This past weekend we drove up to Baraboo Wisconsin to visit the International Crane Foundation.  It was very cool and seeing Whooping cranes so close up was really something to remember.  Overall though I'd say the experience left me feeling more than a bit sad for these giant intelligent creatures.  Being confined to such a small space just doesn't seem, well I don't really know...

I'm a huge hypocrite in this regard as I keep finches myself and as much as I'd like to think they are happy I know that there is really no cage out there that is big enough for them.  The cranes all seemed extremely well cared for and their purpose in being in the place is to help ensure that there will be cranes for generations to come.  I guess maybe I need to learn more about them and the facility before I "pass judgement."

What a bummer this blog entry has started out to be...

In other news I've completed the framework for a new tetrahedron kite.  Hopefully I'll have some good pics soon of it flying.  I am really excited about this new project yet I feel like I'm dragging my feet on it.  Each day I wake up feeling ready to go and at first I'm thinking about all I'll get done after work at the hardware store.  Then gradually throughout the day its slow sinking slope into mental numbness and then defeat.  The first thing I usually do when I get home is take a nap and then go online...

so much for raging against the dying light.

(ps after my nap today I watched the movie Red State....not bad)

Went kite flying today.

The little two by three inch kite flew great!  The suruga kite appears to glow in the sunset...

Thats it for today.

Going to Baraboo Wisconsin this Saturday to check out the International Crane Foundation...you know, the Whooping Crane place with the ultralights and everything.

Erin dropped off this photo of Kitty that she had printed out.  I must admit it was a bit of a shock to see him in a life size photo.

Here's the thing about this cat.  From 1995 through 1999 I lived a pretty reclusive lifestyle.  Other than work I really didn't do much.  Certainly nothing very social.  I wasn't dating, wasn't in school, wasn't doing any artwork, I really doing much of anything.  Through this period I had this new friend who seemed to adore me despite all my self absorbed self reflection.  I know a  lot of people would think this is all a bit melodramatic and maybe they're right, but kitty was a friend and he got me through a pretty lonely existence while I was trying to "figure it out."

Four years later, Elinor and me met and along with her cat Romeo we soon became a happy little family.

Kitty lived ten more years and losing him was very hard.  People grow old, but to me kitty was still a little kid.  The hardest thing I've ever done was rub his forehead while that final sedative took effect.  He was calm in Elinor's arms as he went to sleep.

I still have dreams that he is around and have even learned to realize its just a dream on occasion and relish the moment.

Crazy stuff...

Last year we buried Kitty's ashes with the roots of a Jane's Magnolia.  This particular tree has white flowers with pink edges, just like Poohkitty's ears.  This year it had seven blooms.

I still have Kitty's yellow food bowl and brown blanket that he came with.  We use the food bowl just for water now.  The blanket sits on a bookcase in the bedroom.

This little kite Suruga kite made of bamboo and Japanese sekishu paper measures just under ten by ten inches and is completely flyable.

The first time I flew one of these it was made of broom straw and Japanese tissue.  That kite flew for over an hour about two hundred feet in the air and tied off to my pocket knife stuck in the ground.  There was almost no wind and the kite just kind of hung there almost motionless. 

Watching such a small handmade kite fly so beautifully was very moving.  This was the moment that I realized that I was on to something.  This was the moment I knew I wanted to be a kite and woodblock print maker for real.  All I needed was some encouragement...then along came the internet.

Anyhow, every time I make a new one of these little suruga's it feels like a love letter to that moment.

Last day of my four day weekend and I'm spending it half in the studio and half outside at Afton forest preserve.  I feel so lucky to have both places to spend time enjoying nature and making art.

Last night I printed up some yellow tree prints for some new Suruga style kites.  The studio is looking a bit cluttered after the recent "makeover". 

There's a spot at the local forest preserve where I can sit and watch tree swallows all day long if I wanted.  They really don't seem to mind me being there and at times are curious about my presence.

Anyhow, its back to work tomorrow, but for now I'm taking it easy and perhaps will make one more kite before calling it a weekend.

Broke up some new ground for the wildflower garden today. 

The same two robins have been picking at the exposed earth for hours.

Still at it.  It feels really good to be building these...makes me feel useful. 

So often lately I feel lost at my job.  Yes working in a hardware store is also useful, arguably far, far more useful than being a kite maker/woodblock printer. 

But the latter is just who I am.