photo by gardega

I stopped into a bar for a drink after a long day. It seems there was a horse race on and I could not resist sneaking a photo of the crowd---I am not sure if anyone caught on.

glass women--by gardega

Here are two of six glass women I created for Europa nightclub in brooklyn. It is a terrible photograph as the pieces are normally self illuminated by LED lighting and the color of the LED changes to the music and along with the lighting of the entire club. The frames are going to be repainted as they are just place holders at the moment. These pieces are three foot by four foot. I am hesitant to show them unlit as they are but I will have them shot professionally soon. The ominous faces reflect my ominous mood as my deadline was pretty overwhelming. I spent more time framing and lighting than I did on the pieces. These pieces are also for sale as I have an arrangement with europa to hang until they are sold.

the last supper---by monty python

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2849101111632452737&q=michelangelo&total=3850&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0


"I'll get a bloody photographer" (that about sums up art for me in a nutshell.)

word of the day---by gardega

camarilla \kam-uh-RIL-uh; -REE-yuh\, noun:

A group of secret and often scheming advisers, as of a king; a cabal or clique.

I have not heard this word and I am now one word smarter...

3:26 AM---leonardo and magic--by gardega

Alex once read that paintings were often looked upon in the Renaissance as magical talismans and that they had certain powers. For instance, Leonardo's Virgin on the rocks masterpiece was thought to be a talisman against the plague ( I believe alex read this in his past) I like the idea of paintings having powers (especially spiritual powers) as that is what I try to achieve in my watercolor work. Picasso (for all his faults and bullshit) was a great philosopher and felt that paintings had a certain magic. In the end his magic turned tragic as the snake eventually ate its own tail (as often is the case with genius.) If anyone finds any strange phallic symbols in this painting let me know as I just dont see any.

the bronx covers---by gardega

I woke up at midnight tonight and went out for a drink in my hood. The upper east side is a strange place as I watched people sucking margaritas out of communal gold fish bowls with fluorescent straws, a girl said to me that I do not seem like the fluorescent straw type which was something I took as a compliment and then I went back home and got to work on my "Bronx covers." I am still getting used to (after five years) of painting on a yellow background. Since it is the yellow pages, I really cannot argue for a different background color so I try to make magic come out of yellow and grow where I am planted.

brooklyn bridge photo----by gardega

Here is a photo I took in the pouring rain this morning as I drove down the FDR to my Brooklyn studio. I have a deep rooted fascination with the Brooklyn Bridge as I have painted it many times. I don't do pet photos, don't ask me...

update

Today is the last day for me to correct framing and lighting on my glass art that is hanging on the walls of a nightclub. I should be happy to wash my hands of it and start my bronx covers. I will photograph the art today as well. On monday I must return to long island to ship glass art to Colorado as my framer is afraid to package glass.

NYC poem---by gardega

I dreamt these words last night so if they are weak I cannot be blamed...here is what I remember of them..

the city is a surrogate womb,
soft and swollen
her timeless, ancient face
her buildings rise and fall like fingers
and the people who walk her streets
and ancient alleys.

long day

I started my day at three today and just returned home at 10pm. It was my intention to carve three pieces of glass tonight but as I turned on my equipment I blew out a fuse and my brain melted down and my cerebral sails lost their wind. I can draw fairly well and paint like a saint but I cannot even hammer two damn pieces of wood together to save me. I am not handy and it kills me as any equipment problem for me is like trying to pick up watermelon seeds with my elbows. I am not sure how long a day three to ten is but it felt long and I exited my day pissed off at the god's of equipment once again. I may have to do a watercolor tonight to calm me down. I understand that a Philip screwdriver is the one with the x at the end--- but that is all I know.

crop circles---by gardega

Here is a crop circle photo of the "flower of life." I once had a person tell me crop circles were a hoax and that it was just people with sticks in the field with a lot of free time. I have been laying out geometric designs in glass for 20 years and studying geometry since I was a child and there is not enough time in a month for me to be able to render this single image so precisely in a field of wheat. Of Course, the meat head who told me this cannot draw a circle and knows nothing about geometry, so I did not respond as it was "pearls before swine."Many crop circles are actually complex mathematical problems, sacred geometry and 2 D versions of 3D platonic solids. I would love to give these "mythbuster types 1,000 dollars and some sticks and string and let them have a go at this crop circle, good luck and call me when you are done.

FYI

Those mercury filled fluorescent lights you sit under at work are bathing you in UV radiation. The government and industry will tell you it is low level and safe but so was saccharin. I would be vocal against forced mandates of use of fluorescents on any level. (unless you enjoy a nice cubicle tan, of course)

ultraviolet effects on skin and DNA

without going into much detail this is the effect of too much UV radiation on DNA. Notice the breakup of the DNA "ladder." That cant be a good thing, methinks. What you cant see can hurt you.

an event

I am planning an event for may 17th as it is the one year anniversary of this website/ blogfest. It is also very close to Dali's birthday (may 11th) I will update soon.

word of the day----bellwether

bellwether \BEL-weth-uhr\, noun:

A leader of a movement or activity; also, a leading indicator of future trends.

as in:

Gardega, the creator of the New Renaissance in art promises to save modernism from the slop-trough of falsity and poor craftsmanship. He is the bellwether of his artistic generation.

Bronx Covers

I am working on two Bronx covers for the yellow pages. one is a painting of Yankee stadium and the other is the Bronx botanical gardens. Same book--two covers....finish soon...

table top---by gardega

I figured out the exact weight of my previously mentioned table top. It was only 107 lbs. It only seemed to weigh 250 lbs.

visible spectrum

I woke up at three AM this morning as I was thinking (in my dream) about the visible spectrum. the visible spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see with our eyes. A typical human eye can respond to 380nm to 750 nm in air. Beyond the visible lies the infrared and the long wavelength which humans cannot "see." Insects and bees can see ultraviolet light which even gardega cannot see. ultra violet light is kind of like a turbo charged regular "violet" light (which yours truly and my humble readers can plainly see.) The reason I bring this -up is to illustrate that we are standing in a large room that is the called the "full spectrum of reality" and the only reality we believe is the tiny corner window that is our "optical" or "visible" reality---We believe it when we see it...We are foolish enough to believe "if it aint out that window, it aint out there..." which brings me to these words at 3:48 AM..so early before the dawn while even NYC seems to sleep.

I woke up and the world outside was dark
All so quiet before the dawn
Opened up the door and walked outside
The ground was cold

I walked until I couldnt walk anymore
To a place Id never been
There was something stirring in the air
In front of me, I could see

More than this
More than this
So much more than this
There is something else there
When all that you had has all gone
And more than this
I stand
Feeling so connected
And Im all there
Right next to you

It started when I saw the ship go down
I saw them struggle in the sea
And suddenly the picture disappears
In front of me

Now were busy making all our busy plans
On foundations built to last
But nothing fades as fast as the future
And nothing clings like the past, until we can see

More than this
More than this
So much more than this
There is something out there
More than this
Its coming through
And more than this
I stand alone and so connected
And Im all there
Right next to you

Oh then its alright
When with every day another bit falls away
Oh but its still alright, alright, alright
And like words together we can make some sense

Much more than this
Way beyond imagination
Much more than this
Beyond the stars
With my head so full
So full of fractured pictures
And Im all there
Right next to you
So much more than this
There is something else there
When all that you had has all gone
And more than this
Im alone
Feeling so connected
And Im all there right next to you

More than this
More than this
More than this

the bees are dying---by gardega

The bees are dying and I have researched this matter and alex believes that genetically altered crops have been their undoing. They have lived through too many years of pesticides to blame simple chemicals on their demise. We have opened Pandora's Box with our genetic altered foods and stuck our grubby hands into god's picnic basket one too many times---he is not happy. If the bees die, the crops die and then "Houston, we have a problem." I am sure this ridiculous spraying for a non-threatening west Nile has not helped either but I like to look to mythology to understand reality in the tradition of the great genius that was carl jung.

update by gardega

I spent 8 hours today working on the frames for my glass pieces and making sure they were lit correctly---LED lighting must be directly on the edge of a glass carving to fill it with light (not unlike fiber optics) I should spend two more days perfecting the framing and lighting then I will share the photos.

deadlines

I missed a deadline which has thrown me into a funk that is the color I cannot explain.

pop up

I have nothing to do with the ring tone pop up--- at least it is peter gabriel.

my foyer

I found these books in the foyer of my building today. I still find it strange to walk into a building and see my covers piled up. It is a good feeling but one that has a certain oddness to it. It is like getting food that you cooked yopurself delivered to your door. Do you tip?

photo

I found this photo online and I like it.

art by gardega----archimedes spiral

I am going to introduce to my readers today what is known as the Archimede's Spiral. It is a thing to behold and her importance ranks right up there with oxygen, the wheel, and the Dallas Cowboys. Also known as an arithmetic spiral, Her distance grows from a fixed point at a steady rate. We can find this spiral in those black things people used to buy called "records" or in the common screw but also our DNA is formed with an Archimedes Spiral. Barbers poles would be nothing without it and you would not know where to get your hair cut so we would all run around looking like hippies. One could do worse than to research the namesake of this spiral as his genius surpasses many of the frogs who have inhabited this strange and wondrous pond called humanity.

final glass table top ----by gardega

Here is my etched table top laying a-happily on her jade base. Mission complete.

table top layout---by gardega

Here is a photo of the glass table top in my studio after it is etched but before I remove the rubber "resist" material I use for sandblasting. This is the ugly "behind the scenes" side of glass art.

table top--by gardega

I carved a table top for a lady in Brooklyn today. It weighed two hundred pounds and I had no assistant so I had to carry it. The scary part was trying to put it down gently on an expensive Jade base. I survived (as did the table) and and she was very happy. Will post photos in an hour as I left my camera in my vehicle. The table top design was based off the jade urn base and I thought it worked pretty nicely. It is nice to make art for nice people and not miserable people. She was a sweet lady and proof that age/ life/ time doesn't have to make you dour. (unless, of course, you make art for a living.) Photo come up in one hour. I am planning nyc Dali party in mid-May. so I expect all to attend ...