At Night the Sky Fills With Reminders of the Past

 Here is the second shoe shrine I made because of the online Michael deMeng class Fabulous Fantastical Shoe Shrines.

This shrine began with slip-on rubber flat and a crank from an old Erector Set.

Once attached, I decided the easiest way to deal with the surface of the shoe was to collage on some pattern paper. 

A trip to the basement found the additional found objects I needed to complete the shrine. 

After a bunch of painting, the shrine was done. 

The star map was made from rust paper made in a recent class I took from Sara Reimer called Rust, Dyes, Stitched and Sewn at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, WI. 

Thus we have At Night the Sky Fills With Reminders of the Past. This title comes from a quote by a Native American Iowa tribe storyteller, quoted in Cahokia by Timothy R. Pauketat

Slowly I Dance Out of the Burning House of My Head

On July 9th I participated in a Zoom session put together by ArtSpan and artist Dianne Hoffman from San Francisco. By signing up in advance, participants got mailed a box of crap and are challenged to make something from the stuff.

Just before the zoom session, I laid out all the goodies in the box that I received. I made the decision to use a cradled board as the substrate for the work and that is the only additional object in this construction that did not come from ArtSpan.

During the two hours on line, pretty much all I got done was to cover the box in preparation for the construction. I also auditioned the parts so that I pretty much knew what I was going to make. The paper and paint that I added to this project were not a part of the ArtSpan mailing.

After a good night's sleep, I spent a day assembling, collaging and painting and here are the results.  

Thus we have Slowly I Dance Out of the Burning House of My Head. The title for this piece comes from a poem called The Dance by Mark Strand. 

2021 Wisconsin State Fair Photography Contest

Like many things, the 2020 Wisconsin State Fair was cancelled so there was no photography contest last year. But...there was one in 2021 and the judging was July 6th.

The day started with the five amigos (Denice and I, Bob Crocker and Chris and Lynn Prober) getting together for breakfast before heading over to the Fair for photo judging day.

The results are now in and Lynn Prober walked away with a Judge's Favorite ribbon, 5 1st place ribbons, 1 second place, 2 thirds and 2 fourth place ribbons. Bob received 3 1sts, 2 2nds, 1 3rd and 4 4ths. Chris got 2 1sts, 1, 2nd and a 3rd.

Here are my award winners:

1069. Signs, street, etc.—New Orleans street art

1071. New! Textiles, silk—New Orleans shopping

1068. New! Shoes—Abandoned shoes

1107. New! Door County lavender—Irishfest band shirt

Here are the photographs that were entered but did not place, or as I like to say, 5th place. 

1003. Animals, baby—State Fair calf

1004. Animals, birds, game birds, waterfowl—Caged Goose

1008. Animals, dogs—Oaxaca guard dog

1009. Animals, farm--Rooster

1011. Animals, insects, not butterflies or moths—Tanzanian dragon fly

1013. Animals, reptiles, amphibians—Louisiana alligator

1014. Animals, zoo--Flamingos

1016. Beach—Irish beach shells

1017. Books, book shelves—Trinity College

1019. Botanical, flowers close up, tropical flowers—Tropical blossom

1021. Botanical, fungi/mushrooms—Horicon Marsh fungi

1024. Building/architectural – urban—New Orleans drug store

1029. Chairs, benches—Dallas art museum

1030. New! Clouds—Tanzanian sunset

1033. Daydreaming—New Orleans street photography

1034. Doors—Frenchman Street, New Orleans

1035. Eyes—Dallas wall art

1036. Famously Wisconsin—Harley Davidson on Bourbon Street, New Orleans

1040. Geometric shapes—Tanzanian trash

1043. Heirlooms, antiques—Ball jar on a tractor

1049. Leaves—Garden District, New Orleans

1053. Night scenes—French Quarter, New Orleans

1056. Product displays—Haas Moto Museum, Dallas

1057. New! Railroads—Jim Adams

1059. Rest and relaxation—Irishfest partier

1063. Rust—Ireland boatyard

1066. Seasonal, winter—Snow on the hostas

1067. Shadows—Haas Moto Museum, Dallas

1073. Transportation, air, land—Fourth of July car show

1076. Water—Tanzanian water hole

1079. Weather, fog, mist—Foggy wayside