“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” – William Shakespeare I am incredibly fortunate in life to have a number of wonderful, compassionate, solid friends whose support and love has been constant and unwavering. Several…
Author: ruth
Book Review: Frida, A Biography
I picked up this biography, written by Hayden Herrera, at the library recently, the second time I’ve checked it out. The first time, last year, I read it quickly, fascinated by the turbulent life of such a unique and talented artist and overwhelmed by the included images of so many of her works. I decided…
Roller Coasters of Love
There is nothing quite like a good roller coaster. The quick, concentrated series of highs and lows, loops and inversions, and above all, speed, create a thrill that floods our brains with adrenaline and endorphins and leave us eager to ride again right away. Some people say that life is like a roller coaster, and…
Face It
Self-portraits are, to me, a fascinatingly unique sub-genre of art that can be so many things to different people… For some artists, the purpose of making a self-portrait is one of ego- to show one’s self, as viewed by the self as an idealized version, as they would have others see them. Enhancements are made,…
Newspaper Kindred Spirits
Back in October of 2016, I fell down an internet rabbit hole, via facebook no less, that ended up being the rare example of productive inspiration and not just procrastination and time-wasting. A friend shared this article from My Modern Met about a Japanese artist, Chie Hitotsuyama, who creates life-sized animal sculptures entirely from rolled…
pARTicipation Trophies
Consider, for a moment, the trophies you proudly collected as a kid, for soccer or baseball or mathletes, whatever your thing was. If you grew up in the 1980s or ’90s (or later), you probably acquired a few. Even if your team didn’t “win”, most coaches distributed small shiny statuettes to their players, and likely…
Cheesy Face
Cheesy Carl Boursinstein Dreams of Victory! In April of 2012, I gave the piece below, “Cheesy Carl Boursinstein Dreams of Victory!” to friends who own a grilled cheese restaurant in San Francisco. Their proximity to the ball park meant that they served a lot of Giants fans, so it seemed only fitting that Carl should…
Nolan’s Fireplace
I once knew a young man who, upon the passing of his grandfather, inherited a mounted deer head. Despite having never been a hunter, the young man felt obligated to hang the trophy in his Los Angeles apartment, in memory of his grandfather. As the young man’s friend, I remarked more than once how incongruous…
Tin Soldiers
In between rounds of working on my larger pieces, like my current one, “Nolan’s Fireplace“, (pictured here in all its unfinished glory), I often start and finish smaller projects. In part, this is to keep my creative juices flowing when they might otherwise get dammed up when being channeled into a piece as intense and…