Welcome to the Front Door of My Creative Web Office and Gallery
Rubber Mulch
I purchased 20 stepper stones (somewhat oval shape) from Lowes. They cost much more than I wanted to originally pay. But I performed a simple analysis before I put the cheaper product on the cart. If the more costly item cost $1 more per stone, it would mean that I would be saving $20 by purchasing the cheaper product. Seveal month from now, I would look at the cheaper stone and say, "If I had only spent $20 more, I would be much happier with my walkway." So . . . . my walkway loooks great! Now and for months to come.
This week I placed each stone with artistic care, surrounded the entire path (and between stones) with a new dark brown rubber mulch. At the entry to the greenhouse, I placed pieces of slate from an old pool table and filled the spaces with rubber mulch. The slate covers an area about 6 feet by 6 feet. The dark mulch really adds a level of quality and character to my work area.
I also expanded my raised bed vegetable garden. Added 18 square feet of planting area. This raised garden is one concrete block deep (8 inches). The top edge of the concrete blocks is covered with 2 x 8 x 16 inch cap stones. I also emptied 10 bags of cypress mulch all around the raised bed. It covers the landscape fabric that I installed last year. Even if my tomatoes do not grow well, they will have an attractive home to grow in.
This morning, I went to the flower and vegetable show at the farmer's market. Took my green wagon and straw hat. Loaded my wagon with new veggies. The raised bed will make a nice home for those little guys. Garden Dad willl take photos for a subsequent article.
Friday April 9
I found a great black and white video. Take time to enjoy. . . .
Art of Photography - Marco Leonardi
YouTube Description: Marco Leonardi was born in Sanremo on the Italian Riviera in 1933, a city where he spent his youth in the years preceding and during World War II. As a teenager in the 1940s he left home and spent over 25 years traveling and living in many countries, including several years in the merchant marine. Traveling made him become more visual, which led him to photography.
Leonardi came to the United Stated in the early 1960's, lived in New York City for several years, and traveled throughout the country. Since the mid 1970's, he had made Washington D.C. his home until his death from complications of leukemia in 1990.
Fred says, "Let's make art while we can !!" Do I hear an Amen?
Marco Leonardi loved Jazz and Blues. He was instrumental in conceptualizing and bringing to reality the San Remo Blues Festival in 1988, a festival that continues to this day. For the inaugural 1988 festival, Leonardi brought to his hometown of San Remo such highly regarded Washington D.C. blues musicians as Nap " Don't forget the Blues" Turner, John "Bowling Green" Cephas, Phil "Harmonica" Wiggins, Tommy Cecil, Linwood Taylor, Gail Marie Freeman, Scott Marshall Douthitt, Stanford Baldwin, Julie Moore Turner, Steve Williams, Tony Martucci, Lincoln Ross, Charlie Young, Mary Jefferson, Carl Turner, Jeff Harper, Bill Glaser, Skip Wiggins and Bob Butta.
These musicians were Marco Leonardi's friends and several can be seen in the video clip playing their instruments in the famous Washington D.C. Jazz club One Step Down. Other photographs depict indoor and outdoor scenes in San Remo, Italy; Washington D.C.; rural Virginia; inside his apartment in Dupont Circle, Washington D.C.; and also portraits of friends and lovers and strangers alike.
From the late 1970s until 1988, Marco Leonardi shared his apartment with his close friend, the visual artist Eugene James Martin. Martin taught him how to look at art and how to focus on photography. All the artworks shown hanging in Leonardi's apartment are by Eugene Martin.
Marco's artist statement is as follows: "Through photography I have come to understand art, its rejection of fear and of the limited, its acceptance of the invisible, its integrity, purity, logic and discipline and the understanding of freedom, awareness and tranquility that art reveals."
Look at a sample of this artist's work in the Youtube video below. Really great music in the video !!!!!!! My kind of Rap. If it is late in the evening, open an adult beverage, sip slowly, close your eyes, and imagine sitting in a far off mysterious bar in . . . . . . . (well, you get the picture). I am testing this new technique to allow popups of video, music and photos. Too early for a cocktail you say . . . . or is it? Maybe just a short Rock & Rye. Man this is good stuff. The video, the music, or the Rock & Rye? Maybe all three. Choices, choices. . . Enjoy with me. If you have extra Rock & Rye, call me and we will have an artist's party. I will bring my own glass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All photographs in the video are copyright to the Estate of Eugene James Martin.
Music: "Tangerine" Performed by Ben Webster & Coleman Hawkins. Written by Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger.
If you would like to see more works of this photographer, look at the following web site:
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/artpage/40598.html
Oil Painting Studio
Text Version of the King James Bible
Today is Sunday. It is Easter morning. Rejoice!!!! This morning I decided to add a "Bible" menu item in Fred's Interests. It will be fully searchable text version of the King James Bible. (Coming soon!!)
My bible is my source for inspiration. It is the written reason that I have hope for my life and yours. I will try to add some imagery and/or woodcuts to emphasize portions of text that mean a lot to me.
One of the more famous artists of Northern European Renaissance Art who created woodcut masterpieces is Albrecht Dürer. You will definitely see some of his work. Some of my laser engravings will show up also.
Saturday Planting Progress
Lady, Lady, Lady
The weather today was perfect. I finished preparing 4 planting holes and carefully planted my newest adopted plants: Yellow Lady Banks Rose, White Lady Banks Rose, Akebia Vine, and a thornless blackberry.
This was quite a task. I had to prepare my special Garden Gnome soil mix before attacking each newly dug hole. With so much to do in the garden and greenhouse, it seemed like I had to touch each bucket of last year's soil, empty buckets and pots that had standing water, pull healthy weeds, locate a fresh bag of organic compost, find the new bag of lime, move tools and trays in the garden shed, take a string of Christmas lights out of the front River Birch tree, straighten a hose, organize some old plastic pots, stand and plan how to enclose the ends of the greenhouse with storm windows, and the list goes on. . . . . Makes me tired just thinking about all the little tasks I covered.
And right in the middle of all this exciting activity, I went inside the office to get a ham sandwich, only to become riveted in front of the TV watching a tennis match. It is a wonder I did not go to sleep. Must have been the fish fertilizer on my clothes that kept me awake. That stuff has quite an odor.
My goal was to photograph and video some of my activities. Maybe a different day, not today.Now I am feeling the bending and stooping and noonday heat. . .I need a walker or cane to get to bed.
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