Tornado Sky:

Metaphorically Rich... You know the feeling...

Sunrise.

: The Moment in Time Each day where the Harrowing Darkness of Night, carrying with it whatever our burdens may be, fades away giving us the light of a new day full of Hope and possibilities for a better life... and to all of us who have had the warm comfort of a cushy bed and loved ones surrounding us... The strength to reach out and help someone in whatever way possible... sometimes all it takes is the simple kindness of a smile or a kind word... at the very least, it is a great place to begin.

Electric Energy: Connecting

The Flow of Energy in Life is my primary interest. Understanding the physics of it through Light, Color, Wind, Fire, Electrical Storms, Rainy and Sunny Days & Ocean Waves I find endlessly fascinating.
Time for me creating works of art opens up a dimension where I find myself contemplating the parallels of energy that animates our universe with the interactions between each of us and the people most closely interacting with my world.

Part of what I am doing now is taking notes... The subject matter is all over the place so I am just doing my best to capture thoughts as they present themselves. It reminds me of of Duchamp and his Green Box... A collection of thoughts on scraps of paper relating to The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. The process is the same. We all do it when we think about our work... a sketch here, a note there, thoughts drifting through our minds at any time of the day or night relating to it. In time I will sort out what to do with them. For now it feels like I am out in a field trying to catch Butterflies and Grasshoppers to put in a jar... for my amusement, until I decide their fates.

Water: Falling

Tornado Sky: Sunrise... Although this sculpture installation is complete in my mind and on the page... I am still catching the pieces floating through my head on intellectual as well as practical levels. Naturally my own life experience resonates through the combination of iconic references. The danger of explaining my connection to the work is in the diminished magic you are left with to pour yourself into it with.
So sit back and relax as the pieces unfold... One day they will all come together here for you, as they did eventually for me over the coarse of several months...
As for the practical business of bringing it to life... I am riding on tornado winds catching the pieces and sorting them out...

Tornado Trail

Just as the sky before a lightning strike forms a plasma leader to prepare a path for the energy to flow through.... My Tornado changed the flow of energy around here dramatically for weeks afterward. People moved slower, time seemed almost to stop. It was a world of it's own apart from the rest of the city. After the electric company cut the power to downed lines I was able to go out and retrieve electrical remnants from the debris. One piece I wanted to have was a street lamp I found on the side of the road. Still connected to a broken pole I was going to need some tools to get it... So I went home to get them... less than an hour later when I returned it was gone. I had even decided I would just put it over my shoulder and drag it home if I had to... The opportunity was gone. I kept the image in my mind throughout the rest of the summer and carried on collecting the pieces of what has recently become Tornado Sky: Sunrise.... It is really about the flow of energy in life... Very complex yet pure and simple all at once. Today I am researching... How to bring all of the pieces out of the tornado winds one by one and help them fall neatly into place.

Setting the Sun on Fire

Darin Back

Debbie Donovan


The past few weeks have been spent in the studio editing documentation and creating this interactive sculpture for Grant Harts record release show for his new Record/CD... HOT WAX. The perimeter of the sun was shot out with a super soaker for the intro to his show... the afterglow of the sun remained on throughout. It was a great evening and a fine kick off to an extensive season of touring ahead... Congratulations to Grant and thank you to Darin and Debbie for the beautiful photos...
As well as a link to images by Jay Smiley...

Dreams and Visions

Fall is looking good. Whatever was going on that insisted I sleep and dream every other minute over the summer has faded away and replaced itself with active and productive and awake 18 to 20 hours a day... I have a lot of work on my table ranging from documentation to building new pieces, grant writing and allowing visions of future work to form in my mind and on the page... next is the research to make it happen... The most interesting piece of all is destined for an amazing sculpture park here in Minnesota... I think some of the dream time this summer definitely contributed to the work I have in mind... none the less... you will see the sketches soon as I move into the next phase of bringing it to life...
It is all a part of Tornado Sky: Manifesting our dreams and visions...

Like having a Shiny New Car...

...It's the freedom of chasing your dreams, and the TIME... good health, clarity of mind and financial stability to catch them... from there the problem of documentation... of which my performance art partner from the early 80's and I identified at an early age, subsequently taking the issue into the performance art arena... Evidently to bring attention to it and not to solve it. After all... living in the moment doesn't come with a cinematographer and journalist. So 25 years later... I am facing off the dragon... and I intend to win!! Yesterday began the first round of sifting through old tapes and transferring to DVD. Of coarse there is very little left that is still intact, however there are a few glimmers of the past and the rest will need to be re created for a documentary I am beginning to put together of my Electric Water work. I am working with a fabulous assistant with a great deal of experience with film and editing... and most important... great enthusiasm... which makes it so much more fun. After all... It really needs to be enjoyable...
Like having a Shiny New Car!!

Studio Day... Finally

Hitting the ground running... Slowly at first... and then??? I am undertaking the work of Grant writing and Documentation. My first impulse is to panic about the upcoming deadlines. I have spent the last several hours reviewing and selecting points of interest of which to focus my attention. As usual in my creative world... the documentation is not where I would like it to be. So if I don't get anything else done in the near future this would be an excellent area to address. Also today I am enjoying the privilege of a quiet day alone to think for myself, organize my thoughts and sift through written material from my archives... then start updating for this round of applications I have set sail in the wind before me. All in all this is the place I have been trying to get to for months.
My new job has me half way to utopia... 3 days on... 3 days off...
or more precisely...
3 days to generate revenue for survival and creativity and...
3 days in the studio.
Not a bad option for a life dedicated to the creativity of my spirit.

Tornado Mile

My vacation time this year is amounting to 3 days off at home... The first of which feels like a blur. The really interesting thing however is that having started work on my new series Tornado Sky about a month ago... It appears I have attracted some serious attention... From Mother Nature. I now am surrounded by the wreckage of a tornado that passed through my own back yard a couple of days ago. I took a walk through the neighborhood to see some of it's effects this morning, collected a couple of remnants and tomorrow when I wake up I am heading out with my journal to do some thinking about it all. Otherwise I have been busy studying the physics of lightning... and forming images for the new series... some of which is destined to be created outdoors... perhaps even with a little collaboration from the earth, wind, and Gods fire...

Dream a little Dream...

Stars Shining Bright Above You... When the glimmer and sparkle of your spirit become dimmed by the shadow of oppression... Whatever form it may take... There is only one answer... Dream a little Dream... For yourself, and nobody else. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again... isn't that what Frankie said?
Lately, I have required an unusually high amount of dream time... both in my sleep and otherwise. Actually to the point of wondering if I am suffering some God Forsaken illness or depression. Neither of which seem particularly likely... The best answer I can come up with is that I have spread myself too thin... not having allowed myself the Jane space and Jane time it takes to be who I am... in the process even the treasured gift of lighthearted friendships and laughter have gotten a bit stepped on... a sure sign it is High Time I step back and allow myself the space and time to shine as brightly as the stars above.

New Work

My two favorite words today are Harrowing and Stellar... The New Work that is coming from my mind now promises to be both. The process of transitioning from one body of work to the next included a fair amount of healthy isolation in allowing space for ideas to present themselves to me and the time needed to process and shape their voice and direction. I spent a lot of time outdoors with the open sky, near rivers and lakes... time at the Walker Art Center... time on my roof... and curled up in the seat of my car along the side of the road napping and playing in dreamland. I have set up new work space and along with tying up loose ends with documentation I am embracing the life of the new work that is making itself at home in my universe...
The one where I have dedicated my life to my creative spirit, so as not to waste one moment of this opportunity to explore and share this truly unique gift that I have been entrusted with.

Condensed:

Between Air ans Water...
Moving on... Following the Minds Eye into the Future
Tonight I am tired... but July holds the future truth... I know it...
and you reminded me... What else can I say....

One Month Later...

Between Air and Water — Straight to the Heart... "The Bomb"
Photo: Steve Neuharth

The show is down... mostly... there a a few pieces carrying over to an invitational at the end of June... a review by Sheila Dickinson coming up in the next issue of ARP and a lot of work for me in the coming months with documentation and grant writing. This is the first day in a long time I have had a chance to sit down at the computer and reflect on what has happened... all the same I have a million items on the to do list... so the deeper look at my work will have to unfold over time. The show, performance and poetry night were amazing... A very heart felt thank you to all who participated, attended, cheered from afar and sent your love long distance...
xoxox

One Week Later...

Long Afternoon Naps... And a Long Walk in the Park with the Dog...