Day two... when your dreams turn to dust maybe it's time to vacuum

    I got out of Susanville at a reasonable hour.  (For me 10am is good.)  My hopes and expectations for the day were so high they nearly went through the roof of my truck.
     My plan was to drive south on HWY 395, through Reno/Sparks and into California to find one of my favorite haunts from the early 80's.  I had a girlfriend back then that was building a house for her parents in the area.  When I visited her she would always take me in her old Chevy truck to miraculous places.  One of those places was Buckeye Hot Springs.  Buckeye is seven miles up an unmarked gravel road.  Once you find the area you can park in it's a harrowing walk down slimy rocks.  Meanwhile right next to the hotsprings the Stanislaus River is crashing down it's bed making melodramatic harmonies.

     The local people who know the area often go down in the spring once the snow has cleared and build up a pool for the 120 degree water that comes out of those slimy rocks.  If you get too hot in the 'pool' it's just a step over a pile of rocks into 40 degree water.  You have to hold on though, especially in the spring because the snow melt makes for a furious current. 

    As you can see in the picture I was a little early.  There is no way my truck was going to make it through even a few inches of snow.   Any sane person would have left it at that.  But my hopes were so high (especially after finding the dirt road), I locked my truck up and walked up the steep and snowy road till I could walk no more (about 3 miles).  A voice in my head was saying 'this is no fun, I'm tired, blah, blah, blah' and another voice kept answering 'just one more hill and if we don't see it we'll turn around'.  (yes, I do talk to myself).  After about an hour the voice who wanted to turn around finally won.  I could feel the tingle of tears start to irritate my eyes.  (Disappointment is one of my least favorite emotions.)
     So I walked all the way back down the road, and took a few shots of the view.

   And a long shot just so I could show you where I was.  (which was about 6000ft up on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Range).

  I drove back down the gravel road and several minutes later I reached Bridgeport.  It's a red-neck town from way back (gold miners and desert rats).  It hasn't changed much in the 20 years since I had last been there.  The only business I could find open was the bar where I quickly met 'Mr. No' and 'Mr. I Don't Have Time For You'.  I asked whether Buckeye Hot Springs still existed.  Mr. No said "It's up there alright but if you drive your truck up that road it ain't coming down till the snow melts".  Then I asked about Bodie.  Mr. No said that was off limits.  That someone was up there last week.  Caught a ride with someone else.  Apparently I have lost my skill at getting information out of red-necks.
    So I got in the truck, drove down to the cutoff for Bodie, went around two roadblocks and when I was a mile and a half away I found this sign with a was a big green locked gate that I couldn't drive around.

    While I was sitting there reading it and thinking about riding my mountain bike up the road a green 4 wheel drive pickup with a man and a woman in it drove up.  The woman jumped out and unlocked the gate.  While she was out of the truck I asked her if I could ride my bike up there to the site.  She said, 'You could if the park was open.  It closes at 3 everyday'.  Major disappointment number 2 for the day.  So I turned around and took a couple of landscape shots.  The sun was just getting low enough to make the snow iridescent.

       If I had gone ahead and broke the rules I would have had some backlit ghost town ruins to show you.  But as they say 'When your dreams turn to dust maybe it's time to vacuum'.
    So I drove down to Mono Lake.  It too has changed in since I'd last been there.  There was a lot more water in it than I remembered, obscuring the majority of the salt formations that make it amazing.

    I then drove to Bishop and checked the pricing on a few hotels.  The cheapest was way out of my price range.  Besides in the 20 years since I had been there it has changed dramatically.  They now cater to people who can afford to have cabins up there and go skiing during the winter.  In the spring they cater to those who play golf.  Cheapest hotel was over a hundred bucks.
     Lone Pine, with a population of 1000 and an all night howling wind turned out to be where I ended day two.  I am happy because I caught up on the blogging and the internet was pretty decent.  Stay tuned for day three which will be a trip through Death Valley and some ghost towns in Nevada.  Thanks for reading....  yona c. riel

day five... Jerome, AZ

     Many years ago when I was 15 yrs old I took my first 500 mile bike ride.  It was with American Youth Hostels and we rode from the rim of the Grand Canyon to Wickenburg AZ via HWY 89a.  It took us a week and the second to the last night we stayed in what was then a ghost town, complete with a haunted 'hotel'.  That is the first I'd ever heard of Jerome and I have had the fondest of memories ever since.  So now, 40 years later I had to go back.

   These days Jerome is a thriving tourist town, complete with overpriced shops and lots of things to spend your money on.  I went into several shops one of which was the Jerome Artist Coop. I talked at length with a 60ish woman who was a fiber artist.  There were several interesting pieces to photograph but I limited myself to just a few.  First is a painter...I really liked his work but I sent the card to someone without remembering to write down his name. 

     The next few pieces are assemblages, Jerome style...at least I got the name of the artist in the shot....

    I found the subject matter of the next painting, the Sunset Motel, on the road back to California... I wonder now just how many Sunset Motels there are in the US? 

    Here's the picture I took a few days later of a very old 'Sunset Motel' sign in a tiny town that I swear didn't have a name.. (more on that story later)...

    I am pretty sure this was the bldg we stayed in.  At the time it was vacant, no beds, no hotel, just a place to sleep.  We, all 15 of us, including myself (the youngest) and a 71 yr old guy (the oldest) put our sleeping bags out on the old wooden floor and we all slept together in the same big and supposedly haunted room. 

     My how things have changed.  It is now the Jerome Hotel and a spendy (over $100/night) place to stay.  After I figured out I could not afford to stay the night in Jerome I left a few hours later.  But on the way out I captured a few images that were of the old Jerome, the one I wanted to see.  I love whatever this stuff is lining the sidewalk.  Something about big rusty parts gets me every time..

       And here is a front yard on the way out of town with lots of very weird yard art... That's an old piano holding up a taller aspen branch playing a blue plastic guitar.  His girlfriend (or band mate) is a little more developed being plaster applied to a wire mesh figure and pretty close to looking like a woman (although weathered and somewhat deteriorated).

     Right up my alley.  And despite the tourist flavor of the strange contraption below I still thought it was pretty cool. 

    I left town via HWY89A and thought I would stop in Clarksdale and/or Cottonwood, but when I got there nothing perked my interest enough to stop.  Also after talking to a 60ish woman in the artist coop (who happened to be a fiber artist and who also told me about this great technique she was doing) I decided against going to Sedona because it would be even more touristy than Jerome.  So I turned off HWY 89a onto an even more remote road and that meant I had several opportunities to take photos as I drove down the mountain.  I still love driving steep mountain roads with hairpin turns every few miles just like the ones I used to seek out on my motorcycle.

    It also meant I got to Arcosanti in time for the 3pm tour.  I am going to post more about Arcosanti tomorrow but I will say what a fricken awesome place.  Here's a few teaser photos...

      Good nite you all and thanks for reading.  I LOVE to hear your comments as it keeps me connected to you and lets me know your reading.  If your really into it you can google Arcosanti and get an idea of what I am so excited about.

self-discovery walk...

     Every Monday, at least till August, I spend an hour with my favorite person of the moment, my therapist.  Besides being wonderful to look at she's really smart and loving.  Last week I went in there and told her I was angry that she is moving on (Dallas... long story).  This Monday I told her I was really, really sad and afraid that I will not ever find someone like her again.  Instead of fixing me, Bean allows my tears room to exist, makes a little container for them to pool up into.  Reminds me to be gentle to little Yoyo.  After an hour of her most exquisite attention I return to the sidewalk for a blustery walk down to allann bros for lunch.   I get 2 maybe 3 blocks down the street and find the first mini miracle of a psyche that's been cleansed.

         Someone has made beautiful art (I'm calling it Flowering Hubcaps) with hubcaps and bicycle chains and adhered it to the side of a building.  Love that sprocket on the bottom perhaps signifying that it is all run by bicycle.
     Just before entering Allann Bros I imagine that I see my friend Maram on her bicycle coming home from school and (having just past a theatre where the Hurt Locker is playing) adding to that imaginary scenario that we have a few moments of face to face and I suggest we see it together.  "I'll buy," I say in my moment that never happens.  Instead I walk into Allann Bros., order my favorite panini and Assam tea, then wander about for a table, with my 'side of soy' precariously balanced on top of my cup of Assam.
     After lunch I head up Fifth street and though I have seen this house hundreds of times before, the lighting is making it stand out more then usual today.

 

     I post it on FB via my Pixster application noting how the white magnolia blossoms are scattered around the stark black volcanic rocks.  By now I have noticed I am almost a completely different person than the one who set out just a few hours ago.  My psyche has done what I call a '180'.

      I continue up 5th street and because I don't really want to hear the traffic I turn south onto Tyler.  It is not my usual way home so even without really looking for, I am sure to find more 'mini miracles'.  After a treacherous crossing of hwy 99 I come across a mailbox full of surprises.

     It's a mailbox for an apartment bldg that has been plastered with words from a few different Magnetic Poetry kits.  Being who I am in that moment I decide to stay for awhile and play...

 

......knowing tomorrow it will be re-arranged again by perhaps even the postal person.  Is this just a simple way to keep one worker from going postal?  The poetry kit gets the best and the worst of me with a few simple re-arrangements....

Above can certainly be said to be better than below....

But perhaps it is the appearance of the "P" word that has me judging.  Or perhaps the "I feel no children feed".  Whatever; (I flip my hand in my San Francisco accent) it was fun enough to get me home with some new ideas about how to proceed on a piece I am doing....  and a fun little blog entry to share with all of you. 

Artist Trading Card Swap at MECCA...

     It's the last Saturday in February and for the first time in several months I made it to the Artist Trading Card Swap at MECCA.  I made a 'good haul' (at least in my book).  I went there with 10 ATCs and came home with 8 new ones.  Following is a picture of each and a little blurb about the person I traded with.
     First Mija finally gave up her marlboro card...

Even though I am no longer a smoker I still have a weakness for tobacco packaging and memorabilia.  I traded a card that I had gotten a few months ago from one of the few men who showed up.  It was a card with holes in it, all wired for sound 'so to speak'.  Mija had her eyes on it immediately.  Next I traded with Carole aka CRAY....

It's titled 'Roam'.  I have traded with Carole several times before but normally she has something from the 40's like ration tickets or old ads.  This was a bit different and hopefully will remind me to roam a little more.   Next, I see we had a pro here (meaning she trades on ATCsforALL.com).  

This one is titled 'She Wore a Hat' and someday when I have more time to dedicate to this mine too will have titles and signatures.  I like the 3 women in this one and the placement of the lettering.  

Next I traded with another woman I have not had the pleasure of meeting before.  Her name is Dianne and her card had an image of Ayn Rand on it.....

Along with a little quote from her.  We both agreed (being about the same age) that when we were in our late teens we thought of Ayn Rand as one of our heroes. Since then, having developed a more mature and liberal point of view, we have both abandoned our idolization of her.  Still the card gave us a 'talking point'.  Next I traded with Mindy who I have seen at Saturday morning coffee and the ATC swap a few times.

    It's entitled 'Solar' and is hand drawn on a red construction paper.  Mindy spends a fair amount of time doodling or so it would seem.  I suppose I should have taken pictures of the different cards I traded away but I didn't.  I did however make a special little series just for this Swap.  Somewhere long ago in my travels through trashcans, garage sales, thrift stores and occasional 'street trades' I came across an original booklet for a Barbie doll.  It was clearly marked 'copyright 1960'.  I love the simple line drawings for what was soon to become one of the most opulent ad campaigns ever.  Check it out...

I cut out some words from a french feminist and each card got a little piece of the paragraph.   We will see if I get more takers next month.   The last two ATCs are from the same young man.  His name is Dustin and judging from his looks I suspect he is from U of O.  Check out these great little drawings done with sharpies. 

I am pretty sure Dustin didn't make it home with even one of his own cards.  Everyone was pretty excited to trade with him.  The one above is entitled 'Wormwood'.  The other one I traded for is called "Pink Floyd was Playing"

     You don't have to be artsy to come to the ATC Swap at MECCA.  All are welcome.  It happens the last Saturday of the month and is an easy way to meet and trade with other folks who like to fool around with collage, drawing, computer art and semi-sculptural mixed media.  Really there is only one rule and that is the size....  (2.5 x 3.5 or a 'normal' trading card size).  We start at 11 am and usually go for just an hour or sometimes an hour and a half.  Hope to see you there next time.  xoyo

Aftermath of the show ... musing on Heartwork...

    I remember telling my therapist the Monday before the valentine's show that I was extremely anxious about it (it was to be the first real show I have done since my head injury more than 2 years ago).  There was a hint, even on that Monday, that one of my pieces MIGHT be on the cover of our local alternative newspaper.  Still, I was suddenly frightened I would not have enough hearts to go around and because I had been working non-stop for two months I was too tired to make anymore.
    My therapist in her ever so wise way mentioned I was adding to my own torment with this useless anxiety.  Being my own worst enemy, AGAIN.  (Turns out I had one heart left... perfect!  one for me!)
    I have had a week to calm down now and get back to more of a normal routine.  Back to my volunteer gig 3 days a week and back in the saddle of my bicycle as often as possible.

    
     Of course I am thinking of ways I can do it better next year.  Often while I am out riding with the music singing in my ears I can see in my imagination 'heartwork' I want to attempt.  The winged heart did not have a lot of fans this year so maybe next year I can come up with a better design.

      3 dimensional hearts have been re-occurring often ...especially a tortured heart splitting open or with a crack in the center.....

 The more anatomically correct Mexican heart with fire has been 'swimming about in the back of my 

psyche' too.

 

     So we will see what comes next....   

      On a final note I want to thank everyone who either bought a heart from me or supported me in my first (post traumatic brain injury) show.  I feel very blessed that the Eugene Weekly used one of my pieces for their cover and I even wrote in to say "hey, that would be one way to make Eugene more artzy every week.. put a local person's art on the cover".  

It is sure to be a more heart-centered year....even if those hearts are primarily in my sketch book or the heart table.

February 11th, 2010.

     I have long been dreading this day, February 11th 2010.  It marks the one year anniversary that I heard from an "ex" via email asking if we might be friends.  I, still feeling anger from an incident that had occurred the last time we saw each other, responded with an email asking for an apology.  Of course I never heard from her again.
     And the February 11th before that I was 'two months out' from a near fatal head injury, screaming at two people I care deeply for "Why didn't you just let me die!!!"  Obviously the meds needed a little adjustment.
     But February 11th 2010 the gauds decided perhaps I could use a little love from the universe.  I woke up to the news that a heart piece I had created was on the cover of our local alternative paper, the Eugene Weekly.  Suddenly February 11th became one of my favorite days of the year so far.  The dreadful depression I have been a slave to for more years than I care to remember seems to be better managed this year (thanks to exercise and 2000 units of vitamen D a day.  And the remorse of 'a love best left undone' seems to have relocated itself (at least this week). 

 

     For this February 11th I am celebrating loving myself better each day.  (Yeah it's a few days early but that doesn't really matter).  And the better I love myself, the better I can spread that love around to others in my life.  When the day arrives that a special someone comes along she will not be the type to 'kick me to the curb'.   She will not be partnered to a substance of which I will always fail against.  And I will not feel like I am licking the floor for scraps whenever I want and/or need attention.  

     No, I am going to start using February 11th as the day to plan my own special Valentine.   A day to do some real Heartwork of a very special and personal nature.  Perhaps making nuno-felted hearts everyday for the last two months (in preparation for the Valentine's show) has left me lighter in my head.  It has definitely left me lighter in spirit.  It feels good to be letting the love in and spreading it around like one would spread seeds in a garden.  It feels especially good when I give myself a delicious, juicy hug and say 'I Love You'.   Like a gently raised kid I am eating it up cause it really is good for me. 

Julie's 50th B-day party...

I am diverting here for a posting to do a mini blog entry of Julie's party last night.  If you didn't go or don't know these people there are some unusual photos taken w/o the flash.  If you went you might be able to find yourself in some of the photos. 

Above is the party girl dancing with one of my best friends Suzie.

This is Julie, the b-day girl and Sandy her partner sharing a cocktail with a weird little LED lite in it...  ... one of my fav photos of the night. 

Below is the fabulous Elena talking to a couple of ghosts......

Then there was the disco ball installed for the evening in the skylight, swirling light vibrations like happiness energy throughout the room.

Lots of good friends just hanging in the kitchen area...Pam Mathis, who i haven't seen in forever talking with Penelope who is standing next to Carole talking to Suzie... so good to see everyone having a good time... 

By the end it was a beautiful blur of lights dancing in the ethers ...