Monday, November 29, 2010

MUD, SALT CRYSTALS, ROCKS, WATER.

Once upon a time, on a hot, dry October day, four friends went to see the Spiral Jetty.


They took one wrong turn. They drove over many ruts and rocks in the road. They brought some snacks.



First things first: they picnicked on the Jetty.



The snacks were as salty as the lake: olives, salami, sardines...


One of them cut to the center of the Jetty. One ran out across the salt flats. One walked the spiral like a meditation labyrinth, thinking of time and digression, but did not digress much. One digressed hither and yon.


One soaked up the sun.





One looked closely at icy looking salt.



One walked the trough, while another walked the bevel.


The one that had run out across the salt flats found a dead, salty pelican and ran back to tell the others.

And so they all went to see the dead thing.



And the sticks that looked like sculpture.




And it was very, very quiet.

and very, very bright.




Two took off their shoes and waded into the water. The salt crystals stabbed their feet.

They plucked gigantic cubes of salt from the water.


Cubes within cubes within cubes.


One forgot to wear sunscreen.


The brine shrimp swam and died and turned the water pink.








They rested.

One sang songs from Les Miserables and danced while another ran out to see the other jetty, the jetty that had to do with oil, the jetty that must have come second.

And then they drove away, the car kicking up dust, the friends licking salt from their lips. But the Jetty stayed behind, like it always does, underwater, overwater, far from water, slowly crumbling and tumbling apart.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

GLITTER DOWNWINDER

Perhaps I knocked my camera against something at the Halloween party. It refuses to focus. But there's a bit of backlog in which I can put off getting it fixed. Maybe I should shoot with film for awhile? but in the meantime...



The Undead Emily Dicknson and Edgar Allen Poe were a striking duo. Poe carried a bloody mess of feathers and googly eyes in a ziploc, sharpied with the word RAVEN.


Mama Grizzly was mighty patriotic.

Emily tried to devour the moon.


Certainly my favorite part of Halloween is thinking up a million costume ideas, and then envisioning the one I've chosen, perfectly executed. The reality never quite measures up to the vision. The party, while fun, comes in second to the imaginings and constructings...I was a mushroom cloud, but the kinetic-detonate (inflate) on the spot aspect failed. I had these CO2 cartridges and a bike pump and a conglomerate shape of mylar, and a silver sheath dress with a cloudy cotton base--the dress, thanks to my friend Rachel, was some strange, Bjork style fantasy. That part was great. But no one really knew what I was, a permanently inflated mushroom cloud. And the eyelashes were a bit itchy, but they stayed put.

Catie's Moon costume, though...I think she realized it perfectly. She looked just like the inspiration.
Erin channeled Amelia.

Robert was very disappointed in the general lack of Chinese-vampire knowledge.

A perfect Warhol.

Esther and Michael were Selleck Waterfall Sandwich, here pictured as Waterfall-sandwich Selleck.
A perfect Joan.





Rachel was the Human Tiger Hot Tub Alliance. The HTHTA has all the dance moves, by the way.

"Your Favorite Substitute Teacher" took a break from handing out lollypops.




Happy Birthday to Michelle.