Cuastic Quote

Just ran across this old quote. So glad my life doesn't reflect much anymore.

God, grant me the senility ..
To forget the people I never liked anyway.. 
The good fortune .. To run into the ones I do
And the eyesight to tell the difference.

Just a note...


OK folks, I know I really blew it on the NYC trip - its was so amazing, and I have only managed to get a couple of days reported. Now time is dulling it, so maybe I need to move in to the present. One of the things I am exploring in this blog is the creative process and getting along in the world, so I am sharing a currently "festering" dynamic.
I would like to explore a totally legitimate difference.
You appreciate our work, are loyal to our work, and give your best to our work, and  -  it is work. It is your job. You enjoy your job and "have a life".  There is nothing wrong with that. I even envy that balance of work, family, play, homebuilding. You are a part of the team, and will give that extra heave-ho, but you are entitled to the rest of your life.
I need to appreciate, and intend on going forward with the understanding -  that though your career is a big part of your life, it is not your entire life. You may even end up somewhere else or even a different industry by the time your career peaks.  You are still young (that is a compliment, not an insult) Your job is not your entire identity. Your job is not everything you are.
Quid pro quo:
My work is everything I am. It is my entire identity. I have been clawing at it for 46 years ( I started at 4). I do not have "a life". There is no "balance" and I do not seek to find one. 
My distress comes from the conflicts these two characters manifest when both at their ends.
I really need to treat people working toward a common goal with great compassion for their lives. 
My crazy Quixote journey is mine to bear, not theirs.

Monday in NYC


The first excuse to come to New York was to see the display of Carl Gustav Jung's "Red Book" at the Rubin Museum of Art, so we headed downtown to this beautiful space.

Housed in the former Barney's store, the sweeping staircase has been kept in place, and a very nice guide told of us the different, but very interconnected shows on each floor. We started in the "sub conscience" of the museum, the lower level to see the Liber Novus, or Red Book exhibit.


It was wonderful to see the sketches and notes of this genius and see the absolute precision of this illustrated visions. I do hope to own a facsimile someday, as obviously they could only show 2 pages each day of the original, and it is a work that one could barely absorb, let alone really read.

Though this pilgrimage seemed a little anti-climactic, the exhibits on the 5 other floors painted a wonderful picture of spiritual connectivity throughout time and space.

We started at the top and wound down through the elegant galleries.
The 6th floor had priceless works about Jainism, an ascetic faith dating back to fifth/sixth century India.
The 5th floor was a show about Mandalas


The 4th Floor was a show called Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe. Truly humbling.

The 3rd Floor was Art of the Kathmandu Valley and the 2nd floor was a permanent collection of Himalayan Art.
We left feeling a root connection to the trillions of spirits circling for understanding and meaning in the world.
All images from RMA: www.rmanyc.org


So then out of the heavens and in to EARTH! - Kremer Pigments!
www.kremerpigments.com is where I purchase my lac flake (to make shellac), special marble dust and various artistic alchemical supplies, but it was SO fun to actually visit the hole in the wall distributor of some of the finest powers on earth. Based in Germany, Georg Kremer is the wizard of raw pigments, recipes and methods that keep conservators and artists connected to the real roots of color and texture.


Go to their website to view the amazing photos of where pigments come from - Fascinating!


Could we have more fun? Yup. We are off to the garment/trim district to shop at one of the rarest stores on earth. Tinsel Trading. This was TK's pilgrimage to aquire bits for the clothing he creates for moi - yes I am a lucky boy.  Terry and I have been customers since the early 80's, and have watched this amazing collection of vintage and antique trims rise in value more consistently than any other market on earth.
We missed the owner, Marsha Ceppos, but managed to hear and tell stories about the old days and drop a wad of cash within a quick hour or so.  tinseltrading.com


On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for a cocktail at the roof-top "Poetry garden" of a spiffy themed hotel called the Library at Madison and 41st. The rooms are arranged by the dewey-decimal system, so you can end up in 800.005: Literature/ Fairy Tales if you play your (library) card right.
libraryhotel.com


We ended up having dinner at a "Mexican" restaurant (something New York STILL has not figured out)


I think this 7 days may take me 7 weeks to log, but that is the way of New York - Fast, thick, vibrating, kinetic, chaotic, crazy, cold, and amazing....



Sunday Afternoon



It was great to spend the whole day at the Met before they kicked us out.



We went through the wonderful rooms (our favorite, the Wisteria room was so dark it was close to impossible to get any reference shots)

I loved this poof that was worn out by people looking at this painting.

You know I love Reliquaries and Cabinets


And the many oddities - A wonderful grotto scene, a paper masterpiece, strange furniture
And I simply MUST find these light bulbs!
We first saw them in Frankfurt many years ago. They have a electro magnet in them to make the actual lamp "jiggle" every once and a while, making the bulb feel like a flame that has an occasional flicker.
Please - someone help me find them!
The new American Wing is truly wonderful:


Wax Fruit and What a banquet table SHOULD look like:


We sondered through the small Egyptian collection (only 36,000 pieces, thank you very much)
For friends with initials of C and D


And yes, one of those photos does not belong in the MET, but at Surplus Tools on Alameda in Denver. Which one is it?
Of course, We LOVE open storage!


After an exhausting feast of art and design, we found a wonderful restaurant Cafe Linda and had some hot pasta to warm up with. What a day.
And this is day #1!!!!!!

A Week in NYC - Travel Blog - Sunday


First thing Sunday morning, Jayne Shape-shifted to our Hotel (the arty Roger Smith) and the three of us went up to the MET (Museum) to spend the whole day. It was the last day of ART OF THE SAMURAI, so we started there. What an amazing exhibit. They didn't allow photography, so some of these images are from postcards, and others from the MET's permanent collection, which we were allowed to photograph.
Two things struck me about Japanese armour. One, the mix of materials for their function, aesthetics, weight, movement, is astonishing - Steel, silk, paper, leather, lacquer...
Two, the earliest examples seemed as much about becoming large insects or monsters and scaring your opponent as it was body protection.
I guess these are simple things, but as I think about a body of work I have been noodling for a few years "Viatica of the New Warriors", these epiphanies are handy.