29 Followers!

This isn't bad for a first effort on a knife sheath.  When I sold the painting last week, I stopped by Tandy Leather on Morse Road and picked up gromets and a designer button to finish off the knife sheath.  A little black shoe polish around the edges finishes it off quite nicely.  I still have to improvise when I can, or else, I won't get the art supplies that I need.  I am sure there is a black dye that is for the exact purpose of coloring the edges and scuff marks...and I am equally sure I can't afford it....so shoe polish it is for now.

Let us all welcome my 29th follower.

Midland Theatre

Just in case, I am not back here blogging on Thursday, here is a photo of another historic landmark in Licking County that I am starting this month.

  Like the Sparta, you can expect my own little artistic bend to the midland painting.  Who will be featured on the marquie....he,..he he...Stay tuned.

Don't Toss Your Old Vinyl

In a few days I am hopeful to be able to show you how I used an old record album to make a black spacer in the next knife handle.  I realize I did not snap a picture of it yesterday.  This is a prepicture of sorts.
This is a native American technique from the old trading post days.  Black Onyx was not always available, but vinyl record albums fit the bill.  I can't wait to show you how kool this looks.  Maybe I will be back here tomorrow with updated pictures.  But, maybe I won't.  I was in a snow drift today that took me a half hour to get out of.  There just is no place to park that I am not getting into such a situation.

Old Material Put To New Use

An old record album is perfect to add a stripe next to turquoise in my next bootdagger.
I will not be into the library on Tuesday, as I would like to get this project completed and documented for the next grant cycle 2014.

What Are The Odds?

Within 30 minutes of me dropping off this painting downtown Columbus, I was warming up with some hot and sour soup at a Chinese takeout place in the short north.  I had scrapped my silver, replaced a tool that I bent on Christmas Eve. and was waiting on the buyer of Three Kool Katz.
In walks the subject (haven't seen her since I saw her in court 2012) from my painting (Everything's Peachy).  What are the odds of that happening dear readers?
It was a Karmic day to say the very least.

Three Kool Katz Is Sold

I will be transporting two paintings to Columbus on Friday.  Sometimes, I think I should have been a painter, rather than a silversmith...

 Both paintings were art therapy for me, and both stemming from photographs.  Both the day drumming in front of the Columbus mural, and the day at the Fruitstand on State Route 37 were fantastic days for me.  I had the presence of mind to know it, and to be grateful for the day!

Old Toy Repair

I have an old toy rolling pin from my childhood.  It is missing a handle.  Lucky for me, I still had the rolling pin that attaches.  I used the metal template to find out how wide the widest part of the handle is, and traced it onto the top of this dowel after I drilled the hole for the pin.  Theoretically, I can use my belt sander to shape the dowel and match the other handle. 

Boot Dagger Revamped

I liked the turquoise spacers so much on Brian's knife that I decided to add a couple to my little boot dagger (unfinished since 2009).  I am out of acrylic paint in the colors that I need, so the best thing to do until I can correct that, is to use what I have.  The boot dagger was a second boot dagger I made in 2009, when I made one for the painter friend Bonnie Bolen.  I had made 2 of them just in case something went wrong.  This dagger will have two turquoise spacers, and maybe I will experiment with cutting up one of my vinyl record albums that are two scratched to play.  I can add a thin black spacer between the turquoise, silver, and wood if it works out.  I believe the Navajo used old record albums for inlay back in the day!

Newark Celebrates Martin Luther King Day

Syd and I are working on paintings again!  I will be taking Everything's Peachy to Columbus this week and getting The Quilt Of Elizabeth Brim back to its temporary home in my kitchen.  The Quilt sold, so it will be going to Michigan in the near future. 














Oh....about Martin Luther King Day here in the city of Nerk.  Christmas decorations came down on Sunday afternoon, and Valentines Day decorations went up!  Yep...that's about it.  Thats how it is here in Newark Ohio.  The holiday is observed by banks and government institutions.  Every other place of business is open and operational.  I haven't seen a black person in months....I really mean it!  I guess the good folks of Licking County don't want to get their lawn jockey's out of storage!  Hell, even the dove of peace would be something to honor Doctor King!  Honest to Pete, it is days like Martin Luther King Day that remind me that I have friends of color in Columbus.  I miss them.  I am thinking about them, and I am taking steps to get out of this cultural desert (Licking County).

I had visitors on Christmas Eve that wanted to know how come I didn't put white people in this painting!  The insinuation was that I might be able to sell it locally...except that there are no white people in the art work!

If I don't get out of this town soon, I am gonna scream!

Monday's Blogspot

I found another frame in my collection of recycleables!  I think this one came from Clintoville Thriftstore on Indianola.  I duct taped the painting onto this frame and packed it up Saturday for it's trip to Columbus next week.

Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - BABY WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO (guitar cover)

This is how I play it!  Maybe Buddy played this song when I saw him in concert!

Etta James - You got me runnin'

It was probably Etta's version, and I probably heard it on Dr. Steve's Blue Collar!

Lost And Found

I finally found somebody who found this song!  I seemed to know it, but didn't know where I knew it from.  I haven't ever heard of Jimmy Reed...but I have heard and almost learned his song.

Physical Address

I am looking for the physical address for the fruit stand (photo) that I used for Everything's Peachy.  I know it was on State Route 37 South.  Below, is a painting I started that has been stolen, that has a physical address.  This is a house on Deming and Cliffside in Columbus Ohio.  I would love to find this painting...if for no other reason than to finish it.  It needs a cat in the window...I had not decided which window, or which kind of cat.  If you ever see this painting it is stolen from me, and there is a reward for a lead leading to it's rightful return.

Tunneling Out!

Hey Mrs. Gray!  I am tunneling out!  She used to say that to me, and it always made me feel better.  I hope to be visiting my Columbus friends next week.  I am long overdue to visit Columbus Metropolitan Library.  I have lots to do and so little time.

Syds Parent Cats

For those of you who follow the life of Syd, here is a picture of his parent cats (Jack & Token), 2 winters ago.  I sure hope they are alive and well.

Making My Way Back To Columbus

 

I began making Doctors appointments in Columbus this morning.  Besides there not being much opportunity for artists here in Newark, medical services and choices are limited as well.  I will be in Columbus next Monday (weather permitting), and then again on Wednesday (weather permitting).  While visiting, I will be searching for Syd and my next home.

There is a place in the highway on State Route 70 where Columbus suddenly comes into view.  You come around a bend, and there it is.....sparkeling like the Emerald City of Oz!  There Is No Place Like Home. 

For Sale

This painting is for sale.  I need to do some car repairs.  Please contact me through my email or through Facebook if you are interested.

Last Year

I had to do some repair on the back of Everything's Peachy because last year when the show came to this library, the paintings were suspended from the ceiling on wire.  Since my painting was a dumpster save before I painted it over, the back needed some attention.  I would be horrified to have anyone look at the back of this painting.  Yesterday, I glued a crack, and inserted a panel to cover up the coffee stained backside of the canvas.  If my painting is selected for the tour this year and suspended from the ceiling on a wire, there is almost another collage on the back.  Art is so fun.  I can't even imagine what I would do, if I were not an artist.

VSA On Facebook

It took me awhile, but I found my painting in VSA's recent collage of the upcoming Accessible Expression Ohio 2014 .  OK dear readership, can you find Everything's Peachy?

Please attend this event on March 8th, and vote your choice for The People's Choice award.

My Next Camera

A buddy of mine came by the other night to take pictures of Brian's knife.  He had this camera that you could also project images onto the wall.  I was impressed and not surprised that it was a Nikon.  I used Nikons when I was in college.  I slung one Nikon with color film on one shoulder and another Nikon with black and white film on the other.  Those were the days!

I am eligible for a grant in 2014, and I think I am going to try to get one of these.  The projector would have been helpful when I was painting Everything's Peachy, as I worked from a photograph initially.

You Are Invited To Attend

The painting Everthing's Peachy has been accepted into this years Accessible Expressions Ohio 2014 exhibition and tour.  I had so much fun last year at this event, and was surprised and honored to get a third place ribbon and prize.  The food was fabulous and the entertainment was enjoyable.  Since I wasn't getting to Columbus except for my court appearances (7 continuances that lasted 2 years), I used the occasion to visit with my Columbus friends.  I stepped out after I got my certificate for participation so that the conversations I had with my friends wouldn't disrupt the cerimony.  7 of my friends came to the show even though it was a cold snowy day.  We had alot of fun, and I was surprised when the woman who had given me my certificate came up to a group of us.  I thought maybe we were being too loud, but she told me that in 15 minutes I was going to get an award.  I was shocked.  I had forgot that there were prizes, and even more shocked when in addition to the 3rd place ribbon was prize money.  The day just got better and better.

 

In fact, the year got better and better in spite of the monsters I had to deal with through the Columbus Court.  I have survived much pain throughout the years from greedy and back stabbing people who have pretended to be my friend while conspiring against me.  A therapist one time told me that these people are jealous of me.  That amazes me.  Why would anyone be jealous of me?  I live below the poverty line.  She said, they wern't jealous of my financial situation, they were jealous of my talent.  I believe that everyone has talent.  If I didn't make jewelry, I wouldn't have any jewelry to wear.  If I didn't make paintings, I wouldn't have any paintings to hang on my walls etc.  It is also true, that if I didn't have jealous envious enemy's I could give lots more to the world than what I have.  These yeyhoos have just held me up:)  Trying to squelch me, doesn't give them the talent they envy.....It just makes them look bad, and it just slows me down a bit.  For me, art is therapy.  If someone is jealous of my art, then they should just make their own art!  I don't get hung up on other folks talent.  I just get more resolute each time someone like that tries to stop me.  Just because they destroyed my kiln, doesn't mean I won't do ceramics in the future.  My Higher Power will give me a kiln, or access to one, if that is what I am going to work on.  It is hard to start a piece, when there is no way to fire it.  For now, I will use these hands to make art....I will use whatever I already have, and anything I may come across.  The paint in Everything's Peachy was recycled, and gifts from friends, and even a stranger.  

I wish I could show the world all the things that I can do.  I will continue to try to get the supplies I need, and the financial support I need.  The best is yet to come.  When I was working on this painting, other paintings were started.  Finally, I ran out of paint.  It will take months to get the paint I need to finish them.  In fact, that is how I work.  I use what I already have.  If I have to stop one sort of project till I can get a supply, then I jump to some other project that I do have the supply's.  I would be making knives this week as I have my momentum juiced up from Brian's knife.  The problem is, I need safety glasses.  I took chances making Brian's knife, and promised my Higher Power, that if I got through that project without losing my only eye, I wouldn't make any more knives or operate any more power tools till I get a pair.  This is very different than making a deal with the devil!  The devil isn't my Higher Power.  The Great Spirit (whatever you conceive that to be) is my Higher Power.  You may call him God, or you may call her the goddess.  It matters not.  What matters is whether you are part of creation and the creative process, or destructive forces (such as my former landlord).

Now some of you came to the reception at the library last summer as well as the exhibition.  What a treat it was to see Mayda, my neighbor from Columbus.  I almost didn't recognize her because she was out of context.  And she came with a friend that I had met on Derrik Jensons chat room.  Two very talented women who I don't get to see very often traveled all the way to Newark to attend! 

Please mark your calendars dear readers.  March 8th at the Westerville Commuity Center.  I would love to see each and every one of you.  It is a great show, with many talented artist's participating.

Childhood Social Security Benefits

Not long ago, I started painting a picture of the old schoolhouse I fixed up with my Social Security back benefit check.  The minute I spent all my money on the Churches building, they took me to court to evict me.  I won that court case, and got 2 years rent free living, in spite of their efforts to swindle me.  Then they burnt their own church down as my water source was coming from their well and on the same pump.  So, I lived for several months carrying water, and trying to manage....finally abandoning my well fought over property.
That was over 20 years ago, and my painting has brought all this to surface once again.  It turns out, that I am eligible for even more back benefits as I have never been married, both parents paid into Social Security, and I can prove disability before 1989.  I may have 9 years back benefits comeing to me, and the twenty years benefits that were incorrectly calculated had anyone bothered to check medical records prior to 1989.
So what is the moral of the story?  I confess, I do not know.  Had I received the total amout coming to me in 1990, I may have lost much more to the "good church".  Perhaps God (whatever you conceive him to be, was protecting me from "wolves in sheeps clothing".
It wasn't the first or last church to deceive me, or be hypocritical.  What did it teach me?  Not to trust Christians, and to trust myself.  Yesterday's blog was partially about a friend who seizes every opportunity to try and convince me that because I am not Christian, that things like my truck overheating and disaster, wouldn't happen.  I confess, I just don't know.  I think their just might have been Christians out on the road yesterday, that overheated, and had hose clamp problems.  I got a lecture, when I was only asking for a ride to the grocery store and to get anti-freeze.