Monday, January 31, 2011

Livingston Seed Company

















The other day when I stopped into my favorite local hardware store, I saw the seed display up and prominant...defying winters icy grip! My very first job was a door to door seed sales person (I must have been about 6 years old). I was happy to learn that the seeds in the display come from a local seed company. I made my mind up right then and there that I would be picking up a package of seeds each time I go to the hardware store. When I got them home and started examining the package, I got a big shock. In digital print on the bottom of the pack it reads 2011 Origin China. Upon further investigation of the package I found a local address 830 Kinnear Road Columbus Ohio 43212. I will be looking into this. From the history of the company, it appears that the company went out of business during the great depression. Perhaps each generation has to learn the hard way. As gas prices begin their ascent again, local companies outsourcing to China will become unrealistic. I will be blogging about this company as I learn about it. Until then, try to buy local...it really matters!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Woods In The Hood



This morning I was shocked to see 3 deer in my little woods. I have been watching them for hours. I forgot all about blogging. What beauty there is in this very bleak neighborhood. If it wasn't for the micro farm next door and the view from my picture window, I would certainly be very unhappy right now. I fed them my grapes and I shooed them away from Berrel Avenue where the cars try to collide. I found out from my neighbor that these three Doe live on the wooded lots that are sprinkled around this neighborhood. These wooded lots that the deer call home are known as "undeveloped". Perhaps we need more "undeveloped" space and less "construction".

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Blue Gold

I am getting ready to start assembling rain barrels for folks. Here is a 9 part series called Blue Gold. I believe that someday in my lifetime, gold will be exchanged for water!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Remission Rocks!



For those of you who have been praying for me and sending me positive energy THANK YOU. Looks like I am in remission. Ready for take off !

Monday, January 24, 2011

Spot On My Retina


I have wondered all my life what exactly my family saw that caused my emergency eye surgery when I was 19 months old. No one has ever been quite able to describe it. I was told that I had a tumor on my retina called a retinoblastoma and that without the lazer surgery I would be dead. I was told that there would always be a chance of this same thing happening to my right eye and that I needed to be extra careful.
Last Friday the unthinkable happened during my annual eye exam. They have found a spot on my retina. For those of you who have been supportive of my process and journey, I want to thank you. To those of you who have not been supportive, I hope you are happy. For the most part, most of the things I have seen with my one good eye have been spectacular. The ugliest thing I ever saw was my lover with a man in the parking lot last spring after the Avett Concert. She totally abandoned me and the friends that came with us to the concert. When I came upon her she was leaning up against him at the car. I totally understand the lyrics to "I would rather go blind". Unfortunately there is no surgery for a broken heart.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Stick Pounding


Wahru, one of my drum teachers posted this video yesterday on Facebook. This is exactly why I drum. I believe that drumming is communication in addition to entertainment.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Copper Feathers!


I have added copper feathers to the mix. It is a little harder to work with in terms of the etching. Instead of nitric acid, these copper feathers are etched with ferric chloride which is a salt. I wish my picture was better to show the beautiful contrast.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Testing My Wings


I got a chance to test drive my new red wings yesterday. These were the result of a barter in the fall. I had some extra sound equipment that I traded for these. I would not ever be able to afford such great boots if I were to try to pay cash for them. Most Red Wings are still made in America and are a high quality boot. These were the last pair of shoes my friends father "the cobbler" brokered. I was glad to have them yesterday when I swept off my deck and my truck. I am going to put them on this morning after completing this blog and do it all again.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Growing Wheatgrass For Syd

Hopefully I will have my own picture of my own cat in the wheat grass I am growing this week. Until then though here is

Charlie Roberts Cat taking a cat-nap in wheat grass!

PET GRASS
Cats and dogs instinctively chew & eat grass to obtain vitamins, minerals and live enzymes provided by fresh, raw, whole foods. Unlike their undomesticated counterparts/relatives, pets typically do not have access to a ready supply of healthy greens such as Pet Grass.

If your pets are indoor- only pets, Pet Grass gives them these vital nutrients they would otherwise miss, and may also prevent them from eating your houseplants.

Dogs and cats that go outdoors will eat grass, but it has little or if any nutritional value. Your yard may also have been treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which could be harmful to your pets. Offering them Pet Grass is a safer, healthy alternative.

Pet Grass may improve bad breath due to the high chlorophyll content found in wheatgrass. Pet Grass aids in digestion and hairball control.

Both dogs and cats are fed high protein diets. Adding greens to their diets helps to balance the nutrients your cat and dog need for good health. Our Dog & Cat Pet Grass Kit contains 100% organic wheat.

Cats can be finicky. So if at first your cat does not take to the Pet Grass, try spritzing it with water. In licking the water cats will often discover the grass and realize it is a treat. If your pet does not like the Pet Grass but you would like them to benefit from its nutritional properties, try chopping it up and adding it to their food. I got this info and picture from the following link.
http://www.wheatgrasskits.com/petgrass.html?gclid=CJqx0LuLyaYCFUS8KgodrDurIQ

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

What's The Big Darned Deal

I got one of those screeds this morning that Aunt Sue is always having to fact check and resend the truth to folks in massive emails. This screed could almost have been predicted because oil has risen back up to the levels where people are lookin for someone to blame for the pain at the pump. This screed is particularly dangerous because it has some truth mixed in with the lies. Here it is and here is a short little film that should clear up the confusion of the screed.

Here's an astonishing read. Important and verifiable information :

About 6 months ago, the writer was watching a news program on oil and one of the Forbes Bros. was the guest. The host said to Forbes, "I am going to ask you a direct question and I would like a direct answer; how much oil does the U.S. have in the ground?" Forbes did not miss a beat, he said, "more than all the Middle East put together." Please read below.

The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised report (hadn't been updated since 1995) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota, western South Dakota, and extreme eastern Montana ..... check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska 's Prudhoe Bay , and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable... at $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5...3 trillion.

"When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea.." says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature's financial analyst.

"This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years," reportsThe Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It's a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly referred to as the 'Bakken.' It stretches fromNorthern Montana , through North Dakota and into Canada . For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's massive reserves..... and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 2041 years straight. And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should - because it's from 2006!

U.. S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World

Stansberry Report Online - 4/20/2006

Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world. It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. OnAugust 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction. In three and a half years of high oil prices none has been extracted. With this motherload of oil why are we still fighting over off-shore drilling?

They reported this stunning news: We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth.. Here are the official estimates:

- 8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
- 18-times as much oil as Iraq
- 21-times as much oil as Kuwait
- 22-times as much oil as Iran
- 500-times as much oil as Yemen
- and it's all right here in the Western United States .


HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this? Because the environmentalists and others have blocked all efforts to help America become independent of foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of people dictate our lives and our economy.....WHY?

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East -more than 2 TRILLION barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post.
Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price - even with this find? Think again! It's all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to. Think OPEC just might be funding the environmentalists?

Got your attention yet? Now, while you're thinking about it, do this:

Pass this along. If you don't take a little time to do this, then you should stifle yourself the next time you complain about gas prices - by doing NOTHING, you forfeit your right to complain.

Now I just wonder what would happen in this country if every one of you sent this to every one in your address book.

By the way...this is all true. Check it out at the link below!!!

GOOGLE it, or follow this link. It will blow your mind.

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911




I got the movie from Innocent Byproduct a moderator on The Kunstlercast Forum
http://kunstlercast.com/forum/index.php?topic=4077.0

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Don Henry Ford's Blog



I follow a blog called Unrepentant Cowboy from time to time. Here is his blog entry for January 15th called This Will not End Well. It reminds me of a song I learned as a child called "There Is A Hole In The Bucket". Don's writing is spot on even though America isn't ready for his message quite yet.

This will not end well

Sabbath morn, too damned early.

I’ve watched the scenario play over and over again. Almost without fail, one of the first things a Mexican migrant wants is a car. If not, then a pickup truck. He arrives penniless and takes a job doing hard manual labor. He sends money home. Over time he learns skills and begins earning more money than his family needs at home. So he buys a cheap very used vehicle. Then the problems begin.

He probably had to borrow a bit of money to pay for the vehicle, which eats into the weekly check. The cost of gas eats more money than he anticipated. Then something breaks. Something always breaks. Parts are expensive, the labor of skilled mechanics even worse. But he manages, just barely, between used junkyard parts and the pooled efforts of friends and a shared assortment of tools.

He gets caught driving without a license. Maybe he surpasses the speed limit, or fails to use a turn signal. A deer rushes out in front of the vehicle or the inspection sticker expires. The vehicle isn’t in his name. He may or may not have insurance, but if he does, it’s not in his name and he has no drivers license. If he’s lucky, the cop writes a ticket and lets him go. If not, the vehicle gets impounded and it’s off to jail.

By now, there’s no money left to send home, but rather than get rid of the car, he tries to make things right. He pays the fine, drives more carefully. The car breaks down again. Got to keep the car. Got to fix the car. Can’t get to work without the car; the car, before he eats, before he sends the money home, he’s got to feed the goddamned car…

The syndrome applies elsewhere.

Take the traveling musician. He may start out playing near home, earning a hundred bucks in tips in a night, but he soon saturates the local market with his medicine and decides to expand his market. Which means travel. Not only for his body, but also his instruments and perhaps a couple of friends and their instruments too. So he buys an old used van. After fixing this van and dumping all the extra hundred dollar bills he can muster on parts, fuel and mechanics, the plan dictates something more modern. More modern comes with larger payments, perhaps less frequent breakdowns, but the breakdowns suffered—and breakdowns will be suffered—are more costly on an exponential scale. There’s the wreck, the roadside bust. New tires. The band gets tired of sleeping in a van and doing without showers so there’s motel bills and restaurants. If successful the van turns into a quarter or half million dollar tour bus, or maybe two busses. And these eat all the money. No matter how big the act, they eat all the money. When the bus is too slow, plane rides fill the void. Faster and farther in less time, more gigs, less road time. Got to feed the fucking airlines, don’t we?

On the farm, we had mules, then tractors. Then bigger tractors, combines, and huge arrays of specialized equipment. Always something bigger, more modern with greater capacity but always dependent on abundant supplies of cheap fossil fuel. Now they come with radios and air conditioners, satellite navigation equipment. Fuel became cost prohibitive so chemicals and genetically modified plants became the thing, limiting the amount of passes over the fields. But the chemicals are made from fossil fuel as well and any increase in productivity is soon factored into the price of the product derived. And the seeds are expensive as hell. They require a new breed of planting and harvesting equipment. A farmer has to farm more and more acres with larger and more costly machines. They all suck oil. They all displace human laborers. They have displaced virtually all animal power.

Perhaps the factory is your domain. It’s the same story there. Produce more and more with less and less in the way of manpower. Bigger factories, farther apart, making more product in one place and moving this product more miles to the final point of consumption. All on the back of energy derived from fossil fuels.

Even warmongers get in on the act. The bad guys shoot back so we need to wrap troops in big hulking chunks of movable iron. Better yet, why send in troops when I can sit in my goddamned cubicle and kill the bad guys with predator drones? But someone has to man the drone on the ground, in a military base, on foreign soil. Who needs a military base when we have aircraft carriers? But the enemy has missles. So the base it is. And the aircraft carriers stocked with planes also for those little countries without the bad ass missles.

We end up with cities full of unemployed humans surrounded by high tech gadgets in perpetual motion. Perpetual stinking, polluting, goddamned, senseless planet-killing motion.

We are on a suicidal trajectory.

I know this sounds ridiculous to most of you. That technology will save the day, once again.

You say we can’t live without all this shit.

Well, we can live without all this shit. In fact we did fine without all this shit until some one hundred years ago. I’m not saying all technology is bad. Just that along the way we have developed some very bad and unnecessary habits.

The entire human race can’t drive fossil fuel powered vehicles. And we all can’t fly around in fossil fuel powered planes. This is not a hypothesis, not even a theory.

It’s a fact.

Right now, many of you are being priced out of these luxuries.

Fences are being erected, ground razed, wars fought, animals slaughtered, and humans starved to maintain the right to drive and fly between climate controlled havens stocked with food and assorted luxuries for an ever-shrinking chosen number of humans on this planet. All the while, the world's population continues to grow. The only way this contracting community can maintain these rights is by denying these same rights to others.

Well, guess what? The others want to drive and fly too.

This will not end well.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Doom Candy

When I used to have cable, the history channel was one of my favorite past times. Recently they ran a program called Prophets Of Doom. This is missing the first 10 minutes and there is an annoying message claiming that it is propaganda. Other than that...all my favorite authors of late are in it and it is what I call doom candy!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

STOMP - Official Site

Over a period of one week, the cast of STOMP goes through quite a few "instruments,"
in addition to some other things that keep the show running:

STOMP - Official Site

Friday, January 14, 2011

My Beauties!




Yesterday, I spent the whole day in my workshop finishing up the newest batch of silver feathers.
Steel shot is used in a rock tumbler to put a gleam on them. I am gonna wear them today when I am out and about. I am hoping to sell them right off my neck and have to make more by Monday morning. Hows that for an affirmation?


Thursday, January 13, 2011

My Grandmothers Cauldron


Here is a photo of my great grandmothers cauldron. I am not sure all that my ancestors used this for. Soap making is one thing that comes to mind, candle making another. Perhaps anything that the largest mixing bowl in the house wouldn't do, this cauldron fit the bill back in the day. When I first moved it here, I left it outside overnight and it rained. So now there is some rust forming on the inside that I need to try to remove. This cauldron was kept safely for years by my friend the blacksmith Lorelei.
Licking County Ohio is such a corrupt county that I no longer felt that any of my possessions were safe, so I made the journey to Charleston Illinois and left this on Lorelei's porch, safely away from "the authorities" of Newark Ohio. I am so grateful to have escaped from Licking County and to have my cauldron back safe and sound. When I quit smoking several years ago, I put the money (in coin) I would have spent on Cigarettes in this cauldron for a year and a day. It was quite impressive with all that money gleaming. But it was too heavy for the floor it sat on. When this cauldron is full, it takes two people and a stout notched stick to move it. I have learned it is best not to move it. It is this cauldron that inspired my daily blog. I marvel at the everyday items that my ancestors used. I honor them by keeping and displaying them in my new home.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Thunderbird And Lightning


When I first started making jewelry, there was a demand for Native American images. It seemed like everyone was at the very least a 1/4 part Cherokee! There seemed to be a whole movement of "Indian Wanabee's". I grew up in a place called Flint Ridge where it has been said was a sort of safe zone for all the tribes to come gather flint to take back to their tribes. Most of the "Indian" jewelry from out west is turquoise and silver. I found out rather quickly that folks would not pay a local silversmith for turquoise or flint. Rather "Indian Jewelry" was and is something a person only buys when they are traveling out west in search of a souvenir! Consequently, I have adopted my own versions of this symbology over the years. Here is my Thunderbird and Lightning piece with a black onyx triangle stone. I plan on incorporating my native symbols into my Huichol style hubcap for the landfill project.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Stomp

I have wanted to see and hear Stomp for years. And I am finally getting to go!

Monday, January 10, 2011

6 Followers

I have 6 followers of my blog...woohoo!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

More Huichol Art

I found much of this infomation from this link.


"Controversial and misunderstood, the ritualized use of peyote by American Indians has long been attacked by non-Indian religious and secular authorities. Despite official efforts to eliminate peyotism as far back as the Spanish Inquisition and as recent as the War on Drugs, its status in Native American spiritual life has not diminished.

Peyote is the holy sacrament of the Native American Church, and the peyote religion provides spiritual comfort, social benefit, and a creative outlet for hundreds of thousands of American Indian people. Grounded in older tribal religions from the Plains regions, the Native American Church was the first native religious movement organized and disseminated on the model of western Christian denominations. While providing opportunities for maintaining and strengthening tribal identities within a common, intertribal organization, the church also fosters a vibrant folk art tradition.

Works by self-taught and informally trained artists make up the diverse traditional and folk arts associated with the peyote religion. Peyote art displays an amazing range of generes, including carving, beadwork, featherwork, metalsmithing, and painting. The ritual objects and religious setting of the peyote religion provide core elements for the rich symbolism associated with the art of the Native American Church".

Perhaps it is the art therapy training in me that is attracted to this art. I read all the Castaneda books and admired the cover art of the books which makes use of these same colors. I doubt that is all of it. My great grandmother served dinners to us at her farmhouse on Fiestaware. I fell in love with the colors of those dishes way back then. Today I use Fiesta everyday. I even serve my cat his dinner on Fiestaware. After all there is no such thing as "cat food". Therefore there is no such thing as "cat bowls" or "cat dishes". It has been expensive learning...but well worth the effort.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

My Hubcap

Yesterday's blog was about Landfillart.org and my decision to attempt my version of peyote art on the hubcap I was sent. I have already primed this hubcap after snapping this picture. It is my hopes that someone will know what vintage car this beauty adorned. I have already started and I will keep posting my progress. The project ends in 3 months, so I need to keep on it till I have something to contribute.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Huichol Art



I got a hubcap from Landfillart.org. I have always wanted to try to duplicate a favorite Huichol yarn art piece.
The Huichol, who many scholars think are descended from the Aztecs, revere those birds that soar the highest, like eagles and hawks, because they see and hear everything, and are believed to possess mystical powers. Huichol shamans (mara’akames) use their feathers like radio antennas to receive communications from the gods in order to help them perform magical feats such as curing the sick, transforming the dead or calling down the sun.
The project (Landfillart.com) are transforming hubcaps from vintage automobiles into works of art. I contacted the leader and he sent me my hubcap within a couple days. I won't be duplicating this piece exactly...but I plan on being inspired by the pieces that are working from the circle.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

5 Feathers On The Bench

















Now we're talking! I got an order for a pair of ear rings last week. The kind patron wants amethyst beads on her feathers. My gemstones have come up missing due to my move this summer. Moving a workshop is always a hard thing for me. Sometimes it is years in between workshops. Sometimes things get lost in the process. Sometimes they return. Sometimes they don't. I trust that I will always have the things that I need to do the things that are in front of me. Amen

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Five Followers!





I have 5 followers! A few weeks ago my friend Gail told me there was no way to sign up to follow my blog. I had been wondering why I still only had 4 faithful followers, although I am told I have a shadow following.
So I went in and took out Blogrole which was a devise that was supposed to help popularize my blog, but is now obsolete. And I reinstalled the Follower gadget. And within a few days I have one more follower. Thank you for following my blog and letting me know when something is amiss..

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Waterfall


Sometimes it takes a rainy day
Just to let you know
Everything's gonna be - all right
All right

I've been dreaming in the sun
won't you wake me up someone
I need a little piece of mind

Wake me from this dream
That I have dreamed so many times
I need a little piece of mind
Oh, I need a little piece of mind

When you open up your life to the living
All things come spilling in on you
And you're flowing like a river
the Changer and the Changed
You've got to spill some over
Spill some over
Spill some over
Over all

Filling up and spilling over
It's an endless waterfall
Filling up and spilling over
Over all

Filling up and spilling over
It's an endless waterfall
Filling up and spilling over
Over all

Like the rain, falling on the ground
Like the rain, falling all around....

Sometimes it takes a rainy day
Just to let you know
Everything's gonna be - All right
I know, I know, I know all right

Filling up and spilling over
An endless waterfall
Filling up and spilling over
Over all

Filling up and spilling over
It's an endless waterfall
Filling up and spilling over
Over all

ah ba bah, ba ba ba dum ba ba da bum ba ba ba ba ba ba ba

ah ba bah, ba ba ba dum ba ba da bam ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
(4x)
(filling up and spilling over)

Monday, January 3, 2011

Me And My Bike

I am sitting in with the old woodcarvers today and hopefully I will also get to use the exercise room. They require a doctors signature at The Gillie Center. If I don't get to use the state of the art equipment, I can always just ride my vintage bike that I keep safe and dry in my studio...and does not require any signiture.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who has been supportive! I love you all....even though she has thrown nothing but hate towards me. I have no graphic image of her hate...it is just hate.

So Here's What I Did




















I woke up this morning to 2 inches of water in my studio. So I spent the day getting my tools (the ones sitting in standing water) to higher ground. These are tools from my ancestors....so I didn't feel bad making the sacrifice of taking them out of standing water, bringing them upstairs, and mounting them on the wall....for later use. Sometimes you got to bypass the proper channels!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year 2011





















I don't feel much like celebrating this new year. It would feel like celebrating failure. I can only hope that 2011 will bring an end to my suffering and a beginning to something worth working towards. I wish my blog followship a Happy New Year. I hope to be blogging my adventures through 2011 and beyond.