back, near the concrete-floored studio, out of sight of where we take our meals, once a week is good enough.  A big tub of dry food with a scoop, a stack of cans, a trash bin for the empties and the studio sink for water and clean up.
  Yes, this is a small thing and boring.  Stay with me. 
 All of us creatives complain that we can't get to the 'real' work because 'we don't have enough time.'  If time is so valuable, why do we waste it on these little things?  My challenge to you is to go through this week paying attention to the little repetitive time-wasters in your routine.  Pick one and fix it.  The broken drawer on your desk, the scissors or keys or reading glasses you're always looking for.  The object you have to walk around that could be moved with a little room rearranging. 

  Minutes add up over time.  I wish I could get back the ones I've spent cleaning the stupid cat area two or three times daily.  But I don't want to waste  more time looking back.  I've just saved myself somewhere around twenty-eight hours per year. That's more than a full day of cleaning kitty kibble.  And that's just one little thing.  What if I fix ten?
 Fix something that nibbles at your time.  It might lead to fixing something else.  You might eventually find yourself with a little extra time to do something that makes you happy, or to sort out something else that trips you up.

Have a good Sunday, fellow traveler.

 





 

The Hierophant

 

 

So much sobering news worldwide.  Always.  Household and family, always.  Today I'm full in studio to catch up on photography and send things to people who are waiting.   I'm thinking about books as I work.  Already I see our electronic devices replacing paperback books.  I see this as a positive step, even though I have shelves of the little treasures.  I also see a future for paper books. Beautiful ones to be treasured, some that blur the lines between art and book. The kind of books we will collect.  Of course, nothing lasts forever.

I'm also thinking about the word book.   It derives from the bokiz and the buche for "beech," ostensibly referring to the beechwood tablets that preceded paper, at least according to etymologists found on this magic box.

I think many books will evolve into digital formats, but not all.  Likely we'll continue to use the word 'book' for long after paper books become rare things.  Language tends to persist in this way.

But for now we can still enjoy our 'real' tomes.  I know I'll continue to include them in my work because I persist that way too, even though I'm rarely without a reading device.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. 

The Hierphant is as complex as any of the Major Arcana, but in my mind, he's mostly about balance and perspective.  That seems very wise to me. 

I'm off again, back to Poppets.  Hope your day is good.

Halloween and Shadow of the Colossus

 

 Paint, glue, old clothes and some time.  Dad running out for supplies and food, all so that tonight Orion can be Wander.















And indeed, tonight he is.  

Happy Halloween to all of you.  Love and hope to those who will celebrate later.

Cloud Atlas

Time is precious. 
Seeing Cloud Atlas was well worth the time invested.
Time is also relative.
It might be the fastest three hours I've ever spent.



“... in a cycle as old as tribalism, ignorance of the Other engenders fear; fear engenders hatred; hatred engenders violence; violence engenders further violence until the only "rights", the only law, are whatever is willed by the most powerful.”
― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Beauty in a Dangerous Wood


  Start to finish photos:

 

 

 

I've taken over a hundred photos.  Pete has taken Orion and his friend to do boy stuff.  I'm alone in a quiet house.  Now to write a few words for this little frozen moment.  I think my favorite part of this sculpture is that some of the leaves escaped the glass to enter our world. 

Stories do that, don't they?

 

Hope your weekend is good. Wish me good writing.

How Now, Cow? Wow, Humans.

     I'm going to have to give this little guy a break from the magic box.  The weather's nice.  Maybe he'd enjoy a bit of fresh air and birdsong.

I know I would.

   I'm working. Living my life and working some more. Writing - though not so much here. It seems I'm doing a lot of apologizing to humans I care about for not being around so much.
  It seems I know a lot of understanding humans. They tend to accept my preoccupations with good graces.



  I don't forget about you.  Here's some work in progress, and a sharing of my deep and growing fear for us all.  I hope you're well and finding bits of wonder this October.

I think I'll go outside now and look at the clouds.  Eat some fruit or something.

We knew this was coming.  And now that it's here, we still don't quite believe it.  We have to learn to do things differently.  We can't wait for our leaders to lead us.


Things are starting to get interesting.  Thanks for being, my fellow silly humans.

Catching up

 Now that we've adopted Pete's cat Astro, the cat total for this house stands at five.
I noticed I have bruises on both shins from recent round-the-corner collisions with said cat clutter. Their skulls are very hard.  Luckily they can enjoy the fresh outdoors for most of the year.  That's a lot of cats.

  I'm working a lot.  Really a lot, which is why you're not seeing me here.  Every day starts early and ends with the singular relief of climbing into bed after a long day of hard work. But it's good work and I'm happy with it.

  I want to thank all of you who've adoped Halloween poppets.  Every one one will be on its way by the end of the week, including the custom ones. 

  We continue to swim, even as late as today (for Zoya's birthday.)  The water has become cold, but the sun is warm and once we adjust, it's amazingly refreshing.  But the light is different.  And the days are shorter, so we may be done.  Sometimes I swim all year.  Now I want swimming to have its season.

  As soon as the last spooky poppet leaves the building, I'll be cleaning the studio to make room for new work.  I'm inspired and more than ready to stretch.

 This is more of a wave than deeper observation.  This day started early.

I'll leave you with photos of work in progress:


 
 

 

 

Hope your October is going well.

More Farewells to Summer

The water is cooling.  It takes more effort to jump in and more time to adjust. 
But it's worth it.  Swimming in cool water is good.















This afternoon's swim felt like a bit like a ritual.  The thing I like best about the bottle photo,  aside from the ultra cool
Anti -Summer Poppet (2009),






is that, reflected in the curve of the bottle, you can see me holding the camera(bottom left), the yellow deck chairs, blue skies and green palm trees. 

 It's a reflection and only for a moment. 

But it was a moment I lived. 

All our moments are

bigger
inside
than
out. 

Light Finds Us

  This morning the air had a hint of cool.  Instead of grabbing a tank from the endless tank basket, I chose a comfortable shirt, twisted my hair (when did it get so long?) into something between a ponytail and bun and started this day that seems to be the start of more.
Because it is.
  For me, the end of summer is significant.  Summers are harsh in the desert.  My garden is dead.  That in itself isn't a problem.  I happen to find great beauty in my collection of leafless branches.  The "skeletons" of trees can be very sculptural and our yard is about as Addams Family as one can be in Palm Springs.  Soon enough, flowers will start to bloom all around us.  After Halloween, they'll bloom here too.
  Farther out, the world is a scary mess, the US is confused and divided and humans are worried.

 I'm one of them. I made this doodle while watching the news from Libya and the death of ambassador Stevens.

  Today is shaping up pretty much like the rest of the week.  Poppet Planet's orders got way behind thanks to a nasty cold, so I've been working long hours to catch everything up.  It's working well so far - poppets seem to be heading out my door in a steady stream and there are only three custom orders.  And one mad poppet laboratory that needs some serious maintenance.

  But yesterday I swept it aside to make this drawing because it couldn't/wouldn't wait.  Neither could the writing to go with it.  Sometimes it's just like that.  When you gotta draw, you gotta draw.  It seems we spend too much energy running from Sadness when we should embrace her.  Sadness is a teacher.  Everywhere she goes, light follows.  I hope you find peace today.

Light Finds Us
  
 

Small world. Big wind.

  As Orion began to improve, I took a turn for the worse.  My world has been very, very small for a couple of days and time went away. Two days of a wracking cough and the grey fuzz of medications, soup and reading and I'm somewhat better.  I was lucky to be able to rest straight through.  There have been times when that wasn't possible.  Colds go hard on me.  
Things got a little interesting these last few minutes.   The wind broke through the stillness we've had all day.  It picked up fast and we went outside to discover the air full of dust.  My first thoughts were of fire, but the smell was of the Salton Sea and a great deal of dust - enough to sting our eyes and turn the air brown.

This feels wrong, this wind coming from the east instead of through the mountain pass.  A cicada followed us in and seemed quite happy to hang out on my hand.  I enjoyed it for a little while but I may not be awake much longer so I put it outside in an open box.  It can fly away after the storm if it likes, or with the box if it gets much worse.  If I find it gone I'll wish it well.  If I find it dead I'll save it for art.
   Stories often start with weird weather.  As a long-time reader of fiction, I find tales in the wind.  As of late though, the weird weather brings questions instead and some worry.   Poppets tell me worry won't help.  Getting well will.  So I'm off to my books, broths and sleep, hoping the best for humans - and cicadas - tomorrow.

Justice

Mostly sick today and yesterday.  Summer colds for Orion and me.  A lot of reading, a bit of movie watching.  Not too much thinking.  Don't like thinking much when I'm not feeling well.  Thinking makes me want to do lots of things.  Doing lots of  things doesn't help colds get better.

 Now, a bit of downloading photos until the cold meds kick in, then more reading. Hope your Wednesday is good.

Justice:

Nuisance plus one.

  For creative types who work at home, holiday - schmoliday is often the norm.  This morning was no exception, so I shuffled toward the coffee maker as per usual just as the sun's light made it over the roof to touch the backyard fence.  Time to open the kitchen door and admit our nuisance of cats.  Five now, with the addition of Astro.
 Only this morning, there were six. 
One of these things is not like the others, I realized, bleary-eyed.  It is one of the 'neighborhood cats'  who just wandered in with my herd.
When I put him outside, two of my own ran out too.

So the crazy cat lady stirs a little milk into her coffee, checks on her sleeping son and begins her day.

This could be the beginning of a whole new phase of weirdness.  I'm okay with that. 

Collective nouns for cats: from Fun With Words

clowder	of	cats
clutter	of	cats
glaring	of	cats
pounce	of	cats
dout	of	cats (house cats)
nuisance	of	cats (house cats)
kendle	of	cats (kittens)
kindle	of	cats (kittens)
litter	of	cats (kittens)
destruction	of	cats (wild cats

 

More little things

  I found myself overwhelmed.  Again.  Still adjusting to a recent paradigm shift in which I stop seeing my unfinished projects as burdens, enemies or failures.  I begin to understand that planning art isn't working as well as letting it happen.  I have two unfinished book projects and half a dozen large pieces in the works and lists of inspired ideas. Waiting.
  I also have a household.  A ship in the desert that must be maintained and fueled.  And the world of Poppets.
  So yeah, like most humans, often I pick up more plates than I can juggle.  I don't like doing anything unless I can do it well.  I'm just made that way.  That includes writing here. So I tend to skip it until I have time to give it my full attention.
Right.  Maybe I'll try doing it half-assed for awhile, so that I at least show up.
  So here's a mixed bag of little things from this past week:

  The weather in the desert has been really, really weird. Feels more like Florida, especially in my  build-in-the-1950's neighborhood.

 
 
  I've concentrated my studio efforts on catching up custom poppets.  I'll post pictures as I get the photographs done.  Here's "Wolf's Moon" poppet created for Anrica Mills, who lives in South Africa.

 

Yesterday I saw Samsara at the theater with Pete.  Yes, that Pete.  I've been as astounded as anyone that we were able to find a protocol for peace.   I had the opportunity to tell the story to the lovely Valya Lupescu, who visited with her family last week.  I agreed with Valya, it's a good story, but I won't add it to my list.  It's in me and will show itself in the work.   I highly recommend Samsara.  Please see it on the big screen while it's available.

 

I continue to fear for humans.  I'm taking small steps to be part of the 'solution.' I'm from a generation of wastefulness, even though my parents weren't wasteful.  It's a frustrating thing.  For example, I make an effort to conserve water, yet there are over a hundred golf courses in this desert.  Cloud Atlas teaches me that though I'm only a drop in the proverbial bucket, the oceans are made up of drops.

With that in mind, I'm seeing all sorts of small changes I can make.  I can stop purchasing useless products, freeing up money for things I actually care about.  I can use less paper, fewer chemicals, waste less time too.

 

I'll make a real effort to post specifics here. But now, I must get into the studio.  Poppets must travel.

Hope your Saturday is good.

Back Detail

   
       It's a little thing, but I thought to show you how I've been backing small prints and cards that go with Poppets.  Sometimes we buy prints and they end up curled in their mailers or stacked in envelopes waiting for framing that doesn't happen for ages because life has other plans.  By attaching backs with little hangers, we can at least have the option of putting them up. 
  I also find this a good way to handle kids drawings and photographs too.  A bit more polished than thumb tacks but simple and light.

  I have a paper cutter but this can also be done with scissors or a razor and ruler.

  I use a sturdy card backing board I get from Papermart, but you could use any mid weight cardboard.  This board  is just slightly heavier than the paper from a cereal box.

 

I start by backing the print or tag with one layer of cardboard using a strong spray adhesive. There are several brands available.  Then I line up the print and punch holes for the hangers.

 

I tie a loop of string - I use bow string but a heavy crochet or other would work too.

Then a bit of tape.

  After the string is secured, I glue this board to the one on the back of the print.  Don't forget to make sure you have the hangers at the right end!

Here's a set of four cards, printed as mirror images, so that the back will look like this:

To finish up, I lightly sand the edges of the print or card with a sanding block.  Some people are surprised to find that paper can be sanded.  I was too.  It's very effective to give a finished edge, especially when several boards are glued together.

Finally, I edge the print or card with a paint marker or I sponge acrylic paint to give a finished edge to the cardboard.

 

And I end up with a bit of art  ready to hang until it's framed, or not.

Or a tag that can serve as a bookmark or hang around for fun.  It's one way to turn a photograph or drawing into a gift.  You can make something unique and personal. 

 

It's a little thing, but sometime it's the little things that brighten a day.  Hope yours is good.