Dancing in the Studio

Who's afraid of fire? These mannequins dancing behind a vise full of "squeezed" matches don't even realize the potential for their demise. Wait a minute, they aren't sentient, how can they realize anything. Tired. Time for bed!

Jackson Playing

Here in New Gloucester with Jackson for the second morning in a row, and of course, as doting grandparents, we are loving every minute of it! He's giving his playmates Daniel Tiger and Cat in the Hat rides in the blow-up sled. Here's an iPhone shot of him winding his way through the playroom.

Re-Icing the Bay

Three shots from a few dozen at dusk tonight! Beautiful light, but not much of it!

Instant Freeze

We got up last Saturday to the cold morning, and as I opened the window coverings I was amazed that the bay had completely frozen over. The combination of -9˚ and no wind allowed the cold to take over and form ice on the bay. Wow! And the winter has just started.

Rings of Silver

I am so fortunate to have Torrey, Katie and Jackson in my life. Being able to spend time and thoughts with them is very precious and meaningful, and I was delighted when the prospect of creating their wedding bands fell into my lap during a conversation with them and Jen.

I incubated ideas for a concept to use that would be special and have a meaning for them as well, and I came up with the idea of "communication" as a theme. It seems to me that keeping a thoughtful and calm line of communication, which of course, Jen, means listening as well as talking, is the essence of a "successful" marriage. A successful marriage (or partnership, or whatever you want to call it), at it's simplest definition, would be one that lasts over time, most likely at least one lifetime. So with that in mind, I began to think about patterns of text or letters and how they might appear visually in the design, avoiding any specific reference or language as "corny", which I wanted to avoid at all costs.

Then, somehow "randomness", the chance connections that we don't really see as related and yet so often simply take us from one place to another in our lives, became connected to the overall design concept for me and so I had the initial process come clearly to mind. I have a set of letter stamps, all capitals, which also seemed fitting in terms of the importance of the letters I would use; letters were from the names Torrey, Katie, Jackson & Emerson. I then stamped a random pattern using those letters into the surface of the silver sheet from which I would form the rings. The rest is just process in terms of mechanics, such as cutting, soldering, filing, sanding and polishing.

I'm including a "Hipstamatic" shot here of the smaller ring as it was being filed on the sides, complete with the filing dust around it, and a couple of shots of the rings tied with a bow.

Nighttime Ice

I found a couple of pictures that I took at night during the ice storm. There still seems to be some ice left on the trees, so I guess it's appropriate to post these! There is something about the dark backgrounds when I go out to shoot these kinds of pictures that is fascinating to me, and I think it is just that narrowing of space and depth that the dark creates. You really can't "see for miles" in the dark, ever!

This is an old apple tree up across the road where Jen and I got married. It's still bearing fruit, although it has suffered a bit from age and neglect over the past forty years or so.

Smoke On the Water

The thermometer was -3º this morning, and the bay is covered with "sea smoke". The new year really is coming in with a frosty presence. These are captured with a 75-300 mm telephoto lens.

Happy New Year!

I am so fortunate in my life to be surrounded by people I love and to have so much to work with in my life. I love the work I do with kids, I've been given the good fortune of being able to maintain my health, and I can usually find the time (with a great deal of help from Jen, who supports me in so many ways) to "make", whether it is for my own artistic need or to brighten the life of someone else. We have a beautiful home, built with our own hands, and the freedom to move about as we would like.

Here I will post a shot of the bay with ice starting to form on this cold January 1st, the sun shining brightly, and then a more subdued shot of the house later in the afternoon.

Here's to looking brightly forward to 2014!

Happy New Year

To everyone!