2026 03 Standing Over My Father's Grave and Forgetting To Ask For an Apology

I was lucky to take a workshop with Lorraine Reynold called Mending Hearts: Stitching Recycled Fibers Into Sculpture in May of 2024. Here is the course description: "You will create 3-D fiber sculptures through wrapping and meditative stitches. Thread, needle, and fabric become vehicles that aid the repair of our lost and broken hearts. Learn to transform personal grief and longing into powerful pieces of art. You are encouraged to bring broken objects, keepsakes, or souvenirs you would like to place inside the heart."

This heart structure was made about my love Denice and is called The Heart’s Clothed Data I Find Difficult To Name.

I also made one about my Mommy appropriately called Mommy.

In February of 2026 my father would have been 105 years old. My father passed away on my birthday in March and this is the twentieth anniversary of that fact.

So it seemed a good time to make a Mending Heart about my Pops.

The supplies are gathered

I decided that the upper area of the box will be the spot for the photo of my Pops. The photo that I decided to use was a special modification made by my brother-in-law Robert Crocker. The original photo was of Sergeant Major Warren L. Niebuhr sitting at his desk in a Quonset hut in the Philippines during World War II. Bob used Photoshop to add a headshot of my Pops in his VFW regalia as a senior.

My Pops entered the Second World War from rural Wisconsin and served the majority of his time with the 32nd Infantry Division which was made up of Army National Guard units from Wisconsin and Michigan. It was nicknamed the Red Arrow Division.

The Red Arrow Division's insignia

My representation of that

The Mending Heart: the contents wrapped and sewn into the heart are a secret between my Pops and me.

Thus we have Standing Over My Father's Grave and Forgetting To Ask For an Apology. The title is a modification of the title for a book of poetry by Hanif Abdurraquib. It is 19"H X 7"W X 6"D. It consists of Wood Box, Wood Block, Wood Arrow, Nail, Father's Secret Personal Contents, Material, Sari Ribbon, Waxed Book Thread, Photograph, Resin and Paint.

2026 03 So Swift That Only Memory Can Capture It

 I was in Oaxaca, Mexico, recently and one of the things I have to say about that city: it is the most art centric environment I have ever been able to be immersed in. Artists, art studios, galleries and museums are all sources for inspiration for an artist like me.

In one gallery I went into, a ceramic structure I saw made me think whether I could duplicate something like this with cradled boards and collage. 

My original plan was very complex, so complex that I even sketched it out. But when I got to Make What Ya Brung in March of 2026 at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, WI, I decided as my first try at this I should simplify it down to four 8" X 8" cradled boards. 

(Photo from Blick website)

I decided that my method for madness would be to lay the four boards into a 16" X 16" unattached grouping. Then I collaged on the boards to hold them into one unit. 

First layer: pattern paper

Second layer: decorative paper and paint

Third layer: mixed media stuff

Fourth layer: collage

Fifth layer: detail paint

Then I used an Xacto knife to chop the collage up and separate the four cradled boards

I used basswood strips to create a back frame

Thus we have So Swift That Only Memory Can Capture It. The title comes from a poem by Linda Pastan called Memory of a Bird. It is 17"H X 17"H X 1"D. It consists of four 8 "X 8" Cradled Boards, Wood Boards, Screws, Cardboard, Collage, and Paint.

2026 03 Kan Kandinsky Kan Kan

Out at Shake Rag Alley on one of my art adventures there, Christina Kubasta, the Executive Director, brought an old mirror frame to the workshop. Her cat had knocked it over for the last time as the mirror was now broken. Did I want the frame?

I originally had this idea to incorporate the found objects you see above but somehow I lost the violin. Yes, I lost a violin.

What I did end up doing is covering the wood with pattern paper and then painting in the areas suggested by the shapes on the pattern paper. As I was painting, it occurred to me that this was beginning to look like a Kandinsky.

Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter and art theorist who lived and practiced in Germany. He mixes music theory and art production in such a fashion that when I tried to read his book I found myself confused by everything in it included "and" and "the" (thank you, Dorothy Parker). 

Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky, Composition VIII, 1923

This is as far as this got at Shake Rag Alley

Once home I continued to paint on it

In March of 2026, it was time for another Make What Ya Brung at Shake Rag Alley so I decided it was time to finish this piece. 

Thus we have, Kan Kandinsky Kan Kan? It is 40"H X 21" X 2". It consists of a Mirror Frame, Paper and Paint. 

2026 03 Stray Dogs Pick The Moon’s Bone Clean

Here is the history of the project I made in Oaxaca, Mexico, with Michael deMeng in the workshop Fandango Fantastico: Puppet Creatures Inspired by Oaxacan Carnival. Here is Michael's course description: “I think it’s about time for a weird little fiesta! In this wall-hanging workshop of wildness, we’ll be channeling the beautifully bizarre energy of Oaxacan Carnival—those costumed characters you see dancing through the streets—and shrinking it down just enough to fit on your wall without scaring the neighbors too much. Each piece clocks in around 14–16 inches tall, with a flowing painted fabric body and a noggin that’s part clay, part found-object fever dream. These aren’t just decorations—they’re puppet-sized protectors, grumpy growling party guests, and maybe one or two trickster deities. You’ll start with some humble scraps, a piece of canvas, and a few gloriously weird bits from your stash. Then we’ll coax these creatures into being with clay, paint, a dash of trickery, and a whole lot of imagination. Just a little chaos, a lot of charm, and a creature that looks like it stumbled out of a dream and got lost in a mercado. Let the Fandango begin!”

I bought this art from the state of Guerrero. Art like this, with a wood carved head and a linen body, is what inspired Michael to create this project for this workshop

Here are the class samples created by Michael deMeng

From home I brought a Bat Man plastic mask, a drawer pull and a few other odds and ends to add to my canvas body. Let's just say things changed when I got to Oaxaca. 

For a previous deMeng workshop Michael had taught us how to paint a brick road. I also saw an exhibition in the Quad Cities of an artist who did Salvador Dali like paintings with stone as his main background. Both inspired me to make my creature a stone guy. 

I was very fortunate that a generous fellow workshop attendee brought stuff to share including fabric, beads and findings. All of her stuff got incorporated into my work. 

It may surprise you to know the exposure was a complete accident.

That's better

Michael's workshops always end with a class critique,

the highlight of the workshop for me

Thus we have Stray Dogs Pick The Moon’s Bone Clean. The title comes from the poem Days And Occasions by Octavio Paz. The piece is 23"H X 10"W X 2"D. It consists of a Batman Mask, Drawer Handle, Muslin, Mirrors, Metal Rings, Fabric, Cloth Ring, Sari Ribbon, Waxed Linen Thread, Casting Plaster, Aves Clay, Beads, and Paint.