The Asian Welder

here is the link to the previous picture when i started this (6 weeks ago)… http://www.theasianwelder.com/2009/12/stoked/ as you can see things go at a very slow pace here. seriously, most of my works take months and there are a few that took a year or longer! as i stated in my earlier post this piece has no deadline and i am enjoying the time spent in my warehouse putzin around and feeling the direction instead of dictating how i “think” it should go. working with metal is very time consuming, at least for me, and sometimes i feel i need an immediate tangible creation…as a result i am embarking on a photography project to begin on january 26th. it will be a photo a day over exactly one year from the date! photography has always been a part of my life, documenting the growth of my two daughters (now 24/26!), keeping pictures of my works for submissions/patrons and a pastime i thoroughly enjoy. to celebrate a moment, any given moment, to freeze it and share with others….

i suspect my next entry will be my first photo for this project!

2010 thus far has been a stretch in pushing my limitations in creating…i hope you enjoy the view(s)! for a snippet…hit the link to the right titled “fotografias”.

“The end of collection is dispersion.

The end of rising is falling.

The end of meeting is parting.

The end of birth is death.”

~ Buddha / Vinaya  Sutras

we begin a new decade, another generation, a new year. i find myself turning 50 this month and realize i have only begun to understand what this present life is ALL about!  it seems i ought to have known more, done more, been more….but truth is i have lived as fully as i knew how. when i read the quote above from Buddha it makes me grateful how i chose to live my life and how i choose to live it today because – E V E R Y T H I N G  is impermanent. Dharma was a major turning point in my life.  the difference on the outside is not visible but inside i have found a greater capacity to listen, love, appreciate, hold contentment longer, gain more compassion, give more and question innate views that no longer hold truth for me.

faith came to me very late in life…a belief in something without proof…i struggled to find it, searched for it since i was in grade school! seriously, i was one of those people whom could not understand how one developed, found, recognized or felt “it”. i went with friends to their churches in every denomination i can think of and even entered studies with meditation practices and some churches to learn and understand their rituals. nothing stuck or made sense! most people i questioned about a particular understanding or ritual would not know the answer but tell me “it is just what we do”… really?

i cannot judge why people have or hold faith in something or someone, i only know my mind cannot accept a spiritual practice without questions and answers that make sense. i rejoice in their blind faith and finally understand, my karma ripened.

in these degenerate times how do you find your happiness within?

Since you cannot tame the mind of others until you have tamed your own, begin by taming your own mind. ~ Atisha

Om Ah Hum ~ body, speech & mind

oh Buddha, Buddha, Buddha

may 2010 be a year of mindfulness, compassion, giving and love for each and every being on this planet we call earth.

~ hazel

dedicated to the SoAZ Girl Scouts….saturday, dec. 12th ~ noonish.

i was to teach or give a talk on Land Art(think andy goldsworthy), some 20 young girls would participate on the U of A campus and then they could receive their “patch” on visual arts….apparently the tour thru the campus and digital studio kept them waylaid?  yes, i waited there diligently for an hour and a half!  it was beautiful out and i decided while waiting i’d give them something tangible to understand and view up close/personal.  the citrus tree sits approx. 20 yards to the northeast of this old olive. when it became obvious they were not coming i took my photos and left…a treat for myself, the birds, joggers, students…and the mission olive tree in which it resides till earth and nature consume them.

as i sit in my new favorite spot in my shop, sipping an espresso looking out back with the warehouse door open a glorious day of sun shining and bringing the southern exposure warmth, the caffeine kicks in and i am happy to finally feel alive in a new works! i have no title and am trying not to “think” much about it other than doing what comes naturally. for the first time in a long time i have the luxury of time to take it slowly and let the process unfold. normally i am in a time crunch and it always feels forced to meet a deadline! the only other new work i have going is a commissioned piece but again NO DEADLINE!

i’m utilizing 4 X 4 inch square posts from another project (Peace Garden for a Buddhist center here in Tucson), these are the remnants and somehow it came to me to fabricate a “journey of steel”. there are a lot of influences…i saw an intriguing lucky bamboo stalk that was the catalyst, something so organic that twists and turns made from its complete contrast~ square, cold metal. an element of nature but hardly organic by nature in its form. each natural element of earth will be present within the piece but more conceptual or imputed by mind than reality.

here is the beginning…

SALON was a term that started back in the early 1700’s.  between 1748 – 1890 Salon de Paris was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the western world.  so why is it today when i named my fine art gallery/boutique Kuzu Salon that ALL i get are inquiries into if this is a hair or beauty salon? my guess is that the art world here in tucson, AZ is not familiar with the term, when i list events in our local publication they get so confused, no matter how many times i tell them they cannot grasp it! most listings end up reading “Kuzu Salon Gallery Boutique and Store”….a tad frustrating, but i suppose they are just trying to cover their bases..to be sure? at any rate here is our next event coming up!

i am pretty thrilled to have this couple coming to Kuzu! she is renowned for her scientific paintings in true details and colors…not to mention huge portrayals! if you are in the area please stop by to see this unique free event for the family! part of our sales through Kuzu’s gallery and Project Insect’s book sales will go back to our community to the Tucson’s Childrens Museum. if you can’t attend check out the artists website at www.projectinsect.com

Tucson Children’s Museum will also be present on Friday afternoon!  http://www.tucsonchildrensmuseum.org/index.php

another new site i have stumbled upon for engaging kids of all size (ages!) is http://LandArtforKids.com/

two great ways to get yourself and others motivated to create and learn about your own environ.

side note: after this event we will no longer be using Salon…just listing under Kuzu!

“I don’t think that art comes from art. A lot of artists apparently think so. I think it comes from the awakening person…Everything tends toward awakening, and I would rather use the word awakening than a word derived from some system – because there are many systems.”
ISAMU NOGUCHI 1987

i took this photo “at the end of the day” upon coming h(om)e from work…such a natural sculpture of beauty and art. there are days in my shop i struggle in ways to finish a piece or to see what i am trying to convey within the piece…these are the moments i remember his words…

with each fall of the bamboo dear chaser filled with water the granite basin will gently flow over the sides taking the natural beauty of the periwinkles down back into earth to recycle….death brings birth and the same is true in reverse. every breath we take a cell dies to a birth of a new one. nothing lasts forever…only the moment we are fully present with.

Aquarius traditionally “rules” electricity, computers, flight, democracy, freedom, humanitarianism, idealists, modernization, rebels and rebellion, mental diseases, nervous disorders, and astrology. Other keywords and ideas believed associated with Aquarius are nonconformity, philanthropy, veracity, perseverance, mankind and irresolution.

being born into this life, in the late month of  january, i fall into this category as an “aquarian”.  as a practicing Buddhist i look at this information and try not to read to much into what “i” rule or ideas i am believed to be associated with.  though if truth be told….veracity is one i definately would own. mankind, freedom, democracy and humanitarianism are also ideas or words i do truly fight for in nature.

turning a half century this year (2010) seemed appropriate to name my Fall show “the age of aquarius”!  if ALL phenomena does not inherently exist than i myself am just an imputation of mind. all these trappings of what “i” am are mere human graspings to label a person to identify and relate to. i get it. but as a human on this planet we need to be able to relate to each other and share our stories in life to learn by, to guide, to enrich, to love and to have compassion for one another. my arrival as an aquarian speaks thru my new works…

“flowers in my yard”

2009 recycled metals, copper, film, cactus headdress  3′ X 9′ X 3′

indoor sculpture or outdoor?  as an outdoor piece i had a friend tell me how wonderful it would be to plant…in the ground..piled high inside with dirt and then sprinkled with wild flower seeds and let nature take its course and watch this aquarian woman grow into the earth and the flowers and vines grow in and through her.  what a beautiful visual i had not thought of but one which i now cannot let go of!  to create a work that lives in its inviron. and takes on its own life over months and years to reveal an illusion of what and where it once came from.