Modern Life

My World has been consumed by moving studio and fixing the car/not fixing the car. Oh, and throwing a few very uneven pots ( i haven't even had the kind of headspace to give that much thought). I'm supposed to be delivering book cover artwork to a publisher (If you read this Jack, I'll be back on the case tomorrow.. after moving a few more bits in to my new studio space.) Also, like a mad man, I decided this was a good time to start exploring Pinterest! I like it, but as with most of these things, don't like a lot of what's on them. If you do have interesting stuff on there please follow me, or something like that, it's on my side bar now, so i won't bother linking to it. However, if you collect glossy pictures of expensive cars and only wish you could recreate them with an airbrush and some other gadgety nonsense then please stay well away. I feel the same way about Twitter, which i was willing to give a shot, in this year of 'exploration'. I follow hardly anyone(for good reason), but I'm still on the verge of a minor cull! Yes, I find a lot of interesting stuff and a lot of relevant stuff (i know, i actually quite like twitter! I get the 'mini blogness' of it, for the things in between posts that you wouldn't normally get around to actually blogging, but can now put out there. However, the aggressive mass daily tweeting kind of pollutes it all, there's no point doing that...edit...edit! surely 5 a day is already excessive, why go over 10??? Why??? I think Twitter's creator has said something similar lately, it's not what it was for. Put it down occasionally, walk away, see how there's not a massive void in your life. Now come back and use it like a tool (...as in using it as a tool, not using it like you're a tool... which kinda could apply!)
Anyway, that's the kind of mess I've got myself in to. Ha! I've also been realising the number of unresolved problems around the house... highlighted by my anxiety on getting the car fixed... and dealing with the whole garage/mechanic thing! I have a radiator that drips into a jar, while i try and watch TV(No, i don't have the car in the lounge.. it's a central heating kind of radiator!). I have a fresh hole in a bedroom door, where i had to take a jigsaw to it to remove a stairgate that was propped behind it, but had fallen and wedged the door shut. I still have a 5ft hole in my bedroom ceiling, from a leak that soaked the old inch thick plaster, which came down one night missing me in bed by about 12 inches! It was like a solid door being dropped from about 9 ft... and the hole was temporarily patched with polystyrene, that was over 2 years ago. There's a main light in a spare room that hasn't worked for even longer! I'm sure there's even more stuff than that. My house is starting to become a monument to one man's uselessness!! just as well i can make stuff, cos i sure as hell can't fix anything. Oh boy. Well, that's where I'm at, aren't you glad you checked in now. HELP!! : )

On The Beach

Thought I'd introduce you to what is (and has been for a long time now) my favourite song. On The Beach, by Neil Young, is up there with my favourite albums (probably still Veedon Fleece, by Van Morrison). This certainly has the best 'side' of any album, On The Beach, Motion Pictures and Ambulance Blues.... Wow! Anyway, i think I'll let the music do the talking. If you don't already know it please take the time to.

Ames Gallery, California

Looks like I've found my new home! I think I could settle in there quite nicely.... and yes I clocked those Lanier Meaders face jugs... oh boy!

Sgraffito Fish Bowl!

It's pottery!!!... I'd really lost my clay spirit recently. Struggling to get 2012 going, just about keeping up. I'd made a couple of things, but wasn't really feeling it. Had another collapsed slipped pot, but that was due to the slip thickening up and me not really paying attention!. Time just seems to fly by ... family time, career time, other experimental work etc, left very little time for the clay. I did start this fish bowl though. Now i made a right mess of building it, so I'll be amazed if it makes it to a finished pot, but it's acting as a useful prototype. The slip is still a bit thick, but i know if i get it right and sgraffito when the slip is still damp i will be able to get more detail and an extra layer of depth. I'm obviously intending to make more of these. I'll probably make simple deco ones and the occasional detailed one. I know how i can make them better now. Some may remember a doodle of a fish bowl i posted way back, well it's taken a while but i got here in the end! Still got a bit more work to do on it, but it's shaping up. Obviously it's not for actually keeping fish in! though i do like the idea of a pottery fish bowl... why spoil them with a view?!!

I also knocked this little chap up, with an unresolved cylinder. Thought I'd make a pen/pencil holder, with a couple of holes in it to poke a couple through his head. Fill him with lead!

Hopefully I'll have more pots soon. I've just been away from it for a while, but i know once i plunge back into it I'll be alright. I also, finally, have an offer of help to get me up to speed with firing this kiln that's been taunting me from the other side of the room... along with my wheels! better take that plunge and put in the hours... maybe you won't be seeing any pots from me in a while, just a pile of trashed clay!

Say It With Followers

Happy Valentine's Day!.... and of course I, erm, love you all.
(really i just wanted to use the pun)

...Following On...

In case you couldn't be bothered to follow those links before, here's a little clip of Desert Christ Park, Yucca Valley CA. I really love the mood of this clip... and even that guys voice! (I'm not a religious man) ... but hey, a little more love and forgiveness could always be used in this World right?...erm... amen.

Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder

Here's a great little film on Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder, find half an hour, grab a coffee and take it in. We came across his Thunder Mountain Monument on our second big road trip in the States, back in 2006. Jakki was 6 months pregnant with Texas and we flew in to Vegas to see her Mom. Her Dad then met us there from LA and we drove up to Montana with him. It went from over 100 degrees in Vegas to snowing in Yellowstone, in the space of 2 days. We were happy to see the temperature rising as we approached Montana!

It was quite a big trip. Starting in Vegas, we went up to Salt Lake City, Utah and then through Idaho to Montana, where we stayed for about a week. Then we headed back to Vegas, via Idaho, Oregon (a little bit), Nevada and into California, LA then Vegas. We came across lots of amazing stuff on the way and some breathtaking scenery... and scary driving up in the mountains! We drove about 4000 miles in the 3 weeks, i think.

Anyway, Thunder Mountain Monument was a real highlight. We nearly missed it driving out of Winnemucca, Nevada. It just sits off the main road near the town of Imlay, so we pulled off and explored. It was cool and a little spooky! We didn't know anything about it at the time, but soon found out afterwards and discovered that great little film of him (real name Frank Van Zant) and his family's story. We came across so many places on that trip and accumulated more junk in the car with each town we stopped in! We're suckers for all this kind of thing. Even back in LA we were treated to Trappers Lodge, thanks to Jakki's friend (and amazing and highly collectable artist) Patrick Lee. His Drawing skills are stunning! We always enjoy hanging out with Patrick and Frank. We also went to find Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, but when we did it was closed.. never mind. There's a fantastic film of her that I've mentioned before, again on the fantastic folkstreams.net, go check out more of the films and discover something new! Then it was time for us to head back to Vegas, checking out the Desert Christ Park on the way. My god it was hot out there. We also foolishly, nearly ran out of gas (and water) in the desert!.. not very well prepared and not advisable... especially when one of you is 6 months pregnant... lousy father-to-be! Then we made it back to Vegas just in time to watch England's World Cup Matches!.. and get a 3D scan of our baby, incredible!
Anyway, I only meant to write a quick thing about the film of Rolling Mountain Thunder... so I'm off. That was our journey and i hope we can do it again sometime with the full set of the four of us.

Thunder Mountain Monument, Imlay, Nevada

Car as part on wall!!

The creepy figure under the tree, you could never quite see a face in the shade

Trappers Lodge, Pierce College CA (Patrick and Jakki)

These guys were about 9ft tall

Desert Christ Park, Yucca Valley, CA

An overheated expectant mother!

Me, Zuma Beach. Wanting to hear some Neil Young!

Keeping it simple

I'm really enjoying playing around with limited tools right now. I'm doing lots of drawing with just the lasso and pencil tool in photoshop. In fact it's how I'm doing all the work for the animation that I'm working on. I've used it in the past just for roughing some stuff out in colour, before then going on to draw it in pens, scan and colour up in photoshop. I've been tempted to use it for artwork, but now something seems to have clicked and i'm playing around with it more, maybe i'll print some out and redraw little bits in pencil and scan those in, so it's a bit more of a mix. I like how drawing with a mouse and lasso tool keeps me loose, sometimes i over tighten things up and lose some of that energy. I also like the fact it's really basic mark making. we've had computers around long enough now for people to have really pushed what images you can make and getting ultra slick, so it's nice to throw all that away and just use two basic tools. I like it anyway. Years ago i did a few of my favourite albums as minimally as i could, just 300x300 pixels, only using the lasso and pencil tool (quiz: can anyone name the last album with the brown cover?). I also have this idea for a kid's picture book which has been kicking around for a while now and i used the same approach on that too (well, i have about a dozen ideas, but don't get me started on the World of picture books!). I'll see where it leads me. Might just create a few personal images and leave it at that... who knows? Sometimes it's just nice to let the work lead you. Anyway, that's what's happening in my head right now.

The Death Of Winston Pickle

The REAL covers

300x300pixels x300dpi

Picture book sketches

While You Wait...

A little blast from a few years back now, but it still makes me smile and the tune is catchy as hell, can't stop it coming out of my mouth. I like how Will Oldham ( Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) has gotten himself in it. There's quite some contrast between his music and Kanye's! Anyway, I've got lots i want to blog about, but never those moments to put it all together. I even started on twitter, never thought i'd say those words! I like seeing what others are up to, interesting stuff, but again I just haven't got into the tweeting yet. If you ever feel the inclination I'm @garrettworld. I've been pretty focused on a set of book jackets I'm working on and also trying to power forwards with the animation. Getting lots of that sorted and trying to finish writing the dialogue.
Just going to run through what i hope to get to blogging...so as to remind myself. Notebook interiors, sketchbooks, new studio, slipware fishbowl, Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder, animation etc etc etc.