[pencil on paper]
But this will make it
Some renewable energy technologies rely on a group of elements called rare earths, but they mainly come from environmentally damaging mines in China.
18 January 2010
14 January 2010
Temptation
The smalti (glass) order arrived today. Gorgeous glass, absolutely gorgeous.
So much for wrapping up all the website/portfolio tasks before it arrived... I wanted to use the weekend to get all the web stuff I need to do for my own website and for all the sites I do (free... unfortunately) for other people/organizations before the temptation of getting back to the dragon mosaic...
Now, I'll have to be ultra-disciplined... damn.
So much for wrapping up all the website/portfolio tasks before it arrived... I wanted to use the weekend to get all the web stuff I need to do for my own website and for all the sites I do (free... unfortunately) for other people/organizations before the temptation of getting back to the dragon mosaic...
Now, I'll have to be ultra-disciplined... damn.
26 December 2009
The “year of citizens’ rights”
Going to try not to buy goods from China anymore. That will align with my ecological views and my political views...
Human rights advocates said the punishment for Liu Xiaobo was intended to send an unequivocal message to others who might agitate for political reform.
But this will make ithard to do...um, make that impossible.
But this will make it
09 December 2009
New Website Address
I've put a new website up at http://montagaelmay.com.
It's the same design with new galleries of my visual art work added. There are four galleries: mosaic work (which if you've been reading this blog for very long you have seen most of the mosaics); sculpture; Interstices (a two artist show I participated in); and a gallery of encaustic Artist Trading Cards.
There's also a selection of my written stories, and a bit more about me and my art practice and my views on sustainable living.
It's the same design with new galleries of my visual art work added. There are four galleries: mosaic work (which if you've been reading this blog for very long you have seen most of the mosaics); sculpture; Interstices (a two artist show I participated in); and a gallery of encaustic Artist Trading Cards.
There's also a selection of my written stories, and a bit more about me and my art practice and my views on sustainable living.
07 December 2009
Hammer & Hardie
The hammer and hardie have shipped (notification came at 8:30pm tonight - thanks Di Mosaico). I should have them on Thursday.
I've been waiting on the tools before doing any significant work on the dragon mosaic. I'm also still waiting to order some more smalti - a result of the Great Debit Card Debacle...
Once our new cards arrive I will probably order a few more pounds of smalti in a few more colors. They've mailed the cards, but we haven't had them arrive yet. Hopefully they'll arrive soon (so I can spend more money on glass).
I've been waiting on the tools before doing any significant work on the dragon mosaic. I'm also still waiting to order some more smalti - a result of the Great Debit Card Debacle...
Once our new cards arrive I will probably order a few more pounds of smalti in a few more colors. They've mailed the cards, but we haven't had them arrive yet. Hopefully they'll arrive soon (so I can spend more money on glass).
A Step Toward a More Manageable Life
Tonight I deleted over 3000 emails from my Gmail inbox (over 500 of them were unread emails...) and canceled subscriptions to a great many email newsletters and distribution lists. I feel liberated
Now I need to do the same with my work email...
Now I need to do the same with my work email...
04 December 2009
Dragon Mosaic Progress
Haven't posted a progress update for a while - here's the mosaic after tonight's work (at approximately 24 hours of work):
The photo was taken at an angle to avoid excessive reflection from the studio lights and the flash on the camera. I really need to build a set up for photographing mosaics - some photo-floodlights with diffusers and some sort of stand or prop - I don't add the hanging hardware until a mosaic is finished.
I'm still waiting on the hammer and hardie. The company I ordered them from was out of hardies, but expects them to come in on Monday or Tuesday. They promised, when I spoke with them last night, to ship the tools as soon as the hardies come in.
I need to get a bit more smalti - I had intended to get some yellows and yellow-oranges, some black and some dark indigo blue. I thought I might get a pound of the yellows/oranges each and then maybe skip the black and get several pounds of the dark indigo blue. If I do that I'll pull up the black background and do the background in the blue. The dark indigo blue has a considerable amount of black in it and I think it would give the piece much more depth than doing it with the black and a random smattering of the indigo blue and the really dark green. But I'd need at least 5 pounds of the stuff, which, at nearly $20/lb (when you consider the added shipping costs), would make the next purchase over $150 if I got the indigo blue and the necessary yellows and yellow-oranges...
Still, I think it will make the piece a much better one.
I'm still waiting on the hammer and hardie. The company I ordered them from was out of hardies, but expects them to come in on Monday or Tuesday. They promised, when I spoke with them last night, to ship the tools as soon as the hardies come in.
I need to get a bit more smalti - I had intended to get some yellows and yellow-oranges, some black and some dark indigo blue. I thought I might get a pound of the yellows/oranges each and then maybe skip the black and get several pounds of the dark indigo blue. If I do that I'll pull up the black background and do the background in the blue. The dark indigo blue has a considerable amount of black in it and I think it would give the piece much more depth than doing it with the black and a random smattering of the indigo blue and the really dark green. But I'd need at least 5 pounds of the stuff, which, at nearly $20/lb (when you consider the added shipping costs), would make the next purchase over $150 if I got the indigo blue and the necessary yellows and yellow-oranges...
Still, I think it will make the piece a much better one.
22 November 2009
16 November 2009
Dragon Mosaic Progress
Tonight's progress:
I also received some more smalti today - dark lapis to mix with the black and the darkest green for the background, and more of the dark olive green for the dragon's body. I might order a hammer and hardie - I need to get accustomed to using one for cutting the smalti. I think I might end up wasting less glass if I master the traditional cutting method. It's hard to cut the smalti straight with the Leponitt wheeled cutter. I keep getting slanted cuts, and those will definitely not do. Only problem is that a good hammer and hardie runs at least a couple hundred dollars...
15 November 2009
Next Mosaic - A Dragon
Today I started a new mosaic. I'm using smalti for this one. It's 12" x 36". This is about 3 hours work. Smalti makes for slower going. Perhaps I'll get faster.
Update: That's not Elmer's glue - that's Weldbond in an Elmer's glue bottle...
Update: That's not Elmer's glue - that's Weldbond in an Elmer's glue bottle...
12 November 2009
Clean Water, Clean Air
When I hear the "Green Jobs, Green Jobs" mantra I wonder about a couple things.
First and foremost is whether or not the so-called green jobs really are "green" or if they're simply being repackaged - like changing the name of Kellogg's Sugar Smacks to Honey Smacks... without changing the nearly 50% sugar content (see Consumer Reports - Health.org)...
I also wonder how we're going to convince the public to buy/use green alternatives since they're bound to be more expensive (I've a suspicion that the greenwashed products will be even more expensive than the actual green products since it's marketing behind the green, instead of an actual product revision... but that may just be my cynicism surfacing).
Even when there are real green alternatives, there is often great resistance to implementing them.
I listened to a MNPR story this morning about the proposed Prairie Island power increase.
Xcel Energy has made the decision to increase production at the Prairie Island plant - beyond what the plant was built to safely produce - instead of choosing to use renewables to meet increased demand, because it was CHEAPER. In reality, the expansion of nuclear power is only cheaper when you close your eyes to the environmental effects - the unsolvable environmental effects.
The most chilling aspect of this increase is the increased waste problem. Nuclear waste isn't like other waste. It isn't feasibly recycled; it cannot be filtered out of the air or the water; it lasts as near to forever as matters to any who are alive now...
The proposed increase in power at the Prairie Island facility would not only cause significant stress on the structure of the power plants (think - higher pressure, higher heat, pipe corrosion, pipe cracks...), but also would generate many more casks of spent nuclear waste. This potentially increases the risk to anyone living near or downriver from the power plant.
Currently waste casks sit on a concrete pad next to the plant, on an island in the Mississippi River which is the source of drinking water for many communities downstream. There currently is only a small amount of leakage of radioactive materials into the air and water - in an amount that is deemed by some to be safe for human exposure. Others have concerns that the monitoring may be insufficient, and still others wonder if any additional exposure to radioactive materials, beyond what occurs naturally, is really safe. The proposed increase of power is expected to increase the radioactive discharges into the air and the river by 10 percent.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has already approved this "uprate" at Xcel's other nuclear plant at Monticello. The federal government is expected to approve it. Next on the docket is the Prairie Island decision.
It's up to the Minnesota government to stop this risk. We should be telling our representatives and senators to vote no on this expansion. Make a real commitment to our health, and our planet's health. Keep us safe from this kind of risk. There are alternatives to nuclear power and its deadly waste.
First and foremost is whether or not the so-called green jobs really are "green" or if they're simply being repackaged - like changing the name of Kellogg's Sugar Smacks to Honey Smacks... without changing the nearly 50% sugar content (see Consumer Reports - Health.org)...
I also wonder how we're going to convince the public to buy/use green alternatives since they're bound to be more expensive (I've a suspicion that the greenwashed products will be even more expensive than the actual green products since it's marketing behind the green, instead of an actual product revision... but that may just be my cynicism surfacing).
Even when there are real green alternatives, there is often great resistance to implementing them.
I listened to a MNPR story this morning about the proposed Prairie Island power increase.
Xcel Energy has made the decision to increase production at the Prairie Island plant - beyond what the plant was built to safely produce - instead of choosing to use renewables to meet increased demand, because it was CHEAPER. In reality, the expansion of nuclear power is only cheaper when you close your eyes to the environmental effects - the unsolvable environmental effects.
The most chilling aspect of this increase is the increased waste problem. Nuclear waste isn't like other waste. It isn't feasibly recycled; it cannot be filtered out of the air or the water; it lasts as near to forever as matters to any who are alive now...
The proposed increase in power at the Prairie Island facility would not only cause significant stress on the structure of the power plants (think - higher pressure, higher heat, pipe corrosion, pipe cracks...), but also would generate many more casks of spent nuclear waste. This potentially increases the risk to anyone living near or downriver from the power plant.
Currently waste casks sit on a concrete pad next to the plant, on an island in the Mississippi River which is the source of drinking water for many communities downstream. There currently is only a small amount of leakage of radioactive materials into the air and water - in an amount that is deemed by some to be safe for human exposure. Others have concerns that the monitoring may be insufficient, and still others wonder if any additional exposure to radioactive materials, beyond what occurs naturally, is really safe. The proposed increase of power is expected to increase the radioactive discharges into the air and the river by 10 percent.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has already approved this "uprate" at Xcel's other nuclear plant at Monticello. The federal government is expected to approve it. Next on the docket is the Prairie Island decision.
It's up to the Minnesota government to stop this risk. We should be telling our representatives and senators to vote no on this expansion. Make a real commitment to our health, and our planet's health. Keep us safe from this kind of risk. There are alternatives to nuclear power and its deadly waste.
11 November 2009
Next Mosaic
I've drawn out the cartoon for the dragon mosaic and picked the colors I want to use. It will be a smalti mosaic. I do need to purchase at least 5 more pounds of smalti before I start though. after receiving my order from www.smalti.com, I realized that liked the dark olive green (438B) better than the dark green colors (439 & 439D) that I also bought - especially when combined with the greenish gold limited edition smalti that I also bought. I'll need to get some additional blues for the background, unless I want to use black - which might be a good choice...
I'm going to set up a camera and try to do some stop-action photography as I create this mosaic. That should be interesting.
I'm going to set up a camera and try to do some stop-action photography as I create this mosaic. That should be interesting.
Ship Mosaic Finished
The ship mosaic is finished (except for attaching the hanging hardware). It now has a name, albeit a tentative one: To Sail Beyond... And Back. I finished it Monday night. These photos are a bit dark, but they show the finished piece fairly well.
I've entered it in the Mosaic Art Now "EXHIBITION IN PRINT" competition. We'll see what they think sometime in the next month or so.
Title: To Sail Beyond... And Back
Dimensions: 35"H x 44.5"W
Materials: stained glass and glass tile
Price: $3,000.00 - sold
Statement: As an interdisciplinary, visual artist I am intrigued by process. Fascinated by the gradual revelation that occurs as a mosaic grows beneath my fingers, the task of creating a mosaic becomes a meditative praxis – a mind and spirit exercise that creates more energy than it expends, leaving me refreshed and energized. I prefer to create mosaics that are representational rather than abstract, even though the rest of my art practice is based primarily in abstract imagery. “To Sail Beyond... And Back” was commissioned by a prominent tattoo artist who became interested in the mosaics I have done and wanted a work that celebrated the history and heritage of tattoos and tattooing. The image of the tall sailing ship battling rolling, splashing, foaming waves, sails taut in the wind, is iconic in tattoo culture and became the central element of the piece.
I've entered it in the Mosaic Art Now "EXHIBITION IN PRINT" competition. We'll see what they think sometime in the next month or so.
Title: To Sail Beyond... And BackDimensions: 35"H x 44.5"W
Materials: stained glass and glass tile
Price: $3,000.00 - sold
Statement: As an interdisciplinary, visual artist I am intrigued by process. Fascinated by the gradual revelation that occurs as a mosaic grows beneath my fingers, the task of creating a mosaic becomes a meditative praxis – a mind and spirit exercise that creates more energy than it expends, leaving me refreshed and energized. I prefer to create mosaics that are representational rather than abstract, even though the rest of my art practice is based primarily in abstract imagery. “To Sail Beyond... And Back” was commissioned by a prominent tattoo artist who became interested in the mosaics I have done and wanted a work that celebrated the history and heritage of tattoos and tattooing. The image of the tall sailing ship battling rolling, splashing, foaming waves, sails taut in the wind, is iconic in tattoo culture and became the central element of the piece.
06 November 2009
Ship Mosaic
Finished with the glass work on the ship mosaic night before last. 108 hours so far - not counting the research, trips to get glass, and sleepless, late-night planning...
Tonight: a grout color study - mixing the various colors of grout that I might want to use (and keeping precise records of the recipes for each). I'll make up a couple tablespoons of each color mixture and spread them on scrap wood. Once they've dried I can use them to determine which colors I want to use for this mosaic.
Tomorrow: grouting the mosaic - first the sections (if I decide to use more than one color grout - which is very likely) will be isolated. I will decide which color I'm grouting first (I usually go from dark to light), mask off the not-to-be-grouted areas with some heavy duty tape and plastic left over from putting plastic on the windows. I'll be using a dry-grout method that I've had great success with lately. It's a great way to grout glass mosaics and it's what I now teach in my classes.
This is the part of the process that makes me anxious - what if, after all those hours of work on this piece, I choose poorly and the grout colors don't work well with the glass? I'm going to test several shades of light grays, blues and tans and some medium blues and tans. The blues and tans will be hand-mixed formulas.
Wish me luck.
Tonight: a grout color study - mixing the various colors of grout that I might want to use (and keeping precise records of the recipes for each). I'll make up a couple tablespoons of each color mixture and spread them on scrap wood. Once they've dried I can use them to determine which colors I want to use for this mosaic.
Tomorrow: grouting the mosaic - first the sections (if I decide to use more than one color grout - which is very likely) will be isolated. I will decide which color I'm grouting first (I usually go from dark to light), mask off the not-to-be-grouted areas with some heavy duty tape and plastic left over from putting plastic on the windows. I'll be using a dry-grout method that I've had great success with lately. It's a great way to grout glass mosaics and it's what I now teach in my classes.
This is the part of the process that makes me anxious - what if, after all those hours of work on this piece, I choose poorly and the grout colors don't work well with the glass? I'm going to test several shades of light grays, blues and tans and some medium blues and tans. The blues and tans will be hand-mixed formulas.
Wish me luck.
02 November 2009
26 October 2009
Ship Mosaic Progress
On Saturday Nova & I went up to the cities for the day. First we went to the MAEP meeting at the MIA. It was a meeting for electing the new panel members. Nova went browsing around the museum while the meeting went on since she's not a Minnesota artist, but rather a Nevada artist (and therefore not eligible to vote).
After the meeting we did a quick retracing of Nova's steps to see the exhibits she thought interesting. Then we went to lunch at a little cafe on Raymond street called Jay's Cafe. We originally were planning to have lunch at Key's - also on Raymond street, but they close at 2pm and it was just after 2 when we arrived. Jay's is just up the block, so we walked there and had a great lunch for under $20.
We got to J. Ring Glass at 2:55pm and started looking at beads first. The clerk came over to us at a few minutes after 3pm and told us they were closed, and that we would have to come back on another day. When I explained that I live 2 1/2 hours away she let me grab the stained glass that I needed. The blue piece that I got was exactly the color that I wanted - I had the sticker off of a previously purchased piece. The tan is too light, too butterscotchy, but perhaps the shop in La Crosse will have the tan that I need so that I don't have to go back to Saint Paul before I can finish this mosaic.
After J. Ring Glass, we went to Mosaic on a Stick where Nova selected a few special items for the mosaic she wants to make. I got tan and blue grout for the mosaic. I also mentioned that I was planning a mosaic made of glass scavenged from the Mississippi river. The owner of the shop said not to grout it, that grout will get into the scratches on the glass and ruin it. It was great to get that advice.
After Mosaic on a Stick we went to Wet Paint and selected some papers for making books. Nova wants to make a book or two. She's making one using a technique she's done before, and later I will teach her the long-stitch book method that I know.
On Sunday I worked on the ship mosaic using the blue and white swirled glass I got on Saturday. Here's how the mosaic looks right now:
There's a bit of glare on the glass, but for the most part this is a pretty good photo of the mosaic.
It's getting closer to being done... Now I need to set up a photo space and the lighting for photographing mosaics without glare on the glass.
After the meeting we did a quick retracing of Nova's steps to see the exhibits she thought interesting. Then we went to lunch at a little cafe on Raymond street called Jay's Cafe. We originally were planning to have lunch at Key's - also on Raymond street, but they close at 2pm and it was just after 2 when we arrived. Jay's is just up the block, so we walked there and had a great lunch for under $20.
We got to J. Ring Glass at 2:55pm and started looking at beads first. The clerk came over to us at a few minutes after 3pm and told us they were closed, and that we would have to come back on another day. When I explained that I live 2 1/2 hours away she let me grab the stained glass that I needed. The blue piece that I got was exactly the color that I wanted - I had the sticker off of a previously purchased piece. The tan is too light, too butterscotchy, but perhaps the shop in La Crosse will have the tan that I need so that I don't have to go back to Saint Paul before I can finish this mosaic.
After J. Ring Glass, we went to Mosaic on a Stick where Nova selected a few special items for the mosaic she wants to make. I got tan and blue grout for the mosaic. I also mentioned that I was planning a mosaic made of glass scavenged from the Mississippi river. The owner of the shop said not to grout it, that grout will get into the scratches on the glass and ruin it. It was great to get that advice.
After Mosaic on a Stick we went to Wet Paint and selected some papers for making books. Nova wants to make a book or two. She's making one using a technique she's done before, and later I will teach her the long-stitch book method that I know.
On Sunday I worked on the ship mosaic using the blue and white swirled glass I got on Saturday. Here's how the mosaic looks right now:
It's getting closer to being done... Now I need to set up a photo space and the lighting for photographing mosaics without glare on the glass.
23 October 2009
Facebook discussion
I've been having a discussion on Facebook that happened when I posted the following as my status/thoughts:
Shameful greed has lead to where we are in regard to healthcare, yet Republicans and conservatives continue to defend this immoral system. What a bunch of greedy hypocrites. They cart out their religion when it's about people's sex lives, but only talk free-market, free-market, at the expense of their neighbors, when it comes to real moral issues like health care.
While I love the spontaneous discussion that happened, Facebook's character limits have driven me here to continue the discussion...
So here I am.
The thing that we need to work out is what it would really cost to get everyone the healthcare they need.
Unfortunately, given our current system there is absolutely no way to do that with any certainty. Health insurance has muddied the waters to the point where we really don't know what our costs should be. How can we determine the costs of healthcare for all when:
Make it possible for doctors to get their schooling, their training, without incurring debt. Make intellegence and creative thinking the criteria for medical school - not whether or not you can afford it. Open up the possibility for bright students of every economic class to become a doctor if that's their passion. Use our government to fund that kind of reform, to build the hospitals, to regulate care quality and care equality. Get rid of for-profit health insurance - spend those trillions of dollars spent on insurance directly on healthcare instead.
That would really change the world.
Shameful greed has lead to where we are in regard to healthcare, yet Republicans and conservatives continue to defend this immoral system. What a bunch of greedy hypocrites. They cart out their religion when it's about people's sex lives, but only talk free-market, free-market, at the expense of their neighbors, when it comes to real moral issues like health care.
While I love the spontaneous discussion that happened, Facebook's character limits have driven me here to continue the discussion...
CHARLA: amen.
DAVE: I guarantee, if they could get campaign funds from Satan himself they'd do it despite their "christian values".
HEATHER: Just to be clear, I'm pretty sure that there are democrats that are opposed to universal health care to...
DAVE: Right... I'll extend my above statement to any politician who claims "christian values" are important to them.
ME: Dave... the fact that we don't take care of everyone that needs care is THE moral failing in my book. And by "everyone" I sort of mean the world. And by "care" I sort of mean making sure that no one dies from hunger, inadequate living conditions, lack of access to healthcare, or murder/violence.
And I will say that the overwhelming majority of "christian values" indoctrinates I know only want to limit what others do or have access to. Their interests and passions are not to bring about a better world - or perhaps they want to define "better" for everyone. There are a few exceptions, but they truly are the exceptions.
not very articulate, but I'm at work and in a hurry...
ME: Heather - I think that what you are referring to is the government option and/or single payer health care.
In my status I did not say "universal health care" I said health care, although to be honest I believe wholeheartedly (absolutely, in the strictest form of the word "wholeheartedly" - with every part of me, to the extent that it almost physically hurts to think about it) that ALL the people of the world deserve to have health care. I believe universal health care is a right, not a privilege.
I wholeheartedly believe that parents should not have to sit with a sick child and decide between feeding the family (or keeping the rent paid) AND taking the child to the doctor. I have been in that position - it is a cruel torture, perhaps one of the cruelest a parent can face. The fear, the anger, the sense of abject hopelessness
I believe that children (and adults) should never have to die for lack of the ability to pay for a doctor's time.
JUDE: current option...sitting for hours in a public hospital and $4 prescriptions from Wal-Mart (a whole other story there) with your feverish child crying about an ear-ache. I love it when the bill-collectors call :) "Sorry sir/ma'am...I have no money but I am looking forward to talking to you tomorrow".
GLORIA: Or in my case I have expensive full coverage where I work but they will not cover the drugs I need to keep my asthma under control. Frugs I have taken for years so I am forced to buy in canada. The same drugs for pennies on the dollar.
HEATHER: i agree that something does need to be done with health care.... im just not so sure about universal health care.
ME: Heather - don't think about the politicos wrangling about it. Or rather - think past their rantings - and I do mean ranting on both sides. Both sides have vested interests that go beyond this issue. The ones in power want to stay in power and the ones on the outs want in.
Think instead about the word UNIVERSAL. It simply means EVERYONE - rich, middle-class and poor. Everyone deserves to be able to take their kids to the doctor when they need it. To keep their kids well enough to do well in school. To make sure that their kids don't die from preventable things.
I believe what you have reservations about is the Single Payer option and/or the government-run program. Those are the parts of this that make people nervous - everyone, or nearly everyone, KNOWS we have to do something about healthcare.
We're already paying more through increased medical costs to everyone who can pay to cover the cost of hospitals caring for those who cannot.
damn this character limit in Facebook... there's way more to be said here - I'm transferring this discussion to my blog http://montagael.blogspot.com
Go there if you want to read my longer answer.
So here I am.
The thing that we need to work out is what it would really cost to get everyone the healthcare they need.
Unfortunately, given our current system there is absolutely no way to do that with any certainty. Health insurance has muddied the waters to the point where we really don't know what our costs should be. How can we determine the costs of healthcare for all when:
- we've never decided what the minimum care level should be - we will never be able to afford for everyone the way-out-there tests and treatments that the wealthy or the highly insured can purchase, or at least not the way healthcare is managed today.
- we don't know the health status for the millions who are out of the healthcare market due to their inability to pay - Jude's comment about sitting in the hospital emergency room with a child who has an earache is exactly what happens for people with no other healthcare alternative. When things are impossible, when their child won't stop crying from pain or is running a high fever, they end up in the emergency room because hospitals don't generally turn people away for their inability to pay (they just pass the costs along to those who can, increasing those people's insurance costs - not because they want to, but that they must in order to be able to continue giving care to anyone... talk about dancing in a downward spiral...)
- we cannot pause long enough to actually think about this - between the concerns for feeding and housing our families, the worries about the economy in our country, the wars we are fighting AND the rantings of the politicos, we are jerked back and forth between the issues in a way that keeps us unfocused and overstimulated, resulting in either a simmering rage or a deep apathy.
- and there are powerful interests that don't want things changed too much. I think I'm talking about the insurance industry, but there could be others that I just don't know about - in fact, it's pretty damn likely that there are...
They want change, but change that won't eat into their profits too much, or even better, change that allows them to shed the unprofitable accounts and keep the profitable ones.
Make it possible for doctors to get their schooling, their training, without incurring debt. Make intellegence and creative thinking the criteria for medical school - not whether or not you can afford it. Open up the possibility for bright students of every economic class to become a doctor if that's their passion. Use our government to fund that kind of reform, to build the hospitals, to regulate care quality and care equality. Get rid of for-profit health insurance - spend those trillions of dollars spent on insurance directly on healthcare instead.
That would really change the world.
21 October 2009
Upcoming Mosaics
Aside from the ship mosaic I have two other mosaics in the works. One will be made from glass I have gathered from the riverbanks of the Mississippi. This river-tumbled glass is limited in color palette of mostly clear that has been scratched up so much it is nearly white, a pale, pale green, two other shades of green, a couple shades of brown, and the odd red or blue piece. Much of it seems to come from old beer, wine or other beverage bottles that have been tossed into the river somewhere upstream from here. It gets tumbled with the rocks in the river by the current and wave action, giving each piece a softened look. I'm not sure if this mosaic will be a representational piece showing some recognizable imagery, or if I will do something abstract. I need to go beach-combing a couple more times to see what glass I find. Hopefully the river will be down a bit and more shoreline will be exposed. It takes a long time to gather enough glass for a mosaic from the bits and pieces the river gives me, so this will likely be a small mosaic, no bigger than one square foot.
The other mosaic will be a 1' x 3' mosaic of a rather earthy smiling Chinese dragon. I am doing this one with smalti. I just ordered about $400 worth of Mexican smalti from smalti.com. That's not all that much smalti - around 15 pounds or probably just enough to cover 4 or 5 square feet.
The other mosaic will be a 1' x 3' mosaic of a rather earthy smiling Chinese dragon. I am doing this one with smalti. I just ordered about $400 worth of Mexican smalti from smalti.com. That's not all that much smalti - around 15 pounds or probably just enough to cover 4 or 5 square feet.
Ship Mosaic Progress
I've been working on the sky area of the mosaic. This photo isn't the best - it's hard to get high enough above the mosaic to get a full image of it. The circular object in the upper left corner is one of those flexible desk lamps.
You cannot tell very well in the photo, but the sky glass starts out lighter at the horizon - atmospheric perspective (a technique employed in landscape painting, designed to suggest three dimensional space in the two dimensional space of the picture plane, and in which forms and objects distant from the viewer become less distinct, often bluer, cooler or lighter in color, and contrast among the various distant elements is greatly reduced) and gets darker in color as it advances toward the top of the mosaic.
I need to get a bit more of the blue and quite a bit more of the tan for the right-side map area. The tan color I have is a bit too butterscotchy and too light. I need one that has more gray in it than creamy yellow.
You cannot tell very well in the photo, but the sky glass starts out lighter at the horizon - atmospheric perspective (a technique employed in landscape painting, designed to suggest three dimensional space in the two dimensional space of the picture plane, and in which forms and objects distant from the viewer become less distinct, often bluer, cooler or lighter in color, and contrast among the various distant elements is greatly reduced) and gets darker in color as it advances toward the top of the mosaic.
I need to get a bit more of the blue and quite a bit more of the tan for the right-side map area. The tan color I have is a bit too butterscotchy and too light. I need one that has more gray in it than creamy yellow.
08 October 2009
Concerning Censorship
I have thought quite a bit about the issue of censorship this evening after some questions arose concerning the current show at the center...
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This discussion is a very important one. It goes far beyond this one exhibit, beyond this one artist, beyond even the arts center and our community.
In regard to the larger discussion, I am adamantly against censorship – not just as an artist, but also as a responsible citizen of a democracy. Censorship is a certain path to the enslavement of reason, critical thinking, and civil discourse, perpetrated by groups in power – or by groups willing and able to create a loud enough uproar. It chips away at the foundation of education, at the value of alternative ideas and the creators of those ideas, and, most importantly, at the heart of our power to make decisions for ourselves – it dis-empowers. Censorship is a response to a stimulus that has offended a particular ideology, and while censorship may seem desirable when you are of the censoring party, it is degrading and demoralizing when your viewpoints, ideas or creations are the ones being suppressed.
It’s been asked “Would you consider hanging photos or paintings depicting explicit scenes from dog fights?” Myself, I would respond, “I might, if I believed the images to have artistic merit, and/or if they expressed an important social message.” Uncomfortable imagery, uncomfortable stories, uncomfortable ideas need to be explored and deconstructed, their meanings discussed, understood and considered. If we close our eyes and minds to the things that offend us, if we refuse to consider the ideas of the others, if we refuse to listen to those we do not agree with, we limit our growth and our vision, we set ourselves up to get blindsided by trends and social agendas, and we continue to foster the destructive division and rancorous dichotomy that is evermore apparent in much of the social discourse in this country. It is when we – both sides – carefully listen, and then respectfully express our agreement or our opposition to ideas and concepts that valid, meaningful communication happens. At the point when communication truly happens a working compromise is possible. And although it is not the case in this discussion, I must add that if those who disagree with refuse to reciprocate with a similar respect it in no way negates our responsibility to continue to listen and communicate respectfully...
I am not concerned with following any one group's particular political correctness agenda and in regard to the controversial pieces in the show – it is my understanding that in general sadomasochistic culture is participated in by choice, not force and therefore only of concern to those who willingly participate. I recognize that others may feel differently, and respect their viewpoints. However, I do not recognize this perspective as a valid position for censoring artistic expression. But for this discussion it is important to take into consideration the varied ways that the center is used by the community and the impact of imagery that some in the community may feel is graphic in nature.
*****************************************************
This discussion is a very important one. It goes far beyond this one exhibit, beyond this one artist, beyond even the arts center and our community.
In regard to the larger discussion, I am adamantly against censorship – not just as an artist, but also as a responsible citizen of a democracy. Censorship is a certain path to the enslavement of reason, critical thinking, and civil discourse, perpetrated by groups in power – or by groups willing and able to create a loud enough uproar. It chips away at the foundation of education, at the value of alternative ideas and the creators of those ideas, and, most importantly, at the heart of our power to make decisions for ourselves – it dis-empowers. Censorship is a response to a stimulus that has offended a particular ideology, and while censorship may seem desirable when you are of the censoring party, it is degrading and demoralizing when your viewpoints, ideas or creations are the ones being suppressed.
It’s been asked “Would you consider hanging photos or paintings depicting explicit scenes from dog fights?” Myself, I would respond, “I might, if I believed the images to have artistic merit, and/or if they expressed an important social message.” Uncomfortable imagery, uncomfortable stories, uncomfortable ideas need to be explored and deconstructed, their meanings discussed, understood and considered. If we close our eyes and minds to the things that offend us, if we refuse to consider the ideas of the others, if we refuse to listen to those we do not agree with, we limit our growth and our vision, we set ourselves up to get blindsided by trends and social agendas, and we continue to foster the destructive division and rancorous dichotomy that is evermore apparent in much of the social discourse in this country. It is when we – both sides – carefully listen, and then respectfully express our agreement or our opposition to ideas and concepts that valid, meaningful communication happens. At the point when communication truly happens a working compromise is possible. And although it is not the case in this discussion, I must add that if those who disagree with refuse to reciprocate with a similar respect it in no way negates our responsibility to continue to listen and communicate respectfully...
I am not concerned with following any one group's particular political correctness agenda and in regard to the controversial pieces in the show – it is my understanding that in general sadomasochistic culture is participated in by choice, not force and therefore only of concern to those who willingly participate. I recognize that others may feel differently, and respect their viewpoints. However, I do not recognize this perspective as a valid position for censoring artistic expression. But for this discussion it is important to take into consideration the varied ways that the center is used by the community and the impact of imagery that some in the community may feel is graphic in nature.
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