More; and MOAR!

Got home a couple hours ago; and in a good mood about things in general. The drive home did not involve ice, snow, or any other wintry mix of precipitations bombarding the car, so it was pleasurable.

Yellow Springs is just out of ear-shot of Columbus' NPR station, so I listened to crunchy static steadily fade to "Echoes," which is my Secret Shame Ambient Music Program, or SSHAMP! for short. Funny, it's not something I listen to on purpose. "Echoes" just always comes on the radio while I'm driving, and I recognize the unspoken words in each song: "You are up late, my friend." Over and over. 'This is John Diliberto, and you are listening to... Echoes."

Here's a sample of what I've been up to in the studio: making precarious vertical structures. I may never get to be a doctor or an architect, but someday I'm going to build a wicked tree-house.

i dream of driving when i sleep, and i day-dream about sleep while driving

In Unknown Lands

Okay, time to get to work. One of the other residents asked me what I had proposed for the space, and I could only shrug and say, "Dunno." I have no clue other than I'm hoping to stumble across it during today's wandering.

This town is a special place, and I'm hoping to capture an impression of it, sort of like when you lay a piece of paper over a leaf and color over it. I'm looking for imprints, and raw materials.

We're forbidden to remove materials from the nature preserve, nor can we leave stuff there. I'm going in today with recording devices: camera, eyeballs, sketchpad. That's all. I'm hoping to get a feel for the place.

Everywhere else is fair game for salvage, which is good: this place is a goldmine.

new purpose is old purpose.

Birdlike

Well, I'm officially an artist-in-residency today. That's where I'm writing from, in fact. Two of us moved into our respective spaces this afternoon. I built a bird-mobile as a preliminary for my visit to the Raptor Center later this week. Too bad it wasn't a Canis Lupus Center, though large predatory birds rank in at a pretty close second place in terms of animals I admire. Third place being the Land Shark.

Ugh... the space bar on this keyboard sticks. May need to cut this short.



More later.

Ugly Green Dude

Even though it directly contradicts what I said last week, I'm sharing some new artwork. I wanted to show my dad what I've been working on. It's small, but heavy. And oh-so-ugly. I love ugly paintings. The ones that shrug and say, "Here I am. Now deal with me."

And I stand back and admire my handiwork, like a proud parent glowing over their newborn's first poop.


...stink or swim?

Together Again

I have very dearly missed you...

I had the itch to make some new art today. It felt really good.

Lately I've been thinking of life in terms of episodes. Each day of the week is similar; but while our schedules may be set in stone, variations inevitably arise: you bump into an old friend, oversleep, or forget to return a library book. The endless variations we weave are as unpredictable as the weather.

I'm interested in exploring this idea through more of these diorama projects. Hopefully I'll have more to share soon.

Carving Out An Existence

So you may be wondering where I've been these past few weeks. Honestly, I've been home most of the time, but much of my energy has been spent burrowing new pathways through this proverbial molehill in order to carry on my existence. Here's a list of favorite places that I've colonized, in no particular order:

Studio Corner- All the raw materials, tools, and works-in-progress that had once been scattered throughout our old apartment have been squeezed into a corner of our bedroom. While the prospect of 'down-sizing' was initially a horrid and dire thought, this new operation is pretty slick in that it forces me to clean up (or finish) the current project before I can take off on some new tangent. That's good for everybody.

The Backyard - My secret grotto; a place I love to work on things for the privacy and the giant trees that loom overhead. There's an electric outlet right beside the porch swing, where I've already spent many hours with my hot glue gun.

The Park - I need to post some photos of this place. It's what I'd consider to be Reynoldsburg's best-kept secret: acres and acres of empty parkland that seems to go forever. On my forays into this grassy plain behind the house, the most surprising thing is the lack of people. I'm not sure where else you could go in Central Ohio and find yourself so utterly apart from other human beings. It's wonderful. I did see a man walking a dog once, but they were mere specks in the distance that quickly faded into the horizon. Despite the 'forgotten' nature of this park, someone keeps all that grass mowed on a weekly basis; green blades shorn with the care you'd find on a golf course. I hope it stays this way for a long time.

So getting to today's photos, this is my first ever attempt at sculpting a model from scratch, and then casting it. What you see in both pictures is merely a copy of the original. This prospect of creating my own unique sculptures and having the ability to produce them enmass is a singular accomplish. I'm looking forward to following it up--- the only problem is time, as autumn quarter starts tomorrow.

What a Horrible Night...

It's my little bro-in-law's birthday tomorrow, and I thought it would be cool to make him a painting. The theme is "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse," which if you recognize the reference give yourself a cookie. I heard him repeat the above phrase the other night while we were both standing in the kitchen and I had a moment of getting clubbing gently in the face with the nostalgic reference from the beloved childhood video game, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest.

My brother-in-law apparently did not understand the relevance of the phrase as I had, and a line of questioning revealed that it's the name of a song by a band called The Black Dahlia Murder. Weird how these nods to our childhood influences are digested by the next generation, who may not even catch the reference. But it still enters into their vocabulary all the same, and is assigned new meaning.

This cryptic easter egg solidified something between us, and I decided that it'd make a cool painting theme. This morning I went to work, dragging all the paint and brushes that survived the move onto the back porch. I'm not sure I've painted outside before, but I am impressed by the level of shade and comfort afforded by my wife's family's backyard. (may have to continue the painting trend out there)

Stylus Aquired!

Something that I've been wanting to get for this blog for a long time has finally dropped into my lap. I bummed a stylus pad off of an associate and it's a lot of fun. This is my first drawing using it, and also my first time trying out GIMP freeware, which is basically a superior version of Photoshop (because it's free!).

Looks like I've found a whole new level of procrastination.

Last final is tomorrow at 1:30 PM and then I'm done with school for a few days. Huzzah!

Lifeless Ordinary

Disclaimer: Cleaning the studio usually precedes starting a new project, so this is more of a stream of consciousness post. The idea was just leave the blog open over the span of the evening in order to keep coming back to record different things.

I begin by drilling three screws into the wall in no particular order. The spacing is not premeditated.

Take a drink and get started.

The drill is very loud, but I've already started. Sheepish, I finish driving it in, even while picturing our neighbors lying in bed on the other side of the wall. I switch out the drill and push the last two screws into the wall with a screwdriver. It's quieter, but my arms ache afterward.

What next?

Now I'm just fuddling around, hanging different objects from the points. Waiting to see how long I can go before breaking out the glue gun, forcing myself to discover new methods. I use rubber bands, wire, and finally, scotch tape....

...And:

Screw this, I'm getting the glue gun.

One rule of thumb I use is that load-bearing supports get put together with screws and liquid nails. Currently, now this thing is hanging by old rubber bands. Unfortunately the wife has taken the camera with her on the road trip, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Shapely Environs

Are we merely the sum of our environmental conditions? Does the fish only grow as large as the bowl will allow?
Mission of the day: push down some metaphorical walls, move to a different city.

I doodled last night. My charcoal supplies have been mostly depleted, but I found a solid chunk of carbonized vine that did the job. I've got shelves full of art supplies, some that are getting on in years. Now's probably a good time to put them to use.

I had fun. More drawings to come.

Basements and Horizons

Nothing interesting in the pipeline today. The basement (rendered above) is becoming a vast, empty wildress of limitless new potential. I've already got a new mega-project waiting in the wings. Hope to give it the green light sometime in the next few days. My friend, David, donated a big bucket of wallpaper paste to the art cause, and preliminary experiments with this substance have yielded some amazing results. It takes and holds paint very well, is workable but sets up in a short span of time, and is non-caustic. It also mixes nice with cat litter for texture. (the first experiment was to create a textured, realistic surface for our warhammer gaming table, which I tick down as a resounding success)

What to do with wallpaper paste? I'm not certain yet. I keep thinking of rolling hills though. We'll see.

In an ironic twist: after my pro-swimming post, I suffered from burning, blurry eyes for the entire day. Chlorine attack!

Wear your goggles in the pool, kids.

More Random Photoshoppery and Deadlines

I'm not sure how most of you choose to deal with deadlines, but for me it's a mix between procrastination and bursts of manic labor. I am not consistent, though I have always been in admiration of those who are.

Anyway, I've just gotten back from the store with the two items I need most: hot glue sticks and razor blades.  I'm due for a shave. And those glue sticks are the precious ammunition I need for the Spaghetti Western.

The project's coming along in leaps and bounds, albeit staggering here and there. Sometimes it's tough getting started. I'm finding it useful to start the day by removing or changing an element that already exists on the table, rather than adding new objects. It's getting pretty tight in some places, but no longer feels like a party where no one's talking to each other. Updated pictures to follow.

Today's lunch: dinosaur-shaped pasta and meatballs in spaghetti sauce. Followed by coffee, ice cream, and curried chicken. 

Spaghetti Western

Here's an update for the installation that I'll be showing at Agora V later this month. It's a meaty 80"x 54" and sits about 31" off the floor. As I said before, this will be an ongoing project with more panels added over time. The name Spaghetti Western popped into my head the other night, and it stuck.

I'm having a good time working on this one, and the silly movie genre reference for a title seemed appropriate. Good times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Machine, Machine...

 

Come to life

Cogs grind, sweat, and drip condensation

A singular drive to move

The promise of progress, that kinetic agony of motion

Somber metals screech to life

Inert, Alert

Nothing quite like seeing those rusted works in motion

 

So yes, I wrote a poem today. It's a shorty, but I didn't spend much time on it. The point is that there is much work to be done next month. Exciting, yes. The landscape piece I've been working on is going to be in an exhibition in a few weeks. I thought by submitting it to Agora V, the deadline will get me working double-time to finish.

I'm also taking courses to nab my Certified Internet Webmaster cert. A prestigious-sounding title, no doubt. It's my doorway to the next certification in line, which is Java-scripting. A less prestigious-sounding, but more insanely useful title. It's the only way I can learn the software programs I need. (action-scripting, yum!)

Once I get a working grasp of Flash software, there's also a myriad of side-projects currently on the back-burner that need some addressing. (wink, wink, Brent)

Speaking of back-burners, Jeff has stopped asking me, "How's the Manta coming along?" Are there enough hours in the day for all of this?

We're bound to find the answer to that question come November. Jeff's thrown the gauntlet down, and we're going to be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. Care to join in the tradition of procrastinating for years, and then suddenly trying to overcompensate by doing the impossible? Sure you do! Come write the great American novel... in a month. Click here.

Get to work!

Eldritch and Gibbering

As it stands, I did not get any work done on the table last night. We were busy for most of the evening ferrying people from the airport to various residences throughout the city. When I got home, I was alarmed to find the studio taken over by some malevolent force from Beyond.

The two Lovecraftian adjectives that most closely describe this extra-dimensional beast are are eldritch and gibbering. And horror. I suppose you could just call it an gibbering horror that was eldritch. Or a horrible gibbering eldritch. Or just maybe just some combination of the letters. GEH.

And that's why I didn't get the chance to work on this project.

I noticed that I was lifting weights while drinking a beer today. It was a reflective moment. The internal forces that govern my person continue to wage war in this manner, vying for time and resources as they are doled out. Multitasking is an art. Oh yes, I am the eye of the storm.

'Ere We Go! ~ part 2

So things look much different after an evening of work. My cardboard supplies are low at the moment, so only some basic structures have taken shape. Not much to report yet, but I promised myself I'd be dutiful about documenting each relevant phase.

The little irregular wooden cubes were left in the closet of my old studio by Philip Brou, the previous tenant. Phil, by some weird quirk, was also fascinated with building miniature dioramas. We had that common ground to base our relationship, but circumstances caught us at odds. He, having just completed his M.F.A., was on his way out, while I was just getting started. So like ships passing in the night, we never got to have more than a passing conversation about our shared aesthetics. (I'm writing this now as a reminder to look him up sometime soon)

Either by design or inadvertently, Phil left me a whole closet full of supplies and art materials when he moved out. Worthless to anyone but myself, these odds and ends have dispersed throughout every "miscellaneous items" box in our house, and the bag of small wooden cubes is just one example.

I actually got tired of working on this sometime in the course of the evening. I found a card game on the Newgrounds site that had me hypnotized for hours. The Necronomicon is a game that is based on the short stories of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft.

Even as a single player online card-gaming experience, the AI of the opponent proved to keep me challenged. Sometimes it would made weird mistakes that swung the game in my favor, but there were no big, glaring weaknesses that I saw. It's a simple little game to pick up and learn-- and free to boot.

Alright. Back to work.

'Ere We Go!

I'm starting a new project tonight, sort of a close relative to the fragments from Sludgetown that are floating around in our basement. I'm showing you the bare door panel as a starting point because I want to document every stage of this as it develops.

I've tried working out sketches of what it is I'm going to do with this door panel, but it looks like I'm shooting from the hip tonight. I have no real clue where this is headed, albeit a vague idea of landscape that's been batting around in my practice for years now. Maybe start with some little cardboard houses and walls, and then see where we go from there.

Ghosts Walk the Pavement

Besides the snazzy title and gothic artwork, I have little of insight to offer this afternoon. I was just feeling the itch to break out Photoshop and spend time working on something. Despite the sombre, confused-looking wraith drawing, I'm not in a bad mood; quite the opposite actually. I tend to lean towards darker subject matter when I'm feeling good--figure that.

We got to watch our friend Brent play Dead Rising on his Xbox 360 last Sunday. It's a fun game to watch-- loads of zombie-smashin' goodness. It makes me look forward to Halloween this year. I think there was some mention of a zombie-walk parade last year. I may need to look into that. There's nothing quite like dressing up as a zombie and shuffling down the street in public. Except maybe dressing up as Ash from the Evil Dead movies and pummeling said zombies.

Bloggotha

Our PC has been having trouble for the past month or so. While our friends have been trying to fix it for us, I switched to a backup computer. PC #2 immediately contracted some nasty virus-worm-jigger nonsense and has been effectively incapacitated. I'm writing today's entry on PC #3, which is a loaner from another friend. Unfortunately, I do not have access to my beloved Photoshop today, so it's time push MS-Paint to its limits...

No less than seven different people besides myself have been trying to get our home PC situation cleared up. I am impressed.


In other news: my friend, Jeff has moved away to North Carolina. Our first long-distance collaborative project began yesterday when he decided that we will create 'do-it-yourself' templates for the Forgeworld Tau Manta. The idea of building this model entirely from scratch is a bit daunting, and coming up with plans that any average Joe can follow should prove to be quite a challenge. The difficulty is due primarily from all the curves on the ship's hull.

Filling out the third leg of our long-distance brain trust is another creative guy we found on Warseer who goes by the handle Tommygun. So far we've e-mailed a few images back and forth, and Jeff's come up with a spiffy template that shows the correct size and scale of the Manta. Next on the agenda, we'll be testing different templates using polystyrene foam as a base. Should be exciting, and quite messy. I think the particles from polystyrene are harmful to breathe when sanded. May need to double check that.

Here's a pic of the initial Manta template with Jeff in front of it for scale.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c398/jsvironfurnace/Manta%20Scratchbuild/20080820-Picture01.jpg

Junker: Demagogue

I built this thing tonight. It's the first in a series of sculptures that I'm planning. The overall theme involves combining a variety of materials into new objects that are both anthropomorphic and mechanical in nature. This one is named Demagogue and it is a scale model of a fictitious war machine that is so large it could crush a building underfoot. It is made from a flowerpot, plastic bottles, and wooden craft sticks.

Usually, I try to paint everything that I build. I've always painted things, and I usually feel inclined to cover things up as force of habit. I'm not going to paint this one though, because the materials are interesting enough on their own. No point in trying to disguise what is already there.

I felt positive about this piece while I was working on it. It is a machine of death bristling with toy guns, whose purpose is to deal with warfare on an absurd level:  This is war as I see it, filtered through the video games that I play, the tabletop miniatures that I collect, and the science fiction novels that I read. Absurd because it is so disconnected from the true realities of war. Why do I insulate myself from what I should fear? 

Here's a close-up shot. I've still got some work to do on this. Some details need to get filled out and there are a few more layers of material I want to add.

More to come.