The Soul's Journey Cathedral Signing

This is Bishop Barry Beisner, one of the contributing writers, signing a copy of The Soul's Journey: An Artist's Approach to the Stations of the Cross.  The signing followed the reading and presentation at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Sacramento.  Many thanks to all of you who came--it was a joy to meet and spend time with all of you.  The book is available at the Cathedral Book Store in Sacramento or through Forward Movement.  (It's a mixed blessing that Amazon keeps running out of books, but I do have some available for those of you in my area.)

AKC Agility National Championships

Emma and I traveled to Reno to participate in the AKC Agility National Championships last week.  It was a remarkable experience in many ways.  Incredibly, we ended up in the Challengers run, where we (not so incredibly) had an off course after the second obstacle, thereby disqualifying us.  This video is of the hybrid run. Note the close call at the A-Frame.  I think it's the first time I've been able to successfully call Emma off a wrong course in time.

A couple of weeks ago, Bishop Barry Beisner contacted me with a request for an icon to be presented from our Diocese as a gift to the Diocese of East Calhoun.  Bishop Beisner will be representing the Episcopal Church at the consecration of the new Bishop of that diocese.  It was an honor to write this icon of Christ Pantocrator, (and it was barely dry when I delivered it to Bishop Barry).

The Creation Series

the earth was a formless void,

and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

Then God said, "Let there be light".

And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

And there was evening,

and there was morning,

the first day.

 "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters."

"Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear."

WWII Veteran Portrait Project

Most of my time these days is spent drawing or interviewing World War II veterans.  I have completed over 150 so far and the complete collection will be exhibited at the Morris Graves Museum of Art this coming August.  In addition to the portraits and exhibit, there will be a catalog and prints available.

Visit my other blog:  www.VeteranPortraits.blogspot.com to see recent drawings.  I am also launching a dedicated Facebook Page Faces of American Heroes.  Please  Like the page for news on the project and series.  I'll be posting new drawings and interviews weekly.

Marlan Stover

Marlan is a native of Humboldt County and served in the Navy during the war.  He and his wife live in Arcata and recently celebrated their 70th anniversary.

We attended the Teacup Dog Agility trial in Grants Pass last weekend.  It's always fun to run and compete with small dogs and their owners---there is a lightheartedness to these events that makes for a very enjoyable experience.  It was the second trial that I have attended since Raleigh's back problems ended his career.  Boy, do I now realize how I took the little guy for granted.  I hate to admit this, but I used to think, hey what's the big deal about q'ing (short for qualifying or getting a passing grade leading up to titles)?  Now I know.  Raleigh was a very reliable athlete. Emma has a ways to go. Please note the comparison of the ribbons above.  That was Raleigh after an AKC trial last spring.  Emma after this past weekend where she q'd twice, both times in a game where speed was the only thing that mattered.  We have our work cut out for us. 

Lee Klein

Lee Klein was Navy pilot in the War and served in the Pacific Theatre.  He had several brothers and brothers-in-law who also served,  and at one time, eight young men in his family were in the military, directly involved in combat.  Stories like this really bring home the effort and sacrifices made to ensure our freedom and survival as a nation.   Lee and I met on a flight two years ago, when I was a guardian with my friend, Charles Moon. We sat by each other on the flight home and discovered our mutual regard for Lee Bailey, an icon of style, good living, and fine food.  Not only is Lee and American hero, he is a great cook, fine raconteur, and good friend.  It is a privilege to know him.

Colonel Tom Monroe

Colonel Tom Monroe recently celebrated his 95th birthday.  The party held at the historic Eureka Inn,was a festive celebration of an American hero.  Colonel Tom was on our first flight over a year ago, and his daughter, Catherine Mace, was a guardian on the first two flights.

Raleigh's Final Trial

The final day of the Ferndale AKC trial, described below, Raleigh was really disengaged, and simply not his usual exuberant self.  In looking at the videos of his runs all weekend, he just didn't have the speed and enthusiasm that he has always shown while competing.  A visit to the vet yesterday told us why---he has been diagnosed with two calcified discs in his spine, so the little guy has been in quite a bit of pain, but pulling it together to run anyway.  He is now in healing mode----restricted activity, anti-inflammatory medication for two weeks, and odds are he'll be fine.  But, to our great chagrin, his agility career has ended.  These photos are from the last Teacup trials, his joyful smile melts the heart. When he's better, we'll focus on Rally, a gentle sport that he can still enjoy.

Lost Coast Agility Trials

This past weekend we had the pleasure of competing in the local agility trial hosted by the Lost Coast Kennel Club.  This is always an enjoyable event---especially for those who come here to get away from the heat--but this year was even better due to the higher than usual number of corgis in attendance  (see above). Not only are these dogs cute, they are fine competitors, and did the breed proud with their stellar performances.  Well, most of them anyway.  Emma seems to be calming down a bit, but we still have a ways to go as her enthusiasm gets the best of her.  Raleigh, however, was on his game---three titles, four firsts, and a total of seven qualifying runs.  This sport is a joy--what could be better than spending the weekend with a bunch of dogs and their people, tackling challenges on the course, cheering the other teams, and sitting around in camp chairs watching and visiting?  It's pure recreation and we are very grateful to the Lost Coast Kennel Club for making this possible. 

Well, Open Studios is over and many thanks to all of you who traveled north to visit my studio.  As always it was fun to see old friends, meet new folks and have some good conversations about art, and a few other interesting topics as well.
One of my very special visitors was Walt Pieper, whose portrait was featured on my email invitation to Open Studios and is also posted below on March 19.  While Walt was here, he heard a familiar sound coming from the sky, and we stepped outside in time to see a B-17 Flying Fortress fly over the house.  How is that for synchronicity?  You can barely see it to the right of Walt.

Wildflowers

Sandy invited me to go on a wildflower walk at Fort Baker Ranch earlier this week.  Here we are taking a break from our looking at wildflowers.  It was such a treat to roam those beautiful hills with our hostess, Peggy Rice, a knowledgeable and kind guide, and other nature lovers.  I wish I could say that I remember (or paid much attention to) the names of all of the flowers that we saw, but I was content to take lots of photos in preparation for an upcoming watercolor series (more on that later), and just enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

North Coast Open Studios

This weekend is the beginning of North Coast Open Studios.  Studios all over the county will be open two weekends, June 2,3 and June 9,10  from 11-5. 

I'll be showing new work---especially recent drawings of the World War II Veteran Portrait Project, which is my real focus these days, and of course a few dog paintings, plus some florals, contemplatives, and recent archival prints.  Come on by!  We might even have a couple of agility demonstrations. 

Eugene AKC Agility

Mike, Emma, Raleigh and I spent four days in Eugene at the Eugene Kennel Club's AKC Agility trial.  It was a great weekend and Raleigh once again showed himself to be a steadfast competitor.  He ran 11 times and qualified in ten of those, earning two titles.  Oh, and he placed first each time.  He is shown above with some of his ribbons.  It would not be honest to omit the fact that often there were only three dogs in his class, and sometimes only one, so it wasn't very difficult to come in first place.  But, he ran well, and considering the unimpressive skill of his handler (me), it is pretty remarkable that he does so well.

Emma on the other hand, continued her pattern of zooming all over the course, jumping off of obstacles, and being pretty out of control.  In spite of this, she did title in Fast, which at this point is her only real attribute in the sport.  Raleigh's performance took a bit of the sting off of the fatal fault received by one judge (definitely deserved), and being whistled off the course by the other (again, totally in order). 

Cassius Smith

This is one of the veterans who was on the second flight.  Cassius, who also goes by Ed, is a great guy with some remarkable and very moving stories about his experiences in the Pacific.  He enlisted when he was 17 years old and soon after was send to Wake Island where he was a prisoner of war for four years.  He is a true American hero, and a heck of a nice guy.

It was not my intention to post this photo of my cat Zoe, but as I opened up the program, I remembered that I had promised a friend to show her how well this cat is doing. So here you go, Frances. Zoe will be 19 years old pretty soon and as you can see, is aging quite gracefully. In fact, sometimes it's difficult to see that she is aging at all.