The paintings are not going anywhere at the moment and I was getting tired of the side by side paper things. I went back to drawing, which I use as a kind of crutch to bridge between things.

The first steps are always composition, and then control of the constituent parts. Simple, and yet not so simple. I always learn something from drawing. This time I learned that although I think I know what I'm doing, as soon as the drawing is underway, I begin to learn all the things I don't know about drawing.

The walls I draw on, are rough, and in some places have a brushstroke textural surface from the years of paint, and repair. It's not something you can see just looking at them, and I'm not helping, by using pushpins, to reduce the problem.

I love talking about frottage in classes because it sounds great, and it's one of those things that I've seen used beautifully by some artists. If you aren't familiar with the word, it's french for rubbing, and in this context can incorporate all kinds of textures and patterns into the drawing, in both a specific organized way as well as an overall underlying texture that just becomes the surface upon which the image rests. The reason I mention it is, I'm not one of those people who uses it beautifully, in fact, I was disturbed and muttering to myself in early stages.

I discovered a stick of graphite knocking about in the pile of stuff I had brought with me. I've never used stick graphite, stick charcoal yes plenty, lots of kinds, but graphite, had always been something that either I hadn't learned to use, or had tried, failed, and never looked back. This time, I began with the stick on it's side, with rough shading to generally push the form into some compositional position. As I went on, I needed to reinforce some of the transitional areas and movements. Instead of repositioning the stick in my hand, it remained as before, and the long corner where two facets met, became the line making tool. It sounds complicated, or simple, but if you try it, from flat on one facet rocking over on to the corner, thats it. I make a point of boring you with this because, these are the marks that I've been admiring for years in loads of drawings, and especially Fechin. Nobody ever said anything about how the marks were made, nobody ever taught any one I knew what that was and how it happens. It happens as a result of both the textured surface, and the way the material is held, weather its charcoal, or graphite. I would hope I'm not the only one who is this excited about it. Now the big problem is how to control it.

As I said earlier, I find out quickly how much I don't know, and how much there is to still learn. I've used an eraser for years, and you would think that there are few things that I hadn't discovered, and you would be wrong, as I was. So the week was spent drawing, not glamorous, but still worth the time and effort spent in the journey. The two drawings above are the result, and I apologize, they are not the technical finesse that we see usually in drawing, they were dragged kicking and screaming into existence, as though it were a battle of endurance.

Then today I concluded two more things on paper. these are a way to keep pushing the process without having to deal with the seriousness of the canvas. These two were a miserable beginning. They have taken an interesting turn and maybe have some value, who knows.

This is the next one . It seems to be more fragmented and in some turmoil. Perhaps it's on the way to something else. As much as I struggle with what to do, all I can do is remind myself that between where the work is now and where it will end up, there is a bunch of things that I have to get out of the way, so don't suffer so much, just do the work.

When the previous things were concluded, I thought I would bring this one home to live with, which would give me space for the next. Both were started at the same time, that two at a time process. This one had been stuck and the last thing I did was add the blue notes through the center, and more green around the bottom middle and left.

There have been some new things, and some reworking of old things, first the new things.

These seemed to be going back into a predictable and tired area, which I have to say didn't thrill me at all. When this happens, I hate going back. I hate looking at the work, and yet the only way out is to go back, and look at the work. It's not flashy, but it's all you can do. So onward I went and found that It didn't get easier. I wallowed around for a couple days and finally decided to let it go, let the trite and cute things show up, I can always get rid of them. The idea has been I thought to try to get rid of representation, and the language of representation. Easier said than done because I have only that language to express visually my ideas. Or so it seems at this point.

Last week I started doing some things on paper, and found that I could do a couple at a time and I seem to suffer less over them than the larger canvases. They have been for me predictable, like work I've done before, and work I've seen before, except for the last two. Here they are. I don't know what to make of them, I don't know exactly what's going on, only that something seems to be very engaging about them.

I dropped a couple words from the last post in a sentence near the bottom. Make up any thing you think would work.

About the same time as all the studio Tour, Atlas Building stuff was spinning into its own momentum, I was teaching a three-D design class. The class is a basic level examination of the elements and principals of design in a three dimensional format. One of the more difficult things to convey to students is not that the principals and elements can be applied in three dimensions, it's that when you look for some kind of statement, and don't know what that is, there are ways to find out. These ways are a lot like playing. If we know what we want, we can go right to it. If we don't, we have to look around, see what's out there, explore some things, and if something seems to move in an interesting direction, follow it. Andy Goldsworthy is a great example of that. In the process of trying to present them with problems to solve and lists of materials or at least places to look for materials, I began wandering through Dollar General. I found some interesting things without much trouble, and together with some other things that I have no excuse to keep except to create with, I threw together some sculptural works. These are the works (above).

The Peeps were from the dollar general just before Easter, the tin was one of a bunch of things I have saved without any real reason, other than materials for work. The sheet of grey card stock was just to hide some spackle on the wall, but helped to contain the composition. The egg shells, another one of those things I save to use some where some day.

The ironing board and plastic funnels, with the cans of milk, same thing, milk from Dollar general, funnels, dollar general, and ironing board from a house going on the market, left behind and given to me by a friend who is a realtor.

The ladder was found on a trash pile at the curb where a house was being cleaned out for sale. The objects that were added to it were things that I save and don't actually know what I will do with them, dead and wilted roses, wasp nests, and rope. The plants were originally something I ran across at my neighborhood garden shop, Ted and Debbies, and were scotch moss. The color was bright lime green and the plastic pots were rectangular, which had a denser shape, but I had to find something else when I moved it into the dark spaces of the Atlas Building.

All of these works were made to show students in the design class what one of the possible statements could be with materials like these. For me, enjoyed working within the limitations of the materials and the time I allowed to complete the work. Finding the caned milk at dollar general, and the label on the cans are the spark that started the idea in that direction. there are so many fabulous objects all around us all we have to do is see them and start putting them together.

That brings me to the next big point that I want to make, Art can and should be fun. Yes, there are very serious works that expose deep and heart felt ideas but there are also humorous and light statements that have elements of deeper and serious statements. Why not, if it is possible to read the work in a variety of ways can't that be built in as another contributing component of the richness of the work. Humor helps break down the formality that sometimes stands between art and audience.

Bottom line, for me is that between now and where I will end up there stands a vast variety of work, why not let it all out. If I hadn't been teaching the 3-D class I may not have ever tried these things. If I hadn't agreed to try working at the Atlas, I may not have ever done the work that was done there. This is what I have learned, things change and you have to brave the wind, step out into the storm see what happens.