Red Ear Syndrome

I thought this was just something that happened to everybody. I was wrong. Dead wrong. Not much is known about Red Ear syndrome, but I have it. My ear, just my right ear, gets really hot and red. It doesn't hurt, but sometimes it spreads to the skin above my cheekbone. It has been linked to Chronic Paroxysmal Hemicrania, except I don't get headaches. Just one really hot ear. Is this information important to the rest of the world....maybe. If there are more hot ears out there, we should get to the bottom of this.

The Scrap Glass Situation

A bed can no longer fit in my old bedroom, because it is filled with tables and drawers overflowing with scraps of stained glass. I used it in this piece. It reminds me of the Poppies that were in Lambert Park, Alpine. About ten years ago there was a whole field of them, now only a few come up each year.

Leaf Citations on my car

I cant believe how yellow everything is. My mom wouldn't let me off the hook till I drove up the canyon to see the leaves. It was surreal. I was really worried about moose charging me or something horrid like that, but it was really nice up by Stewart Falls.

Eating Rasberries with Lex

Last saturday I happened to notice the plethora of rasberries in our neighbors yard. Too many for me to pick alone. My niece Lexi enlisted as my accomplice. Most of them ended up in our mouths, and the ones that made it into the bag didnt last more than 10 minutes before they were sitting comfortably in our bellies. The horses next door were looking lonely so we decided to give them some weeds. Are those bad to feed horses? They seemed to really enjoy them! Oh, along with the rasberries we also got away with some squash and tomatoes which we made into a deliciouse Fall soup with some corn that I grew, and I grew it from a SEED! Incredible. The first thing Ive ever grown and eaten. I am proud of myself. Lex is a great partner in crime!

Teaching Children's Art Classes

Yes. Those are chinchilla ears. I was so proud of this creature I had to show him off. His name is Chin. All you need is some tape, tissue paper, colored paper, and the incredible mind of a 7-year old.

The Bronze Chair

Title: "He was left handed."
One more way I spent time this summer was making chairs out of wax.
This one I decided to pour in bronze
Tom helped me name it
Tom and Richard, my Patina friends at Adonis Bronze.

Me and Puff the Magic Dragon

Painting murals in my basement was a splendid way to spend summer nights. I love that rascal Puff : )

Me, Boo, and the Virgin River

I spent a fair amount of time this summer in Zion National Park. Durring the day it feels like your in the middle of the Sahara Desert, so it is necessary to take multiple trips down the Virgin, which is conveniently located right behind "The Fort". (I can explain more about that later) My dog Boo has turned into a river dog. He jumps from tube to tube, swims pretty well considering his paws are the size of quarters. The river is way mild, and the biggest hazard is when Boo decides to shake the water he has aquired off and he is standing on you. His little feet turn into daggers, and could drive themselves through a few layers of skin.

The Summer Job

Alaska didn't work out, neither did Portland, Seattle, Copenhagen or New Zealand. Alpine, Utah was where I ended up. Home sweet home. I slept on my floor in my room for the first few weeks, then a spot opened up in my little brothers room. (mine is filled with stained glass scraps and different projects I have been working on for years) I transformed it into a studioish space. I figured I could get a job at the bronze foundry I worked at last summer, and I did. I planned on riding my bike to work, and I mostly did. I was a wax chaser, just like I was the year before. We, wax chasers, fix up the wax forms of sculptures and prepare them to be poured in bronze. Some times we have to sculpt new noses and fingers but mostly it is just getting rid of the lines where they joined the pieces together, the seam. Lucky for me I worked with the same crew I worked with last year. Karen, Shari, Sherry, Joe, Beatrice, Gina, and Jana, she is the new one. Shari is a punk rocker at heart and makes very tasty HERBAL tea. Karen is the one you go to when you get burnt or cut, and she makes excellent banana bread. Sherry makes strange animal sounds throughout the day, throws wax and has a very contagious laugh. Dang it I don't think I have spell check on this thing... oh well. Joe. He is the only boy in the room. He can talk in any accent on this planet and most likely the surrounding ones, his wife always does really nice things for the rest of us. Beatrice is from Columbia, she doesn't like spicy food, and she is a fast worker and probably the best. Jana is married to Ricki, she also works at hearts and she still manages to be a great mom. Gina is our personal psychiatrist, and health advocate. She makes sure we are happy and healthy, and does the gardening. I hope I can be like all of them one day. My friend Travis took these pictures of me at work for a project he is working on, on a normal day I would have wax smudges everywhere.

Short Poland Film

Fruit Bat

During sacrament meeting today a small blonde 4 year old ended up being escorted to the chair squished next to mine. He didn't seem to be having a particularly good day. My mom, who was seated on the other side of the boy, told him that I could draw him a picture of anything he wanted. I didn't have much time to respond before he instructed me to draw a fruit bat. A fruit bat? It ended up looking like a deranged monkey-pig with wings, but he was impressed. After the snake, the alligator, the monkey and the lizard, he asked for the paper, took it and left to sit with his family. Why am I writing about this here? I don't know, I guess it was the first time I have ever drawn a fruit bat and the 4 year old liked it, so I am feeling pretty good about things.