Thanksgiving, 11.24
Our Thanksgiving “Ussie” - myself, my wife Beth, sister Rachael, mom Judy and dad Duane.
A “Normal” Post…
Back to a more ‘normal’ post, if this blog can have such a thing. Other than a mention below about writing I’ll leave any work and/or work search update for later, but that is looking positive and hopeful. And I’m trying to to be too emotionally invested (which by saying so, makes it so, lol.) Anyway, on with the post…
Father & Son Road Trip
The highlight of this last couple of months was taking my Dad on a road trip for a couple of nights. We retraced our favorite mountain highways. Specifically Highway 108 that runs over Sonora Pass and then Highway 120 that runs through Yosemite National Park. We stayed in Lee Vining on the 395 and ventured from there out to California’s Bodie State Park via a back-route that took us through aspen groves, mining ruins and then over the tree line before descending into Bodie. We enjoyed each other’s company, conversation and time in quiet together. On our way through Yosemite we ventured out to Glacier Point to take in the view and then back down into Modesto. It was a memorable trip and one I’m pleased to have taken the time for.
“Free” Time Writing
In addition to more introspection over the last couple of months I’ve done more writing than I have in a long time. Some of it is just for my own good/processing, a bunch was for portfolio/cv content and also working on an idea that will either be a book or a new blog category. That theme there is about how to prepare for good creative projects and it is written for Creatives, Project Managers and Marketers. By the end of this year I’ll have decided if its book-worthy now, or blog-ready now, stay tuned.
Along the way I’ve written a couple editorial posts on Linked In. They’re relevant to my experience and (I hope) are positive and interesting to read. Its something that I’ll continue to do and it correlates a bit with the larger creative project.
“I think back to times over the last few years where I’ve said, “Yes, I/we can make time for that.” In retrospect, that was just wrong. There’s no making time, it’s a finite resource. We can only take time and move it from one priority to…”
“What’s the difference between art and craft? - This question came to me years ago from a colleague who I now count as a friend. While we worked at the same company we were…”
Passion • Purpose • Peace • Patience - My First Ink
A first tattoo has been on and off my list for many years. No better time than this season in life to do this than now. I thought over previous ideas and changed direction from those art based ideas to a typography piece. Passion, Purpose, Peace, and Patience are four things I need more of and that I pray for. I looked at a bunch of artist’s and studios searching for someone who does fine line and clean work and found Hana Oh. We scheduled the time and the tattoo was faster than expected and relatively painless. She was great to work with and I’d recommend her to anyone who’s interested. That same typography is a piece of art I’m using on my personal brand pieces like my resume/cards, etc.
Land Ops - Little Blair Valley Op
I got out for a couple night’s camp trip with a Ham Radio/GeoCache/4x4 club called Land Ops. We’ve done several trips with them before, but it’s been some time. It was great to get out to the Anza-Borrego desert for some camping to see friends. I participated in a night-time operation that involves route finding, proper radio communications and group problem solving. I hadn’t planned to go on the op so didn’t have all my radio/gps gear and that made the night op even more interesting. Thankfully I have camped in the area before and had Gaia maps on my phone. During the days I just chased the shade, carved and did a bit of reading. It was a bit windy at night as there was a storm system coming in and that made for great skies the second afternoon.
Looking across Blair Valley at the incoming storm clouds.
Big Backpack Gnomes
My creative energy has been mostly focused on things other than hobby lately (shocker!), but I am enjoying exploring my own theme of these Big Backpack Gnomes. Each one takes on some new challenge and are a fun storytelling opportunity. Some of these will end up on my Etsy shop sooner or later, but right now they’re camping out on the bookshelf in my office.
I’ve also updated my carving catalog where you can click through galleries to see how my carvings have evolved.
Largest carving is 12-1/2” tall and carved from a 3” block of basswood. Many more pics here.