Collecting Stuff

People have collected stuff for a long time. I don’t know that for a fact but I see no reason that it should be just a current day phenomenon. It amazes me why people collect what they do. Some folks collect art, some collect dolls, some collect stamps. Collecting stamps seemed to be pretty big when I was young. I tried it for awhile. Of course collecting coins used to be big too. My grandmother used to collect buttons. That all seems to be pretty normal stuff to collect and I can see why folks would do it.

It’s the strange stuff people collect that makes me wonder. I had a friend who collected empty cans of black olives. He’d eat all the olives first then wash the cans and stack them up. Said he liked the labels. He probably had fifty or more of them in a cupboard. He also collected the cardboard tubes from toilet paper rolls. I found that to be a bit weird. I once knew a guy who seemed to collect wives. Knew a gal who collected husbands too, so apparently it's not a sexist thing.

I recently stumbled upon a collectible that I think I can get into. Cigar boxes. I’ve always admired the art work in the labels. When I was in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago visiting family, I noticed an attractive cigar box on the counter in my sister’s kitchen. My first thought was that maybe she had taken up the habit. I have enjoyed cigars over the years but never have bought them by the box. Out of curiosity I asked her about it. She laughed and said she used it to store some things in. I asked where in the world she got them and she said the cigar store sells them for a couple of bucks a piece. She them gave it to me along with another. My eyes lit up.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend I was in Santa Fe and came across a cigar store. Every once in awhile I’ll treat myself to what I think is a good cigar so my brother-in-law and I ducked in to see what they had. Low and behold, there were a couple of stacks of empty cigar boxes for sale. I asked about them and was told the nicer wooden boxes were five bucks and the cheaper ones were three, help yourself. I could hardly contain myself. I sorted through them all and picked out two of the five dollar ones to take home along with a couple of Macanudos (my favorite cigar) to enjoy later. Those cigar boxes will be real handy to store my gold leaf in.

Don’t forget the Merriment on Main Street Festival this Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00 followed by the Parade of Lights. See you there.

Flying Our Friendly Skies

I just participated in one of the most ridiculous human activities ever invented. Last week I voluntarily boarded an airplane with some 200 other fools to have my body hurled across these United States. I think this activity ranks just below the “running with the bulls” that takes place every summer in Spain and probably below the once popular practice of streaking by college students.


Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I have a fear of flying so much as a bit of claustrophobia perhaps. I mean, there is just so much wrong with this idea. Sure, it’ll get you from point A to point B rather quickly, relatively speaking, but I think that is the beginning and end of the advantage.

While I’m not much for standing in line I have to say that all in all it went much more smoothly than it could have. I’m thankful for that. Taking all of the stuff out of my pockets and the pat downs weren’t bad. Kind of reminded me of when I would get shook down as a teenager in high school or during a traffic stop in the middle of the night where much worse things can happen. “Up against the wall…” you know how it goes. On the other hand, maybe you don’t but I’m sure you’ve heard of it.

A friend of mine who is a Fed was flying out of Charlotte the same day I was returning to Montrose. As part of her job she is allowed to fly with a gun. I asked her how she gets through security and she said she just shows her travel itinerary and her ID and walks through. No lines at that desk. I asked if she could get me through that easily and she responded, “probably not”. I then proposed that maybe she could cuff me and pretend I was her prisoner, and release me when we got through the gates. She said “probably not”. I had to try at least.

Sitting in the terminal waiting for my flight did yield a side benefit however. I had lots of unsuspecting free models. I generally take a sketch book with me everywhere I go and I managed to fill a couple of pages of portraits of these characters…and there were plenty of them. For a people watcher such as myself, an airport terminal is a treasure trove. Lots of very interesting looking folks. Not quite as good as a bus depot but still worthwhile. Time well spent.

Of course when I travel, if I’ve got the time, I much prefer to drive or ride the Harley but I suppose in the interest of time, joining the rest of the masses in our friendly skies has it’s merits.

New Work

This is a new piece I just recently finished. It was started at a workshop I attended last month in Boise, Idaho with Noel Weber and John Studden, two masters of the art of reversed gold on glass and lettering. Everything was done in reverse on the glass, hence the term "reverse gilding and painting on glass". 23kt and 18kt gold were used along with some abalone shell inlays in the legs of the "A" and the "L". There is a small discalimer under my name that says "is not an"...don't want to get into trouble you know :)

This shot shows some of the detail work. Centers of the letters are 18kt gold in a matte, outlined in 23kt burnished gold.

A detail shot of the "A". Again the centers of the letters are 18kt gold in a matte finish and the outline is 23kt burnished gold with inlays of abalone shell in the legs of the "A".

Another detail shot of the fancy script and corner detail done in 23kt burnished gold.