I Am This Close To Just Making Little Pink Marble Cats

Oh man. This past month has really been testing my abilities to stick with this whole sculpture thing. Especially doing the heavy, large-scale stuff. I don't even want to get into the complications that have arisen trying to get Progression Structure #8 to South Dakota. The last three days have been really, really fraught with snafus. If I pull this off, which should be on Friday, I am going to die of relief. Uggh! This is not what I signed up for. I just wanna make art. Why does all this logistical stuff have to be so complicated? Whaaaah!

So, anyway, if I just decided to devote my art-making time to only making little pink marble cats things would be A Lot Easier. I am pretty sure I haven't told you the story of the little pink marble cat. Well, given my temptation to go that route right now, maybe this is a good time to explain just what the hell I am talking about.

Back in the fall of 2004 a good friend of mine called me up and asked if I wanted to participate in a Art and Craft Open House weekend that she and another craft artist were organizing. She said they wanted to get some fine art into the mix of mostly craft art. Craft art meaning like handmade cards, paper, candles, stain glass, soap, etc. I had been working on an idea for a series of small(ish) bronze sculptures (that would be my Systematic Growth series, by the way) but I didn't have a particular reason at the time to make them. So, I decided to participate in this show and use that as the catalyst to get the bronzes made.

The weekend of the show, there was a raffle for a gift basket. Each artist was to contribute one item to the basket. At first I figured I would just give cash. Contributing a bronze sculpture was not exactly practical considering the other artists were donating items that were small and inexpensive. But one afternoon I was out in my backyard in my stone carving work area. There was a bunch of pink Portuguese marble scraps on the ground from a sculpture I had (unsuccessfully) been carving. I picked a good sized chunk up and in the course of an afternoon ended up with this really cute little cat. It was about 3 inches long. I tied a ribbon around the neck with a paper attached that had a title, my name, and the material and I decided that would be my gift basket contribution.

Anyway, the Open House was moderately successful despite the fact that it rained a lot that weekend. I didn't sell any work but no surprise there. Besides, it wasn't really the right venue for my work. But what did happen was that two other participating "artists" at separate times that weekend took me to task for not spending my time making a "whole bunch of little pink marble cats that I could sell for twenty-five bucks a piece".

Right. Like that's what I want to do with my art. So, I politely explained that while I appreciated the suggestion and understood the value in being able to make money with a saleable style of art it was not what I was interested in artistically and I did not want to devote studio time to that. I choose to make money to support my art endeavors via other means i.e. a part-time job. Well, neither of these women could fathom that. They kept haranguing me. It was all I could do to keep from snapping.

I mean seriously. How do you want me to take this from someone who sells handmade soaps made from moulds that she doesn't even design herself!? Maybe this is snobby but I've got a little more integrity than that. And I am certainly not rude enough to criticize how an artist decides to express themselves even if I do not appreciate or understand their "art". So, how about leaving me alone.

Eric warned me at the time that would happen. When I showed him the little cat after I had made it he took one look at it and said, "You know, everyone is gonna tell you to make more of these." Oh, how right he was.

That little pink cat still haunts me. This past Sunday I was at the baby shower of the friend who organized the Open House and the other women that she had coordinated with was there. And she brought it up! This is like over two years ago! She says, "I just loved that little marble cat you made for the gift basket." I bet she doesn't even remember what the bronze sculptures looked like.

And that is the definition of my artistic principle. Yes, I am quite aware that I could make a whole bunch of little pink marble cats and probably sell them by the truckload and actually *gasp* make money from my art. I sure don't fault anyone who wants to go that route. Ya gotta pay the studio rent somehow. But that is just not how I want to do it. I'll take my part-time job at the winery, thanks, and just keep on doing my thing, following my vision.

Anyway, I am really excited. You'll never guess where I am writing this. In My Studio. Yes, I actually got in some work time today. Despite the fact that I was on the phone for most of it dealing with the shipping of my sculptures. I don't wanna jinx anything, I'll feel more comfortable Friday after the sculpture is loaded up, but it's starting to feel like Everything's Comin' Up Gordon!

PS. I'll have more to report regarding Burning Man and the Bottle Cap Tree after this weekend. Woo!

Explanation of the Day: What Did I Mean When I Said, "Everything's Coming Up Gordon?"

Right. There's this Simpsons episode where Homer becomes an "Outsider Artist" and he's a big hit at first but then his adoring pseudo-intellectual fans quickly become bored with his offerings. So Homer decides as a final piece-de-resistance to flood the streets of Springfield in order to bring the canals of Venice to the town. Meanwhile, Milhouse is upstairs in his room getting ready for school. He looks at his outfit and says, "Oh, I hate these flood pants." Then suddenly water comes rushing in as Homer has just let the flood gates go. Milhouse looks down at his feet and says, "My shoes and socks are soaking wet but my cuffs are bone dry. Everything's coming up Milhouse!" And he triumphantly walks out.

Well, Eric and I find that just incredibly hilarious. So, whenever anything good happens to us we always say, "Everything's coming up Gordon." As that is our last name. Ha Ha. Okay, I am a big dork. I know this.

Out On A School Night - Two Nights In A Row!

Last week was an active week for me. I don't tend to go out in the evenings very often, especially on a week night. Heck, I'm usually in bed by 10:30pm. I lead a very wild life, can't you tell.

But last week I went out for the evening not just Once, but Twice! Crazy. Wednesday night Eric and I saw Soulive at the Independent. Way Groovin'. But before that we stopped at the deYoung to check out this year's Bouquets To Art.

That was so great. This is the second year that I've gone although it's been happening for the past 23 years. The deal with this event is that local floral artists are invited to create a piece that is either inspired directly by a work of art located in the museum or is inspired by the museum in general. Sometimes the interpretation is quite literal; other times it's much more subtle.

We saw as much as we could - there is so much to see and so many people that after a while it can feel overwhelming. And we took some pictures. Here's a few that came out alright. Really, no picture taken can do justice. You really have to see the exhibition in person to get the full affect. Anyway, these will give you an idea of what we saw.








We didn't get home too late that night, around midnight, but we also didn't stay for Soulive's second set. Eric was feel a little under the weather. Still we were pretty tired the next day at work. That next night, Thursday, we saw Thomas Dolby at 19 Broadway in Fairfax - much closer to home. This was the last performance of his small tour with the Jazz Mafia Horns.

I was very happy to be out a second night in a row to see this. Not that I was the biggest Thomas Dolby fan back in high school but I did always like his music. I was supposed to see him with Eric at the Red Devil Lounge back in November for his Sole Inhabitant CD release party but I ended up in bed with the flu instead. Fortunately Eric was able to at the last minute get in touch with our friend Michelle who turns out to be a Major Fan and she went with him instead. They had a blast and I was sorry I had missed it. This is a picture Eric took of Thomas Dolby from that night.


He's basically been on tour doing all his old music but all remixed and done with nifty new computers and video feeds and stuff. And then the Jazz Mafia Horns play on certain songs for some bitchin' back up. It was really great. Michelle came with us, too. We all had a great time.

The only drawback, I have to say, was the people in the audience. Now, there is just no way that I can say what I want to say next without coming off like a real asshole but here it is anyway. It was like every freak from Fairfax was out in full force that night. And there was also some really hardcore (read: insane and a little scary) Thomas Dolby fans in the mix. It seemed like everyone there was older than us which is weird because I thought we would have been the majority audience demographic. But most everyone was some form of a freaky burn-out loser.

Like, seriously, at one point I looked over towards this group of people that were against the front of the stage on the opposite side from where we were standing and you know that scene in the Wedding Singer where Robbie works at a wedding right after having been stood up by Linda at the alter and he's all disheveled and bitter and he sings "Love Stinks" and dedicates it the "mutants at table nine", you know, Fattie and Sideburns Lady? Well, the group of people that I saw standing along the side of the stage that night could seriously have been the entire Table Nine from that movie. I am not kidding. Yeah, I know, I'm a bitch.

They were all so distracting. I couldn't stop looking at them, they were all freaky and nerdy and wasted. It was hard to not be affected. And then there was the insane hardcore fan dancing next to Eric and she was just nuts and I thought she was going to die of elation. At one point she even yelled out "I can die now". Really? I mean, I love "She Blinded Me With Science" and "My Brain Is Like A Sieve" and "Key To Your Ferrari". But die right now just because of seeing Thomas Dolby in concert after all these years? No, I don't think so. I don't mean any disrespect to Thomas Dolby but there are still some things in life I'd like to experience. It was just weird.

Eric posed a good question later. Which is worse: to see a concert where the majority of the audience is a bunch of people who are just there for the latest album and know nothing of the artist/band's previous catalog of music or to have the audience be a bunch of freaky, hardcore fans who obsess over the one band/artist and seriously need to get a life?

I'm gonna go with the latter. I almost didn't see Howard Jones acoustic last year at Red Devil Lounge because of all of the freaky fans that we had to endure while waiting in line to get in. Seriously, I almost left. But I'm glad I stayed 'cause that concert, as well, as last week's Thomas Dolby performance was worth it to me, Nostalgic Gen Xer that I am.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna take it easy this week. No more light night's out on the town. I need my sleep. I can't really say that I love the nightlife. I don't got to boogie, you know. I prefer to stay at home and fall asleep watching a movie or reading a book. But sometimes you gotta get out there and see the music, ignore the freaks and just not worry about staying up past bedtime. Live a little.

Omnivore's Dilemma Update of the Day: Didn't finish the book.

Though I did try. I had to return it today only half read. I'll have to request it again and hopefully I'll get it done. Really, really interesting book. I highly recommend it. If you're into this stuff.

The Problem With Leisure Is It Doesn't Pay For Your Daily Latte

So, slowly but surely I am getting the crate built so that I can ship Progression Structure #8 off to South Dakota. This has been a thorn in my side for no good reason. Not because it's hard to do, just a pain. First I had to do some final work on the the exterior finish. I was able to get the recent welds to blend in and put covers over the bolts so that they are less noticeable. I put a light clear coat on the sculpture and then rubbed in Penatrol in all the spots I could get at. I have to say I am very happy with how the rust patina came out and overall with how the sculpture looks. It may or may not last the snowy winter but that's okay. I never really intended to put a finish coat on in the first place, SculptureWalk asked me to do that.

It's sitting on the palette and we are building the crate up around it. It took Eric and me a while to figure out what materials we'd need and to come up with a plan on how to build the crate since neither of us have ever done this before. It's half-way done. It's been a little tricky to find time to work together because of our work schedules. But we'll be able to have it done either Friday or Saturday. So it's all good. Almost.

I just want this thing out of my garage - out of my mind. Get it out to South Dakota where They deal with the installation. I'm just going to show up for the opening weekend. It's been great that I don't have to deal with finding a shipping company. SculptureWalk took care of that, and the cost of the shipping. That's nice.

I keep saying to myself: When I'm done with this, when the sculpture is shipped, after we get back from vacation, then I can concentrate on the rest of my art practice. Like getting the sculpture ready for shipping is the sole reason why I've been less than productive lately. But I know better. That's not my problem, it's just been a "reasonable" period of procrastination. Similar to saying, "I'll start my exercise program once the holidays are over" or "I'll do the dishes after 'America's Top Model'."

My fretting about not working hard enough recently, which I have talked about in previous posts Spring Fever and Is This Normal , has gotten me thinking about the topic of leisure. Why is leisure so bad? When we think of someone who spends an unusual amount of time on leisure we think they are a lazy person - someone who is not using their time in a productive manner. Why is this so bad? Why can't we all spend more time doing the things we enjoy - the things we always wish we had more time for? I am sure you can think of one or two things that fit into this category of your life.

It is the expected norm in our society that you have to work 40+ hours a week at a job you probably hate, then spend your precious two-day weekend doing mostly household chores or running errands because you don't have time to do any of that during the week. You go on vacation for two weeks each year, are probably run ragged trying to do as much as possible in a short period of time only to come back to work behind and more stressed than you were before you left. And why? To make money, of course. So that you can buy Stuff: nice house, fancy car, nice clothes, cool electronics, dinners out, the latest music and DVDs, expensive vacations, etc. All things that you barely have time to enjoy because you are too busy working at the job that enables you to afford this Stuff. Oh yeah, and you get to do this for 45 years until you retire and then you have tons of time for leisure only you're too old and cranky to really enjoy it. Fun! Ugh, my head is spinning just thinking about it.

And don't think that just because I wrote the previous paragraph sounding above it all that I don't do exactly just as I described. Well, except for the working 40+ hours a week at a job I hate - I managed to give that up years ago. But I sure do fret about how I spend my time. I feel like I don't spend nearly enough time doing the things I Should be doing and I regret not spending enough time doing the things I Want to be doing. Like, for instance, I've been reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Kind of big deal book around here in the food conscience Bay Area. I've been really getting into this topic - food, health, sustainability, organics, eating locally, etc. And I've been enjoying the book a great deal.

But I don't feel like I have enough time to read it as much as I'd like. I'm about 1/3 finished and it's due back at the library on Monday and I can't renew because there is a hold (well, like 9 holds - told you, big deal book here). So, I'd really like to give myself a good amount of time to just sit down and READ. I could do that this afternoon. In fact, I Should do that this afternoon since I have the free time. But that would mean I am not Working, you know, on my art, at my so-called "job". Sigh. It is so hard to just let myself do what I want to do.

This goes back to my question: Why is leisure bad? Most people, myself included, would consider reading to be leisure. Just like taking a long walk with the dog or watching a movie or listening to music or having a picnic or geocaching or making love - all leisure. But we really should be doing more of that, if we want to. These are all good ways to spend time, I think. It's quality of life right? Yeah, I know, if we work less we make less money. But how much money do we really Need? Enough to give us comfortable shelter, food (hopefully healthy and not fast food although fast food is much cheaper and that is a whole other topic of discussion), clothes, and maybe a little fun. Beyond that what else? Am I totally naive here?

I think I am going to try and let up a little, at least this week, so I can finish my book. Starting as soon as I post this blog. I'll let you know how it goes.

Recommended Television Show To Add To Your Netflix Queue: Freaks and Geeks

Just check it out, especially if you were in high school in the early- to mid-1980s.

Spring Fever

Spring is here! Okay, so it's not technically here until March 21. But in the Bay Area, as far as I'm concerned, it has begun. First of all, there's the fact that Daylight Saving Time has started, early. That means more sun in the evening. And also it's been in the mid-70's since this weekend. Today is just gorgeous, totally perfect weather. Sunny. 72. Our next weather report will be in 3 days. Just the way I like it.

And it's so nice to see things starting to bloom. I've got iris' opening and a whole bunch of plants that I feared may not have made it in the earlier frost are showing bits of green. Woo Hoo! Pretty soon I can start planting herbs and vegetables.

So, of course I took advantage of this great weather and went for a nice long hike with Jasmine today instead of spending any time at all in the studio. Any excuse not to work is really all it takes these days. Man I have been feeling so uncreative lately. I just cannot get into it right now. I will admit, I've been very distracted with getting my sculpture ready to ship out to South Dakota. This shouldn't be so hard, but it is.

I swear I wish I had never gotten myself into this. It's been such a hassle. I wish I had not made the sculpture in two parts and instead had welded the whole thing together as I was making it. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time because I didn't know how I was going to get the whole sculpture home. So, I came up with this way of bolting the two parts together and deep down I just knew it wasn't a very secure set up.

I thought I should weld the two parts together before sending the sculpture to Sioux Falls but that was not appealing because 1) I would have to find a welder to use and 2) the welds would be visible. So, I convinced myself that my bolting system was going to be okay and was just going to send it out like that.

I am at the point where I need to build a crate for the sculpture, something I know nothing about I might add. On Friday, Eric and I put the sculpture together and used the engine hoist to lift it onto the pallet that makes up the base of the crate. And of course my bolting system is totally inadequate. I would have to weld the sculpture together, no matter what.

So, we went to Hertz Equipment rental on Saturday and rented a MIG for the day. And I went to work on it that afternoon. Oh, it was just awful. I think the tip needed to be replaced because the wire feed was inconsistent. And it was too much for our 1950s electrical system and I was blowing the fuse like every 5 minutes. And my welds were crap, just absolute crap. I could not find a setting that would give me a consistent arc. I was just sputtering and bouncing all over the place. I think this was because of the bad wire feed. I welded in the places I could actually get to and then ground down the crappy welds so it doesn't look as noticeable. But it's pretty noticeable anyway just because ground down or not the welds suck.

And the other thing that sucks is that the bolts are there and they show and I have these metal covers to put over them to make them less noticeable. But still. None of this would have been an issue if I had just welded the whole thing together when I first made the sculpture last year.

Uggh! Hindsight! I hate it. So, all in all, I feel totally bummed with the sculpture because of this minor stuff. I don't care that it's just Sioux Falls - if my work is going to be out there in public I want it to be quality. I don't want to be embarrassed. Although as Eric put it Friday night while we were at dinner (at this great vegetarian restaurant in SF called Millennium - I highly recommend it) I'll be embarrassed in South Dakota. So Who Cares?

Right now I am trying to get the welds and the area around them that I grinded to rust up really quick so it matches the rest of the sculpture's patina. I've got to get these areas to blend as best I can so they don't look so bad. Oh man. I am so hating this. I've got three weeks to get it together.

I tell you what - I am This Close (imagine my thumb and forefinger touching) to giving all this art stuff up. I mean really, what am I trying to do here? I am totally an amateur. I had one idea I ran with for a couple of years, made a little bit of sculpture, and now what? My motivation and creativity level is so low. Why am I putting myself through all of this? I could go out and get a full-time job and just do that and my life would be a whole lot easier. Sure, if I had amazing talent it would make sense to keep trying. But what do I have? Tenacity? That's not talent.

Wow. Talk about ending on a downer. I think I'd better go back outside. Waste a bit more of my day away Not making art. Sigh. Am I so pathetic or what?

Recipe of the Day: Barley Risotto with Wild Mushrooms and Peas.

From the cookbook "366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans and Grains" by Andrea Chesman.



We had this with dinner last night and it was definitely the hit of the meal. It's time consuming but very tasty. I don't like the consistency of mushrooms (we used shiitakes) so I minced them very finely. The flavors of this risotto are nice and earthy. Pared very well with Pinot Noir.

Not A Bad Weekend

Went out of town this past weekend, and I have to say it was a good time all around. We went down to the Central Coast because Eric ran a trail running race at Montana de Oro in Los Osos yesterday. And it just so happens that my mom and my sister and brother-in-law all live down there. So, we got a visit in and Eric was able to run the race.

The weather was really nice, all warm and sunny, and that made things even better. We had a good time going into SLO (that's San Luis Obispo for those who don't know) on Saturday. We reminisced a bit. See we both went to Cal Poly, that's where we met. It's fun to go into town and see how things have changed, how they've stayed the same. Got in some geocaching, too. That's always a good time for geeks like us. And we sat on the patio at Gus's Groceries, sippin' beer and soaking up the sun. Eric worked there the last year we lived in SLO and our apartment was a block and half away. So we've got Lots of Memories of sitting on the patio drinking beer and eating MoJo Potatoes. Which is exactly what we did last Saturday. It Was Nice.

Anyway, the best part of the weekend was the bottle cap haul I got. My mom and the ladies from her Women's Club have taken me on as a project and are collecting bottle caps for me. I also got a good amount of plastic caps from my sister. And before we left Gus's I raided their bottle cap box and must have taken out about 200 crown caps. Score all around.

I counted up the take this morning. I brought home about 525 crown caps and 150 plastic caps. Right On! That gets me somewhere. You know, it's kind of funny my approach to this whole collecting bottle caps thing. 'Cause I could seriously try harder and I would get A Lot More Caps. I mean I'm really not doing much, except saving my own caps and getting some from my friends and stuff. And I have 4500 crown caps alone. That is a lot. But think if I went to just the bars in San Rafael how many I'd get a week. My mom is going to Sweet Springs in Los Osos for me once and week and she gets about 150 a time. That just makes you realize how many caps are produced, used and thrown out. Whoa!

But I am not trying to make some kind of statement about the state of bottle caps in the world. And I definitely don't want to be that "artist that works with bottle caps". I'll get what I need for the bottle cap tree in my own, sorta lazy, way and then that's gonna be it for me. I'm not going to collect caps for the rest of my life. Hear that everyone, at some point I won't need them anymore. I will let you know.

So, it's cool. I am getting back on track with the tree. I will be able to make some more flowers. I need to make 28 more for an even one hundred. That's my start. If I have enough left over caps after the tree is covered I'll make more flowers. Each flower takes 6 crown caps and 1 plastic cap so that's a lot of caps not covering the tree. I have to be a little conservative right now while I am still collecting.

Anyway, caps and sun - it was a good weekend.

Special Thanks of the Day: Going out to my mom and the Women's Club and everyone else saving caps for me right now. Keep up the good work - it helps a lot.