all or nothing

free range

i can not stop

still with the photos. it is so addictive. i just want to try one more. every time.



and blogger, why so ornery? why will you not upload my photos in a timely manner? why do you make me try three times per photograph? i am very frustrated.

finally, a little success

experimentation has kept me absent this week. i have been experimenting with photo transfer and finally today, a little success. i have been invited to participate in an art show this weekend and i think i will take a few of these along with my lights. i have a few lights in progress but will have to get super busy to get them done in time.


i do think i will have to devote one more day to my photographs. i am happy to see them coming along. my favorites are on large canvas paper and are unfortunately too large to scan.


and still the learning curve. mirror images do not work with numbers.

luis caicedo

luis caicedo, super fine self-taught columbian artist/designer, and a bowl of cherries.

i am a big fan of caicedo style for many reasons and on many levels. first and foremost, his fantastic natural sense of style that is completely absent of formula. when i asked him about his style, luis said, "Regardless of money, I think that spaces and objects should be something that gives you real joy and pleasure. Very simple." testify!

his interiors are very individual, INTERESTING, welcoming, and beautiful. not your everyday beautiful room but a room that is beautiful AND INTERESTING. yes, i am a big fan of interesting.

luis is also a decorative painter. check out these fabulous painted floors. the unexpected colors and patterns below are fantastic. that floor will never see itself walking down the street and that's why i love it.

the bedroom below is that of a well known poet and his partner on fire island. they wanted dramatic and classic, yet modern. the artworks behind the bed are street banners from a museum show that the couple already owned. lucky ducks.

speaking of lucky ducks, in the heat of a passionate argument in chicago (where he lived at the time), luis hopped on his bike and rode off in a fit, only to find this spectacular panel (below). a church at the end of his block was falling apart and they were throwing the pieces into a dumpster, amazing pieces he says, pieces of saints and other carvings. so there he is, steaming mad and puts his head on the dumpster "and there he was....that face with those huge eyes staring at me. It was folded so all you could see were the eyes. Needless to say I almost died and got inside of the dumpster and pick them up. They were pretty huge canvases with all kinds of saints.......one is walking on fire and another is being decapitated. I ran back to to my house with my bike full of canvases one of top of the other." !!!!! this is the guy you want to dumpster dive with for real. could you imagine? ...well, moods dramatically improved and the rest of the evening was spent mounting the canvases to the dining room walls.

these maps are from an early XX century insurance book. he put them on the wall looking for something huge but not overwhelming. the result looked too "mappish" for him so he edged a circle over it. perfect.

luis does custom tile work. i dig the integrated hand vase. i imagine you could arrange for someone to hand you the soap in your custom shower instead of the flowers. or both, depending on how fancy you roll. and for this, he has just the thing...

his new soap opera line is causing a real stir. i especially like these three together. a fine hostess gift indeed, they would be beautiful in a silver bowl by the sink. there are many styles available on his website, cast from his collection of oddities around the house. the heart soap is cast from his grandmother's 17th century sacred heart so perhaps it will wash away more than you think.


his website is full of great products and projects and is worth a complete click through. can you imagine his small tree bowls with your traditional fine china? perfect for holiday ambrosia. interesting, beautiful and unexpected.


these bowls of recycled film look great. i love the idea and love that they are all different.

and finally, this is the guy that originally caught my eye. who can pass on a man with a perpetual good idea? just like his maker. one day i will meet him in person. maybe we can go through dumpsters. in bogota!

all photographs via luiscaicedo.com. i feel it.

charleston

bird watching me watching the boys..

charleston

charleston

thanksgiving in charleston, sc

off we go

we are off for holiday travel. if you are in charleston, sc or savannah, ga let us know!

clyfford still

abstract expressionist clyfford still, reclusive, elusive, brilliant art world drop-out. on his death he bequethed his entire collection, around 3000 paintings, to anyone who could meet a few criteria. among other requirements, these included:

recipient will never sell, trade or give away any of his work
recipient will build and maintain a special permanent museum to hold his work
recipient will show only his work in said permanent museum
recipient will never show his work alongside that of any other artist

after 20 odd years, his estate found a taker, the city of denver, colorodo. the museum is set to open in 2010. probably worth a trip.

his actions may seem arrogant, but i imagine him a man of true conviction. one who did not want his art objectified by an audience that did not take care to understand it. he said, "I hold it imperative to evolve an instrument of thought which will aid in cutting through all cultural opiates, past and present, so that a direct, immediate, and truly free vision can be achieved. . .and I affirm my profound concern to achieve a purpose beyond vanity, ambition, or remembrance." it seems he stood by that, lived his life that way, when he could have easily taken the money and run. i also have to like a guy who says something like this;

"How can we live and die and never know the difference?" ....oh how i am desperate to avoid it.

arline fisch

pretty as a sculpture

photograph: William Guilette

jean-michael othoniel

le bateau de larmes 2004
i am always a pushover for glass. this boat installation by jean-michael othoniel is so magical. everything i love all rolled into one; glass, light, boat, the suggestion of the sea. jean-michael took this cuban boat, abandoned after it's voyage to maimi, and added crowns, chains and necklaces of glass. his sculpture "floats on the water like a ghost ship, loaded with tears of suffering and joy, overflowing with memories and covered by festive ornaments". i wish i could scoop up all the original passengers and stand them in front of it. i wonder what they would think, what they would say, what the artist would do next after he heard their story...

bottle of tears
"transformations, mutations of materials, and rites of passage from one state to another echo an essential rite in the artist’s work: that of journeys and memory. the notion of wound or injury is at the heart of his work." i feel it.

all photographs via galerie emmanuel perrotin.