Busy, Busy,...and more Busy...

WoW!...the Studio Tours thingie, over this past weekend, was a hoot!

I had about 80-100 people stop by the shop each day...and even sold 3 (yeah, THREE) paintings...sure "made my day", I tell ya...hee hee...

I pinched myself at least a dozen times to see if I was only dreamin'...uh, recession?...what recession?...I was expecting "lookers"...never expected actual "buyers"...let alone 3 of them...especially "here"...in Ajo....

now..."finally"...I have the "extra cash" I've been waiting this past year to find...hee hee...so that I can buy that resonator acoustic guitar that I've been wanting...(I'm tired of just playing "air guitar" all these years)...and now, I have no wife...nor kids...waiting with their hands out...and makin' me feel guilty if I don't give it to them!...how fck'n sweet...is dat?

Hee Heee!!!!

I spent yesterday just "chillin' out"...did some grocery gathering, and then hot footed it down to the lumber yard and stocked up on cement, lathe, and rebar ( some more sculpture supplies)... I was home, and in bed..and asleep before the first dvd I'd rented was even half over with...dang...

Up this morning by 7...and out the door...had some sign work over at Shadow Ridge RV Resort to get working on...I'd promised Mike that I'd get going as soon as the Studio Tour thing was done....He was tickled to see me getting started.

I finally knocked off for the day a little after 2...and returned to find that while I was out this morning...that ol' Tioga George had stopped by... again...only this time, on his way back to Mexico...damn!...I missed him!....now, that's a bummer...I'd like to have visited with him some more.

oh, well...perhaps we'll get together again, sometime next Summer...down there somewhere...

YES!...I am seriously thinking about heading down into Mexico next June, July, August (and maybe September)...to get away from the heat here during that time of year. Perhaps, I might run into George when I get down there, wandering around (as aimlessly as I generally do).

One side of me "yearns" to be on the road again...the other side "yearns" to have this studio and "create"...sigh...hee hee...are we ever" totally happy" in our souls???

...well...this ol' Fart is on a self set mission to "try and be"!....hee hee....

Ya'll try and have a Great Day!...ya hear?

40 Years ago, Today...

Every year, on this day, I awaken feeling kinda melancholy...
and more than a bit introverted.

I lay there, in my warm, snug, bed,...and my mind "goes back".

I lay there, and all the colors come back...all the smells...and all the emotions replay once again.

It happens every year on this day.

...and this year...this day...this early morning "happening"...is the 40th time that I have relived this event.

damn...

who'd of thought?

certainly not dis ol' Fart.

I'da never guessed such a thing would turn into some kinda "annual" event in my weird, twisted, and sometimes comical existence.

but...it has.

sigh...

"So, alright already!" ya ask..."Whadafck are ya rambling on about ya ol' Fart???"

I give ya a Wolfie smile....

40 years ago, today...I landed back in the "World" at Travis Air Force Base in San Francisco...ending a 19 hour flight...freshback from 13 months in South Viet Nam.

I paused at the top of the ramp and took a deep breath. The memory still causes my chest to shudder, as I relive that first deep intake of "American Air" once again.

Tears still wellup, as they did then... when I realize, "damn,...I made it back Home."

I was so Thankful...so damned Grateful...my legs felt like rubber as they shook as I walked down those stairs and onto the tarmac.

Every returning Veteran goes through this same thing, I have come to find out, down thru the years, as I've talked with others... Every one of us has a "Profound Moment" that he, or she,...will "re-live" annually for the rest of their life.

It's an "inner thing", that we just "live with"...and re-live over and over each anniversary...that amazing sense of relief...that sensation of realization that we "made it back"...

Like Dorthy said, at the end of that famous old film, The Wizard of Oz..."There's no place like home"...and for returning Vets, that 1st view, breath of air, and step back upon our soil, is a "religious" moment they will remember for the rest of their life.

It just happens that way...

Today is "my personal" anniversary...

Ya'll try and have a Great Day!...ya hear?

Dang!

Okay...went to bed early last night (uh, ain't midnight..."early"?)....and I laid there...I tried to sleep...I kept my eyes shut....and kept telling ol' Fart self..."Shutdafck up!...Go to sleep!"

uh....sigh....damn!....sleep just wouldn't come.

(musta been...the damned coffee that I drink a lot of, now that the temps are back down to "normal" down here?)...

sheesh!

Anyway, I eventually "dropped off"...knowing that I "needed" to be up around 8:30 A.M...

and yeah, I was awake by almost 6...damn!....went back to trying to sleep...again.

Finally awoke about 9...

Cool!

...an hour to go....(plenty of time to shower/shave/...an poop)....before I had to open da shop for the Great AJO Annual Studio Tours premier of Lizard Flatz Art Studio as part of their agenda!!!!

uh,...does this sht "sound" like I been on "pins n needles" (expectation wise) these past few weeks?

Damn!....I was not wanting this ol' Fart to DO Dis Sht....again!

sigh....

Then....

Sold a painting within the 1st 20 minutes of the day.

hee....hee...

I'm so fckin' "tickled" about that.

I know..."most people" do not "understand", or even "empathize" with artists....(I have 3 ex-wifes, and a world of hate behind me herethat "justifies" my thinking)....

Many people "think" that we (artists) are egocentric, "I own da world mentality" people,...uh, They are wrong.

We (artists) struggle...continually, with our own angst's...wondering "why" nobody ever feels as deeply,... why nobody ever understands "what" we are trying to show them....and "why" we always end up so alienated from those that we love because they "translate/interpreted" what we do/say/create...so "wrongly".

We never "know" that the next piece that we "bleed blood" in creating...will sell/or not...let alone be "understood".

It's a very "frustrating" existence...to say the least.

Years ago,...this ol' Fart....decided that "I don't give a sht, anymore"....and just decided to paint, create...."play" .... how, when, and where...da "urge hits me"...

and never look back in regret.

but, ya know what?

I'm still tickled as hell...when someone comes up,... gazes at something I did...and then pulls out their money...and hands it to me... to take the piece "home" with them.

I Lovedafck out of it...when that happens.

Especially when, that particular person tells me that "that piece speaks to me", before handing me the greenbacks....

I love it....makes all the "in between sht" worth wading thru....

It beats all the hugs, kisses, and sht that a "normal job" just doesn't deliver to my soul.

I've sold 4 paintings , now, this year....and it swells my soul.

Thank Ya, Father!

hee...hee....

Ya'll try and have a Great Night!...ya hear?

Slow Progress...and Thanksgiving Wishes...

Wha I been doin'?...

Same ol' Sht!

hee hee....

Playin' wid da cement, of course!

and here's how it's lookin'...so far...

Up until "this Point"...the thing has been giving me "no real" trouble figuring out "howdahell do I do that?"...but,...hee hee...this past 3-4 days...of trying to figure out, and "support"...then build the form for that friggin' urn has driven me bananas!...but...I think I finally "got it"...

I'm hoping to finish getting the 1st coat of fiberglas enforced cement laid over the whole of it (the urn) tomorrow morning.

People have asked..."Hey, Wolfie...where'd ya get the idea for this thing?"

well...here it is...see that figure on the right, with the jug on her head in this old photograph?...100 years ago, sights like that were "common" down here in the Sonora Desert.

I've also, always been in love with the Art Deco period of the 1930's...sooo...I just kinda "combined the 2" here...and created this "Sonoran Deco" piece...hee hee....

...and...the thing might already be sold...yep...there's a guy been stopping by almost daily to check out it's progress. He even took me over to see this amazing, and beautiful courtyard that he's building outside his home...as we walked around it, he pointed out a spot and said..."wouldn't that piece yer doing look really cool up on a 3 ft pedestal right there?"

I just grinned at him, and shook my head in agreement.

Guess we'll see what happens...right?...

oh, I also got some more of the colors in the Lizard today...Now have almost all of the "background" colored...that'll "have to do" for now...the annual Ajo Studio Tour is day after tomorrow...and I'm out of time...(anyone wanting to see "da Lizard" can go back to my April postings to see how I built it)...when I do finally get around to "finishing" him...I'll post some new pics...

also ran around town today...and grabbed up the paintings that I had scattered in various places, shops, and galleries...they all now hang on the wall here, at Lizard Flatz for "da Tour".

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving...I'd like to wish all my readers, friends, and family, a very pleasant and relaxing afternoon/evening! I wish you all well!...and take this opportunity to Thank You!...I am very grateful for every last one of you who has, and hopefully will continue, to "touch" my life!

I hope that you all have "loved ones" to share some time, food, and perhaps, some "shared thoughts" with.

Personally, I'm gonna "play" some in the morning...but, then, tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to another artist/friend's home, where we're gonna "do da Bird n Wine" with some other ol' Fart artist friends...

should be a "nice" little get together.

I'm sure glad (and Thankful) that I found Ajo!

Ya'll try and have a Great Night!...ya hear?

Snowbirds are back!

Well...here it is..."one week to go" before the annual Studio Tours here in Ajo...and not a damned thing that I wanted to have "finished" by then is even anywhere "near done"...dang!

This ol' Fart is "unhappy with self"...hee hee...Don't know "howdatime" managed to slip away so frick'n fast...seems like "only yesterday" I had the whole Summer ahead of me in which to get 'er done...dang!

Aw well...a little at a time,...a little each day...will eventually see it through...right?

Anyway, it all is slowly getting done: the "trees" are almost totally basecoated(cement) into their formed shapes...the long, tedious "skincoat" stage will get started (probably) around mid-December. I expect that to take a few months.

The "statue of the goddess" is/has been taking up all (too much) of my time of late...I arise early, with all intents of getting out on the Lizard wall...and finishing up the colorcoat that I was forced into stopping back in July due to the temps growing too hot for the cement to suck in the colors properly...and I still haven't gotten back up the scaffolding...

I walk into the shop, and "the Lady" just yanks my attention away from where I'd intended to spend the time elsewhere...hee hee...and I start "playing with" her, again...next thing ya know, it's late afternoon...and "beer thirty" already....

Yesterday, ol' Fart John dropped by with a six pack about 3:30...then ol' Fartess, Bonny showed up about the time that was being finished off...she "opted" to run over to the store and grab a 30 pack...hee hee...(uh, we never "turn down o'fered beer" around dis place, don't ya know?)...Anyway, right after she returned, and we'd popped the first of those...well, hell...ol' Fart, Steve (the Stucco Guy... "fresh back" from his Summer in Oregon)... showed up with his guitar...and proceeded to "entertain" us for the evening!

about that time...I decided that "work" was over for the day here at Lizard Flatz...hee hee...

Today, I got about 4-5 hours of work in on the statue,... before "guests" started stopping by the shop around 2..."Snowbirds/Winterbirds" just curious about this new, strange, studio that they have no memory of seeing last time they were down here...work stops, while I explain how the stucco job (and the Giant Lizard) were done this past April/May, and the cement "trees" were started in September. I let them "tour" the inside of the studio,...and the yard/garden area to the side (where Wanderwolf da RV is parked)...we "visit" a bit...then, eventually, they leave and I get back to work until the next one, or two, drop in.

I don't mind "visitors" at all..."in the afternoon"...hee hee...

I get about 2-3 "new people" stopping by each day lately...

It breaks up the solitary tedium of what Summer was like down here...it's a "nice change"...for now...

well, it's getting near "bed-time" for this ol' Dawg...got things ta get done in the morning...

Ya'll try and have a Great Evening!...ya hear?

Watching cement dry...

Okay....hee hee..."lost myself" for awhile...uh, really....about a week ago...this ol' 'puter started acting real slow...so I hit a program that (supposedly) "cleans out old sht"....and I "lost everything"....

....how to "connect"..."where I was"....and even "sht that I like"....damn!...uh, anybody "relate" to "I think I fck'ed up"????

(uh, have I ever explained that I'm an ol' Fart???....with no "computer genius" experience here/anywhere at all?...At ALL????)

tis True...

I'm just a simple "artist"...

and I've been trying to get cement to shape up on this foamcore form...as I "picture it" in my mind...sheesh...

what a pain indaazz!

...but, it's slowly coming...slowly starting to "take shape"...It's so damned heavy, though, already, that I don't know howdahell I'm going to get the thing moved...or even out of the shop...hee hee...guess I'll figure that problem out later...

Here's the latest pics...taken last night while I sat and watched the cement dry...

I'm still "optimistic" that it might come out "okay"...


We'll see....

The new Sculpture...

Whoooee!...I LOVE this weather...and the temps... happening down here in the Sonora Desert right now!

It is only in the low 80's during the afternoon...and drops down into the 50's at night....sooo much "more pleasant" than it was back in August...

For the past week...this ol' Fart is up by sunrise...and out in the studio...hee hee...uh, "playing"...

The "sidework" that I was doing, took me 4 days (mornings) to get done...and gave me enough "pocket change" to get the materials that I needed in order to get more work done on the cement trees...and continue working on this large sculpture piece.



I've named this one,"Sonoran Grace". When finished, it will be a dedication piece to the spirit, grace, and strengths of the Tohono O'odham (Desert People) women of this locale...

I have become totally "smitten" with their gentle, but strong, quiet ways of carrying themselves....young, and old...they just have "something special"that words just can't convey... Watching them, in public, these past 2 years, has filled me with a kind of reverent awe, that my reading/studying of their desert lifestyle/history has only reinforced. I hold a deep felt respect, awe, and (dare I say?)...love for them.

This sculpture ( my first ever attempt at anything like this) is a struggle to put "visual" to all the emotions of beauty and grace that I see whenever I gaze upon these lovely creatures.

I hope that it comes out okay.

As you can see, from the pics, I have most of the foamcore form shaped up...Around the base, you can see the "chicken wire" added to help with the forming of the "waves" for her stylized "art deco-ish" form fitting dress. I have also started pouring the first layer of cement to the base area.

After I get the base area poured and shaped in, I will then "hand apply" a layer of cement upwards, shaping and contouring as I go...adding folds, creases in the "material of her dress" as I progress.

Her face will be "hidden" beneath a hooded shawl, her eyes downcast towards the ground (as so many of these ladies are prone to do when "in public").

Her upthrust arms will be holding a "Papago Pottery" bowl (or jug, I haven't decided yet) , as if making an "offering" towards the sky...this is my "reworking" of the old timey photographic images of these women walking about with the jugs on their heads (remember those?)...

Total height of the piece will be about 10-11 feet.

I am hoping to get it finished in time for the Desert Artist's Guild show in mid-December...after which, I'm thinking about giving it to the town...as the "first piece" for a community Sculpture Garden that I'd like to see happen here....hey, what's an "Art Community" without sculptures, anyway???

hee hee...

Ya'll try and have a Great Day!...ya hear???