Last Saturday we took a group of teenage artists from Paseo Academy and Pembroke Hill on a painting-and-photography field trip to the Flint Hills.  “We” is a group of well-organized parents, teachers, and meself.  The idea is to inspire these young adults and provide instruction from professional artists.  It culminates in a show at my gallery, which will be in Nov.  This is the second year for the program.

Artist-Instructors in order of appearance: Allan Chow, Jane Booth, Zak Barnes, Richard Raney, Jeremy Collins.  Then the whole mob at the end. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone had a great time, which story is told in part by the photos.  Other instructors: Kevin Sink, Brud Jones, Cally Krall, Jonathan Chester, and I don’t remember who-all.  Man I love doing this stuff.  There are few things better than having an impact on a kid’s growth, whether yours or someone else’s.  It’s all one big planet.

 

It’s been a long day.  Started with a breakfast at the Museum honoring the artists, followed by speeches and a tour of the exhibition, followed by a press conference, followed by a luncheon, followed by interviews, followed by an evening reception.

Arlie Regier stood by his piece off and on during the day, as different patrons and artists came by to ask him about it.  Being the eternal teenager, meaning forever excited about his work, he never wearied of explaining it.  That’s passion.  His natural humility and humor were a big hit with the Bostonians.  Me?  I wandered around and chatted with potential collectors.  Otherwise, I’m just here to ensure he enjoys the experience, and doesn’t have to fool with the details of the journey.

Now it’s late, he and I are done-in, and all I’m going to show are these two rather poorly shot photos.  Details later, after we return home.  But please note the book Arlie’s holding, published of course by the museum.  He and his work are featured in it.  Well, it only took us 14 years to get here.

 Arlie and I got to town around noon.  I took him to lunch on The Commons, then to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to dig on the late-Renaissance structure, the insane courtyard, and of course the collection.  I don’t think he’d ever seen a Manet so large.  I hadn’t since it I was last here with friends, in 1985, when I lived in CT.  I remember we had lunch in the garden.  Those were great days.  So are these.  Anyway, Arlie was all agog.  Notice how thrilled he is?  Yeah, well he’s in the big leagues now, and knows it.  Further, being Arlie, he’s grateful for same.  None of these things get us to “heaven” any faster; as he well knows, what still matters is how you live, and give, each day.

Dinner tonight in some Italian joint in the North End.  Tomorrow?  A press conference at the Boston Museum, then lunch, then an evening reception.  Will we wear suits?  Nah.  We’re artists; we ain’t gotta. 

(Photo by Joy Toyoshiba, Kansas City Star)

An Article came out this morning in the Star about the huge glass sculpture we’re creating for the new Sprint Center.  Tom Bloyd, above, is one of the artists.  Janine Daniels, a glass artist in her own right, assists in his studio.  Drew Hine and Jason Forck are two other primary glass artists on the project.  Ed Tranin was the lead designer, with assistance from me.  Leopold is responsible for coordinating, steel fabrication, engineering headaches, installation (and attending headaches), safety concerns, overall aesthetic, etc.

This thing will weigh 3000 lbs, be composed of 300 large glass elements, and will hang from the ceiling.  Safety issues are a prime consideration.  But so are aesthetics.  I’ve been focusing on both for five months.

Installation begins in Oct.  I’ll have progression shots then.  It’s going to be a blast.

Intersection, William Lobdell, Mixed Media 

So I met William–who’s a St. Louisian, which I suppose means I should despise him but I’ve never gotten that cross-state rivalry thing, even if we did beat the Cards in the ’85 Series, even if they did have the better team and we won partly because of a bad call, even if St. Louis is a more sophisticated city–I met William when we did the Block call for artists.  Man am I glad I did.  Just placed one of his large wall sculptures with Consumer Growth Partners, and they’re ecstatic.

The piece above?  Haven’t placed it yet, but think I will soon.  Amazing perspective and execution, eh?  Remember, it’s very nearly 2-D.  So is William.

 

 

 

We love to canoe, commonly on clear rivers in the Ozark Mountains, northern New Mexico, or northern California.  But sometimes, just for the hell of it, a float on the Missouri River through downtown KC is a hoot.  It gives you an entirely different perspective of the city, and maybe a hint of the ordeal the Lewis and Clark expedition endured in paddling upstream for 1500 miles.  Call us weenies, but we prefer going downstream.