Pods 028

I can't remember what type of tree produces this type of seed pod. I love the form and don't feel like I really captured it quite right. Perhaps I'll try them again another day; I had spent so much time on this drawing I decided to go ahead and use it for my daily post.

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I spent more of my studio time today on the collages and as they dry I'll be posting them on 12x12x100

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I was listening to a really great radio program while I was working (This American Life) and the story was about the objects left behind in an abandoned house, the discovery and associations others made in trying to solve the mystery of what had happened to the original owners, and when some salvaged letters and memorabilia were given to long lost relatives years later the emotional weight that those objects carried.

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It reminded me of my own childhood and how all the kids of the neighborhood explored the woods near our house. Our imaginations developed stories and legends about the old abandoned car, the mill house barn by the river, and the rock cliffs.

Creamers 027

My mom gave me the larger one, but the two smaller personal size cream pitchers came from Amsterdam. The ZB or BZ logo is for one of the train lines there I think. Mari, Peter? Can you tell me. I looked on line and didn't see anything obvious.

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It was the Queen's Day city-wide flea market in 2007 and toward the latter part of the afternoon, everyone wants to go and put their orange clothes on and drink beer, so they abandon the leftover things that didn't sell right there on the street. There are piles of perfectly good stuff everywhere and then the garbage trucks come around and gather it all up. We were finding really cool stuff and it wasn't really like dumpster diving, although I'm not above that either. I had to limit myself to small items that would travel well. Thus, the cute little creamers.

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I would love to go back for Queen's Day again.

Sprouting Bulb 026

Sprouting blub of garlic, that is. In keeping with the Costco surplus theme, the bag of garlic has been around long enough that it is sprouting. And just like other bulbs, it represents spring, life, new beginnings and persistance.

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An artist friend Stephanie Dean is a fine art photographer who explores, among other things, Modern Groceries. Our cultural relationship with food in an age of modern agriculture has been detached, distant, and dysfunctional as we accept marketing gimmicks that push processed foods, hide toxic practices from view, and waste fuel and energy moving product all over the world.

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More about Stephanie Dean here.

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Where has this garlic been? Where did it come from? According to the package, Christopher Ranch in California, the garlic capitol of the WORLD -

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Michael Pollan's book The Botany of Desire talks about how plants have manipulated us into cultivating them, increasing their numbers, and insuring their survival on the planet. This head of garlic and its brethren, although being consumed, are being cultivated, cared for, and catapulted into a secure footing on this planet because of our desire for them.

Limes 025

As Costco shoppers we often have large amounts of certain things and at the moment we have a surplus of limes.

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Maybe I instinctually chose limes as the subject of today's drawing because they represent the celebratory beverages that limes go in, because today is day 25 - one fourth of the way to the goal and cause for celebration.

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Maybe it is because I also found out today that my work will be shown later this year at a prestigious location (more details soon) - a cause for celebration.

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Also today, I had the images shot of a favorite piece, Ask, Tell, Broken so that Giclee prints can be made of it. Since it was recently purchased and will be going to a private collection, and since it has always been a favorite piece every time I show it, having prints made of it made sense.

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I have a lot to celebrate in my life and most of all are the great people who are making it all such a fantastic ride - you know who you are, and I love you!

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Slice up some limes!

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Day 25

Here we are on day number 25. One fourth of the way to the 100 day mark. So far so good. Well, actually, so far real good in terms of creative energy.

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As I've mentioned previously, the drawings created in this project are going to be used in another way, combined with other materials, into collage pieces.

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I wanted the size to be uniform to allow for a connection between the pieces in the series so I am using old LP record album covers as the starting point. It is often good to have a starting point and something to react to, adjust, alter, and rearrange. Portions of the original cover design are allowed to remain while other parts are covered up. The new design is inteded to use the drawing as one element in the composition and to bring about a gestalt where the harmony of all the parts working together is greater than any one part would be on it's own.

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I am posting images of the collage pieces on a new blog called Twelve by Twelve by One Hundred click here or type in the url http://12x12x100.blogspot.com/



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As I began to imagine what it was going to be like to have 100 of the drawings, and then make them into collage pieces I began to realize that there would be, potentially 100 of the collages as well. This idea is very exciting. And it is also very exciting to imagine where, when, and how I can display them as a group.



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So check out the collage work and as always, post comments and feedback - I'd love to hear it.



Jeff

Candle 024

Salt and Pepper 023

This little salt and pepper set is something my mom gave me that belonged to a family member - Aunt Minnie, Grandma Sager? Help me out Aunt Nancy!

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They are metal, I guess aluminum or pewter. A personal size, only 2 inches high.

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I have them on a small display shelf in the kitchen near some paintings that my grandmother made. I get a sense of nostalgia from them that is comforting. Even though my memory of who they belonged to, and my memory of those now deceased relatives is foggy at best, I still like the idea that objects carry a meaning with them that can effect us.