rex + wesley

i awoke at 3 a.m. flagstaff time, was on the road by 4 and was in flagstaff by 6.  i got to watch the sunrise in route.  smoke from the fire raging just outside of flagstaff wasn't too apparent then.  (but boy was it ever impressive by the time i left!)  i picked stephanie up and off we went to do the first installation.

she reminded me that we'd not pasted together since we did the bicas pieces in january.  our first stop was an unsanctioned hit.  i remembered our target wall being at the back of a yoga studio.  turns out the woman who owned the yoga studio sold it and it's not a residence.  i chose a piece that i thought would compliment the mural by black sheep collective that's also on the wall.  i chose "wesley barlow's last portrait."  we were super quiet at 6:30 in the morning and were gone by 6:50.  

i've got to say, the quality of a drum scan image blows my mind.  it's like looking at a photo rather than a poorly done xerox which is what i've been pasting heretofore.  wow!  i should have listened when a coworker/photographer (tony kuyper at www.GoodLight.us), told me a year ago to look into drum scans.  

anyway, next steph and i went to running's building to paste rex.  that was a wake call as well in that the site i thought we were going to paste is deeply crevassed red brick.  it would have been a nightmare trying to get paste into all those mortar crevasses.    we ended up choosing a site around the back of the building.  the brick there wasn't as deeply fissured but it was such a porous material that it literally drank the paste.  and then the wind kicked up.  oh my friend, the wind.

so, a year ago when i did the show at the santa fe center for contemporary art, i learned how to piece several panels together to make one big photo.  i also experimented with coloring the background of the image which i brought to the reservation after that show.  i can honestly say that if it weren't for the upcoming show in flagstaff, i probably wouldn't have experimented with drum scanning.  so, once again - although the project is reservation based, it's the gallery experience that's helped me leap another hurdle and to arrive at a new plateau.  now i think i see how jr gets the resolution he does at such large sizes.  once again, i'm excited to get back out on the rez with this new tool in the arsenal.

to growth... 

pasting the babbitt building

wow!  realization of another dream.  i got to paste the babbitt building yesterday with jason while working on a scissor lift.  actually, yesterday was the culmination of many dreams and what a beautiful day it was...

q in position to document the installation

jason reviewing the installation map; friday morning science fair in the background

painter bruce aiken going into his studio

the diver is landing in the flagstaff photo gallery where the show will be held

installation at carol hagen's studio (flagstaff, az)

long day on the ladder.  in fact, long day in general.  after driving 2 hours to get to flagstaff, i started working around 9 a.m. and finished after 4.  i'm so thankful jason, q and carol showed up for the love and support they provided.  you know y'all rock.

meanwhile, this piece reminds me of blu's image of the cyclists riding over cars + trucks, yet the delicate lacework of the straw reminds me of swoon, so this piece is dedicated to them.  for blu + swoon...

who knew?

while prepping for my show in flagstaff ("evolution - return of the rez dogs"), i bit into a large organic strawberry, held it to my mouth for a moment and realized it felt like a kiss - a wet, sloppy, sweet, sensual kiss.  who knew?  i guess it's been longer than i thought...