Welcome to my web log...

One semester's worth of scratchings, musings and mayhem.

Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Thankstaking

Thanksgiving day. Usually my family celebrates the legacy of the holiday by volunteering at a homeless shelter to hand out smallpox blankets. But this year we decided to gorge ourselves on foul and fat. I thought a grocery store would be an appropriate site for a piece of work.

I felt really exposed doing this. I tried something new, washable chalkpaint markers. These were difficult to work with on a metal surface during a cold, windy day. And I got a few more wayward glances than normal from folks thinking I was permanently defacing property. As I was working a car pulled up behind me and honked a good long honk. Oh, no. Who was here to harass me? Turns out it was my sister, on her way back from a last minute jaunt to the grocery store to get some essential element for our smorgasbord. She was quite surprised to see me here,

working bright and early on this Thursday.

This piece actually washed away much quicker than any of my plain chalk drawings...

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays, like Columbus day, that has been white-washed and glossed-over so much, and it has turned into just another day of American gluttony. As a teacher, this is one of those things I intend to teach a bit more balanced than I received it as a youngster. There is a play between what is perceived, what really happened, what is appropriate to for children at various age levels, and what their parent want them to believe. However, Santa Clause will not be in my lesson. Parents, that's a warning. Have that talk before you send them to school.

I mean, who should we really be thanking for this great country of ours...?

Catch 22

I grew up around the corner from Butler University. They have a beautiful campus, some of the prettiest topography in the city. Whenever I'd go for a walk or bike ride, I'd inevitably head towards the campus, whether to wander around the schools grounds, or hit the trails behind the canal. Often I'd go to hidden lake, which has since been found and turned into a sculpture park. Here is a smaller pond by the observatory. The fish that they put in here have nothing trying to eat them, so they are about 2 1/2 feet long! 

This was on my mind as a climbed the stairs to the bell tower late one night.

And did a piece right underneath.

The sound of the bell tower, it's songs on weekends

and marking of the hours are part of the soundtrack

to my childhood.

It was a bit transcendental a place to be working.

I did get lost in the work for a while. When I took out my camera 

I saw that its batteries had died before I got to snap any pics. 

So I walked over to my parents and borrowed on a my dad's. which had 

just enough juice to take these before it went kaput as well.

I've really enjoyed this project...

Sunday Morning Broad Ripple Wreckage

Broad Ripple is burning (© Richard Edwards).

No real venues for live local music. No real arts scene at all.

Just more and more bars, barf, and barbies.

Sunday mornings the place is trashed. But the neighborhood association does a good job. They clean it like mom and dad are coming back into town that day.