John's dragonfly menuki

You may remember this pair of menuki I made last April. This was quite an avant garde concept as far as menuki go but it simply followed on from previous work I'd done based on hollow steel forms that were stone-like. I've also been intrigued by the dragonfly in terms of structure and design and how best to recreate the impression of these amazing insects in metal.

I was asked, at the beginning of this year, to re-visit the idea and make another pair. These are what I came up with. I was quite pleased with the evolution of the concept as was my client.



You can see some more images here, as well as a couple of a fuchi, I had lying around in the studio, that I added a little decoration to as an accompaniment.

If you're interested to see the original pair you can see them here.

It's time we stopped poisoning our children

Apart from all the new developments with the work I've also been acting as something of an environmental campaigner recently.

Some of you know my little boy, Joel. Well until recently he was going to school on a wine farm. Brilliant! you say, can I join him?....yeah, we thought it was great too. Until we began to get educated as to what really goes on on the average wine farm.

It's chemical warfare! I kid you not, some of the stuff they spray, right next to the school buildings, are derived from nerve gas. Ok, ok, maybe a little overly dramatic but seriously, when you begin to research the subject you reach a point quite quickly where you sit back literally stunned and shocked at the reality of the situation.

I'll confess, a few weeks ago I actually sat here in my study and cried. I was so appalled at what we've, so unthinkingly, allowed our children to be exposed to. It's scary stuff.

The fact is, there's no getting away from the growing mountain of evidence from the scientific community that long term exposure, to even very small amounts, of these industrial agricultural chemicals is a very real and serious threat to the health of our children.

The very idea of having a school in the midst of all these chemicals is utterly insane and can only be defended by steadfastly refusing to even acknowledge that there may even be a problem to consider.

Believe it or not, the management of Joel's school, Chameleons Montessori are apparently able to keep their heads buried in the sand and continue to deny that there's anything to worry about. All I see is a governing body who has placed the financial considerations of their business over the care and health of my child.

This wilful ignorance (it gets worse actually....) in the defence of vested interests is unforgivable. The truth of the situation has been consistently withheld from parents and facts bent to give the appearance that all is well.

You can't keep the truth from people forever though. Slowly, we're putting the bits together... and it's not a pretty picture. This is personal now and I'm intent on making sure no more children are placed in harms way. Not at Joel's school nor any other farm school. It's time people knew the facts and decided for themselves.

We've formed an association called The Galileo Group. and I've published a blog that details the whole sordid story so far. I'll be adding to that as the saga unfolds. I'd appreciate it if you'd pop over there by clicking the link and add your name as a follower. We need all the support we can get so that the issue gets noticed. The more traffic to the site the easier it becomes for search engines to deliver our message to those who are looking for it.

Normal service will now be resumed.

What's up....?

It's been incredibly busy here in my studio since I came back from Japan last November. My project to stimulate a Renaissance in the field of Japanese sword adornment seems finally to be gaining momentum and official approval. I've actually got some exciting news to share....but you know me, I'll make you wait a while first just to heighten the suspense ;-)

I'm putting the finishing touches on a pair of gold menuki today and will add pics here once the client has seen them finished items.
This is the design. They are around 4cm long.


I've not been sure, of late, how best to proceed with this blog really. To be honest there are times when it feels like a thankless task, this constant exposure of self. Of course, as someone trying to survive as an artist this is part of the job and until I'm "discovered" I've got no choice but to keep banging my own drum. It sometimes feels a little crass so I hope you'll forgive me that. I don't want to use the Ironbrush forum as a platform for my own work so what I've decided to do is just use this blog as sort of window into my studio. I intend get back to using the blog like a diary to document what I'm up to and there are some very exciting projects lining up. I'm starting a full koshirae shortly and you'll get to watch the whole process, almost live!...I've got a few ideas to try and allow you into my working world that I'll be incorporating over the next few weeks and months...lights, camera, ACTION!

One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

I don't watch a lot of television...it often feel as though it could rot my brain :? One exception is the American series of "So you think you can dance" ...and of course I earn bonus points for watching it with Jo, my lovely wife. I have to put that bit in in case she ever reads these blog entries.

My appreciation of this programme may have to do with my mother. She was a classically trained ballet dancer. She danced with the Dutch Dance Academy in Rotterdam and was taught by Corrie Hartong.  Mom corresponded until the grand old Lady died in 1991. Moe also went to study contemporary dance in New York at the Julliard School of Performing Arts where she worked under such legendary names as Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham and José Limón.

This was all before I was born but growing up on the West Coast of South Africa my brothers and I were always surrounded by lots of young ladies in leotards as Mom always felt an overwhelming urge to teach.

Clive, Guy and I obviously survived this early surfeit of nubile female forms and no doubt befitted immensely from this early exposure. Certainly, not one of us was ever allowed the escape of being shy with girls.

I can't speak for my brothers but these early experiences, including annual film fests of the best in contemporary dance (courtesy of the American Embassies Cultural Services Department)has left me with an abiding love of dance.

This is somewhat ironic, especially to my mother and my wife, both of whom swear that I can't dance....but it's more a matter of not wanting to spread my talents too thin. I mean, how much can one mortal man do ;-)

Anyway...to get to the point. Here's a link to a dance duet on youtube. This is a contemporary routine choreographed by Travis Wall, winner of one of the previous seasons. This is Jeanine & Jason. She, quite deservedly went on to win this years competition.

I just find this sort of thing, quite literally, divine.

It's been a while since I've had anything to write here...no, that's not right! I've got loads I want to write about. The last 6 months have been a remarkable time. To be honest I'm still a bit wobbly after all the excitement. I'll start putting my thoughts in order in the next few days and get some more post on-line.

namaste all,

ford

The subject matter must serve the needs of the artist.

I remember years ago my brother, the famous netsuke carver, Clive Hallam, telling me that in terms of subject matter one should always chose those things that allowed you to explore and express what it was really captured your imagination.

I've come to see this as the crux of how I now approach my own work, because in reality, I think of almost everything I do in abstract terms. If I choose to render a dragonfly, for instance, I do so because the structure is so intriguing to me. The challenge of finding a way of giving some expression to my representation of these aspects that reflects the initial appeal is the way I delve ever deeper into my medium. With each new point of departure into a new aspect of exploration I discover more and learn better how to render what I'm experiencing in my medium, metal.



I found the work of Sadie J Valieri, a San Francisco based classical artist, to perfectly illustrate this concept. This is one of her paintings in oils. You can see how her concerns are purely to do with tonal values and subtle textures...almost ethereal qualities the way she renders them. She is undoubtedly a classicist in terms of her technique and perhaps even her subject matter but it still feels very fresh and relevant to me. Some might call this type of work old fashioned...I'd respond that a real artist has no interested in fashion at all.

This is a link to her blog where you can read her ongoing commentary on her own artistic journey and here's a link to her website if you'd like to see more of her art.

Something someone else once said....

“The better work men do is always done under stress and at great personal cost.” 

“But all art is sensual and poetry particularly so. It is directly, that is, of the senses, and since the senses do not exist without an object for their employment all art is necessarily objective. It doesn't declaim or explain, it presents. To refine, to clarify, to intensify that eternal moment in which we alone live there is but a single force… the imagination.”


“What can any of us do with his talent but try to develop his vision, so that through frequent failures we may learn better what we have missed in the past.”

“But the thing that stands eternally in the way of really good writing is always one: the virtual impossibility of lifting to the imagination those things which lie directly under the direct scrutiny of the senses, close to the nose. It is this difficulty that sets a value on all works of art and makes them a necessity.”


William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963)  

Into every life a little Zen must fall...

"The real master in the art of living makes little distinction between his art and his leisure, He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both."

The littlest deshi.

This is my youngest son. Joel. He insisted I post this image of him here so that Akio Kun, my own teachers son could see him. He's wearing a padded samue I brought back from Japan last year. The karate kid pose is, I suppose, madatory. Samue are a relatively recent innovation in terms of work wear. Originally favoured by Zen monks they are also now a pretty common choice for craftsmen in Japan. They're extremely comfortable and I think, quite elegant. I have 6 suits that I use and it really saves me the bother of deciding what to wear to work...and gives my tummy room to breathe ;-)

You may notice a tsuba in my pitch bowl, it's just a little pink tiger I'm working on at the moment. That's all you're going to see of it for now I'm afraid.

 

Now I'm quoting myself...!!

"Real originality comes from a heightened aesthetic awareness...to actually express this will take a very refined understanding of one's processes and the skill to carry out the task of making real what you feel.

In my view, the job of teaching is to nurture exactly those 3 aspects."

Oh...and that quote is one of my own...cheeky I know but I was re-reading a thread on the Iron Brush forum and thought that I quite liked what I'd said and it stimulated the previous blog entry ;-)

so much to tell you...

It's been quite a while since I posted anything here, despite my best intentions to try and share my thoughts and experiences as I work through this challenge I've undertaken. The truth is it's been such an intense time that I'm going to need a few months to process what I'm learning so that I can express this in some manner that may make sense to others.

What I have learnt that I am very clear about though is the real value of copying the work of past masters. It is utterly shocking to delve into work of such high calibre with complete attention and to become completely absorbed in the world of a real master. The care and attention paid to the most minute detail is, quite literally, breathtaking and if I'm completely honest it's a little disconcerting. I can't imagine a more effective, nor demanding, method of learning than following so closely in their footsteps.

I've described this tsuba I'm attempting to replicate, based on the little b/w photo and the wakizashi tsuba, as a Rosetta stone. I'm pleased to be able to report that I'm slowly unravelling the delicate language of this particular masters hand...this is a very great privilege and one I'm very grateful for.

I've been forbidden by the film maker from revealing any images of the work in progress so as not to spoil the full effect of the final film but here's a much enlarged view of one small section as it was 2 weeks ago. I'm sure you can figure out what part it is?