Today, at my first “Beyond Basic Wheel Throwing” class, I did these:
Jon Higuchi, the regular instructor, was not there, but Luis Baiz, whom I’ve known for decades from Phoenix College, was filling in. He let me take this selfie:
My mouth is open like that because Louie said, “Say ‘Cerveza.'” I usually do what Louie says. He’s kind of like Yoda.
During cleanup Lou asked me lightheartedly, “Did it feel good?”
It did. I need this.
Every year the Glendale Arts Council presents a juried art show in Glendale, Arizona’s Sahuaro Ranch Park. For the past few years, due to my frequent changes in residence, I haven’t received the application and notice for the show, though I’ve been in the show in every single decade since the 70s, and a few times brought home ribbons, and twice cash.
But this post is about Procrastination, not Bragging. Even when I did receive ample notice I would put off the selection and preparation of two show pieces till the last minute. I had a few day’s notice this year, and produced two pieces in advance of deadline, but due to work and reliance on public transportation was not able to get them to the receiving point in time.
So let’s have a little two-piece art show right here, Friends:
“Appeal,” armature wire, 9″ x 7″ x 4″. Category: Sculpture.
“Diptych in Black, White and Gray,” 11″ x 17″. Category: Mixed Media.
Critiques are welcome, Friends, and the more clinically honest, the better.
But we can’t sign off on this post yet. If I want to stop being a Last-Minute Charlie, and believe me I do, there must be an end to this dysfunctional method of preparation. One thing I could do is enter a LOT of Art Shows, not just one a year. The other possibility that comes to mind is having more of these private, blog-posted shows–say one a month. Then there is that which has not occurred to me yet. But that can wait–or can it?
I have not played chess for a long time. At my best I wasn’t very good. But Chess is great subject matter, 2D or 3D. When I was heavily into ceramic sculpture I made several chess pieces with human heads and sometimes limbs; and I made at least two chess sets. I’ve wanted for a long time to draw or paint all the moves of a chess match in comic-book panel continuity, warping the board and pieces with each move to show the drama that was going on. But that is a MAJOR project and will have to wait.
Life and Chess overlap in the realms of Conflict, Positioning, Caste, and Planning. With chess AI proving sufficiently good to defeat chess grandmasters, it has become apparent that the ability to exhaustively review all possible moves “checkmates” ingenuity and intuition. Perhaps we will be humbled enough to move on to endeavors that are not combative. Therein lies Peace On Earth, my friends.
Life & Chess
Loose astringents may be styptic
Tight dual portraits form a diptych
Friend turned foe may grip may seize
Even with bewobbled knees
& find looseness holds the keys
Notice the mistake I made in line 2. I forgot the second letter was an I, and looking at it thought it was an T, the base of the L doing double-duty as a crossbar. It’s an easy fix–change “Tight” to “Inked” and it even makes more sense, although we lose the dichotomy from line 1’s “Loose”–but let’s let it be. It’s Human.
It is a new year. What better way to start a healthy culinary journey than at the all-Vegan café Urban Beans?
Here is Pumpkin Curry with a side of brown rice. The urban-beaned Coffee is laced with almond milk and plain granulated sugar. The book is by world-renowned health guy Andrew Weil, M.D., and I intend to live, breathe, and, yes, Eat it until I know it backwards and forwards.
I could not remember if I’d done a double-acrostic Urban Beans before, but was sure I’ve never done “urban vegan beans,” so
urban vegan beans
unbound flavor comes to b
renaissanced to taste & see
boosting pepperminted tea
absent sausage veal prawn
nutrients and RUSH°LeMans
Happy New Year, Friends!
Though I try to be a rational, reasoning person, a lifetime of social inertia and personal virtualization had yielded a network of date-specific superstition. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are days to do good, example-setting things, things it would be good to do all year long. So on New Year’s Eve I headed for the Devonshire Senior Center. My friend Maggie had called me last week and I had committed to visiting with her.
Alas, she was not there. But I did get a replacement membership card, and talked to walk organizer Tracy about the status of walk programs, and got a new coffee card for a buck, and made this:
The only thing I have resolved to do in 2019 is live to see 2020. But it would be nice to help someone, to fall in love with the right person, and to paint the masterpiece I know I have it in me to paint.
There’s a joke about Southerners with pickup trucks, which I use ironically in the little drawing I made.
What are the most common last words of Southerners with pickup trucks?
“Hey, y’all, WATCH THIS!”
One with Clay, Image and Text 