A nice little hack.

Saw this yesterday, rushing off to a haircut that I will now be getting today. Nice use of a plastic storage bin.

A rather nice Mary in a natty shack

Okay, after all the rigamarole of the holiday, I am back. I was walking Walter around a bit in the heat yesterday and saw this lovely little Virgin Mary shed. It belongs in the Expressions of Faith pile of ID, I do believe. The statue has been painted over so many times she looks like shes made of chalk, and the necklace was obviously draped over her shoulders for the winter holidays.

so so so so adorable

I am still sifting through the shots I took — mostly digital — of my nephew's visit. This is another of the few polaroids, with young Nick finally looking at the city from the Empire State Building. We are considering making that his Halloween costume this year...

It would be fabric and cardboard, stiffened in key places with gesso, left flexible in others, Nick could paint the detail then we could stitch it up... Maybe I need to make a costume for me too since we are going full-throttle goober! Or my sister could be the Chrysler Building! Holy crap.

It took a while to limber up, but then I found a compelling layer to record...

Man, I have so enjoyed getting ready for the Uppercase Old School Show! I have not been on the circuit for so long, I was really stiff and formulaic for several weeks, taking lots of crappy pictures. Finally, it all started coming together when I was exploring as many playgrounds as I could find, coming to and from work. I love the painted instructional graphics on the pavement, those precursors to all the other graphic cues left us by the authorities that make things like crosswalks and the interstate system viable...

I love the palimpsests formed when recess areas are reformatted, perhaps reflecting a change in the educational model followed by that particular school. I love the ineffective covering of play spaces past, especially since the children who inhabit them will absolutely not be fooled.

So yeah. I am back, my fellow travelers. Join me or stay the hell out of the way.

This is Nick, who is my cutie-patootie.

Sorry for the silence—I was on vacation last week, and was just hammered with work beforehand. Luckily, my vacation included a visit from my dear sister Gen and her son, Nick. Nick is 8 years old, obsessed with Zoidberg, helicopters, and graffiti. Oh, and jets. And the Empire State Building. And Walter the Wonder Dog™.

 I just love that little guy so damn much.

I saw this first, really nice comment and such.

Then I saw this, funny, disturbing, great...

ANd then WOW, this just is getting better and better
Although it attracted its share of critics...

And then I saw this lovely aperitif of a paste up.

I mean, jeez louise... You big, smart show off! These are great. Once I got on the train, I got to thinking of how subversion these days so often means a direct person-to-person transmission via mass media. Maybe that isn't clear... It's as if the main way to rebel is to use ads and public spaces to leave a mark that you were actually there, as opposed to just obeying the ads, consuming, and then going the hell home.

First Polaroid 600 shot in a long, long time...

I was sifting through the stuff in my studio and found my favorite all-time Polaroid 600 camera: the SLR 680 SE. It's the SX-70 body made for 600 film, with manual/auto focus and a built in flash. Just a stupendous piece of camera-ness. My cats knocked it off a table when I first got it so I have it all sorts of taped up, but it works.

Just casting about, warming up as it were...

Getting closer, maybe...

So yeah, I got into a show at the incredible Uppercase Gallery!

Right now, I am just running through a few ideas, playing it loose. I have been so out of my production mode, it was a little awkward at first. Here are some shots that I am not as sure about–don't want to give the goods away before I submit work next week!

Sometimes, I would kill for a zoom on my Polaroid camera.

To have a project at hand... Even with the house still in shambles and work being crazy, I feel amazing, I feel like I may cast a shadow again. No more of feeling disembodied, forever wandering the moors looking for a purpose...

I have 2 other shows to prepare for this summer and the ideas are just starting to roil around in my head... Better ideas than I have had in a few years.

Some shoes by the subway entrance.

Drained and stoopid from the hectic week... I am making progress on the work for the upcoming Uppercase Art Show, though... I was all down on myself for not thinking of some super clever, ironic thing to do. Then I remembered that I am a photographer of sorts, and I have my way of doing it, and that is how I am approaching the challenge.