The Bear Claw Necklace

So, under the tutelage of a local Native American artist, I'm restoring some very old grizzly bear claws. I'm planning to make a traditional bear claw necklace.  This is the highest of Medicine and a great honor.

Disney's Haunted Mansion: The Hitchhiking Ghosts

I'm almost finished sculpting the third and final Hitchhiking Ghost.  Once I'm finished painting the last guy I want to coat all three of them with a translucent greenish glow in the dark glaze.  Then some kind of diorama display for them. 

Paint is done

I finished painting the second ghost (for now). I may re-visit the painting when I'm finished with all three. My A.D.D. is telling me to move on from this project but my kids are making me finish (start) the last ghost.

Disney Hitchhiking Ghosts continued

The second sculpture survived the bake! Once I paint this it's on to the third and final ghost.

Disney Sculpture

The second in my Disney Hitchhiking Ghost trilogy.  He's bigger than the first one so I had to put him in the oven at an angle. He's in the oven as I write this and I'm a little worried. I'm not sure what's going to happen, baking at a 45 degree angle with a rod in his back for support. I'm baking him at 225 degrees for 3 hours or so, then cooling off slowly in the oven overnight.  We shall see. 

Disney's Hitchhiking Ghost sculpture

 

The first of the trio of Hitchhiking Ghosts from Disney's Haunted Mansion. I used 8 plus pounds of Super Sculpey polymer clay. It's just over 15 inches tall.  I had no idea what I was doing when I started so this was a great learning experience for me. This one barely fit in the oven and the next one is going to be about 2 inches higher. Somehow I'll have to bake it in 2 pieces. 

My Tortoise Lives In a Teepee

Our African Sulacta has taken over the teepee. He has the run of the backyard and every night he goes in teepee to sleep. When the sun comes up he pokes his head out.

Jesus Christ Drawing

I've been working on this of and on for a couple of months. I think I'm close to finishing. It's done in pencil on 19x 24 bristol vellum.

Baby Turtle!!

I sprinted in front of an on coming car to save this painted turtle hatchling from certain death. 

Flea Market Bounty

Odin was surely smiling upon me this morning at the Flea Market. Kong was a buck and a daft vendor gave me the footless Wolfman that he's holding for free.

CARPE DIEM

TODAY WILL BE SEIZED BY THE THROAT!  PRAISE BE TO ODIN!  WE YET LIVE!

Prudence

Momma Fox and Her Kits

Whenever I take my dogs for a walk, at the state park down the road from my house, I get to spend some time watching a mother fox with her kits. I took these pictures this morning at about 5:30. The mother is the clump of red fur over on the left. The two kits are to the right of center. Really cool stuff. I get to watch the young ones pounce around playing and hunting close to the den, under mothers watchful eye. Mostly she watches me. I don't linger too long. I try not to bug them too much. My dogs have no clue. They all watch me as I walk away.

Here's another one of the two kits

Game Of Thrones: Ned Stark

I've been trying to teach myself how to "Paint" my pencil drawings with Photoshop Elements. Been working on this off and on for quite a while.

Monday...

In between sets of pull ups, with Duane Eddy cranking I stare angrily at the ground giving the upstairs two middle fingers raised high above my head.

Friday Night

I'm sitting here listening to Roy Clark's "I Never Picked Cotton" in the dark. Alone. Like Charton Heston in the Omega Man ( I always end up playing him in my mind). How does one get from Roy Clark to Charlton Heston?

A Meditation

A dumb little brown bird is making pretty sounds. Myriad of flittering insects landing here and there.  Rooster just ate an amazing little butterfly. The sun's beating its cosmic drum on my chest, filling me with Peace.  Our Robin swoops down on a killdeer and chases it away from her nest.  Drunkenly a moth crashes into a post. The Lorax is calling but I'm not in the mood.  A pig shaped cloud rolling by tips his hat to me. Empty coffee cup.

Living The Lorax

After a nice hike in a local state park early this morning, I'm heading out back with a fresh cup of coffee to work on my Lorax wood carving. The sun is shining. Hazah!

Need to Breathe

I scream in my head while I do pull ups. The walls of this planet seem to be closing in on me. No air. I need to get to the mountains so I can breathe again. Maybe now the time is right to make the necklace. "THE" bear claw has been resting in my medicine pouch for years. I've been afraid of doing anything with it. I wanted to make a necklace out of it when I received it but was afraid of offending the bear. Somehow I think it's OK now. Maybe I should dig a hole in my chest with it. I think I should take it to "Wilderness" and meditate on it. I need to run through the forest and let the branches tear at my skin. I'm dying here. A fish gasping for air.

The Lorax

Walking through a recently logged forest with the idea of finding some cool "unwanted" logs, we found some beautiful pieces. Who better to carve out of a tree than The Lorax? And who better to carve it than me,  the Hurdy Gurdy man, singing songs of love? Of course now I need a chainsaw, and that is how I will die. Which is fine.

Soon.....

...the crow speaks of him to the wind ,the tall prairie grasses bow to the eastern sky, long ago warriors starting to gather on the plains, the heavens beat the eternal drum, chickadees dance through the trees following his music....closer still....



....in my mind I see "Big Medicine" he has undertaken a long and dusty journey, the sun is at his back as the breeze blows back his hair, rock and tree smile as he walks past, he has seen many miles, a buffalo pouch tied to his back, in it he carries "The Flute", my flute, he is bringing it to me, I am humbled....I will bring it to the top of "The Mountain" and hear it's wisdom...and become... The Universe

The Keeper Of The Drum

A special, unannounced, gift arrived today. I was presented with The Native American Drum. I've been given the incredible honor and responsibility to be the drum keeper for our family. I know this isn't to be taken lightly,and it wont be.  I've been given the ability to speak with our ancestors as well as become one with the spirit of the drum. The drum itself is a living being, uniting the spirits of Cedar, Elk, and the very universe itself.  It is life and death.  I'm a little overwhelmed by this.  Each gift that "Big Medicine" gives me takes me to a higher and higher plane. I am very small medicine but I give these gifts Great Honor. This drum along with the meeting of Ed Webster must be a sign to head for the High Country in solitude and let fly my spirit.



Ed Webster

Saturday I got to meet Ed Webster, one of the worlds greatest mountaineers. He was signing books at the Kittery Trading Post and, totally by chance, we stopped in.  I had the amazing opportunity to talk to him about some of his adventures. I also bought his new book, Snow in The Kingdom.  He signed it and wrote a page full of kind words to me. A wonderful, humble gentleman and a true mountain man. Thanks Ed.

The Best!

English Bulldog Drawing

This 19x24 drawing took me about 20 hours to complete!

Sean Bean Drawing