Giving me the Finger

What is the deal with this finger lakes area?  So far I had not seen anything that even resembled a lake much less a finger.  The entire town Honeoye folds up and goes home around 6 pm.   That means the quest for a good chard becomes more difficult.  Luckily, the locals gave up one of the good places and it happened to be on a finger lake.  After a hard day of making art it was worth the 13 mile drive through beautiful country to get there.  8 hours of looking at a nude model on a big turnable makes  everything seems to look like a body part.  Which one is this?

Life in a lump

Have you ever seen the stone sculpture of Michelangelo's that is partially finished?  It looks like it is coming alive out of this huge chunk of stone.  It was in there all the time, it just needed to have someone pull the marble off of it.   Genius comes in many forms.  The spelling bee, Good Will Hunting,  The IQ wizard, the server who can remember 15 orders without a pen, or maybe MJ on one of the good days.  But let's not forget the artists, whomever you believe them to be.   The painter, the actor, the pickpocket, or guitarist.  Today for me it was the Sculptor.  I watched the teacher pull life from a lump of gray clay in a matter of minutes.  Rough and unfinished it had a beauty that was beyond words.  Only to be mashed into a ball and done again.  Amazing.   This little honey was most certainly not from the master  but merely s a stop along the road in the hunt for Genius.   What is your Genius?

The Quiet Place

The finger lakes in upstate New York is a magical place in the late Spring.  The hour or so drive down the county roads to get to Honeoyo was awesome.  The only thing that made it better was finding my home for the next week. I'm up here to do a workshop with the famous sculptor Philippe Faraut.  This feels like an artsy place.   "The Quiet Place" as it is called is nestled deep in the woods a few miles outside of town.  It's one of those places where a novel should be written.  So, I'm going to start one.   I got the idea in New Orleans a few months ago.  I would like to lock down the characters in the movie before I actually get started on the novel.  SO, I am taking applications for the following:

The oldest hooker in New Orleans

The street vendor

The protagonist - a street musician

The bad guy 1- An old crooked politician

Bad Guy 2-  Billionaire brother of the hooker

Nelly- the sleazy but sweet love interest of the street musician.


Please include a short resume and some photos would be nice......  I do have my short list....

Stay tuned....

The Groove and the Studio Stool

It's been a  long time since I have been in the studio.  It's sort of like riding a bike except that you fall off a bunch.  Well, I have some scrapes on my knees but they will heal and I have found a little bit of my groove.  Over the next few months I'm going to be doing some images of local folks out here in East Texas.  Some will be edgy.....others will hopefully tell a story.   I suppose you never know what an image brings until it's locked down.  Stay tuned for some interesting insight into a very unique place.    I will be on the lookout for some interesting folks that live out in the piney woods, so if you know anyone.....

When you least expect it

Having spent serveal days in San Cristobol de las Casa  I was settled in to a bottle of Cab on the sidewalk at the Bacco Bar.  Much to my surprise the locals had now become locals.  I guess that is the blessing of being in a place for a few days.  All travelers come together eventually and so today it was just that.  I was sitting there with my vino tinto and noticed a young crafts hawker walking by...... Much to my surprise she was sporting a "By Miles" sticker that was left to her or someone else a few days ago.  I am honored beyond words, and today I  see the "Vato" on the basket.    The other highlight was the duo of the harmonica man and the guitarista  ( my word) on the steps outside of Bacco.  Perhaps the words to live by came from Ricci the Italian owner of Bacco...when asked where he was the other day.."I did not come to Mexico to work hard".  He has been here for 11 years and had the bar for 7 years.   A new baby and a smile makes me believe he has found his pace.  To all who are looking for the cadence that makes life.... I salute you...

Politics of Rebellion

Years ago I was here in San Cristobol de las Casas just after the Zapatista rebellion had killed many innocent people in this region.  As always when innocent people are killed, no was was right.  I remember feeling the tremendous tension everywhere in town and even more in the countryside.  Soldiers, tanks, and machine guns have a way of doing that to people.  Today, in San Cris there was a protest.  A small one to be sure, something about classes at the local university.  It was not the cause that stirred the pot but the presence of the military driving around the Zocalo.  In a place where kindness is common to the homeless, the old, and stray dogs you would think people and governments could do the same.   Maybe it really is time to do it a different way.....

Patience and the table monsters

The street sellers are a recurring theme in this part of the world.  Today I broke down and followed the lesson of my teacher from earlier in the week,  John.  I sat and did some very focused negotiations with some of the local clay figure vendors.  The oldest being around 8.  I estimated there must have been around 13 of them at one time.  The photo is the end result of about 40 minutes of barter and the equivalent of about $1.15 us.   The vino tinto took much less time and was a welcome bonus.  Those of you who know me are wondering "RED", is that possible.  The answer is when in Rome do as the Romans do.  Yes, I have found a bit of my red groove.   Will it be imported?  Only time will tell.  FYI, do not be surprised to see these objects in your Christmas stockings this year....