It has been quite a year of changes, transitions and unavoidable endings. However, I'm ready once again to see art-making as a perfectly worthwhile waste of time.These match stix that I have been carving from fallen pine logs ultimately need some match heads; seems obvious enough. The question is always the same when creating something new; what works and what doesn't.
These two heads are seen before they will be attached, burnt and stained. One is for a 9 ft stick that has been bent and ravaged nearly to the end of the log ("Burn-out Case"; white cedar, approx. 18'x 1o"x8"). The other is a serene profile for a piece that I have tentatively called "Dante before the Fall", where his face is still smug, youthful and with out blemish. The match itself will appear as if it has yet to be lit (white pine, approx. 20"x 11"x 3"). I don't want to speculate about the totemic qualities of these pieces; they are more like individual portraits than conglomerations of sacred symbols. In some ways, these 2 seem to reflect the year in brief. Luckily there is more year, and more carvings, paintings, clay works and writing to be done yet.
