October 2006 – Page 2

Blogspotting: 10/17

Posted on October 17, 2006 by Varg

– I was perusing some of the local blogs and I happened upon this post at Squandered Heritage. I can’t believe the HDLC wasn’t on those folks like white on rice. The HDLC made my neighbors saw a foot off their fence the DAY AFTER the damn thing went up.Â I suppose they aren’t in…

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Common Grounds Coffeehouse and Cafe: The Best Damn Bre-fass In Quite A While…

Posted on October 15, 2006 by Varg

I just finished up the best damn bre-fas I have eaten in a long damn time. Common Grounds in Gretna, I salute you. Your Bayou Omelette has left me satisfied in both spirit and gustation. You atmosphere was everything one looks for in a coffeeshop. Your clientele was eclectic and friendly. Your menu was traditional…

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Couldn’t Have Happened To Nicer Guys…

Posted on October 13, 2006 by Varg

The title of this posts refers to two local gentlemen. The first was the unfortunate robber who chose the wrong couple to pull a gun on Tuesday night. The other is Criminal District Judge Charles Elloie, who was recently barred by the Louisiana Supreme Court from participating in any behavior resembling an actual judge. Not…

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Liens du Moment: 10/12

Posted on October 12, 2006 by Varg

– Praise the Lord! La. Judge Who Set Low Bonds Is Suspended Washington Post – I hope nobody hires the electrician I used on my house… Self-Inspections Alarm New Orleans Officials and Electricians HGTV – Worst headline ever? Marigny marinating in anxiety Nola.com – …and somewhat lax morals for which New Orleans is known. Origins…

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Anderson Cooper Has A Crush On Ray Nagin

Posted on October 10, 2006 by Varg

Originally posted Jan. 17, 2006 Just when I thought there was no way I could ever bestow my sympathy on Ray Nagin again, CNN turns around and shows that, in the parlance of our times, it is truly the media that always proves to be the most tactless party in any given scenario. I’m writing…

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Rejoice!

I say that a lot. I sign many pieces with it. I do this because I believe our lives are a true happenstance. A brilliant occurence from nothingness. We are so rare. We are so unlikely. And simply being born isn’t enough. From there we must survive, endure. So each morning, after our Sun departs and is reborn again. Please, for the sake of your ancestors and the Universe in general, hoist that cup of joe up and say, “Rejoice.”

Ours is a soulful existence. No matter how many McMansions, polyester fabrics, auto-tunes, modified foods and social networks we surround ourselves with, we are all still native, passionate beings made of ancient matter. We are organic and we have soul.

Wood also has a warm, soulful quality. Wood has a memory. It retains smells, traumas, events. It even has a calendar. This is why I have chosen it as my medium, for its old soul. I like to think the wood in my work is in its third incarnation. First a tree, then a home and now art. If you have a room that needs a little soul, get a piece. A room can never have enough soul.

My inspiration and subject matter comes from many sources, among them: Humanism, old ballads, trickster tales, flora and fauna, science, myths and folklore, stringed instruments, brass bands, amber spirits, lady vocalists, general relativity and quantum mechanics. Some of my pieces are there just to make a short, simple statement about what’s important in life. Some are more diffuse and abstract in meaning. A personal drama, an enduring line from a poem or novel, a poignant song lyric, the legacy of an important person, a fleeting thought … these are the subjects of my art.

I use hearts often because they are a very abstract way of depicting the human soul without also employing the very subjective human form. The symbolic heart is an apt representation for a person’s experience and essence. A body can immediatly conjure happiness, sorrow, youth, age, anger, bliss. These emotions can get in the way. Sometimes it’s simply about the experience.

I am the son of a sailor and a social worker, the grandson of a gypsy, a dancer and a nurse. I spent my youth moving from port city to port city, watching a lot of road go by and reading World Book Encyclopedia. After my parents settled down on the Gulf Coast, I was a miscreant youth, destroying cars and taking the wrongs things too seriously and the right things not serious enough. Eventually I began replacing my imagination with experience.

I will use any salvaged wood but prefer swamp cypress and longleaf heartwood pine.

I despise waste. Particularly the waste of organic matter. Trees are magnificent. They were here before we arrived and they’ll be around after we are gone. I’m making an effort to save as much wood as possible. Creating art is fun too. But beyond communicating with folks, but beyond making money ad providing for myself, beyond rescuing flooded parts, beyond reveling in the ethereal aroma of heartpine that hasn’t seen the light of day in 400 years, beyond all that, I am trying to make a simple comment on waste.