Greetings Citizens. So one of Steve's assistant mechanics stops by to see if he can diagnose the Heidi's electrical problem. And guess what.... she fires right up like nothing was ever wrong. So he followed me to the shop where they put in new contacts and a battery. I spent all the morning there and a little bit of the afternoon too. Jan was nice enough to prepare me a lunch to enjoy with Steve and the boys.

Then I went to James' house to pick up some images that he wants matted. We gossiped for a bit over some root beer.

I then joined Mark N for a walk through the herd that's called Last Thursday. It's an 'art walk' on Alberta Street. We didn't see much art but the people watching was first-rate.

Now I am off to me & Jen's workshop. Quite a few people have dropped out. I am certain that they have realized that next week's conclusion to the workshop is also The Fourth of July weekend and they can think of better things to do than make pretty pictures with a clay pinhole camera. Well, they're wrong!

Greetings Citizens. Talked with TLC last night. We chatted for a long time about Photography and teaching. It was nice to speak with her again. She's very busy with grad school at ASU and seems to be working on some solid ideas (from what I could hear). I'm looking forward to seeing her newest work since I was such a big fan of her earlier work.

I was going to take Heidi out and make some pinhole images yesterday. I got the bike all loaded, had warmed her up and had pulled her out of the garage when she just died. I lost all my electricity! The battery is still good so Steve thinks some corrosion in a connection under the gas tank may be the culprit. A guy that works for him is stopping by this morning to take a looksie to find out. Of course I have no way of getting the bike over to Dundee so if it needs to be moved, I have to wait until Steve can get up here to get it. Which means I need to figure out a way to get over there to pick it up when it is fixed!

So I tried to make images with the ceramic pinhole camera with some Polaroid 600 film I had laying around. The camera was a tiny bit too small so I didn't make an image (that turned out). I ended up with some messed-up piece-of-crap that an art gallery would call Art though. It's for sale for $247K. Any takers?

Greetings Citizens. I started watching the M's game last night and was feeling too antsy for TV. So I decided to see if I could improve myself shooting with the Lensbaby. (I also just wanted to putt around on Heidi). So I toured around town looking for images to make and new roads to explore. I didn't really find any new roads but I enjoyed the ride nevertheless. I made a few images at a spot I frequently check out for anti-graffiti. This rag has been here for months but I've never made an image of it because there's a small sign from the fence company in the frame. Well, it seems I was able to blur it out enough to not make it distraction.

I'm bummed with the thought that my workshops aren't going to fly. I'm surprised that nobody is interested in learning the noble processes (as Craig used to call them). But what can you do? I suppose I'm going to have to learn how to make digital negatives and introduce people to alternative processes that way. NewSpace doesn't have the computer facilities set up yet but in the future they are going to have a Mac lab. Maybe we'll try again then.

Greetings Citizens. It was a nice day for a motorcycle ride yesterday. I took an obscure road out to the ocean (Carlton-Beaver) and made some images with my LensBaby (including this American flag). I like the effect but I think it is too easy to be heavy-handed in how you use this lens. Still, with a little bit of practice & experimentation, I think these "digital Diana" images have some potential.

So I don't think my workshops are going to happen. It seems no one is interested in learning alternative processes... or it is too expensive to learn. Either way, I don't think the classes are going to fly.

The bad news is that I lose out on some teaching experience and money, the good news is that I can leave for Maine! I'm 85% certain that I am going to make a road trip back to Maine. I plan on traveling along the border (US 2) until I get to Michigan then cross into Canada until I cross back into Vermont.

Talked to Ralph today. He's a friend from Galesburg where I did an Artist-in-Residency a few years back. It was nice to catch up!

I also got to chat with R last night. We were able to discuss the "infamous pizza incident". I think the whole thing was a giant misunderstanding for both of us and I am glad to report it is behind us now.

Greetings Citizens. I have always been a big fan of William Christenberry's work. I was exposed to his work early on and he will forever remain in my "Top Ten" of favorite photographers. Little surprise then that sometime I try to make images in his style like this old house. My fail by comparison but I still like trying.

Yesterday was a scorcher and today is supposed to be more of the same. It's a good day to hide from the heat and work on some images. I got a Lensbaby the other day and I'm looking to make some images with it. Maybe this evening when the light is nice and the temperature isn't so unbearable....

Greetings Citizens. Watched a little World Cup action today on the telly. Then I hoped in the Porsche and drove to Salem to get some stuff out of the storage shed. Of course i took the long way and I had to stop in Dundee to visit Chris & Steve. By the time I made it to the storage shed, they were closed!

Went back through Silverton and Mt Angel... saw some illegal immigrants being held by the police. The tow truck was taking their van away while they sat in the hot sun.

Got home and took a cool shower before heading off to J & A's for A's birthday party. I had an enjoyable time. Got home and still no message from R. Typical.

Greetings Citizens. Met Mark N today. We went to the Goodwill. I got a great copy of Aesop's Fables that was printed in 1941 and a book of poetry by Edna St. Vincent Millay. I also got a low tech digital camera but I found out it isn't supported by Mac software. That's okay, I have 14 days to return it.

Donna called from Logan today. Things are fine in Cache Valley. She heard from Sara the other day; she's in France. Guess Donna had just finished shooting images for the Lyric Theatre and was relaxing outside drinking a beer and eating some popcorn. Ahhhh, the simple pleasures!

Tomorrow I think I'll go for nice putt on the BMW.... or maybe take the car up to Mt Hood. Then in the evening, I will be going to A's birthday fete.

Greetings Citizens. Watched the USA show how poorly we can play soccer. We needed to win, we lost. In three games we scored two goals... one which was actually put in the net by our opponents.

After that I went and painted a kitchen. We got the ceiling done. Tomorrow we'll get the walls finished. We broke for lunch at the Belmont Inn then crossed the street to have a cup of joe at the Stumptown Annex.

Came home and took a power nap before meeting Zim. He just bought a house in Alberta for a cool $250K. We had a burrito and walked up and down Alberta Street.

Now I am home.

Greetings Citizens. Yet another Diana image from one of my road trips. I don't have the slightest idea where this was made... somewhere between Peoria and St. Louis going by the strip of negatives.

So R's daughter called a while ago to pick up Brody. I was sad. I really enjoyed having the dog in my life. He's a good little pup. Actually, little isn't the right word. Brody's a Labradoodle and is going to be a good-sized dog when he's fully grown. Right now I think he's six months old and weights 35 pounds. Anyway, I'll miss him. It was fun taking him on walks and to the doggie park. Hopefully, I'll still get to do a little of that when R returns. I kept hoping she'd call me or drop me a post card but I received neither and that makes me sad too.

Tomorrow I am helping J & A paint their kitchen. Then I am supposed to meet my old TA from the Maine Workshops. He's out here house hunting. It'll be fun to get together and tell each other some lies.

Greetings Citizens. All is well. Brody and i are getting along good together. He's doing much better on the leash than when i picked him up on Monday. I can only hope that the owners keep working with him. If they do, they will have a great (and well-behaved) dog.

Big Mike called today. He saw R walking the streets of Sitka. He got her cell number from me and gave her a call. They didn't have a chance to meet because R's boat was moving down the proverbial road.

Watched the M's beat the Dodgers and the Heat take care of Dallas. For as much as Mark Cuban has been acting like a little brat, I'm glad they lost. He complains about calls but seems to forget how his team hacked Tim Duncan in game seven and no call was made. Didn't hear him say a word then. Hmmmm.

Greetings Citizens. Today has been a learning day for Brody. He's a rambunctious little puppy and i think he's been getting away with murder at his house. Well, he's learning that at least in this home I'm the Alpha Dog. I got him a Halti collar, a six foot leash and a bag of treats (for rewards) and we went to work. He hated that collar at first (still does) but he's getting used to it. Walkies are definitely easier now. To relieve some stress for the poor fellow, we went to the doggie park where he had a good romp with the other doggies. He sleeping hard now!

Still working on old negatives. This one's from Iowa.

Greetings Citizens. Well, I got up early for Mass today. Apparently too early because the doors were locked when I got there. I thought I had the wrong time, so I went to the store and got some goodies for breakfast. After that I made my way over to R's house to pick up Brody. He had his head out the window all the way home. I kept falling asleep watching the US Open & the M's game. The M's didn't choke, Phil did. Brody would wake me up by licking my face. We went for a few walks.

Ji stopped by and we went and had Korean food for dinner. It was yummy. I really liked the cucumber kim chee! My main course was good too.

When we got back, I showed Ji my scanner and I made an image from six years ago of some girl I don't know on the Great Salt Lake.

Tomorrow I'm planning on taking Brody to the doggie park before he has to go to the vet's for a check-up.

Greetings Citizens. Well R is off to Alaska on a cruise. I spent the day scanning old Diana negatives and making prints. I did take some time out to have lunch and squirreled around with Mark N for a few hours. Came home and watched the M's take care of the SF Giants. JJ Putz struck out Barry Bonds in the ninth for the victory.

Greetings Citizens. Spent the afternoon grading my kids' work. For the most part I was very happy with the work. There were some disappointments but I guess that is always the case.

When I got done I called R because she wanted to get her work back today. She's leaving town for a week and wanted to show her friends and family what she had made this term. By the time I called her she was already ordering pizza with her friends. She gave me directions and I battled traffic to get the work to her. I got to talk to her for maybe five minutes. She asked me if I wanted to stay and have some pizza. Fuck! The pizza was all gone and there were thirty people there. I think I knew four of them. So I politely declined, grabbed a burger at McDonald's and went home and cried.

Greetings Citizens. Today was Finals Day for my kids. I got the cinnamon rolls from Fat City Cafe at 0700 and the class started at 0800. There was some wonderful work. Many of the students chose to make books. But the most compelling project was made by a student who had spent her childhood being smacked around by her Father and older brother. On the day she packed up and moved out, her Mother joined her. It was intense! She was sobbing uncontrollably at first but soon composed herself and showed us all the importance of listening to the little voice that resides in our hearts. I can tell you this: when I see my kids make compelling work like that consistently, I know that I should be teaching. Getting some dumb-ass administrative committee to understand that is something else all together.

My critique in ceramics went well. Everyone enjoyed the pinhole camera. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if me & J get a couple more students to sign up.

Greetings Citizens. I've been listening to The 5 6 7 8's lately. Japanese rockabilly... what else can you say?

Ordered the cinnamon rolls from the Fat City Cafe today. The kids will love them and, of course, I've got a couple extra for Gaye & Denese up in the office.

IM chatted with Jon last night. We talked about cameras and I forwarded him some work from the woman who is taking over the Photo Department at PCC.

Today I'm cleaning up a little around the house and, hopefully, going out and shooting a few photographs. And speaking of photographs, Bran has reviewed my webpage (which seriously needs to be updated) on her Scrumptious Pink Blog. Be a sport and check it out... and leave a comment!

Greetings Citizens. Tomorrow is the last day for my kiddies to work in the lab. I won't be there to help but will make an appearance around three o'clock. I have to help unload the pit fired ceramics. I saw a lot of the advanced people finishing up on Saturday. They have made some wonderful portfolios. They should all be very proud of themselves.... I am, anyway. There are a few kids I am worried about. (There always are)!

Talked to Jack. He's the guy I get photo gear from in Ohio, He's getting ready to ship me out a Protar lens for my 5x7 Deardorff. It's a sweet piece of glass and nice & small with a lot of coverage. And it's old school.... brass with no shutter.

R got her digital camera today. She went with a Canon. I tried to talk her into a Nikon but was unsuccessful. She's leaving on a voyage to Alaska next week. I get to watch Brody (their dog) for a few days. That should be interesting. He's getting his balls lopped off tomorrow so he'll be a little under the weather for awhile, I suppose. I would be!

Shot a few images today in the Northwest. Nothing terribly exciting. Mostly, it was an excuse to go for a motorcycle ride.

Greetings Citizens. I'm tired. I'm tired of trying. I'm tired of trying to please everyone else but when it comes time for someone to please me there is no one to be found. It is difficult for me to figure out what my station is in life and I am getting weary trying to figure it out.

Greetings Citizens. Today I raku fired a ceramic camera body for me & J's "Create a Ceramic Pinhole Camera " class. On Saturday she's going to pit fire her prototype. I'm happy with the way mine turned out. Plus, I made the hole size to fit a shutter from a Kodak #1 on it. Tomorrow I am hoping to make a few images with it. That's it for today.

Greetings Citizens. One more teaching day, two more finals at PCC. On Monday, R's boy was in the classroom waiting for his sisters to pick him up. I took him upstairs to the office to get his Mom's Photo Book that she had made last term. Lo & behold the dean was there. He mentioned to me that he thought it was the best piece in the show... the most socially relevant. I mentioned to him that all my kids make work like that and thanks for noticing. Ah, another bridge burned but it felt so nice, so right. R was flattered to hear that the dean liked her work best though and that brought a smile to my face.

A couple of my kids aren't making their best work this term. They're concerned (and maybe they should be) but I'm not worried. They have what Craig calls, "the fire in the belly," and I think they're doing fine. You can't be 100% all the time. Especially with fake deadlines like the end of the term. They are, each and all of them, Photographers and they will continue to make fine work for a lifetime.

Today I handed over some M's tickets to my friend D from Salem. he and his wife are going to go see Steroid-Boy and the SF Giants play at Safeco Field on the 17th & 18th. We had a couple of sodas and shot the shit for awhile. When I got home I hopped on Heidi and went exploring.

I got an email from an old friend from USU. It was weird. I thought I'd never hear from her again. She wanted to know how I was doing and if I stayed in touch with a certain professor. She asked if I liked Stumptown. She stirred up some old feeling best left alone.

Greetings Citizens. Well a couple of lurkers came out from the woodwork, so I'll post for a little while longer. I don't expect a comment every time but a little ,"Hey! I'm out here reading your post... you're still my friend," makes me feel good. So add a comment and keep me happy.

Today I went to church for the first time since I moved to this apartment. It was nice to go again but all the singing drives me crazy. I wish they could have at least one plain old-style Mass with no singing. But no.... they want it all nice and friendly-like. The other thing I don't like is the holding hands while we say, er I mean sing, the Lord's Prayer. Outside of that, it was okay.

When I got home I started doing laundry and made myself a nice breakfast. I watched the M's lose to the lowly Royals and saw UCLA eliminated from the WCWS. Arizona got screwed by a bad call to end their first game with Tennessee but they are beating the crap out of them in the second game where the victor advances and the loser goes golfing.

Last night I went over to J&A's house. Me and J had some snacks and waited for A to get done at the Rose Festival before we went to Pambiche for Cuban vittles. It was raining by the time the meal was over. I'm sure the people attending the Festival of Lights Parade had a wonderful time. I know I did riding Heidi home in the rain. The rain felt like needles striking my face.

Tomorrow begins the last week of classes before Finals Week. So the stories will begin.

Greetings Citizens. I notice with disdain and a certain degree of sadness that I rarely receive any comments either about my images or my pathetic life. I suppose that my images must be as boring as the drivel I post. Therefore, unless some of you lurkers start making some sort of comment every once in a while, I think I'm going to quit posting. It's therapeutic to me to put down in words the things that are going on in my life and I thought it would be fun to share my work with others at the same time. But if I think no one is looking.... or listening, then I going back to the old skool method of writing my thoughts down in a journal and stop posting blog entries. I can write a lot faster than I can type and I can blather more in a book than on the web because I don't need to worry about which lurkers might be out there.

Greetings Citizens. It's raining... again. So it is a good day to be working on some digital images and wash some clothes. I spent about 45 minutes cleaning the image from the last posting. It looks a lot better now and I'll probably pull a print from it.

Yesterday went well. Most of the students are making some good work. Some students are realizing that they have been dinking around a little too much and now it's crunch time! I'm sure the lab will be busy over the weekend. A lot of my kids are disappointed that I am leaving and are wondering what class to take in the Fall. So we went over their options and discussed the possibilities in front of them. I can say this: my kids will be prepared for anything that is thrown at them. They are grounded in their craft and are able to work on projects that are relevant to them. They might not know how to do silly shit like double exposures and toning with blue toner but they can make a print that is pleasing to view and present it well.

I glazed all my ceramics stuff yesterday except for my pinhole camera (which I am going to try and raku fire next week). I'm not a big fan of raku but I wanted to see if the camera can handle the stress of a raku firing. Plus, the black surface inside the camera will be perfect. My cylinders are all glazed in celadon and shino. I have one cup that I am hoping turns out. The rest of them I am not so concerned about.

I think a friend is joining me for dinner tonight. I'm going to make shrimp etoufee and a simple salad. I haven't decided what to have for dessert yet.