Risqué Burning Hot Motorcycle, Painted Fish and Naked Raku

Well, lots of fun in and out of the city for Martha and I and artist and art lovers. Martha and I have been very busy with lots of art stuff. Martha is working on a really great looking clay mask at our home studio which I really like a lot. I’ll post a photo of it later when it’s done. Meanwhile, I received a request for picture of my oldest son for a project his soon-to-be sister-in-law is putting together. One of the pics I sent is a photo of a watercolor I did of him when he was a teen.

Yesterday, it was my turn to open up Two Rivers Gallery in Wenatchee. My plan was to do my morning bike ride on the Wenatchee Capital Loop Trail and stop in at the appointed time to open-up. Unfortunately, I got no further than one mile before my rear tire went flat #%@*. So, I had to hoof it, bike in tow, back to my starting point and had just enough time to get to the gallery. It was good that some folks came in to look at the art right away even before the docent I was opening for arrived.

Later in the day, I headed over to Terry Johnson’s Studio as he had left a message that my glass fish was ready to be picked-up. Getting the directions from Terry to the monument place in town, I picked it up and took it back to Terry’s

where I painted through the cuts in the rubber where it had been sand blasted and left it there to dry. He had a pot that had the outer layer crumble off partly in one of his kilns, which he offered to me to take home and instructed me in how to do a ‘naked raku’ firing of it. I was on my motorcycle and, therefore, had to leave it to be picked-up later. He asked that I stop in when I could to take a piece over to Artie Bowman that he has been working on for her. That was fine as I would be heading out to the Cashmere Arts and Activities Center in the morning to open-up and docent for a few hours. Just before I left another friend of Terry’s who has a pretty mean Harley, that Terry is doing the artwork on stopped in.

 I got his permission to take a few photos of his bike for the blog. Too bad I only had my camera phone with me. The art is a bit risqué, so I had to try real hard with that little camera to get a shot in which his brilliant chromed handle bars and clutch handle blocked anything that can’t be shown in a blog.

Last evening, after returning home, I found I had a number of complimentary emails from artists and non-artists alike who really enjoyed my recent Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSSn-RkIpjM&feature=channel_video_title   of the Bicycle Art Tour of Wenatchee. One of the folks I received a nice compliment from Karen Dean of Gallery 4South. I also I received an email from Jan Cook Mack.  So, following up on an Idea I had, I contacted Jan and her young protégé Nick Penny about meeting with them over at her studio this afternoon after I finish my duty as docent at CAAC.

Jan mentioned that she really liked the photo I took of myself in front of the Tyler Farrar portion of the Fifth Street mural which was in the video. I offered an idea back of adding Tyler’s dad, Dr. Ed Farrar, to the mural. He is a well known local cyclist who was permanently injured in a bike accident and currently rides The Loop every day on a recumbent hand powered bike along with a regular entourage of riders on regular bikes. What a great gesture I think it would be to paint him in front of Tyler on his recumbent bike.

This morning before dawn, I was up watching a video online instructing how to make various kinds of rubber and plastic molds. My thought is to make some molds of certain pieces of Martha’s that are quite expensive to produce

i.e. her bronzes, and make some less expensive  castings of them out of slip (liquid clay) or potters plaster.  Yet another project… and, the hits just keep on coming as the old DJ’s used to say.

Having studied up on making molds it was time to load up the truck with some more of Martha’s art for the

gallery in Cashmere and head out to Cashmere – remembering of course to stop in at Terry’s to pick up that piece for Artie Bowman and my glass fish and the pot I’m going to do the Naked Raku with. The piece for Artie needs more work as it turns out, but I picked up the fish and the pot and a metal burn bucket to the naked raku in. That should be fun; I really can’t wait to get to the naked thing with the raku.

Well, enough for now, and back to work hanging Martha’s painting here at the Cashmere arts and activities Center. Oh, and I just remembered Terry needs my friend James, the electricians number for Karen dean who has a kiln to be repaired as well. So much to do and remember to do… so, bye for now.

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Bicycle Art Tour - Hot Foxes, Coyote Ugly and Sensuous Bronze

Well, it’s been an interesting couple of days for Rod and Martha’s art projects.  Martha has become a member of yet another gallery and has had meetings and luncheons with folks interested in her and her art over the past week.  As I write she has presented some more clay work from the local emergency housing program in town to be fired in the kiln. And, she has been working tirelessly on some new two dimensional and three dimensional work of her own. I can’t wait to see how they come out.

For me I have been all over the map… literally really. As for my ongoing projects … I attached some critical elements to my recycled materials art project. I’d say it’s almost done.  I’ve begun putting together the artwork for next year’s calendar featuring Martha’s art work. Some folks are already requesting orders.  This year’s calendar can be viewed online at: http://www.livestream.com/artnewsnetwork?t=199057  And, I am working on getting Martha’s art book together so, I can forward it to my son in California to help me publish it on amazon.com.  Some things, I just need help with when it come to all the new technology. It’s good to have kids young enough to know how to do stuff and old enough to have patience with their old dad and be able to help get things done.

Yesterday, after writing up a blog for the Wenatchee World online … Arts in the Valley and Beyond:    http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/weblogs/arts-in-the-valley-and-beyond/2011/jul/27/buggy-nights-saddle-rockn-art-and-art-knowledge/  

 I then headed out for my morning bike ride. But, I did something a little different. I took my camera with me and made a point of taking photos of a lot of the Art on the Avenue sculptures, that I hadn’t already photographed previously and some other public art as well.  It was a lot of fun. I got pictures of the Coyote Brings the Salmon sculpture by Richard Beyer which technically predates the Art on the Avenue project. I also, got a shot of myself in front of the new mural on fifth Street that features Tyler Farrar- local bicycling hero and first American to win a stage of the tour de France on the Fourth of July… go Tyler!

As I progressed to town I got shots of a lot of very interesting sculptures… some quirky, some sensuous, some sentimental and

some abstract. I went back and forth from the art along the Apple Capital Loop Trail (the loop) and the art up on and around Wenatchee Avenue (known locally as just “the Avenue”). There were plenty of great pieces around the Performing Arts Center and the sunken sculpture garden and waterfall area there as well as along the streets of Wenatchee. 

Riding around town, though, I discovered and in some cases rediscovered pieces around town that I haven’t, or at least not often, noticed.  Some pieces around the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center were small and or

tucked away that by just driving by as I often do; I really hadn’t taken notice of them before. The same can be said for the work in front of City hall.  Some of the work that I didn’t photo yesterday, I skipped as I had featured them in recent blogs. Others I just missed and may have to go back and photo later.

I got a picture of these three hot foxes

 and, this ugly coyote.

After I returned home, I made a short movie of my bicycle art tour and posted it on Youtube. Readers can view the movie at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSSn-RkIpjM&feature=channel_video_title  Bicycle Public Art Tour . Then it was off to

Amanda’s Book store to in Wenatchee, to pick up the large framed photo “String Theory”, that I have had on display there for a couple of months or more and hang-up another piece in its place.  Then it was off to Cashmere Arts and Activities Center in Cashmere of course to install the piece I “String Theory” and three other framed pieces.  Artie Bowman, was very pleased to see me and my work, as the

 Charles Collins work has not arrived yet from Taos, New Mexico and the wall were looking a little bare. Hopefully

the art will arrive in the next couple of days so we can get it installed. I Can’t wait for that myself.  

Well, it’s time to get that clay work in the kiln and get off to another bicycle adventure.

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Friday Night Fun, Lance Dooley Sculpture, Commemorative Watercolor and More Music by Selena

Well, I have to say that our experience at the Icicle Arts opening for the Lance Dooley exhibit on Friday was well worth the trip.  It came at the end of a fine day of art related activities for us. In the morning I had put some of my photos from our photo safari http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/weblogs/arts-in-the-valley-and-beyond/2011/jul/22/photo-safari/  into a blog that has produced a few complimentary responses from folks who have read it and enjoyed the pictures.

Later having worked on some projects at home with the materials that Terry Johnson, The Crazy Potter, had given to me I prepared to head out to Cashmere to help Artie Bowman put the gallery back together after they had new carpet installed. Martha who had an important meeting met up with me there awhile later.

While at the gallery I took a few pics of some of the artwork by Yuri Konyshev whom we had just met and attempted to speak with in Leavenworth the day before.

Yuri’s English is quite limited and we struggle to find a common language to communicate. Martha tried to speak with him in French as a lot of Russians study French in school there, but to no avail. He laughingly tried just as hard to communicate with us in German. Unfortunately my one year of German in High School failed me miserably, but we sure did enjoy his art and he was a quite a pleasant fellow that we would really have loved to speak with more successfully.

So, with that experience in mind, I made a point of snapping a few photos of his work at CAAC. I also,

got a few pics of some of the other watercolors there,

 before getting down to the business at hand of reinstalling much of the work that had been moved around due to the carpet install.

All good things coming to an end it was also the end of my showing on the Thank You Wall at CAAC.  So, as Martha was meeting us there to then go on to Leavenworth, I had her bring enough materials to pack up my work. I decided to bring it all home as I would like to bring some completely new work for the upcoming show there, and I really want to put some of the art I have had at CAAC into Two Rivers Gallery and change out the piece I have over at Amanda’s Book Store in Wenatchee.

After all the work in Cashmere, it was time to head out to Leavenworth to the Icicle arts Gallery. 

 The sculptures of Lance Dooley were really impressive. I really like his drawings as well.

The whole exhibit was well put together and included a video of Lance demonstrating how he works. And, of course the views from the gallery overlooking the Wenatchee River in Leavenworth only added to the ambiance of the gallery.

While we were there Martha met a number of folks she knew and in fact she and Lance recollected that they had met before and renewed their acquaintance.

Anna Miller, the Director of the Icicle Arts Gallery, was very pleased to meet Martha and spoke with her about showing there and teaching some classes as well.  Artie Bowman, met with Lance as well and had quite a conversation… a future Lance Dooley show in Cashmere perhaps… only time will tell.

Having had a really fine time in Leavenworth on Friday night, it was on to other things for Saturday. 

 Martha worked on a sad but meaningful project. A new friend had told her the story of how she lost a child some time back and asked Martha to produce a commemorative piece for her from some photos of her son. Martha put her heart into it a better part of the day Saturday… and I say it should be a fitting tribute to and memorable celebration of the life that was this young man.

Today, while watching the Tour de France, I posted yet another video of the young singer Selena Rose singing at the art opening at a previous opening at the Cashmere Arts and Activities Center where she had performed A Kiss of the Fist is Better Than None… http://www.youtube.com/user/56Daut?ob=5#p/u  I had skipped that one when I posted video of her previously. Having looked at it again I realized that it really needed to be posted so it is now on 56DAUT on Youtube along with the other songs she performed for the Scott Allen opening.

Well, enough for now, and on to more artful adventures and experience for Rod and Martha.

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Check out my new photo. http://ping.fm/2diCi


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Charlotte from 11th floor highrise south of the city taken just befor sunrise June 2011


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Back in the Saddle Again, Hot Glossy Pieces, Movie Making and Art Shows

Well, it’s been a busy and artful week for Rod and Martha. Martha has had me busy firing a number of pieces in the new kiln… I should say the rebuilt old kiln. The items are mostly stuff produced by the kids she works with at the emergency housing program in town. They are excited I’m sure to have their work turned into glossy fired art.

Martha has also been working on putting together the plans for the upcoming El Salvador Day in Wenatchee.

Meanwhile, I have been making movies all week bases on the photos and videos I took over the weekend covering the Two Rivers Gallery Plein-Air Paint-Out that was coordinated with the opening ceremony for the new Saddle Rock Park in the hills above Wenatchee. 

Artists were encouraged to paint Saddle Rock on the day of the dedication, Saturday July 16th. 10 Artists registered to compete for a $200 Best of show. Other prizes included two $50 gift certificates from Craft Warehouse & a $25 certificate from Nu Arts Gallery.

The painting had to be done in one day & Saturday turned out to be a real challenge. Clouds would let the sun shine only for a few minutes. As the city’s dedication ceremony ended large drops of rain began to fall. Rain became heavy at times into the afternoon, artists would run for cover & emerge again as the painting had to be returned to Two Rivers Gallery by 9pm.

For my part I showed up at Two Rivers Gallery after the painters had left for the event and videoed the gallery. After that I went to Saddle Rock photographing and videoing the hills and the event there. From this I made the first long versions of the movie for youtube.

Some people said it was too long, so I made some shorter versions focusing on the three parts 1) the gallery , 2) the ceremony for the opening and 3) the kids who performed a play for the crowd just be for the opening ceremony.

The Chelan Douglas Land Trust who were instrumental in creating the park later asked that I make a video even more specific for them, which I gladly did. The short movie can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWcycxFJnj4&feature=youtube_gdata

I also, had a big meeting on Friday for the possible opening of a youth center in Cashmere… not sure if that is going to happen.

Here at home I have been experimenting with chrome and glass in the kiln with an eye toward my entry into the Icicle Arts festival Icicle Prize which is to feature art made from recycled materials .

That has been interesting and fun. I think I have created the piece I have been in need of to finished the work I had mostly done but needed one certain bit yet. The art must be entered by august 15^th, so I still have a little time to work on this.

Meanwhile, I am looking forward to attending  the opening for Lance Dooley at the Icicle Arts Gallery in Leavenworth on Friday.  Artie Bowman, the director of the Cashmere Arts and Activities Center Gallery had expressed interest in going as well and just called to ask for help earlier that same day to put up work that was moved for the galleries new carpet installation. So, it’ll be work at the gallery the off to Leavenworth for the opening there.

I’ve been invited to attend a birthday party at Gallery 4South that same night, but can’t be in two places at once. I haven’t figured that trick out yet.

Next week will be busy as well. On the 25^th

Scott Allen and his wife come to pick-up his art from CAAC and then the art of Charles Collins will arrive and need to be put up. About that same time it will be time to take most of

my work home from CAAC and put some pieces up at Two Rivers Gallery.

Well, enough for now, as it is back to working on my bicycle.

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Tyler Farrar, Mural, Scuplture and Fun in the Sun

Well, what a fine day it is turning out to be here in Wenatchee, the art capital of the World. I know. I know. It’s the Apple Capital of the World. But; art is closing in at a distant third after outdoor sports I’m sure.

And speaking of sports, it was another artful finish to today’s stage of Le Tour de France, where our own Tyler Farrar also finished third. I know, this is not a sports blog, but bare with me the art part is coming and Tyler is relevant to this posting.

And to that I should explain, that as I watched the Tour this morning at 5am, I sent out an email asking my artist friend Don Collins, if he would like to go for a bike ride after today’s Tour Stage. He got back to me that he needed to help Jan Cook Mack put the finishing touches on the mural they have been working on in Wenatchee on Fifth Street.

Meanwhile, I took yesterday’s firings out of the kiln and was pleased to see how most of them turned out.  I snapped some photos of them and of a couple of Martha’s Guatemalan Girls as well. Martha and I later concurred that one of the glazes is no good. Apparently it has set around too long before it was ever used or something. But, the rest all came out fine.

Well, as it turned out, after the stage and after I returned from a very nice ride on the Apple Capital Loop trail, Martha informed me that she needed to drop off some things in Wenatchee and that she wanted to see the finished mural on Fifth Street.  

So; off we went to these places and we got to the mural just as Jan and Don were finishing up the mural. I got several photos and we all had a great time talking about how the project went and… da,da,da,dahh…. One of the mural segments was of none-other-than our own ….

Tyler Farah racing across the finish line.  Now, how perfect is that.

After, the mural visit, Martha really wanted to ride on her Tryke contraption.  It really is a lot of fun and surprise-surprise it actually works as advertised on TV. So; we continued down the block to the parking lot of the loop by the old Ice Rink.

While there I snapped a few photos of some of the sculptures there along the loop trail.

First and foremost I got a pic of the life-sized bronze by one our other artist friends here in town Mr. William Layman. Bill has also, written a couple of history books about the Columbia River and has contributed to the historical plaque over at Kirby Billingsly Hydro-Park.

After getting a photo of Bills Bronze, I got some pics of the boy with the toy airplane bronze that is so perfect in its depiction of the freedom and joy of being a 10 year old boy.  And, another of the

giant Indian woman also in bronze.

And,

finally a got one good shot of

 a steel or aluminum abstract in a flower bed overlooking the river. All while getting photos of

Martha on her Tryke … OK I admit it I played around on it for awhile too. All good clean fun in the sun here in Wenatchee.

And, so it is time to relax… but oh not for long as Martha is soon heading back to the emergency housing program to take the firings of the kids to them and do some more art work with them no doubt. And, I need to work on my motorcycle… oh joy.

Well, enough for now for Rod and Martha and our artful life.

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Dance Hall, Gutemala Girls, Plein Air Art, Live Performance and Making Movies

Well, it’s been another busy week for Rod and Martha and our various art projects. Martha has been painting and preparing her Guatemalan Girls paintings for the upcoming El Salvador Day in Wenatchee. She has been heavily involved with planning meetings on this as well.  Also, she has been continuing her work with the kids at the local emergency housing facility in Wenatchee… doing art work with them. As I am writing this she is there picking up some more clay figures the kids there have made so that I can fire them in the kiln here at home.

And, on the subject of the kiln we have gone through our initial trial and error stage of firing various objects with varied success. Martha had a friend with a lot of kiln experience come by and she left both a collection of various cones for the kiln and detailed instructions for firing various objects. We followed her step by step instruction with good success yesterday and so today we will fire more glazed items for the kids.

Also, this week I took a trip out to Leavenworth to meet with Anna Miller the director of the Icicle Arts Gallery. I had met her and her husband Brian at the previous week’s First Friday show at the Two Rivers Gallery in Wenatchee. I took pics of the environment and the gallery and the art there in while I was there. I also, made a commitment to myself to get back on my bike and ride around Leavenworth while I was there. It is such a beautiful ride. And ride it I did yesterday and I took some more picks with my small camera while I was out there.

Later that same day Martha doned her Giant Puppet outfit once again. This time to entertain the folks at the Apple Sox baseball game. and, of course, I was there to get some pics and video and made a movie which is on Youtube as well.http://www.youtube.com/user/56Daut?ob=5#p/u/7/eXq9dOmUzjQ

I’ve also, been very much involved in trying to put together a youth oriented community center in Cashmere this week. In fact we will be meeting with a representative of Junior Achievement on Friday about possibly having JA as a major component of the project.  The center would go into the upper floor of the same building as the Senior Center in Cashmere. My concept would make use of the fact that there is a dance floor up there. I’m interested to do some historical research to see exactly what was there. Was it a dance studio for classes or, as I suspect, a penny a dance place maybe back in the 1940’s or so. Those were very popular back then. I’m thinking that a JA run facility where young people can have art classes, performances and other really positive youth oriented activities would be great there.

As I was just writing Martha came back with more clay works to fire and firing they are a doing at this moment. Let’s hope they come out good.

This week was also, the board meeting for Two Rivers Gallery. The meeting went well and we got done in a reasonable amount of time. Updates on the possibility of a bike tour of all the First Fridays venues as well as a possible horse drawn carriage tour of the various venues was presented and discussed. The big upcoming thing though is the Plein Air Art contest for the opening of the newest park in the hills above Wenatchee… that being the new Saddle Rock Park which has been a popular place for locals and visitors to hike and photo and sometime paint for years.

Saturday night was of course the Second Saturday event at the Cashmere Arts and Activities Center in lovely Cashmere, Washington. We were so fortunate to not only feature the artwork of Scott Allen from Seattle, but to have Kirk Lewellen, who has written and performed with groups that have performed at the Monterey music festival and Various Blues Festivals and on and on, playing guitar for us. I took several photos of the art and of Kirk and his guitars as well as some video of Kirk playing.  From these, I made a movie and have posted it on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/56Daut?ob=5#p/u/6/jlh5kGuZy6A and sent links to Facebook and such. It was fund and entertaining at the show and as much fun making the movie.

Well, I think it’s time to wrap up and look to doing some real work. So bye for now.

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