As a matter of aesthetic choice I have tended to make the chain links rectangular and with flat sides – a design that is also easily fabricated.  In some instances I have made chains using opaque plastic in available colors and finishes. But more I have customized clear stock with a number of different results.

The first image shows a simple assemblage of links whose colors and textures are derived from interference paints which I squeeze between clear sheets, which are then pulled apart. Once dry, these sheets are glued to a wooden framework.

This chain is made up of colors and transparencies that have come my way.  The black link displays a beveling on the edges that I first thought super, but has turned out more or less superfluous.

Another view of the same piece. Like most chains, these enjoy some degree of freedom while made up of rigidly controlled units. I’m of two or more minds about this characteristic. The drape-ability is at its best in the mirrored chains where formal arrangements are almost lost in reflections.

In this series the links are square and around six to nine inches on a side.  This scale is something of a sweet spot in regard to the capabilities of my tools, the amount of materials required and handling and display of the product.

I’m lucky to have access to mirrored plastic. The image above is a heavily beveled chain of a thicker grade of mirrored stock, glued to the framework with solvent cement. The cement distresses the mirror finish – an effect that I like.

This is a merging of the distressed mirror chain and another put together with acrylic medium, which does not attack the finish and allows for a hard shine.

Another view of the same combined chains.

Who knows how long this love affair with dazzle and flash will last. In earlier posts I have talked about what I see as many meanings and dimensions in the chain motif and I am hoping that the look that is being generated here will eventually lead to a sense of depth that is more than of the surface alone.

The Tree’s Daughter

Medium: Mixed Media on Canvas

Size:95×63 cm

Painted from a small old sketch, I have limited myself to earthy tones;  raw siena, yellow ochre, browns with a base of white and black acrylics. I felt like creating something unusual and experimental. Here is the original sketch, quite an oldie…

Do you see sky or water?

Here is an update on the bluff picture which awaits further changes based on Karl’s critique.

This song was inspired by the Nick Hornby novel Juliet, Naked. The story involves, among other things, an American singer/songwriter named Tucker Crowe, who mysteriously disappeared from the music scene in the late 80s after the release of his legendary breakup album Juliet. Over the years a cult following has developed, and twenty years after his disappearance, a CD labeled Juliet, Naked arrives in England at the home of Duncan, an avid fan and blogger, with a note claiming that this is the guitar and vocal demo Crowe recorded when he first wrote the songs. I won’t tell you what else happens in the book (there are reviews on Amazon), but I found it to be quite a page-turner.

Tucker Crowe is compared by his fans and the media to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen. The album Juliet is described in great detail in the book, along with a track list, but there are no songs. So I thought it would be fun to go ahead and write some of them. I started with the final track on the album, You and Your Perfect Life, which chronicles the end of his affair with a married San Francisco model and socialite. There are three lines of lyrics for this song in the novel, so I used those as a starting point and wrote the rest of the song around them. My guitar. vocal and harmonica recording is in the spirit of Crowe’s demo. All of the lyrics refer to situations and events in the book.

This creature placidly stood by as I clicked away. I would like to tender these three images of the stately bird in the spirit of comparison, soliciting your judgments of good better and best.

Number One:

Number Two:

Or Number Three:

Title: Peace of Mind
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 101×76 cm