February 21.... Nobori

Well now, it has been a month since the last entry. Over this time I found the proper name for these new sorts banner/ flags I see about in Japan. They are called nobori. One can find them everywhere from coffee shops and restaurants to temples. They have a long standing history. Silly me, I should have thought to have done some homework. Anyhow here is another set to gaze upon. This is another set of four like the previous entry. A bit different though is the introduction of...... (everybody "WOOO" now) color.

 Please pardon the slightly crooked line of the set up. After all, the ground is pretty damned hard at this time of the year. This is the second set of three that I wish to have in the complete set. Another set of four is just getting started. This set is much more in the landscape fashion. I am also keeping the idea of atmospheric perspective handy. These are not actual space but more impressions of being somewhere where our contemporary rush does not catch up with us.

I am not too sure where or what I am going to do with a set of twelve of these or where to even install them. I am getting a good amount of work established. I am playing with the idea of perhaps, submitting them for some shows. I'm a bit out of that loop at the moment so I guess some homework is in order. Ideally, I would like to keep them outside and see what becomes of them.

 I must say... with the elections coming up and all of these polls and icky things popping up all over as usual, I have been becoming more of the world again in terms of politics and governace and I come up lacking. Annoyed at best. I have been considering jumping back into the realms of politics and art. But I must say that I am very hesitant. I have been looking back at my brief history on this planet and I have come to see the same cycle happenning over and over again. We seem to have not been able to move forth in our way of thinking, I mean some sort of giant leap like during the industrial revolution. I guess I am looking for something BIG.

But with the little difference I see since I was in high school I think I rather be more forward looking. To keep making the kind of art where people will see it and have a brief change of moment in their day. A glimpse of something else rather then the daily grind of our elected leaders uselessness and apathy. Perhaps some political art down the line but for now this seems to be the right track. I must go make breakfast now.

Sanjusangendo Pieces Finished for Outside....

VERY EXCITING. After not a very long time, but long enough for me, these four pieces are finished. And let me tell you the ground out there is really solid and cold. None the less, these are my favorite pieces I have made since last May.

Again, I really considered about pretty landscapes and if that is what I wanted to make. I never thought I'd see that day but here they are. I guess I have come to terms with the idea that not everything has to be groundbreaking. Going back to more traditional forms of visually communicating have paid off. The act of pulling something out of the past and updating it. In terms of execution, yes. Silkscreen is the choice of method. Processing it through digital imaging, again yes. Posting it on the web again... contemporary. Using the idea of asian vanishing perspective and the long scroll like format in combination with contemporary tools is something I am becoming far more excited about.

I guess mining the grounds of the way past is a good way to revive your own eyes and thoughts. Sort of going super retro. In terms, art need not always be groundbreaking or trend setting. each piece takes on its' own life though the decisions made about its' execution. Years ago I would not eve have considered creating something of this sort. But after the Fu Baoshi experience things just kind of took off. Much of his work was created during the early tenure of the Chinese communist government. Many of his pieces were based on the poems of Mao. Again, another example of using traditional formats with contemporary ideas.

I will be producing another few sets in this fashion. I do think there should be more in the sets though. And on another note, I will be working with my collaborator over the next few weeks to produce sets of translations of zen koans. this will take a bit so please bear some patience. They will have a pretty large run and will be available for the consumption of the masses.

Also now that I am building up a pretty good stock of work I will start getting them out to the public shortly. The difference now is that I would like to keep the sets intact. I'm not sure of how this is going to work but I will fill all in on this in the near future.

BYE!

And a few new pics from the Sanjusanjendo Pieces! Just finished!!!

  and another!

And now to find somewhere for them to go!

Happy New Year and a new set almost finished....

The past few weeks have been slow with the holidays but none the less a new set of flags is almost complete. This set started off with the idea of printing one thousand Buddhas. This was inspired by my visit to Sanjūsangen-dō Temple in Kyoto. There are 1000 Buddha sculptures in this temple and vary slightly from one another. Origi9nal intents are designed to start taking on a life of their own and so this set has.

While in Cleveland I went to see a show at the marvelous Cleveland Museum of Art. And let me tell you. I have not been moved by art this way since grad school. I saw an exhibit on the Chinese artist Fu Baoshi. He was a traditional ink brush painter that also worked in conjunction with the newly formed government in 1949. His work provided alot of answers for the current work I am doing. Below is just one of his pieces.

 

 

These four pieces were started before my trip to Cleveland and stalled in the midway process. On my return I jumped in the next day shook them up a bit and boom. Artists, myself at the top of the list, get into their process a bit too much at times. And this was certainly my case. The image below is the first complete one and I am very excited with it.

 

I know... I need to get my photo skills down a bit better. I have started to let them take on more of a life of their own. These are going to be more banner like then the previous ones I have completed. They have moved away from Sanjūsangen-dō directly. The Buddhas in these pieces are two of the thousand from the temple. A few funny questions popped about my brain while working on these. The biggest one was... Is it o.k. with me that these are functioning pretty much as pretty landscapes. I have this knack for totally outwitting myself when it comes to these kind of questions and my art. I've seen a million pretty landscapes and even have been adverse to making any in the past. SO... yes, I am good with it. These are still contributing to the Velvet Pelican mission statement. And very honestly, I like it.

 

I have decided to keep working on the flags project. What I would love to do with this set is send them out away from the Boston area as a hole set. There are three in all. I would like for someone to take them to a location and document them for me. In the end result... keep them and send me a good set of photos. Curious? Contact me!

 

Over the next month I am going to start looking at further ways to expand and substantiate Velvet Pelican Projects. Perhaps some networking or road trips! Have a suggestion? Let me know.

 

Until next time.

Skinny Man in Japan Series.....

Here is something a bit different from the past few months and probably the first in a good long time... old fashioned prints on paper. I decided to take a break from the flags and go back to the basics for this set of prints. I found some great handmade paper, 10" x 10" and ran some screen prints on them. This set is called, "Skinny Man in Japan."

Please pardon the strange cuts on the paper. These are on handmade paper, which was a big draw. The initial premise is the same as the flags. Using the least amount of "parts" (images) to create a new scene. There were only 6 images placed on the screen. They are, of course, images from my first trip to Japan. Temples, buddhas, tanukiis, and large dense bamboo fields. This set has 14 finished prints in all and each one different. By printing the images over repeatedly in different sequences these thingees cam alive.

The first trip over in 2008 was a very confusing bewildering experience. None the less, a wonderful experience. Brian P. and I were there for a month with very little experience. We did not know the language, rented a house so we would have to commute to work, do our grocery shopping and some other adventures. This was our life for the month... and guide students around this new place witha bit of help from some great people. The idea of these images is to give that sense of what it was like. Is that Buddhist temple or Shinto Shrine? Is that dish soap or laundry detergent? What is that huge bell for? A tanuki!!!!! It was strange and wonderful and ????

Perhaps this is coming out of nostalgia, perhaps not. With each trip over it is always different. With this set I kept to the idea of a bit of humor and solitude and confusion. How on earth does one find a tanuki near a Buddhist temple. The large swaths of the bamboo landscape was and still is inspiring. In short these fine little prints recall that fun trip in 2008 and the weirdness of it all. I must say that it was fun to return to old fashioned prints on paper for a bit. So what should I do with these? I have no idea. Perhaps they will become funky postcard art? Eh? Maybe?

And yes, these were made in The Blue Think Box! Drop on by and see us at some point. It is turning into a very nice treasure. Having a good collaborative space has been well. Being able to drop in and see a few different faces and print at the same time has been good. drop by and see us some time at 29 Cabot Street. I think over the next few months I'll be considering how to expand Velvet Pelican Projects and the Blue Think Box. I'll tell you when I figure it out. Being a mid career artist is proving to be fun!

That is us above. Oh yeah... another set of flags! Perhaps next time. And until next time....

The new flags and the Blue Think Box....

 Hello again and again. Here are pics of the finished new flag project. This will be the last flags... for a bit. I am pretty happy with this set. The difference being they were made during regular day light hours... WEIRD. I have not finished any projects before 7 a.m. for almost 15 years. It was a learning curve but it does seem to have some benefits. The early morning hours are now just spent with koans and hot tea.

 This is the front of the Blue Think Box with the new flags. They look weird there but I kind of like it. Working in a collaborative space has been interesting and challenging. All of the sudden there are people around at random times! And you talk to them while you work. I have never agreed with the artist in isolation and being a mad genius... bullshit I say. But it has been good to change up habits and be working with the others in the Blue Think Box. As this is something I have considered for years it is good to see it come alive. There are no written rules... just come down here and make. And that is exactly what is going on.....

For the next few projects I will be putting the flags away as not to develop a dependance on them. No thanks. Some small prints and some wood cuts in the near future. Many good fun to come. As a 40nothing. I won't be famous in the art world... nor want to be. I have decided this gives me lots of liscence to move forward. I guess I have caught the printmaking bug again.

That press there on the left... that is where the next project is coming out of. Of other interest to those of you in Beverly next weekend... the Blue Think Box will be open for the Art Walk thing.... 4-9 o Friday and 12-4 on Saturday! Come on by and meet a neat place.

Thanks all.... and until next time.....

The Blue Think Box and a new project....

Greetings All and Interested....

Since my last check in life has moved alonge weirdly but good. First off the new space is open and basically ready to go. After much distraction from work obligations and getting this off the ground we are basically moved in. My expectations are huge of myself and I am learning, that at times, they are uber human. All the well here is an inside look at the Blue Think Box.

A good Takache etching press, silkscreen printing area and a small letter press has been added. A few more odds and ends will be coming. As this is an idea I have betted around for years it is nice to see it coming to fruition. The next move is to start collaborating regularly again. One will be coming this winter with my pal Brian Pellinen on a Japanese wishes project. Thankfully he is much smarter in the liberal arts then I. Getting to mid life does that I guess.

So the last project mentioned bit the dust. I suppose one out of 8 or so is not so bad. I will have to persue the indoor rock garden soon... oh well. Above is the new project midway. At least a snippet of it. Now that I have much more time I am trying to expand upon what has been constructed since May. I should not expect success everytime but hey.... um... yeah. This one has the temple from Nara as well as many parts of the backwoods landscapes from Japan.

Here is the middle section. One of the things I am learning is that the least essential parts is what is needed to make this kind of work happen which makes it somewhat the harder to do... in my brain. It is hard to break from your basic training and make the honest work you want to.

This is the other corner. I hope to finish this one by Monday of next week. I would love to hear from folks who would like to collaborate on projects in the future. It need not be of the nature that I have presented here on the blog. Come on and email me, perhaps work at The Blue Box Think Tank and help put a dent in the world.

On a last note... I would still love to send out more flags to people who might want them. Perhaps you might want to install them as a complete string and dole them out as you see fit. I would love to hear from you. The idea is simple: find a good space, tie them up, document them, send me pics and give them away..... So there.....

Until next time.