Carving From Scrap. First project of 2026

 Carving From Scrap. First Project of 2026

Progress has been slow as of late. I'm slowing down all across the spectrum these days. It's April of 2026 and I haven't finished a project since September of last year. 

Art Work is like working out. It is vital to keep moving. Once you get in shape it's easy to keep up the momentum, but if the routine gets interrupted, one day fades effortlessly into the next and before you know it you're out of condition and you almost have to start from the beginning again. Being old accelerates the pattern. 

Four years ago Mary and I drove up to Ventura for an overnight vacation and a visit to Art City where I bought nine new stones.

 

I have two left. I finished the last project, Pebblebend, in September of last year. It  was OK, but just OK. Not one of my finer pieces.

Several of my friends at the Art Association have been encouraging me to do some smaller pieces, so I had a double dose of the procrastination blues.

 I finally pushed myself into action, but rather than break ground on one of the remaining stones I grabbed a chunk of scrap left over from this piece.

 I didn't bother photographing the raw chunk of rock. It was like pushing the truck to start work, and I didn't stop to do work-in-progress posts. So the first post on this project is the last. 

I've had the idea for this stuck in my head for a long time like a melody you can't forget. I call it a pierced leaf pattern, as if you plucked a leaf from some plant, bent the stem around and poked it through the middle of the leaf. Maybe it's coming from some odd primal memory of a thing that happened in another life.

This next week I'll be getting ready for a solo show at the Santa Fe Springs ArtFest. They have chosen me to be a Featured Artist. I'm kind of at a loss for words. This is quite an honor. But it's going to be a lot of work, and I'm ready for that... 

I think. I'll try to get pictures, and see about making a post on it. Anyway, thanks for stopping by.

JWM