Endless Knots

Baby, it's cold outside

My friend, the fine artist Neelon Crawford, snapped this photo at 3AM on December 9 outside his home in Wyoming. Posted here with his permission. His caption, "Come on, global warming..."

Neelon Crawford: "Looking and Seeing"

Cathedral Berg At Night, Neelon Crawford, 1994

Anywhere near Lander, Wyoming? Lucky you. Neelon Crawford's extraordinary photography is on display at Lander Art Center March 30–May 15, 2009, with the opening reception and talk by the artist on April 3 from 6-8 p.m. I could do a very long bio about Neelon since we went to high school and college together and have maintained a strong friendship. About ten years ago, I went to visit Neelon and his wife, Susan Hill, another college friend, then in Baltimore, where he'd converted a former branch library into his studio and home. I was so inspired by the space that he'd created--with its paintings, films, sketches, monitors, drawing boards, pegboards, tools, and even snake skins waiting for a later project--that I kept a large photo of it over my desk.

Morning Moon, Neelon Crawford, 2007

Among his other expeditions, Neelon has wintered over in Antarctica five times, photographed steam engines in China, Buddhas throughout Asia, and, well, here's the brief bio from his website, Polar Fine Arts, where you can also see some of Ralston Crawford's, (his father--the painter, lithographer, and photographer) work.

Hawker Sea Fury, Neelon Crawford, 1984

Neelon Crawford (b. 1946) has produced a series of diverse bodies of work since his graduation from the Antioch College art department in 1969. As a son of Ralston Crawford, Neelon was exposed to the combination of travel and picture-making from childhood. His work has taken him to all 7 continents. His large format photography, photogravure etchings, and oil paintings include portfolios titled: Icons of Spirit, Vintage Machines, Reconnaissance, Antarctica, Tools of Vision, and Wyoming. His work has been acquired by major institutions, corporations, and collectors. In addition, since the death of his father in 1978, Neelon has been involved with managing the affairs of the Ralston Crawford Estate. He currently lives in Wyoming with his wife Susan Hill.

Yunkang Buddha, Neelon Crawford, 1984

Obamicon-me: This is fun

So long as I'm having such a me-centered day, how about you? Try it.

The way it looks now

Anyone remember Wursthaus in Harvard Square? A shot by Beeps and Chirps taken from [UPDATED] its original location across the street, yesterday, now looking at a children's book store, which was not there then. And, for those who haven't heard, Out of Town News, just across the street, is also fighting for its life.

Beeps and Chirps in Boston

Beeps and Chirps is "following" me on Twitter and I am so glad. Every day, Jonathan, "a Massachusetts resident, beekeeper, and photoblogger, posts a photo. They're stunning. It's taking quite a bit of self-control not to clip one and put it here. Feel free, Jonathan.

This little piggy went to market

 

Wait long enough in these interwebbed times and you'll find everyone you've ever known, including those people you really liked but fell out of touch with. Facebook brought back such a one this past week, the cartographer/artist/photographer/college-classmate Louis Jaffe. Louis was a phenome at Antioch--and remains such if his recent work is any indication. I love this image that he made for the charcuterie booth at the Slow Food 2008 extravaganza in San Francisco, 4X10 feet in the original. Wish I could see the real thing. Thanks, Louis, for allowing me to publish it here. Any time you're looking for a venue for your work, this "gallery" is open.

Anne Oliver's photos in Boston

Anne Oliver's lovely photographs are on display this month at the Starbucks on Boylston Street, across from Lord & Taylor in Boston. They're beautiful. Met Anne this summer and have Jeff Bezos to thank for it. No, I don't know him (shock) but he did invent the Kindle and Anne had bought one, which she was reading from while eating outside a Mexican restaurant in Bethlehem, Penna in July. I'd never seen one "in person" before so I stopped to ask her about it. Didn't know her but as these things go...turns out we have very close mutual friends. So now Anne is a friend and I'm delighted to post her work here. Go and then come post back, Bostonians!

On a clear day...Mount Washington

The Hindu-Kush have Annapurna, K2, and Mt. Everest, the Rockies have Mount Elbert...and the White Mountains have Mount Washington, visible today, the grey eminence on the right of this photo, from 65 miles away, with the beautiful old Chris Craft belonging to our friend, Jack Merselis, in the foreground.

The end of summer

Double rainbow over Five Mile Island, Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, USA, August 31, 2007, photo by Miranda Stamps

In the afterbirth

Two young women in our extended family of friends have given birth in the past few weeks. In honor of these new children's arrival, I've sent this short piece from The Persuasion, Chapter 18, to the new mothers (photos by Priscilla Harmel, left of Benjamin Israel, right of Ava Lester):

Perhaps the world of the newborn, in my case, newborns, was familiar terrain to the billions of women who’d come before, but the two six-pound bundles of body, mind, and spirit that I was shuffling from breast to bath to back were portals to a universe unknown, never even considered, with its own rivers and storms, its own unsolvable mysteries.