From an art blog I'been reedin'

[That's me in the yellow shorts filmin' away]

http://viaaffirmativa.com/2007/07/09/the-value-of-the-work-of-our-hands…/

"theber Says: September 7th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
It looks like this conversation has largely run its course, but I’m going to comment anyway because I came here today with this very question in mind. I well remember the “souvenier video” from my first week as a camp counselor many years ago. All week I had fought real bugs and imagined bears, herded unruly campers, answered unending questions, looked for lost shoes, and helped scared kids go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I couldn’t wait for them to go home so I could have a weekend off. Then I saw the video: our week, artfully set to music by a young, underpaid videographer. I was there for all that stuff, but I’d never seen it like that: friendships around the campfire glowed with tenderness, zip-lining over the icy lake was high drama, and winning at capture the flag became a soaring triumph. I still needed a meal and a good night’s sleep, but suddenly I wanted to come back next week and do it all again. I think good art is like that. It shows me more truth about my daily life than I can see while I’m living it. It shows me the glory of the eternal things I take for granted, and the weight of my daily decisions. The life of a saint in a fallen world, not to mention the redemption story itself, is ultimately a grueling perseverence to an exhiliarating come-from-behind win. A finished product that exactly fulfills its purpose - be it Handel’s Messiah or that “well-made pair of jeans” - is an object lesson my heart can read that tells me the story isn’t over, and the end will be grand. Art helps me persevere in faith."

Nice to be a part (as camp videographer this past summer and likely the next ) of something that affects lives both inside and outside the camp.

I'm seriously contemplating heading back out there this summer. With the possibility of resigning my position at the school to make more time for creative work.

This Christmas season has been so far exceptional for pottery sales. The new line is in it's second year and has really come into it's own.

I'm so tired and two more days until the holiday.

When sitting is standing

This past weekend I went to a local dinner theatre.
The play was horrid.
The actors all did fine jobs, but the content left me sick to my stomach.
I did not stand for a final ovation.
This was part of a the Christmas party of the service club I am a member of.
Most of the people raved. I thought it was empty and hopeless,
and supposed to be a comedy. Seemed more of a tragedy though...
This is not a very good review, perhaps I'll work something up
but I'd rather just forget it.

I'm Now.

In the previous post the layout caused the words "I'm now"
to be separated from the block of text,
which stirred thoughts about how un-now I tend to live my life
God in his wisdom has given me the fine gift of being able to imagine
yet I spend that wealth imaging far too often those things which are yet distant possibilities.
Living so far forward of "now" endangers the species which is the production of my past dreams.
The production of the sketchbooks full of drawings and plans and diagrams for artworks
somehow "now" must become both the bearer of the past dreams and future schemes.
marked down by and in the work of my hands as one with creative gifts.

An artwork shows both the work of the past, and the possible future of it's improving on the artist
Such scope.
And to dream of bringing old God laden hope to people through it.

well less talk now more action.

Something about posting

I'm now contemplating the effect writing has on my life.
There seems to be this initial effort barrier to be overcome,
which seems quite insurmountable, but when passed allows my entrance
to a land of intense delight and freedom.

Currently I have stories on the go about:
Pirates/Businessmen
Shepherds
Rappers
Dragons
Surfers
and Medieval legends.

Each time I slide up to the computer or pick up pencil
that wall faces me
takes a great deal of strength to break down, and clamber over the rubble
once on the other side however, the strides are long and the country wide.

I'm experimenting with forms of writing.
New exercises and styles of prose and poetry.
Some of these I'll share in future.
Today I just need to move my fingers for my mind
wierd how that causes things to unwind.

Blessings.

Something about posting

I'm now contemplating the effect writing has on my life.
There seems to be this initial effort barrier to be overcome,
which seems quite insurmountable, but when passed allows my entrance
to a land of intense delight and freedom.

Currently I have stories on the go about:
Pirates/Businessmen
Shepherds
Rappers
Dragons
Surfers
and Medieval legends.

Each time I slide up to the computer or pick up pencil
that wall faces me
takes a great deal of strength to break down, and clamber over the rubble
once on the other side however, the strides are long and the country wide.

I'm experimenting with forms of writing.
New exercises and styles of prose and poetry.
Some of these I'll share in future.
Today I just need to move my fingers for my mind
wierd how that causes things to unwind.

Blessings.

Back on four wheels

Well, this week my Astro van (380000km) became ill, spitting brake(break) fluid all over and lessening my chances of complete stops. I decided to replace it.
I've been in love with Pontiac Azteks since I first saw one on Survivor.
I know this puts me in a sample demographic comparable with talking french toast for some of you. But I think she's pretty.

Days of research, and prayer later, here I am ...

Incredible halt sauce

How to sum up these past couple of months?

Fear.

But also

Focus.

It's encouraging to see the stacks of pottery
sitting on the shelves waiting to be sanded
knowing that this is my best work yet.
That the business is set now to be what I have dreamed it could.
That my schedule of long days of Bus, school, pottery and photography
have not been unfruitful.

But there's been this fear.
that I'll make the same mistakes as in the past
That the whenever the formula for success includes me
the recipe is ruined.
Overcoming that lie will take some time and practice

Tonight's recipe was homemade hot sauce.
I had a large number of hot peppers aging (read as starting to rot)
in my fridge, which I had been avoiding for some time.
I love hot sauces, but had developed this fear of them
believing that somehow I would not be able to handle the spice anymore
Like I've not been able to handle many of the difficult things lately.

Peppers
Water
Vinegar
Salt
Cook, and blend

What could be simpler?
and in the end so marvelously green and delicious
it's first job will be coating on wings.

GREEN WINGS
I think I'll like that.

Ramble ramble

Did I mention my sister Colleen is coming to live and work with me?
So cool.

It's about to explode

Keeping pace with the emergency
that seems to be the plot of this story
the deadline
the headline
themes in a tale of take it too far and not far enough

The act of being willing to sell my home has set my mind
on those things, so many, unfinished.
Don't worry it's about to explode
should be writted on the side the bomb which is my head.
idea after time killing idea.
warfare on the mundane
built up in stockpile
lists of old cold artwar artwork
gleaming in proposition
and dusty in disuse.


And now when surrendur has been embraced,
the rebellion begins.
these armories are breached and the weapons of this war unleached
from the places they have been sucking out life from the nation

A strange post for a strange day
I worked on an art piece I had abandoned long ago
and fell into passion again


Beautifill
Angel discovered doing a photo shoot for a family I know.
Surprising the things you find not looking for.

150 mugs

First 75 of 150 mug order thrown.

Nemiben to Devils Lake

Just back from this year's canoe trip.
It was pretty strenuous at times, but a blast.

We paddled around 30k one day which was epic.
Here are a few picture highlights.

My Schoolhouse home

A few pics of my schoolhouse for Hanna,
Sorry it took so long

Lover of summer. The documentation. 5 weeks at the lake.

I'm back home in a frenzy
feeling like Dorothy
having clicked my heels together
and to my surprise arrived back home
out of a land so beautiful
and as familiar as my heart.

It's like the past five weeks have been a blink
a page flipped by wind,
only the wind was created by waves and swarms of golden dragonflies


who carried in their carapace the colours of our God's love for us.
Pages and pages of children's faces
and places
made sacred by the fact that we walk into them carrying the dwelling of God.
yet still having the abilitiy to profane them if we choose.
It is a wonderful, overlovely gift, our freedom in this life.



And I'm in love with it again.

As the sun grits it's way throught he dirty glass of my studio
and warms my bare back and arm
It is good to be back home.
If only for a short time.

Less than one week then canoeing!

Camp

two and 1/2 weeks at camp
video and photography most days
from 7am to 1am shooting and editing
It's a mix of the hardest I have worked in a long time
and the most pleasure I've had at a job.
Pretty cool
Pictures to come

Time.

So long since I last posted,
weeks of 17 hour workdays,
a week sick,
It all seems a tangle of dead branches,
so many directions none taking root
with some moments
my head feels like it has been lopped off a the top
and my capacity for thougth scooped out.

Only a week until this school year is out.
Only a week until the first pottery sale of the summer
Only a week plus a couple days until I head out to Arlington for five weeks of Photo and Video
(actually my first assignment is this weekend shooting the lobster feast.)

I don't feel ready.




I'd like to just sit around and chew my cud for a while.
Regurgitate old dreams and digest them for a while, but I guess that is not going to happen.
What new meals await. Pastures green and lush

Oh boy Am I tired.

More reasons why more artists should step up to their call.

Amazing art

http://www.oliverpengilley.co.uk

I'm truely impressed

My celebrity Look-alikes

Hmm Lenin.

Five figures to the bone.

Weekend
spent doing what I love
new printer
new scanner
foray into the world of fine art photo papers
Brilliant colour.
Up past midnight trying to figure all the technology out.

Pictures of the North Duval Cemetery.

Self Portraits

There 's something about the image I have of myself,
sometimes distorted, inflated or deflated. It seems seldom that I see
clearly the truth behind what it is I am made to do, to be.
The gifts which God has given for the uplifting of others,
are surprisingly, as I use them,
uplifting to myself as well.
Those things which when I get lost in
am enthralled by
and want to participate in
for only myself,
those are the ones where
too often I see myself sadly as a product of my failures,
rather than my failures as a product of my choices,
and myself as able to choose, at next crossroad, wisely.
(having learned of course the hard way)
Good is in the purpose of everything.
God has loved us enough to give us
the opportunity to see
the good working
everywhere.
delight or despair.
And good to give we all have
in abundance
only it rarely looks like Hollywood.


If my home for now is in my skin
Then the good things I can enter in.
Home movies deserve home music.
I want to make something you can dance to.

Take the fallen places and believe in good unexpected
See the hand of God in every opportunity
and excavate a bit of the good for someone today.
For our selves are the only portraits of us others can see.

Maybe tomorrow your self portrait will be
the one to polish this world to a high shine for someone.
I ramble on.

Seeds

On my trip to Mud Lake,
the place where I was stuck
removed around 15 woodticks
and basically had a good time.

But it has me thinking about living life in reaction mode.
If we have been warned a number of times regarding danger
why then do we still so often end up in a situation where
it is forced on us to react to the consequences of our actions
or inactions
instead of proactive preventative actions

Maybe the bigger question is why at 35 am I still having to ask this question?

Perhaps my ADhd tendancies, perhaps my distracted creative temperment.
but more importantly the lack of discipline.
I know I must live my life with lists
or the important things will be forgotten.
yet I write lists and forget to use them
write lists and file them away unread
thinking in some sort of ego's haze
"I'll remember them this time."
Each notation on the lines of lists
a seed full of potential for growth.
like a packet of garden seeds
individually waiting to be plucked out
and planted in a place prepared
and the whole a garden of sustainance and beauty
I've never been a very good gardener.

Time to go to work.

You've got an Ugly Mug, Can you handle it?

Mom don't mistake this for your video message, that's down below
this onw is about attaching handles to mugs.

;)

Happy Mother's Dayyy

Hey Mom!

Here's a little shot of my weekend activities.

Love Ya.

Jeffrey

Time ticks stuck sticks

So, I'd post some of the photos from tonight's shoot, but I got stuck way out in the country and had to walk back,
refreshing to be sure.
hour and a half walk.
I think I need a 4x4

New Heights

This past weekend,
Josh, Don, and I spent a couple days adding 86 new holds to the climbing wall
and repairing and raising the zipline at Arlington.
So much fun!

Camping taxes your mind.

Went out camping for the first time this year,
headed straight west to the lakeside
then hiked a short distance North into the
Eastshore Wildlife Mangement Zone.
This is one of my favorite areas
a narrow stip about one kilometre wide running
along most of the east shore of Last Mountain Lake.
The natural prairie has been preserved here, and wildlife is abundant


The crocuses are in full bloom
pressing their way though the dense last year's grass.
The air was full of waterfowl
and they continued through the night
with their calls and warbles.
I did not get much sleep.



I sat up and watched a beaver swim back and forth in front of me
curious as to what I was,
several times it swam up to the shallows stood up and stared at me
then after becoming comfortable with my presence
went about it's search for food.
I've never heard such loud chewing!
With the birds and the beaver, there was not much hope for a restful night.
So tossing and turning I lay under the moonlight
This was a bit too of a struggle through depression
Coming to terms with who I am (have become)
It's a greater challenge than I ever imagined.


I had been internally kicking myself over lack of foresight(again)
regardign income tax. And having not held any reserve funds
I was anxious over what had come to a rather large amount
(It was a good year for sales!)
So after the night of wrestling
I drove home to edit the new photographs
My best patron phoned wondering if she could stop by and pick up some pottery.
we agreed that Sunday afternoon would be best.
God's been putting His thumb on my self reliance lately
and trying to turn me to trusting Him again fully.

Sunday afternoon came
And this lovely Christian lady,
though she may not have been aware of it,
came as a gift from God,
and left me with my taxes paid
and money in the bank to spare.
What grace to walk in.
Thank you Lord.


Hmm,
God bringing good out of the thorns of my own foolishness
now the lesson is to not continue in sin
hoping that grace may increase.

Peace.

Three mugs throwing video

Here's a series of mugs.

Updates

I've just redone my Creative Site
Click the link at right to access it
It has more photography and new pottery pics up.

I shutter at the thought!

I took hundreds of pictures yesterday,
took the afternoon and evening heading West, ending up at the lake waiting for dusk and sunset.
It was not disappointing.

Trying to get lost

Today after work I went out on the back roads looking for photographs.
Farther and farther chasing after the elusive sunlight which was being stolen by the bank of clouds sliding underneath it. Chasing animals and light, I turned on roads which led to trails,



The trails went to low spots, where with the spring runoff,
they were impassible, so off the trails I drove into the fields full of
geese, ducks and sandhill cranes, flying wildly away from my coming.

In the end darkness prevailed,
but for this night,
and rain in it's blanket
encouraged the welcome warmth of soup.

The sun shall rise again.

Crazy new Camera

A pic from my new Nikon D80!
So complex and beautiful and so much to learn.
I'm hoping to unlock it's many secrets over the next few months.

This shot is from Duval.

Getting off track

Update on the train...

Seems that a set of wheels came loose and were dragging down the middle of the track for around five miles.

hmmm

Getting on track

I've started a series of photo collages about the railway, and providentially this week a train provided an interesting subject.
It appears that the train was dragging some very heavy object, as the ties leading up to the crossing had deep depressions in them.
The crossing itself had a deep rut torn down the centre.

The collage consists of around 200 pictures and will likely be around 3feet by 9feet

Floor request

Hey Tim,

I guess it's time to finally get around to putting up a picture of the refinished floor as requested.

It's especially hard to keep this place dust free,
but what a difference a sealed floor makes

Breakfast

I've been on a porridge spree for a bit, loving those
itty bitty packages of preflavoured instant stuff
so convienient!

I ran out of them.

So this morning I pulled out the bag of slow cook oats from the cupboard

The cat (Barbarella) has this habit of sinking her teeth into anything grainy that
happens to be left out in plain sight.
This morning's victim was the bag of tortillas.
She chews through the plastic and messes up a few pieces then runs away

The bag of oats had a few toothy holes in it,
so I internally scolded her and proceeded
measure water
put on to boil
measure oats
mix in
stir wait enjoy

sugar,
cinnamon,
spoon

I'm half way through the bowl
when I notice ...
A sunflower seed?
hmmm
kinda dark for that.
Oh.

hMMM
what's that other off colour brown spot
OH!

Mouse turd
and maggot in my meal this morning
Lovely

I'm going back to toast.

The bike

Just came inside from my second bike ride this week.
Did I mention this is the bike that won an adventure race?
(though it wasn't me riding it)
I can hear it dripping in the entry, hung like a wet sweater from it's hook
snow cloggled treads coming free from the icy coat.
I love this bike, beautiful full suspension by Specialized,
Tom (my brother) gave it to me two Christmases past.
Gave me a little present, the wrapped contents feeling like a book
opened up to find , "no it couldn't be" " what?" thoughts going through my head
as it was revealed to be a bike manual
and sent to the garage to find it.
WOW, definately one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever recieved.
I cried.
My old bike, well past it's prime,
though having been top of the line for it's first owner
had come to a state where about fifty metres was
the maximum distance I could ride it without something
either puncturing, slipping, or outright falling off.

I must say this gift came at the right time in my life
Winters have been times of deep depression for me
and none so much as these last two
Not to say posessions are the solution to depression
when my real need is to trust in God,
(and perhaps a sunlamp)
But wow what an unexpected blessing.
THanks Tom.
I know it is over a year ago.
but I'm thankful every day for that bike.

Ah the lovely fumes!

SO , so , so
I am refinishing my floors in the studio and gallery (as well as the gallery shelves)
Some might think this should be a summer job,
you know the type where the windows should be open and fans on...
well not for me. As midwinter after Christmas is slow time, it's the home reno show here
and oh how the wafting odour of polyurethane lulls me to sleep

I am actually quite amazed by the ability of my furnace to carry the vapours
so quickly throughout the whole hose
Guss that shows something for duckwork

THe thougth has crossed my mind to maybe move out for a day or so
but I love my home, and the comports of ti
Friends have sluggested, inpinionated even
that geese camelskulls cud be affection my mine
I donut thing sew
Toil necks thyme
Got an other goat to putt on the flower.

Prayer Retreat

Amazing
what a few hours of intense spiritual focus can do for your outlook
I'm tired, wiped out
but intensely encouraged by the beginning of this retreat.
Tomorrow I dig into the ice monuments with the teens.
Strange how plans change.
more later