The Burning Skull

Due to inclement weather the burning skull 

was taken into the house.

Tyler and Sydney discussed what ought to be done. 

Sydney found some greens that someone seemed to have 

left for her pleasure, strewn about beneath the burning skull. 

Tyler went, more or less, straight for the jugular. 

Later Tyler tried to curry favor with the flamboyant 

interloper by telling it Sydney's secret name. 

No impression was made.

Ghost Story

It is all true, quite true. Although I have a gift for improvisational fiction, for facile prevarication, for utterly believable out and out lying, this story is quite true. 

Once we arrived at the beach I had thought everything would go smoothly, though the sense of urgency was still strong. The box was sealed with a sticker unlike any I had ever encountered, no tearing with my meager finger nails would lift it's edges, I attacked it with my car keys. My son stood somewhat idly by, toying with the camera. At last I got the box open, challenged by a thick plastic bag I tried to open this in a less crude fashion, but ended up breaking into it again with my keys. Having already removed shoes, I  started toward the sea, bag in hand. "Do you want to......?" I asked my son. He shook his head and took a step back "I'll just do pictures, thanks." I hadn't really expected him to participate, but it seemed the right thing to at least ask. 

Cold Pacific Ocean swirling my ankles, the sun just diving below the horizon, I plunged my hand into the bag that held my mother's ashes. I hadn't expected to feel little bits of bone. I had thought the ashes would be soft, almost inviting, like the finest of campfire ashes. These had bits of bone and some of those bits were not so small, some were larger than a thumb nail and oddly triangular. Perturbed, but undaunted, I sowed handful after handful into the tide. Looking over to my right I saw a dark shape bobbing in the tide quite near the shore. "Great" I thought "a dead seal." I continued to keep an eye on it and was relieved to see it was, in fact, a live seal. Curious it being so close to shore. I began to think of the mythic Celtic Selkie . 'Perhaps the Selkie has come to claim back one of it's own, ' I thought playfully. "Do you see the seal ?" I called to my son, pointing. I couldn't hear his reply. She would have wanted there to be a seal, waiting for her, I'm quite sure of it. She loved the sea in all it's myriad of forms and moods.

When I was planning her memorial the officiant, a charming female Rabbi from New York City, assured me that memorials were for the living, that the dead were not going to reach out of the grave and grab you if it wasn't just right. I wasn't so sure. I saw my mother's hand jiggling reality. Why else would, at the last moment, this particular Rabbi be called in ? We were having a non-denominational service, but my mother loved Jewish people and always talked about her Jewish friends and she grew up in NYC, really identified with that city. She would enjoy this.  If she wasn't hanging around, how come I kept getting great parking places ? I kept my doubts to myself and made plans according to what I thought she would like. Despite the words of the Rabbi, the dead do reach out and grab you from the grave, especially if they want to be put into their grave, sort to speak.  Three days before I waded into the ocean I had woken up with a start in the middle of the night feeling like there was something wrong. Next night I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like there was something I had to do,  just had to do. Then last night I had woken up thinking there was something seriously wrong with me. I thought maybe I was having a heart attack, except I could feel no pain and my pulse seemed normal. I wasn't hot, so, no, it wasn't a hot flash. The only impression I had was that there was a circular area of heat that wasn't hot on my chest. I wondered if I was just flat out dying, and maybe this was what it felt like to die. Suddenly without the use of algebra or any sort of higher math it all added up and I realized it was time to let loose my mother's ashes. The next morning I glanced at my calendar and found that it was the Autumnal Equinox, an important and auspicious day astrologically.  I counted back and found that it had been almost exactly 9 months to the day since she had passed. Was this some sort of reverse gestation? I don't know, I'm just reporting the facts. 

Mother peacefully united with the Pacific,  we headed home, wrapped in the dark.

 "Thanks for coming with me."

 "Hmm, yup."

 "Did you see the seal." 

"Nah, I didn't, are you sure there was one." 

"Yeah, but I'm not sure it was a regular seal." 

Happy Halloween, Samhain, Dias Des Muertes, remember it is the time when the veils between the worlds are the thinnest..........

Monday Bunday

Good Bunday to all, pictured here is Tyler in the midst of the elusive bunny yawn. Camera can just barely capture it, but you can see that execution requires straightened legs and wide, wide, little bunny mouth. The human equivalent is recommended for persons who sit for extended periods of time, repeat at least every 30 minutes, vocalizations are optional but encouraged. More regarding a special project will be revealed soon.........

Monday Tocktober Bunday

We are going along with the 'Buntock Tocktober theme from DKM.

Showing off the 'tocks from the side and getting

 a nice shoulder stretch, what could be better?

Double 'tocks with a doot to boot.

Tagged: 6 Random Things

We got tagged by Furrybutts, so here are 6 random things.

1.Tyler's favorite activity.

That would be Tyler on the left..

2. 3 famous people whose paths I have crossed. 1-Lou Harrison: I used to be his "personal assistant" taking dictation, dealing with correspondence, arranging tours and performances, 

even cleaning his house, the efficacy of which he checked with white gloves. Like his other PA's I only lasted a bit more than a year, it was an amazing job that left one exhausted, or as Lou used to say "augustipooped".  2- Tommy Smothers of the comic team "The Smothers Brothers"; I bottled wine at his winery for a couple summers. I rose to the exalted position of chief filler. Often Tommy would bop by wearing his tennis togs. One year the weather was over 100 degrees, we were sweltering and he would NOT let us jump in his pool. 3-David Bryne was within 6 feet of me in London. I was recovering from food poisoning got from Fish and Chips and suddenly felt I couldn't handle the Tube station with the crowds and noise and smells, without vomiting forth. Rushing up to street level like a breaching whale I saw him getting into a cab, I  was terribly excited and all thoughts of vomit left my mind.

Portrait of the artist as a young artist.

3. Here I am at 8 or 9 or so with a cat I made out of bread, now that's random....

4. My great great grandmother was a lady in a proper English mansion with servants and gardeners and such. She fell in love with one of the gardeners. The union was not looked upon kindly so she stole some of the family jewels and they ran (sailed really) off to New York City where she ran a boarding house and he worked as a policeman. He was so strong that he lifted a horse off the street during a snow storm.

5. 3 favorite "self help" books: Oil Pulling by Bruce Fife, Take a Nap Change Your Life by Sara Mednick, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. 

 

6. Tyler and Sydney disapprove when toys that lose their bells.

Tyler and Sydney are under a wicker rocker that 

nobody ever sits in and seems to exist only for rabbits......

If you have read this far, please, consider yourself tagged! If you'd like to play that is.....Don't forget to pick-up your "I love your blog" badge. I figure if you've stuck this one out to the end that I probably do love your blog !!!! 

Peace, Love and Understanding to All,

D and the Spots

Monday Bunday

Tyler is practicing for his upcoming presentation, 

a mimed skit, entitled "Easter Bunny or Easter Egg?"

Have a good Monday Bunday, and Tuesday Bunday, and Wednesday Bunday.......

Out To Pasture

Large scale drawing project by Santa Cruz Waldorf High School class of 2012

Yesterday I finished teaching my first class for this school year;  9th Grade Black and White Drawing. The picture you see is our line drawing project, an enlargement of Albrecht Durer's " The Woman Clothed With the Sun and the Seven Headed Dragon " from his Apocalypse series. See the original here. Each student did a tenth of the whole, final size is about 5 by 7 or so feet. Last year we did Durer's rhino (see below), which I suggested to the class this year, but they insisted on looking though the whole woodcut book and choosing one themselves. this could be thought of as loosing control of the class on my part, but anything that will get students to look at art and be enthusiastic and think about their future (even if it is only in art class) is alright by me. The presence of the dragon played a big part in the choice, later I hipped them to what was going in the print. The Apocalypse series of 15 woodblock prints was created at the beginning of Durer's career and is one of the first large scale print series made available to common folk, even the poor could, for a few pennies, own a Durer. Sold by his wife and mother at fairs this series popularized the artist in a way no other artist had done before. Started in 1497 and completed in 1498, the Apocalypse is based on the Revelations of St. John regarding

This is last years 9th grade project, they couldn't cooperate sufficiently to work on one rhino, 

so we had to have Team Rhino A and B, with one student doing two panels

 and Miss Moll stepping in to do one as well......

the end of the world. At this time in Europe the end of the world in 1500 was also predicted. This was both the time of the Black Plague and the Reformation; people were panicking and raving; there were stories of crosses falling from the sky and killing people; crazy times. Durer looked to the words of the Bible comfort and found himself profoundly moved and stimulated by those of St. John. The visions took form in Albrecht's head, using images from all the art and scenery he had experienced in the travels of his early youth. In "Woman" what is actually happening is the appearance of Mary, who is being pursued by the dragon, and has given birth to Jesus, who is being saved by god. In a later print St. Michael vanquishes the dragon and saves the world. It was generally agreed that the final product was spectacular and that it looked a lot better from far away than from up close, the latter could be a sort of life lesson. I hope that students learned something about the importance of thicks and thins in line drawing as well as the techniques of hatching, cross hatching, contour hatching and stippling. And the oft mentioned goal of keeping everything in proportion (that could be another life lesson)and, of course cooperation.

The second Rhino from last year, I did the middle back panel,

 this one got turned into a school greeting card.

I'm off for six weeks now, though other various employments continue. During this teaching block I have been very good about riding my bike to work, this was noticed by at least one student, an 11th grade boy. While I was cleaning up my room he came in and said "Miss Moll, I just gotta ask you something." "And what is that? Jackson?" "Are you riding your bike because you got a DUI?" "No, Jackson, I'm minimizing my carbon foot print and I like to ride my bike." "Oh, I was just thinking of the reasons why......" My upcoming absence from school may spark rumors that I'm drying out at a rehab clinic. LOL.

Monday Bunday Alphabet Sticks

T is for Tyler, now totter off and get me a treat.

You can help Tyler and Sydney's rescue organization, The Rabbit Haven, get a $25,000 grant. Just go HERE, scroll down to the voting place and search California for The Rabbit Haven. T is also for THANKS A TON. Also unlike other sorts of elections you can vote EVERY DAY !!!!

Whisker kisses to all,

Tyler and Sydney

Monday Bunday

What's this? An attempt to market quantum physics to rabbit fans? Or just a cute cover. This little book, an acquisition of Boyfriend, carries the following endorsement from Michio Kaku (you know, the guy who wrote Hyperspace, Parallel Worlds and Einstein's Cosmos)  "Mr. Bruce is our expert guide on a wild, thought-provoking ride through the Twilight Zone world of Quantum theory, where objects can be two places at the same time, disappear and reappear somewhere else and exist simultaneously in many parallel universes." But wait, we already know rabbits, appear and disappear and exist simultaneously, and have pictures to prove it on Sticky Buns. Thanks to Rabbits Guy from Houseful of Rabbits, Sticky Buns got a new look and is looking. good. If you would like to play Sticky Buns here is the lowdown. You don't have to have a rabbit to play this public art rabbit game, just borrow a rabbit photo and get hopping.

The Name of the Game: Sticky Buns

The Mission: To create awareness of the wonderful house bunnies which fill our lives with so much joy!

The Modus Operandi: Stick pictures of your beloved bunnies (actually any bunny will do, it's OK to use someone else's bunny is this way) in public places, the stranger the place, the better! Just don't break any laws....or if you do bring extra bunny stickers for the jail cell.

The How-To's:

1. Print picture of rabbit on sticker paper or any paper you desire.

2. Find a spot to stick your rabbit (the picture, NOT the actual rabbit).

3. Snap a photo to show where the rabbit sticker has been placed.

4. Post photo on blog.

5. Visit either A Houseful of Rabbits or The Qi Papers, and leave a comment to inform us there is a Sticky Bun posted.

6. We will collect the picture from your blog and it will be posted on Sticky Buns. Your buns will be famous!

7. If you don't have a blog leave Email at the above blogs and we will contact you in that way.

The Power and The Glory, Part Two; Rabbits and Spots

Having failed in my true mission of finding rabbits in the Ming Dynasty, I began to search amongst the permanent collection at the Asian Art Museum. Several years ago the AAM had a special exhibit on Taoist Arts, there were plenty of rabbits then. My first lagomorphic spotting, other than a rabbit card in the gift store, was this little netsuke. 

A neat and compact design solution.

Where there is one rabbit there is likely another, or two, and I spied these two. 

A sweet and lively composition.

Some nice spots were in evidence in the form of this lovely pot, which I am sure Tyler and Sydney would appreciate, especially if it were filled with their current bink-worthy favorite garden fresh Chicory. 

Random can be very  sophisticated.

An enlightened Buddha took on spots, whether by design or happenstance, it is a handsome look. 

Spots and quite simple but effective rendering of stylized drapery.

And then I saw my Sydney! What was she doing here?  

She really can look just like this! ! ! ! 

On closer examination I found this artifact  labeled:  "Incense Burner in the shape of a Mythical Beast." As you can see Sydney can adopt a very similar posture with forefeet wide and nose looking oh so square. 

Sydney also has very red shiny eyes in the direct light.

Although I don't have a good photo of it yet, she can also go very pigeon toed like this mythical beast. 

This one looks a bit disapproving.....

When I was thinking about having Sydney come and live with her brother the director of Rabbit Haven said "She is a very powerful rabbit." I did not pursue inquiry and she did not elaborate, but perhaps this is was she was talking about. 

Happy thump day.

The Power and The Glory

Pictures are NOT from the Special Ming Dynasty Exhibit,

 they are from the permanent collection....

This head is at least four feet high, 

both simple and massive it reflects 

a serene Buddha mind.

This recently passed Friday, having been abandoned at the very last minute by both son and boyfriend*, I set off on my own to the Ming Dynasty exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. It was a glorious day to be driving up the coast, the ocean in my left and a clear blue sky above. The further north one goes the higher and wilder the hills get, mostly tawny brown and olive green this time of year. Here and there bright green geometric shapes of irrigated agriculture punctuate the wilderness. I arrived without mishap and dove my little blue car, known as "Little Blue", down  into an underground parking.

This Buddha seems a bit coy

with his hand gesture and asymetrical posture.

Paid for admission, stopped in the rest room, cleaned my glasses and set off, ready to be stunned by the exhibit subtitled "Power and Glory". I went to what was supposed to the last room first by mistake or just plain ignorance. Unfortunately photography is NOT permitted in special exhibits, just on the 2nd and 3 rd floors of the museum, so I cannot show you what I saw. (Not strictly true I could scan some images from the exhibit catalog.)  At first I thought "what is the big deal", dutifully, I read placards and gazed at six foot tall portraits; noting that the Minister Gu Lin seemed to suffer from strabismus (wall eye). The realistic portrayal of this way ward eye reflects the accuracy of at least the face portion of these hanging scrolls.

I have never seen a multi-armed Buddha before, 

but maybe I just haven't been around.

Most often painted during the lifetime of the subject, they were hung on a wall behind an altar table with incense burners for the family members to worship. Whether it was the bi-directional stare of the minister or my mind simply catching up with my body I suddenly realized that these people didn't have machines, or computer programmed lasers, or Photoshop, or even internet craft suppliers. The perfectly woven yellow silk robe, which I thought a bit garish and the scales on the dragon on the robe which I found very much too even, too machine made, wasn't machine made, but was a tribute to the honed and practiced skill

 of the human hand or more probably dozens of hands.

Isn't she just lovely? I'd have her over for tea

 but I don't know how many cups to put out.

Delicately executed ink brush tones, exquisite calligraphy, 12 foot long scrolls showing the pursuits of the nobility, a pillow made from purple mahogany in the shape of a lotus leaf, 

on and on. Not all was perfect dragons chasing the pearl of great price, there was a little wine cup which showed a scholar with his pet goose awaiting his mentor, a scroll that included 

a courtesan playing  soccer, a very popular game at the time.

This fellow sports spots and stripes; a tiger leopard ? 

He is certainly pleased with himself.

The Ming Dynasty had quite a fleet of sailing ships, the size of the ships themselves made Columbus' ships look like a mouse next to a lion. More perfect brocade and silk weavings and a ceramic lion gate piece, which alone seemed awesome but it was part of a 24 piece set. 

Boggled and starving I stumbled into the somewhat over priced museum cafe`. It all that perfection and refinement makes one feel very small and insignificant, but I suppose that is the point, isn't it?

Nice shapes make this camel and the face 

seems to disapprove of over loading.

After lamb curry with actual Asian green beans and basmati rice. which was not inspired, but seemed sustaining, I glided smoothly up the escalator to floors where photographer was allowed. On entering the Buddha room I felt better. Could have been the effect of food, but I do have a weakness for Buddhas. My real work started here, since I had failed in my true mission in the Ming exhibit. My true mission being to find rabbits.

This stag is from Northern Iran, 1200-800 BCE, 

I love his simple geometric shapes and earthy smoothness.

On the 2nd and 3rd floors I found some nice animals, and some multi- armed deities, for which I also have a pronounced weakness. Of course, Ganesha is always a hit with me, being both animal and a multi-armed. This particular Ganesha had a slot in his pedestal for offerings. I put in a handful of change. As a remover of obstacles his services always come in handy.

Next Time: Rabbits and Some Spots at the Asian Art Museum.

Isn't Ganesha very nice ?

* They both had fairly good reasons....

Printing This Week

Center: carved wood block. Clockwise from top left: Sumi ink, 

pigment dispersions, Baren, brushes, carving tools.

I've been printing all this week, well not all this week, between this and that I've been printing. I pulled almost a hundred Moku Hanga prints. All the work is done by hand; carving, inking and pressing. Printing Moku Hanga is, for me, a tricky balance between water, ink, and pressure. The paper is damp, softened, this helps the ink enter into the paper. It is a different look than other printing which is on top of the paper. The block is also dampened, but not too much, or you'll get a mottling called "goma" or sesame seeds. Too much ink or not enough produces a less than adequate result. Likewise with pressure.......

How does this happen? Funny rabbits playing tricks on me !

 I always make a silly topsy turvy mistake and get a print or two or three turned around. Even though it is perfectly simple to get things right, it just happens; mischievous elves (or more likely trickster rabbits ) are about, I suppose. Although not all 100 prints were perfect, a slew of them were not bad; a decent harvest.

Here's small sampling of my print harvest.

 Someday I'll be able to keep the margins clean (maybe......)

Everybun is Art

The Basics: Make a big sticker of your rabbit and stick it up in an interesting, strange, etc....sort of a place. Take a picture and post it on your blog including a link to the main site. Rabbit's Guy, when he isn't dodging bullets, will get the image off your blog and include it in the main site, which he is going to make and manage in between cleaning up rabbits. The main site will be a place where all the pics are displayed.

Sydney wanted to be on a fire hydrant too...

We Need a Name: Pick one or two of your favs from these humble entries and let me know in comments. You may also include ideas of your own. We will be narrowing the choices down a few times, I think....

Stuck Up Rabbits

Sticky Buns

Buns in Strange Places

Sticky Rabbits

Stick on Rabbits

Rabbits For All

Stuck On Rabbits

Your Idea________

Mission Statement: We are a diverse group of humans who adore rabbits. We come from all over the globe. Our lives are enriched by interacting with these personable and surprising mammals; Leporidae Lagomorpha. We think the world would be a better place with more images of of rabbits. These stickerings are part guerrilla art statement and part art simply for public appreciation.( Please feel free to make suggestions on this part too, this is all a WIP (work in progress ! ))

Artsy Craftsy: When I made the Tyler and Sydney stickers I used Avery Sticker Project Paper 3383 for Ink Jet, these are simple 81/2 by 11 inch removable sticker sheets. After choosing a photo I simply printed it out and then cut out the rabbit. This last part is optional, there is not reason you couldn't use the whole thing for your rabbit statement.  It is important to use removable stickers just in case someone thinks you are defacing property, it isn't permanent, Dude, so chill. If you don't have a printer, OK, Email me your photo(s) and address and make you some. If you don't have a rabbit and want to participate Email me your address and I'll send you some Sydneys and Tylers.

In Closing: Keep your eyes on Houseful of Rabbits and here too for further developments . I hope I haven't forgotten too much, last nightat midnight I woke up with a jolt because there was an ant crawling IN MY EAR. I tried being patient, I tried using gravity to convince the little fellow to leave, I tried creating a vacuum with my hand. I imagined I might shove it further into my ear with a Qtip, but it was driving me NUTS, a Qtip worked just fine. It was hard to get back to sleep after that and I imagine I'm not really all here.....

Tyler is concerned with the safety of our neighborhood streets.

Have lovely weekends everyone and everybun.

Monday Bunday ; Strange Places

Have been rather busy getting my room ready for the start of school this Tuesday. They have given me my own room, finally I don't have share space with the woodworking, copper smithing or stone carving, messy stuff all of it. Or worse have to be in one of the academic classrooms and have to tote all the supplies to the room. Though there is a certain charm to loading up my cart and call out "Art cart, art cart, make way for the art cart" as I tried to wedge through a dense knot of teens. I lazured the walls (5 coats, pics later). The desks were a mess from last year, bare wood doesn't wear well, so I had to do something about them. I had gotten some sort of water based sealer for walls to protect the area around the sink (I am so happy to have running water) and after using just a bit I was afraid of it. What if the drier was shriveling my brain? I simply couldn't use it on the desks, so I went up to Greenspace and got some lovely non-toxic, no VOC products to clean, stain and seal the desks. A small ways up the street I saw this signage. 

 From a  moving car Rio Theater, Santa Cruz California, USA, Saturday August 30, 2008

This photo was taken the next day as I drove by without looking through the view finder, modern cameras, got to love 'em. The Residents are a very strange band, I thought they had disbanded long ago. You can read more about them here, or here,  if you like. While back Rabbit's Guy was fishing around for a group Rabbit Blogosphere activity, he took us all on a virtual vacation on the 7-Bunny-7. Jolly time was had by all, through sadly we lost the dear Tidbit en route. My suggestion was more in the realm of public art. Basically make a big sticker (I used a removable sort, just in case there was any question about defacing property) of your rabbit(s) and take a photo of it. RG thought at the time he would manage the Blog and all. He is pretty good at that sort of thing. Today I did a test drive. First it was hard to part with my stickers, but I figure the world will be better place with images of rabbits for all to see. Tyler adorns a fire hydrant. 

Is this art or defacement of public property? who owns this hydrant? 

If something is enhanced by an addition does that constitute defacement? 

Or is it simple vandalism? 

Sydney found exhibition space on a dumpster. 

Once again this begs the question of enhancement or defacement? 

Art or naughty rabbit person? What will the neighbors think?

Both rabbits took in Obama's acceptance speech, well, they mostly took in their dinner. They pose the question "Which candidate is the most likely have a rabbit?"  (That would be as a pet, I mean equal, not to eat).......

Have a good Bunday and Beyond..............

Monday Bunday

Good Bunday to you. Tyler and Sydney, in addition to their many other prodigious talents, are artists. They use placement of themselves and ordinary objects to create living compositions. Working in isolation as they do their works exist outside of the mainstream art and may not, in fact, even be recognized as art. However they insist that close inspection and an open mind will reveal a fair view into the art which they call "Bun Shui"; the Art of Rabbit Placement.

Left to right: Sydney and Tyler Spot

Artist's Statement-

Tyler: Bun Shui is a constantly changing and moving art form. It is our response to the Qi of the moment. A rabbit always improves the Qi of a room.

Sydney: It could be thought of as a performance art. Unfortunately some our best works have gone un-recorded, indeed unseen.

T: Bun Shui a green art, using only such non-toxic items that are at paw.

Rabbits, Sticks and Bowls

T: This composition plays with numbers as only a rabbit can. It shows two bowls, two rabbits, and two sticks.

S: I'm supposed to covering the third stick, but I let a little peek out just to be edgy. I like the way the photo shows my two back feet to good advantage.

T: I like the hay cube in my red bowl

Spots, Towels and the Red Bowl

S: This one is meant to be sort of disorienting, it should make you question your sense of reality.

T: Compositionally our spots, or "Bunnigraphic Marks" add to the general atmosphere of the piece.

Rabbit with Towels and Bowl

T: This is one of my solo pieces. It is a simple arrangement using a rabbit shape, me, Tyler, as a diagonal element and plays with the two reds of the towel and Red Bowl, and the two patterns of the towel and me, Tyler.

S: Yeah, it is a pretty simple piece, was I having a snack while this was happening?

Two Rabbits

S: This next one really speaks for itself, the viewer will find himself or herself stunned by the beauty of our spots.

T: Yes, we look like living, furry, ink paintings.

S: Your nose spot is so charmingly crooked.

T: Your nose is so satisfyingly black and so are your ears.

S: Time for dinner.

T: It sure is.