Urban & Rural Tales of Midwest America

Wood Pixels

2008-11-18T21:20:00.011-06:00

I've wanted to get into the making of wooden pixel () art for a few years. Now is as good a time as ever. I transplanted my woodworking operation to the basement of our house since the shed is now a freezer in which no honest man deserves to try and get stuff done. It's winter and it's cold. End of story.

The stairs down to the basement are steep and narrow thus limiting the size of projects that can be accomplished in that secret underground lair of tea and radio and dreaming. It is completely true that I have no clear idea of how I can make the leap from methodically cutting up scrap wood to a finished work. Sometimes the process is as enjoyable and important as the end result. I'm an engineer, not an artist. Striving for absolute uniformity as I cut the little squares imposes self discipline and I like that.

Helix

2008-11-06T20:24:00.005-06:00

While working on a helix () related problem at work today I came across this definition:

"A helix is a curve for which the tangent makes a constant angle with a fixed line. The shortest path between two points on a cylinder (one not directly above the other) is a fractional turn of a helix, as can be seen by cutting the cylinder along one of its sides, flattening it out, and noting that a straight line connecting the points becomes helical upon re-wrapping. It is for this reason that squirrels chasing one another up and around tree trunks follow a helical path."
Wikipedia

The squirrel analogy is 100% true. We have millions of the little shit-monkeys in our back garden and I have often see them do the helical chase around the oak tree.

Squirrel-centric analogies are key to my survival in the modern workplace.

Popperville

2008-11-05T11:32:00.000-06:00

Apparently there was some kind of election yesterday here in America. Who knew? St. Paul, my adopted home town, tends to be a bit of a quiet/sedate/unconscious/dead place to live and particularly so as we prepare for another long-drawn-out winter. Major world events often slip by St. Paul without much notice from those that serenely dwell within her leafy enclaves. There are times when I wake up believing that I live in the fictitious town of Popperville (). I’m fine with that. In fact, I aspire to that. My universe is small (family, work, shed and drinking in that order) so I have little free time to keep up with what is going on two towns over, never mind further afield.

But in an effort to wise up and be an informed citizen I’ve done some post-election research on this Obama guy and I like what I see. These are indeed exciting times… if you live anywhere but St. Paul, Minnesota of course.

Crazy Kidz

2008-11-02T19:12:00.008-06:00

There are times when I worry that my kids ((), (), ()) are actually and officially insane. No, they just have imaginations sans corners. Must be nice.

The Polaroids are by Martha () of course.

Oregon

2008-10-27T20:58:00.002-05:00

Pictures from Oregon this summer (). That's where Noah and Tegan (Martha's step-brother and his wife) live. What a cool state they live in. Volcanoes, high desert, ancient forests, misty coastal towns, pedestrian friendly cities, good food and beer... What more could a man want?

Kalifornia

2008-10-26T22:09:00.002-05:00

Some pictures from our West Coast trip this summer (). Why the fuck did I not take some pictures on the beach at Redwood Forest National Park? Idiot. Beautiful place. The weather was so interesting, and emotional to be honest.

Door

2008-10-25T15:54:00.000-05:00

Martha found this amazing old door () in an alley in our neighborhood. I am in the process of building it into a new closet for our foyer. That's right, the Dunne's have a foyer, not a hall. Hall's are for common folk.

Tiny House 2

2008-10-14T22:33:00.004-05:00

Ideas are forming for this next big project. This will be the adult version of the playhouse already built () for the kids.

Slowly but surely found/donated/salvaged/swiped/whatever building materials are finding their way from the streets into my car and then to the shed, the final holding place for all the beautiful things the city has given to me.

I have pretty much decided on the proportions of the front elevation, 4' x 7'. Not sure on depth yet. Maybe 6'.

Sitting on an idea for a few months before executing it is almost as pleasurable as enjoying the finished project. I am learning patience. Stupid mistakes and the resulting sadness can be avoided this way. Small mistakes still find their way into the job but those are important.

Not with it

2008-10-05T20:51:00.005-05:00

Sometime in 2005 we "dropped out" of popular culture. The Dunne's don't own a TV. Correct, there is no television in our house. Again, there is no device within our four walls that contains a cathode ray tube. We are still unsure what was so popular about that culture.

How do we live? Like feckin' animals ()... and we love it.

Erik Otto

2008-10-01T21:45:00.004-05:00

We nearly bought some work by Erik Otto ((), ()) this summer on our trip to the west coast. I still need to write a story about the trip because it was bloody fantastic. The hostel in San-San-Sico (as Elise calls it) that we stayed in was one block away from a new gallery where we saw the Otto show.

The quality and originality of the work nearly brought tears to me eyes. I'm weak like that. When you haven't got the words to express how you feel you may as well cry like a girl.

Storage solutions

2008-09-27T23:44:00.001-05:00

Here's a snapshot of some ideas bubbling around in my head () for the next big project, after I get the kitchen cabinet job () completed. Better get the finger out, winter is around the corner.

While on a recent family excursion to the Bell Museum of Natural History on the U of M campus () both Martha and I took a shine to some old display cases that housed bones and rocks and the like. The proportions were perfect. I'd like to build something like this for our dining room. The function would be slightly different. Instead of displaying artifacts we would have books mixed in with art objects. My take on what I saw at the museum would be to have three to five individual storage units, each the exact same size but with variations in the materials used and construction method of each.

Stacking Boxes

2008-09-26T22:59:00.000-05:00

Not sure where this idea is going or if the concept is even worthy of turning into reality. What you have is a set of different sized boxes all mounted on a pole. Each box can swivel 360°. The pole is secured in a concrete cube for stability.

Back to the drawing board. Comments or suggestions welcome.

The Tiny House

2008-09-25T20:01:00.000-05:00

Here's () a story about the playhouse I built this summer for the kids. I posted about this before () but thought I should add some more detail and photos.

Short back and sides

2008-09-18T20:34:00.002-05:00

I got a flyer today for a free hair cut at SportsClips (). Odd concept but seems to make solid marketing sense. Only in America...

Craft in Ireland

2008-09-06T22:04:00.003-05:00

A very inspiring article in American Craft Magazine () provided me with some must see things for when we are in Ireland next summer.

Check out the breathtaking woodturning of Liam Flynn ().

Make

2008-09-05T20:30:00.000-05:00

Here's () a story about some furniture I am making for the kitchen. The weather is getting perfect for working up a thirst in the shed.

So many plans so little time! Wait, I have a good 50 or so years in me so there is no reason I can't someday become the full time furniture maker I dream of being.

Yes We Can

2008-09-04T21:44:00.007-05:00

It's September 5th 2008. It's 9:15PM, Central Time. It's St. Paul, Minnesota, my beloved new home town. It's the last night of the Republican National Convention. My wife and mother in law went on their bikes to downtown St. Paul to peacefully (hopefully) protest the RNC. A really old man is giving a speech. His name is John McCain. He is a hero for all the wrong reasons. He dropped bombs on villages in Vietnam from the safety of 20,000 feet above the earth and then was stupid enough to get shot down. Martha often preaches the creed of karma. She is never wrong. Nearly everything I have learned in life I have learned from her. I am more serious than a dream-job-ironed-the-night-before-interview-shirt.

Supposedly this speech marks a historical moment. This Irish-American is displaying his indifference to history by turning off the radio, having a fire in the backyard, downing a six pack of beer and crushing beer cans in the vise to see if a perfect collapse of the cylindrical form can be achieved without buckling. I am also listening to old Christy Moore songs (In Zurich, The Lakes of Pontchartrain, Little Musgrave) on my iPod while I stumble in and out of the shed. My beautiful children sleep in their beds without care for the waste of energy taking place in downtown St. Paul. Bless the little clowns!

Andy Goldsworthy

2008-08-11T21:39:00.004-05:00

A couple of months ago an extremely important event, possibly sacred even, occurred in my life. I made this crude post () about a few of the living (or not long dead) artists that create the kind of art that stirs unquantifiable levels of optimism inside of me. I don't understand it and probably never will. Maybe that's the point. When you can see all sides of an object then there is nothing left to generate wonder, so you walk away. The object doesn't seem so big anymore. You move on. The event that took place made me stand still... and I have not moved one inch since. I'm transfixed beyond words. That rarely happens, thank God.

Emmet () commented on the post with a suggestion that I investigate the work of one Andy Goldworthy (). Emmet's tips are typically the stuff of legend and this one didn't fall short of the mark. What makes the story interesting (to me anyway, not sure about you) is that many weeks later while in Waupaca for the weekend at Fran and Marci's I found myself bored, I think. The kids had gone to bed, everyone else was out. I was tired. I had worked a full day back in the Twin Cities then drove four and a half hours () from work straight to Waupaca. Working my way through a cold six pack and sitting with the dogs on the couch a DVD on the shelf caught my gaze. An Andy Goldsworthy DVD, Rivers and Tides () was tucked between all the other DVD's. I put down me beer and slapped it on.

I would only embarrass myself if I tried to further explain what this has all meant to me. Words are too limiting. I can't put the right ones together to create a meaningful whole.

Goldsworthy's divorce from his wife and the breakup of his family (he has four young kids) temporarily soured the art for me. I love my wife and kids so much and would have no idea what to do if ever we became divided. It saddens me to see unhappiness visit anyones door but his family situation is not my business so I have no reason to judge. It was interesting to hear him say on the Rivers and Tides DVD that he enjoyed being alone and then to see him (on same DVD) at his kitchen table oblivious to the kids and pets that were milling around him in a scene of domestic normality. He wore the appearance of an man loosing touch with the mortal world.

Perhaps he just couldn't supply the energy and commitment needed to play a role as a family member. Creating immortal art cannot be easy.

Spud Girl

2008-08-09T22:51:00.003-05:00

Once a month or so Martha makes a fantastic potato based dish called "Potatoes O'Brien" (). Elise has renamed it "The Potatoes Are Crying" so I always laugh when I hear that we are having Potatoes O'Brien for dinner. It's the way she says it that makes it so cute. Love that kid.

Craic House

2008-07-05T14:26:00.003-05:00

The years fly by don't they? It seems like only yesterday that I had two small kids in the house. Yep, Elise and Clara have flown the nest and decided to move out... to the garden.

I built this shack for them. Actually, that's a poor reflection on my carpentry skills. This is a fine home that any kid would be proud to own. In fact, small adults (such as me) have been known to enjoy a bowl of ice cream or two within those four walls.

And now onto the next project... cutting the feckin' grass.

West Coast 2008

2008-07-03T22:25:00.016-05:00

It's nearly time to go on our summer vacation. Excitement is mounting, and it should be. This will be a cool trip (). Take no prisoners, take no shit, take lots of pictures, eat lots of salmon cooked on the fire by Tegan, spend lots of money, build family memories, collect beach glass for a bathroom mosaic back at home, drink lots of beer, avoid starting another wildfire, be a dick, be a nice guy, see it all, eat M&M's in a different time zone, take a piss in a new ocean...

A
Fly from Minneapolis, MN to Portland, OR. See flag A on linked map. Stay three nights in a hostel in the city. Dwell magazine had plenty of great things to say about this city. Let's see if print media can match reality.

B
Drive from Portland to Mount Hood, OR. See flag B on linked map. Camp for three nights, in a tent and not in an air conditioned RV with six bathrooms, a basement, a tennis court, a billiards room... Yes we are insane thinking that all four of us in a small tent is going to be smooth as Baileys on ice. I need some excitement in my life. Surely this experience will fill the void.

C
Drive from Mount Hood to Eugene, OR. This is Noah and Tegan's adopted town. Cause three nights of trouble in a hostel in the city. See flag C on linked map.

D
Drive from Eugene to Redwood National Park, CA. See flag D on linked map. Stay two nights in a hostel right on the beach. See those giant sequoia trees.

E
Drive from Redwood National Park to San Francisco, CA. Spend four nights there in a hostel smack in the middle of the city. Maybe I will get to visit Alcatraz. It's one of those dreams I have that shouldn't really be classed as a dream. To be honest, I'd take a new iPhone over a trip to The Rock. Fly back to little old St. Paul, MN. Resume regular life possibly sporting a new beard picked up on the trip.

Clara

2008-05-31T00:10:00.002-05:00

Clara has the biggest eyes of anyone I know. They see all.

The Shop

2008-05-05T21:00:00.002-05:00

Support () the arts you bastards!

Better than I

2008-04-26T23:27:00.014-05:00

Without sources of inspiration ((), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (), ()) what's the point?

Each year I try and accomplish a few projetcs (2007: (), (), ()). It's not easy with winter being six months long and my shed not being heated or insulated but it could be worse. At least I have a shed, eh? The project list for 2008 is slightly longer that last year list but that's the idea. Do a little more every year. Ambition.

The other night I started work on a large kitchen cupboard with countertop that will replace four smaller units. When finished she will measure 50" wide x 84" high x 28" deep. I hope to build her using about 90% found or salvaged materials. I have no definitive design requirements other than the need to fit into the 50" x 84" x 28" envelope and provide a decent amount of countertop area for Martha to make bread. I built the bookcase () last year without a design so I'm sure it will all come together. The trick is to take it easy and stop for frequent tea breaks. It's during the tea drinking that the best ideas come to the furniture maker.

Whatever

2008-04-17T21:54:00.002-05:00

Totally forgot what I wanted to say... half drunk... waste of a blog post, waste of your time, wasted, screw it. Hitting the west coast this summer. Washington, Oregon (), California... All good in the 'hood.