Almost Wordless Wednesday

“I am not afraid…I was born to do this.” ~Joan of Arc

A Long Time Ago

When I first started writing seriously, I committed to performing daily writing exercises so that I could learn to write at will and not be subjects to the whims of the muse. I called these Limbo Exercises. Essentially, I would pre-determine a time and would sit at my typewriter till I'd filled a page of prose. The goal was filling the page, not writing articles or even significant things necessarily, but learning how to prime the pump and tap the stream.

A lot of those pages were rubbish, but even in the rubbish there were interesting gems that could be re-configured or be used here or there in various places. One such piece was included in my story "The Unfinished Stories of Richard Allen Garston." (Newmanesque, N&L Publishing, 2011)

I came across a folder with some of these exercises recently and thought they might make fodder for a blog entry. They didn't have titles, so that has been added. I'll call this one A Long Time Ago.

A Long Time Ago

Of course he only said it because he was obligated to speak.
He didn’t like it any more than they did.
But what was he to do?

With best wishes... This time he understood.
Wherever there were answers there must be questions.
If only he could figure it out.
But then, adults were like that.
You can never figure them out.

The safe thing was not the best thing, but it was O.K.
At least for the time being.

The ideas introduced themselves and he pondered their value.
When he finished the exercise he found new ways to explain it.
The potential was enormous.
Why had he taken so long to recognize what was plainly evident to all?
Surely it was his youth, his lack of experience.
The rigorous training would eventually pay off.
He was certain of this.

In the meantime, he would wait. Counting days.
It would happen as planned or it would be broken up.
There were no other paths.

Ten Minutes with Photographer John Heino

Photographer/musician/business executive John Heino has been a friend for more than fifteen years, a relationship that culminated in this year’s Red Interactive collaboration. I asked John if he might share some of the thinking behind his various projects and the direction his creative work is currently taking.

Ennyman: Briefly summarize the past four years in terms of your increased passion for photography.

John Heino: I woke up at 3 a.m. one morning on the autobahn of ideas. I couldn't find an
exit and the traffic has been building ever since.

Each year, I get a stronger sense of the clock ticking down. There's a fine line between passion and panic. I still want to do it all before I ride west. From 3N6D to Artist Kamikaze III and Red Interactive to Radiance, every direction I've explored has yielded a treasure trove of imagery. The color-in-motion dance portfolio alone has infinite possibilities and I haven't grown the least bit weary of experimenting with it. Plus, my soul insists that I breathe the fresh air on the North Shore on a regular basis and receive the visual gifts nature sends my way. That's a very different creative space. It works on its own level for that niche (I've sold more northern lights images than anything else). Interestingly, the calendar fodder also has genre-bending potential when digitally combined with less orthodox imagery.

Enny: There are some recurring themes in your recent journey. Two of these are an interest in Dance and in Collaboration, both being present in 3N6D and in the recent Red Interactive show. How did these interests develop in you?

JH: The collaboration thread goes back to college art days. I couldn't get enough performance art or excuses to party. Something triggered a synapse from my 80's memory bank in 2009 and it manifested as 3N6D. Dance is a recurring element for me because the human form moving through space is such an image-generating juggernaut. Dancers give you streaming opportunities to capture the exquisite lines of bodies in motion. Jill Ellen Hall was amazing in 3N6D. In addition to her movement and positions, she put together unique costumes with engaging visual elements like the funky glasses.

I wanted Alan Sparhawk for the 3N6D soundtrack because of his creativity and intensity. We also share a key influence from our formative years—Leif Brush, a thought-provoking art professor at UMD. I didn't care whether Alan played guitar or blew into empty Blatz bottles. I knew intuitively whatever he did would fit. After all, we share a strand or two of that Leif Brush creative DNA.

As far as video, I was already engrossed in the photography and digital construction for 3N6D slides and I couldn't clone myself. So, I invited Chani Becker to do the video because of her talent with moving pictures and because she immediately grasped the concept of using time as the primary organizing element and letting a certain amount of chaos exist in the random associations that occurred when the four of us put our work together for the first time before a live audience.

You saw the magic when it all came together. It exceeded my expectations. The one thing I'm sorry about is that the 3N6D collaborators are so busy in their own worlds that we have not built on that success with a sequel or some other performance art adventure. The trouble with having too many frequencies open at one time is that projects become sporadic adventures shoe-horned into finite time constraints. They make a splash and then recede too quickly in the rearview mirror without being fully explored. Don't get me wrong, the high-profile splash is great sport. But I get the sense that any one of my collaborators and I might get to a higher level with concentrated development over a longer time line.

Enny: What new thing or things did you learn from Red Interactive?

JH: Relevance is increasingly perishable. Anything that involves social media has to constantly be fed content and prompts that elicit content-and it has to keep topping itself. Even then, it dies when enough "next things" arrive to draw attention to some other page. We've lost the regular participation of most of our Red Interactive friends who were posting all kinds of stuff early on. There's a few diehards we can till count on engaging, and we get a new "like" now and then, but I'd say we're more likely to die than fly at this juncture. And that's okay. Everything runs its course. Aside from the virtual dimension, I think we reinforced the notion that fun will engage people in art. The collaborative sculpture was amazing-both the process and the product.

Enny: Describe this new process of printing that you have been working with... what is it and what makes it so compelling?

JH: Well there's actually three facets: (1) experimental shooting, (2) using colored light to saturate images and (3) a process that produces prints that look like they have internal light sources.

The color-in-motion shooting approach I'm experimenting with involves colored light, moving dancers, slow shutter speeds and sometimes physically zooming and/or moving the camera during the exposure. "Alive" from the Radiance series is one of those images.

Once I load the images into the digital studio, I experiment with a variety of Photoshop tools to amp up the key elements of the shot. Some of the tools involved are the artistic filters (dry brush, chrome, etc.), vibrance, saturation, solarization and "apply image" to layer the image upon itself with tweaks to optimize contrast, color and other characteristics. I will sometimes apply a pure color field image to the original shot to boost saturation if necessary. The combination of experimental shooting and digital construction typically introduces multiple levels of abstraction. In this body of work, I am not looking to faithfully represent reality. I'm looking to create alternate realities. The thing I'm noticing is that certain abstract images seem to communicate more powerfully than straight photography.

Only recently did I become aware of what I believe is absolutely the best printing process to pop a saturated, abstract image off the wall. And that would be dye-infused aluminum. A company in California called Bay Photo will let you upload a high-resolution image (in huge sizes if you like), produce the image for you on dye-infused aluminum and ship it to you in about 10 days. You'll find the products under the heading "metal prints." There are options for finishes and framing, but the real attraction for me is the fact that these prints almost glow. If there's any ambient light at all, it's like it's collected, magnified and projected back out from the print surface. Really, it has to be seen in person to be believed. Metal prints are pricey--like $300 and up for large, flush mount-framed prints--but I think the "wow" factor is worth the price. If a lot of people start using it, I suppose viewers could become jaded and we might see another boom and bust sensation. I have a hunch it's here to stay for me, though, at least for this body of work.

E: Where do you see your work evolving to next?

JH: Tell me who my partner will be for Artist Kamikaze IV. Really, I do expect to collaborate more. I expect to shoot more. And I expect to spend more time in the digital studio with abstract images. How all those things ultimately come together is a sweet mystery at this point, but I know it will happen.

Projects like 3N6D and Red Interactive have given me confidence in the inevitability of creative triumph. I've developed a pretty good sense about where energy is coming from in my world. I'll be working with people who have that energy, passion and intensity. I'm not always certain where to aim it, but it's better to have the energy and search for a target than to have a target and no energy.

E: Thank you, John.

To find more of John Heino's work online, visit:
www.facebook.com/johnheinophotography
www.johnheino.com


Photo Captions, Top to Bottom:
Alive (from the Radiance series)
Gonzo Angel (3N6D series)
The District (Red Interactive series)
Essence (Radiance series)
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Star Party Etiquette: How to Be Cool While the Universe is Blowing Your Mind

One of the things I learned in 1983 when getting my freelance writing career off the ground was the importance of the query letter. When pitching an article idea to a managing editor you had to demonstrate your competence as a writer while establishing in him or her a confidence that you could deliver the goods.

A number of years ago I wrote, but never submitted, this query that was crafted for the purpose of securing an assignment on star party etiquette. Though I never sent the query, I liked the letter when I stumbled upon it this past week and thought you might enjoy reading it. At the end is a link to someone else's page of instructions regarding star party etiquette. And by stars we mean Sirius and Vega, not Brad Pitt or Kirsten Dunst.

Dear Editor:
You’ve been invited to a star party. You may not be that interested in the Messier 102 list or Herschel 400 objects, but looking at the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn has a certain fundamental appeal. And you also want to make a good impression on Jennifer and Toni who invited you.

But what is a star party really? What do people do besides look through telescopes? And can I screw it up bad if I don’t know the rules? The correct answer to this last question is yes. There are rules and it helps to know them, unless you want to be a star yourself in the sequel to Dumb and Dumber.

A quick Google search shows that star parties have been springing up everywhere these days. (See links at the end of this article.) I’d like to propose a concise article on Star Party Etiquette: How to Be Cool While the Universe is Blowing Your Mind. (working title)

The article would be 800-1000 words. A completed draft would be in your inbox in four to six weeks. The tone would match your magazine. And photos would be available. The information will help your readers to avoid being clueless when they get invited to their first Star Party. I will help them understand what it is and what the rules are.

paragraph about my credentials here followed by tight close...


In the event that you yourself are invited to a Star Party, here a page of instructions from Astro-Tom. Read these, and you'll be glad you did.

Ah, the sweetness of a crisp December sky!

Be A Conscientious Carnivore: Insights On Raising Free Range Geese

Over the years our property has been home to dogs, cats, pygmy goats, my daughter's rat, a few snakes, a duck and some geese. When our kids (meaning son and daughter) left home and our last goat was gone, the small barn became home to a handful of geese. To this we added a second and even a third small out-building and the goose population has grown substantially.

This coming week is butchering time, and we still have a few geese to sell, as well as goose-related products like goose down, rendered goose fat, goose feather quill pens and more. I decided today to have Susie share a little of her knowledge about raising geese and especially regarding conscientious carnivores.

Me: What breed of geese are you raising and why?
She: I decided to raise the Toulouse breed as they have a reputation for being calmer and less aggressive than others. I have not had a problem with them attacking anyone yet. Mostly their aggressiveness is a lot of bluff. It's good to know how to "call their bluff." Mainly it is during egg-laying season in the spring when they become more aggressive. It is advised to not turn your back on them, especially the ganders. Also the Toulouse are good egg producers, and fatten readily for butcher.

Me: What is the difference between the way your geese are raised other geese raised for meat?
She: I know of only a very few places in the U.S. where geese are being raised. They are a little bit harder to raise than other poultry as they do not do well in confinement. They need space and plenty of green grass which is their main preferred food.

Me: What difference does the free range approach make when it comes to the final product: Goose for Christmas dinner?
She: Many people these days have become more concerned about the quality of life that the animals have that they are eating. We have been hearing more about the huge factory farms where animals are crowded into pens by the thousands. People who still want to eat meat but have a conscience about how animals are treated have begun to look to smaller local sources for their meat. My geese are raised roaming around all summer freely on green grass and have a pleasant life. Their life ends quickly and humanely.

Me: Goose eggs are really large. How do they compare to chicken eggs, both is size and taste?
She: The goose egg is around the size of three chicken eggs. The yolk is quite large which makes the egg very rich. They are highly prized by chefs for baking. I have served them scrambled to many people and have never had anyone dislike them. The taste is quite the same as a chicken egg, the texture somewhat denser. The high cost is partly due to the fact that they are somewhat rare, the geese lay one egg every other day for only about three or four months in the spring. I have seen them sell for as high as $12.00 an egg online.

Me: "Foie gras" a.k.a. goose liver pate is considered one of the two great delicacies for kings, caviar being the other. Do you also make this treat?
She: Foie gras is made from the livers of geese who are force fed on regular intervals. This forced feeding of corn causes their livers to become as much as ten times the normal size, which is a disease called hepatic steatosis. I do not do this. But just the regular liver of the goose makes a very nice pate. Try a recipe with cream cheese. It is delicious!

Me: What else do you do with the geese you butcher?
She: There are many recipes and advice about roasting a goose online. I cut up one goose last year and made jerky. I thought it was almost indistinguishable from beef jerky, everyone who tried it liked it a lot. I’ve also used chopped meat sauteed in soups and stews. It is a dark meat, and even though there is a lot of fat on the goose it is not marbled into the meat, the meat itself is lean. The fat is wonderful for all sorts of uses. I kept all the fat I could and used it instead of oil for almost everything. Just put it in some brownies yesterday! It is liquid at room temperature and similar to olive oil in its composition. It has a very mild pleasant flavor. It is also hard to come by and sells for around $1.00 per ounce. It is more commonly seen in Europe. I made some nice lip/hand balm with it by mixing it with beeswax and a little Peru balsam.

Any bones left, after I’ve gotten all the meat off, are boiled into a bone broth. I also use the goose down and small feathers. I made a very comfy throw from some last year. I plan to have down available for sale. I also enjoy making and selling quite a few feather quill pens.

Me: I've watched the compassionate manner in which Susie takes care of all her animals and these geese are no exception. Here's some information from her flyer regarding the goose meat and other products she is selling this month:

Susie’s Down Home Creations Presents Free Range Goose Meat For Sale
These geese are raised through the summer wandering on green grass and plenty of space, their diet supplemented with some grain. They are butchered quickly and humanely at about 6 months of age near Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plucked and ready to roast they weigh from 8 to 12 lbs. Price per bird: $6.00 a pound.

About Goose Meat Goose meat is a dark meat. Though there is a lot of fat on a goose it is not marbled into the meat. The meat itself is lean. Don’t throw away that fat! Goose fat is highly prized by chefs for frying onions and potatoes and many other uses, and is not easy to come by. It is sometimes available for a high price in specialty shops or through mail order. It is less saturated than butter and other animal fats and similar to olive oil in its composition. It is liquid at room temp. and has a pleasing nutty flavor.

Also Selling
*GOOSE EGGS *GOOSE DOWN *RENDERED GOOSE FAT *GOOSE FEATHER QUILL PENS Limited and seasonal availability on all products. For info and current pricing, email downhomecreator@gmail.com

Twin Ports Arts Scene Gears Up for the Holidays

"One thing I have begun to notice around here is that starving artists are not an endangered species."

Last night after hours I was able to attend two events involving art as a nice kick-off to a busy weekend of opportunities for gallery hoppers here in the Twin Ports. Immediately after work I slid over to the Blackwater Lounge where another Enger Tower Calendar Release Party was in progress. Blackwater is a chic establishment with live jazz many nights of the week. Calendar buyers are eligible to win the painting of Enger Tower which was on display again here. The drawing will be January 1. Details at the end of this blog post.

From there I slipped up around the corner to the first of several holiday related art openings this week. This one was called “the amazing Crystal Pelkey and the Ochre Ghost Gallery present their Holiday Art Sale Extravaganza." I got the text message reminder an hour before and was glad I did. Featuring art of Adam Swanson, Crystal Pelkey, Dick Rosvall, Emily Ostos, Jessica Liszewski, Jodi Wittkopf, Mary Bishop and Samantha Goodall… the space was jam-packed with friends of the artists and people who dropped in for a peek. The opening gala last night ran from 6-10 p.m. The gallery, located at 22 North 2nd Avenue East, will be open through December 9.

Friday evening Zeitgeist Arts Café is hosting "An Evening of Art and Awareness" from 7-10 p.m. Also, Friday and Saturday evening the Play Ground is hosting the Avalon Dance Troupe in a show titled Radiance, featuring dance, martial arts and poetry . The show is based on colors and emotions, beginning with black and white, eventually unfolding into a full-spectrum finale. Beforehand the lobby will showcase artwork by John Heino, Melanie Sternberg and Ed Newman.

Then there is the Artist Kamikaze Reunion event which is on display for the duration of December at Jitters on Superior Street downtown. Not to be outdone, Beaners Central, Jason Wussow's primo java joint, is hosting a Unique Art Sale on Saturday featuring Green Blacksmith Demonstrations, Glasswork, Mosaics, Pottery, Textile Flowers, Elegant candles, Jewelry, Photography, Ceramics, Hand-made Soap & Lotion... all from local artists. Plus a "Kids Corner" with games, activities, & wreath making!

On Saturday, December 3 there will be the Annual Holiday Gallery Shop & Stroll. Participating galleries include Blue Lake, Just for the Season, Lizzard’s, Sivertson’s & Waters of Superior, from 11 a.m. till 4 in the afternoon.

Then from 6-8 p.m. you can visit the opening for Gage Salyards’ The World Through My Eyes, a photography opening at the Zeitgeist Arts Building. The show will feature past and present work from all around the Northland, the country and the world. States Salyards in his invitation, “Every day we choose to see the world in our own way. This is the world through my eyes.” This show is sponsored by Zeitgeist Arts, Dubrue and Lizzards.

And let’s not leave off from mentioning next weekend’s event at Goin’ Postal in Superior. Mark your calendar for the evening of the tenth for the December Art Show featuring works by Jeredt Runions, Tara Stone, Andrew Perfetti, Gustave Campanini, myself and perhaps two dozen more, with live music and lots of warm hearts. If you’re seeking stocking stuffer ideas, I will try to bring my Art Cards, Editions and Orginals. 816 Tower Avenue, Superior. 6-9 pm.

As for this weekend’s shows, I half wish I could do everything but there are still weekend chores to do… so we’ll have to see what time permits.


To order your Enger Tower calendar featuring photography of John Heino, please go to http://www.engertowerduluth.com. The link to donate for the tower is on left side of the page. Or locally, visit any of these great businesses: Fitger's Book Store, Happy Space, Douglas County Historical Society, Utopia Salon & Spa, Duluth Playhouse, Thirsty Pagan, Jitters: a Lake Superior Coffee & Tea House, Lake Superior Magazine gift store, Takk for Maten, Evolve Duluth, and Larsmont Cottages.

EdNote: Photos on this page are from the Ochre Ghost.

Spy vs. Spy

The other day while waiting to get some dental work done I discovered a Mad magazine in the waiting room. It turns out that our dentist believed no waiting room is complete without Mad. Despite the price inflation (one edition today could get you 24 issues in 1964) it sent me back in time, and when I got home Tuesday evening I pulled an old issue out of my garage to share here.

No remembrance of the Sixties is complete without tipping the hat to Mad magazine, of which I will say little except to say the quarter price tag back then was a wonderful way to have my allowance money picked from my pocket on a monthly basis. The magazine contents were a spot-on commentary on the times, and against the backdrop of the Cold War, Mad editors began in 1961 to carry a regular cartoon feature by Antonio Prohias called Spy vs. Spy.

Even with no understanding of the Cold War the wordless Spy vs. Spy comic was entertaining to the very youngest Mad readers. Like many children's stories, new levels of meaning emerge with our maturing life experience. The first Spy vs. Spy appeared during the era of Kruschev and Kennedy and continued right into the latter part of the Reagan years.

The basic story line involves two characters, identical in every respect except that one is black and the other white. At the top of the page Mad's editors identified the various parts of the magazine with clever chapter titles like Berg's-Eye View Dept. (Dave Berg's pointed satire) and Don Martin Dept. (another singular Mad cartoonist.) Spy vs. Spy was in the Joke and Dagger Dept., which if you don't get it then maybe you will when you're older and have a little more life experience.

There would often be two cartoons on a stand alone page with the top being a stand alone story incorporated into the title, below which there are black dots and dashes of Morse Code. It might be interesting to translate this code, something I can't recall doing when I was young and in school. The second cartoon would be like comic strips where there is a story going on. The spies were always trying to outwit one another and blow each other up or do some other kind of permanent damage.

The Mad magazine from which this Spy vs. Spy was extracted appeared in January 1964, the same month that our family moved from Maple Heights, Ohio to New Jersey. I turned twelve later that year, and the event marked a watershed in my life against which all my memories of youth are categorized. Before and after the move. Before the move I remember buying Mad magazine at the Lawson's store when my dad would run out to get milk. (I used to by Famous Monsters of Filmland when I saved up my quarters for two weeks.) After we moved to New Jersey we'd find our Mad magazines at the Farmer's Market in Bound Brook.

Antonio Prohias was a political cartoonist in Cuba who often poked fun of Fidel Castro, until just before Castro came to power at which time he had to flee to the U.S. in May 1960. Two months later he was knocking on the editorial door of Mad headquarters in New York to show a prototype of this cartoon concept. Booby traps and bombs, an ingenious variant on the Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote concept... or parody of the CIA and KGB.

There was a lot of upheaval in that Sixties decade, but it created some great entertainment, too. And gave Mad magazine plenty to talk about.

On another topic, if you're in Duluth, don't miss the Enger Tower Fund Raising Calendar event at Blackwater tonight, 4:30 - 6:30. Be there or be square. Till the morrow.

EdNote: Click images to enlarge