how many is a kazillion?

'cause that's about how many things are running around in my head right now and I can't clearly understand any of them...

I am supposed to be working on the concept(s) for a sculpture proposal that I am supposed to submit by 4pm on Wednesday...

having been one of four artists to receive an invitation I think I'm obliged to follow through...but fuck! I keep thinking of part of that "why I am an artist" bullshit about being "concept as opposed to inspiration driven", which I suppose is a cop-out of sorts since it pretty much prevents Divine Intervention on an artistic level...

where the hell's that "eureka moment" when you need it?

oh well, I'm sure I'll come up with something...maybe my friend Sandy's tree out in the hills above San Diego will "inspire"...

I hope...

lips gong stand #2...

finished product...

detail of bolted connection...

out in front of the shop...

started it Thursday at 7pm and finished the next morning at 2am...
picked up at 9am and on stage that night...


fun stuff...

oh yeah...

lips gong stand #2 is on the way...

(new shop picture of stand #1 in original post below...)

fitz/nguyen entry...

being a pretty headstrong designer myself, working with an architect on his own house is about as smart as...well...you can just imagine...


of course I'm kidding...I've been working with Brian for over two years on the house for he and his wife...and truthfully it has been one of the best overall experiences of my career...to work side by side with such a talented designer is really off the hook at times...we have constantly challenged each other... critiqued each other...supported and helped each other....and unlike many architects and designers that often don't have the skills to actually build anything they design, Brian is a true design/builder at heart...he also has the confidence to know when to ask for help, whether from a construction standpoint or on a design idea or detail...and also when to stand his ground when he knows what he wants...super qualities both...


these pictures are of the latest addition to the house...a front entry canopy and sliding gate...it also captures a bit of the bridge from the entry to the house over the pea gravel Zen Garden...


I hope you enjoy...




working in the shop...




working in the shop (2)...




working in the shop - (3)...




night install...




view from porch...(in process)...




view from courtyard...(low angle, in process)...




view from Francis Avenue looking SW...(in process)...




and a kick ass night shot of the bamboo refection in the roof...

this is what it's all about!

I'll post the finished product when the professional photographer is done... and I get permission from above to use the images...Hallelujah...

of course, check out more of Brian work on the link http://www.fitzsimmons-arch.com/

Da Ru Ma Bonsai Tree...

in it's finished setting...

can't really express how I feel about it all...

but talk about elegant...

belleza salon sign...

installed...

aluminum letters on a rusted steel plate background...

elegant huh?

relativist...

Main Entry: rel·a·tiv·ism Pronunciation: 're-l&-ti-"vi-z&mFunction: noun
1 a : a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing b : a view that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them
2 : RELATIVITY - rel·a·tiv·ist /-vist/ noun

I've been called many, many things...but relativist? OK, I admit, part of this I can accept...but "knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing"?

Fuck.

I had no idea...

But then again, Part B, does speak volumes...


I do believe that we are all given, mostly without knowing, an innate sense of "the rules"...to oneself, and to each other...but that, of course, is an assumption. It assumes that each of us was taught something...which allows us to tap into this set of guidelines, as it were, that helps us in each and every decision we face on a daily basis... "Do I do this, or that?" It's a simple equation really, but one that few seem to get, but that in of itself is an arrogance I suppose...

Damn it! I guess that "nothing is real, nothing truly exists" bullshit is actually true...

Relativist.

I can live with that.

lips...gong stand...finally...

taken with the phone...in the studio...
more pics of the stand in Lips European Action coming soon...

in the shop yard (before mowing)...