mel jacobson on sat 10 jun 06
the first thing i did 45 years ago was plant about 40 honeysuckles and
lilacs. (on the property lines.) i got most of them from a friend who was
tired of the plants.
pulled them out of the ground with a volkswagen. used a hatchet
and cut the roots apart. they now are so big i cannot see my neighbors
house/lot/or his entire being.
glad i did that. now i just cut trees down. if not, i would be pushed
off my property.
at the farm we have let trees grow..we now have thousands.
when we bought the farm, it was barren. they had goats...and
everything was trimmed to the ground in the front half of the
property and along the river. amazing what 25 years will
do for change. my son planted norway pines..hundreds of them.
now thirty feet tall.
i was sharply criticized when we cut down about 40 big
oak trees. `oh mel, you can't cut oak, mother earth will
be sick.`...well, when they were cut down the centers of every
tree was dead. hollow. could not even use them for
pallet lumber. just fire wood.
so, the barron county forester knew what he was talking about.
cull the dying trees, opens the forest so new growth can
take off. it is just wonderful back there now. not a jungle
any longer.
the deer are like rabbits. far too many. kurt got his car
whacked the other day...5,000 dollars damage, and he is
lucky it did not kill him. the deer jumped out of the ditch on
kurt's blind side. damn. but i still hear city folks talking
of `killing bambi`. same for the canada goose...millions of them,
and they take the habitat of ducks.
i got a bamboo tree from california. just ordered it and
had it shipped to me ups. it is a big tree, about 10 inches round,
30 feet long. just cut it in pieces, wrapped plastic around it.
put on a shipping tag and i had it in three days. it makes great tools.
and the cut pieces are flat about three inches as the tree is so big/round.
those fishing pole things are just too skinny for tool making.
i got the tree from a company that makes `stakes` for the wine
industry. find them on google. `bamboo stakes`. about 15 companies
selling bamboo. http://www.mastergardenproducts.com/bamboostake.htm
i notice they have 6" in stock 35 bucks for a big pole of it.
i still have half a tree left. and, i have given away a ton of the
stuff. now hoarding it.
merrie bourner gave me a batch of small bamboo that i use for
brushes..their yard is full of it. takes about a year for it to dry.
i have seen the palm trees of scotland, so maybe tony can get
bamboo to grow in canada. you know, the `clennell gulf stream`.
john neely posting to clayart reminded me again....`there are some
great teachers here in america...doing mfa programs that
have tremendous value. who would not want to spend 2 years with
pete pinnell, or john. and i could mention a dozen more in
minutes. i am very tired of verbal art, but those that teach
the `work ethic`, skill and solid broad curriculum are the big
winners...and they are out there, just have to dig a bit.
i say again, my experience at the university of minnesota in
painting was first rate. well worth the time and money spent.
i was the force however, i did the work...well over 300 images
in 5 years. i was learning with people who did 5 paintings
in two years. huff and puff, talk of doing art, but never did it.
but, they got their degree and will be a `pain in the ass to the
art world forever`. i bet they are still starring at the blank canvas.
( i would walk in the studio and yell, `any blank canvas in this studio
will be painted on by me in one hour`.) god they hated that...but
i just smiled. artdorks, talk talk talk, but never pick up a brush.
i had an mfa student ask me..`mel, do you buy that special blue/green
that you paint with, and that pink is so, so, vivid.
`good god. watch...blue, green, white,mix in a dixie cup, cold colors, next to
crimson, white...hot...it is the contrast that makes the color,
not the paint`. tsk tsk...but, could he talk art philosophy..quote everyone.
dumb as a hard brick.
if you always quote important people, it is assumed you are as important
as the people you quote. not so, at all. just the opposite often. artdork.
i like to quote myself...like...`god damn it, get to work`.
mel
off to hay creek for the rest of the month.
and man, oh man...will we work.
joyce will have the helm.
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/ (new website)
http://my.pclink.com/~melpots3 old
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Bonnie Staffel on sun 11 jun 06
Along this line of memories, as a child we had a huge yard with many
varieties of bushes and trees surrounding the perimeter. One was a huge
honeysuckle bush, probably a good 14' high and 12+ feet wide, but there =
was
this huge cave like formation under the branches. My friends and I =
played
house in there, and my first touch of clay was to make our dishes out of =
the
mud from low places in the yard. Spent wonderful hours playing and =
making
tunnels in and out of the bushes. I visited the old house a couple of =
years
ago, it was a big Georgian style home with a large front porch where we =
gave
performances as if on a stage. That visit was quite an eye opener as =
the
porch seemed to have shrunk in size. Same held true inside as all the =
rooms
were 16 - 18" sized rooms, but they shrunk too from the memory. =20
My mother was an avid gardener and was a charter member of the Maumee =
Garden
Club. My love of plants came from her interest so I also joined as an
adult. Now my gardening is confined to a few house plants that survive
neglect because I am busy making pots. If the leaves are drooping, they =
get
a shot of water. =20
Warm regards,
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Beginning Processes
Charter Member Potters Council
http://www.vasefinder.com/AB_mus.html
Edy Nathan on sat 17 jun 06
Another Bamboo story:
When I moved to my house in NY 17 years ago there was
no bamboo in sight. Plenty of beautiful bushes and
trees but no bamboo. However, as the years passed,
bamboo began sprouting just outside my kitchen window.
At first I thought wow this is really cool, I did not
plant the stuff, it is not indigenous to the area, and
it was a great border between my house and the next.
My relationship with the bamboo has changed from
feelings of being blessed with this beautiful plant,
to feeling as if I am controlling a wild animal who
must constantly be tamed. It grows abundantly,
startingly fast, like many feet tall in what seems to
be a day, and because its root system is so shallow,
it spreads and pops up in the weirdest places!
We are now selling this house and when potential
buyers see the house they always say how lovely the
bamboo is, and we nod, and we smile, and we say to
ourselves you will learn about this stuff and maybe
not like it so much.
As we were chopping it down the other day, we said if
we could sell this stuff we would be wealthy...and
then bamboo started being discussed. You have given me
pause and now I will perhaps find some good uses for
this seemingly untameable plant!
Being surrounded by Bamboo no more!
Edy from NY, www.visioninclay.com
--- Bonnie Staffel wrote:
> Along this line of memories, as a child we had a
> huge yard with many
> varieties of bushes and trees surrounding the
> perimeter. One was a huge
> honeysuckle bush, probably a good 14' high and 12+
> feet wide, but there was
> this huge cave like formation under the branches.
> My friends and I played
> house in there, and my first touch of clay was to
> make our dishes out of the
> mud from low places in the yard. Spent wonderful
> hours playing and making
> tunnels in and out of the bushes. I visited the old
> house a couple of years
> ago, it was a big Georgian style home with a large
> front porch where we gave
> performances as if on a stage. That visit was quite
> an eye opener as the
> porch seemed to have shrunk in size. Same held true
> inside as all the rooms
> were 16 - 18" sized rooms, but they shrunk too from
> the memory.
>
> My mother was an avid gardener and was a charter
> member of the Maumee Garden
> Club. My love of plants came from her interest so I
> also joined as an
> adult. Now my gardening is confined to a few house
> plants that survive
> neglect because I am busy making pots. If the
> leaves are drooping, they get
> a shot of water.
>
> Warm regards,
>
> Bonnie Staffel
>
> http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
> DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
> DVD Beginning Processes
> Charter Member Potters Council
> http://www.vasefinder.com/AB_mus.html
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change
> your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
| |
|
