May 2007 – Page 2

Morial Majority

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Varg

Morials I thought I had seen it all in regards to search phrases that have led to The Chicory but this one had me in stitches. Someone actually entered this in a search engine and found my site… “where to find people that has respect and morials” And the answer is: No where! I got…

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Big Easy To Big Empty

Posted on May 10, 2007 by Varg

I put the phrase “New Orleans” in my BitTorrent software and saw a few “Best Of Mardi Gras” CDs pop up along with this documentary by journalist Greg Palast, an interesting portion of which is available on YouTube. LSU’s Igor Van Heerten really impressed me in this clip. The transcript of the doc can be…

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Liens du Moment 5/8

Posted on May 8, 2007 by Varg

National Geographic hits a home run with coverage of decrepit Nola storm protection. New Orleans’ Rebuilt Levees “Riddled With Flaws” NationalGeographic.com Herman Leonard talks shop, Katrina on NPR. Photographer Reflects on Jazz Giants, Storm Losses NPR.org Leading Dems admonish Dubya on Katrina. Clinton, Obama criticize Bush on Katrina Boston.com

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Shameless Plug #1

Posted on May 5, 2007 by Varg

I know tonight is one of the most robust music nights of the year but, if anyone happens to find themselves in the 300 block of Decatur tonight around 9 o’clock, duck into Club 300 and be dazzled by a group of Tulane medical students performing as Dr. Funk and featuring Romy Kaye, the fiance…

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Infrastructure Repair in Action

Posted on May 4, 2007 by Varg

Two days ago, I was bemoaning the fact that there was a lot of talk about what was going to happen in the recovery and not enough evidence of anything actually happening. Well, I woke up this morning to the sound of beep-beep-beeps, the smell of diesel and the unmistakable chatter of a work crew…

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Mr. Blakely Went To Algiers

Posted on May 2, 2007 by Varg

I took it upon myself to check out Dr. Ed Blakely’s when he came to Algiers’ Oliver Perry Walker High School library last Wednesday. Even back when I was a paid journalist, I wasn’t much of a hard news man so I was mostly there for the experience rather than to “cover” the event. Now…

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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.