Shane Darwent

Dorothea Lange Workshop at Hunter Museum

2012-02-14T08:58:00.006-05:00

Dorothea Lange, near Milpitas

Turns out I am not the first artist to be fascinated by the American condition... are you too? If so, please join Adera Causey, curator of education and outreach at the Hunter Museum, and myself for a look inside the current Dorothea Lange's America show at the museum. We will host a workshop this March that compares the current state of affairs in our country with that of the past as documented by Lange. We will talk about the exhibition, make our own black and white photographs of the seldom seen parts of Chattanooga, and mount an exhibition to be shown in town. Should be a blast and for a bargain deal of $25 there is no reason not to join in.

Click here to register!

Open Studio

2012-01-26T09:22:00.002-05:00

Alas, the time has arrived! After a two years of constantly rearranging the back room of my house to accommodate whatever project was at hand; painting, sculpting, matting and framing, I now have an actual shop/studio. I can leave my tools out, let the saw dust pile, and skateboard down the hall, and most importantly, I can jump as high as I want and not hit my head on the ceiling. Exciting stuff.

My roughly 1,000 sqft. space is a part of a larger collective of crafting comrades in a 4,500 sqft. warehouse nestled between the railroad tracks and national cemetery in downtown Chattanooga. The players are Eric Smith(metal), Jessie Bean(softgoods & sculptures), Anderson Bailey(ceramics), Luke Padgett(film and moto stoke), and, obviously, myself. The space is called Artifact and to celebrate our collaborative excitement, we are having an open studio this weekend and would love to see anyone who might be in the area.

Did I mention that there will be guided tours via electric wheel chair and one on one hockey shoot outs?

Hope to see you there!

The Rest of Yesterday

2012-01-22T21:45:00.010-05:00

"Beautiful Westland"

Well, here she is. A gigantic mural, if not in size then ambition, painted on the side of an old wooden depot somewhere in south central Kansas. "On a clear day," I was told, "if you climb a the top of that highest grain elevator there, and you have with you a really good set a binoculars, glass freshly polished, you can actually see all the way a them mountains." And, other than having to squint really hard, so hard I thought I might pass out, they were right. I could see those distant mountains, and how many different things they must have meant for all those who beheld them. A distant mirage that would bring hopes of a fresh start in a new land. A perfect hideout from their imperfect selves. Or a gigantic obstacle that reminded travelers of how far they still had to go to find their freedom. A bunch of 14,000ft. pains in the asses, if you will.

When I tried to think of what the distant and undulating horizon would mean to me someday, I could not quite place it. Would my journey there be blazed with the confident stride of a dinosaur? Would it be slow and calculated like that of a the bison-hunting plains indians? Or, rather, would my trail be one of smoke and iridescent mystery, billowing from my extraterrestrial spaceship called Enigma? No matter, ultimately the time in between would decide that I thought. All I knew, was that at that moment, I was a scruffy white guy, with squeaky boots, ready to ride. Bring on Westland, I thought, ...bring it on.

All Parts of the Buffalo

2011-12-11T15:09:00.004-05:00

In the process of working on my latest, yet to be posted painting, there has been lots of painters tape used for the text. After carving it out with my trusty exacto blade I was left with all of these great little pieces of tape. Rather than sticking the refuse to my jeans and turning myself blue, I grabbed some ranch stationary to stick the pieces to, just so that they weren't littering me or my tidy lil' workspace. Without paying attention to what I was doing, I looked over and saw this great character emerging from the placement of the tape. Thus was born, the Painter's Tape Character Studies, arising from the text for my upcoming painting, Welcome To Our Beautiful Westland.

Tired? Pull on in for a good nights rest...

2011-12-04T22:08:00.009-05:00

"Permanent Overnite"

16" x 26"

I saw this same sunset on my way back from a frozen photo-excursion out here in Wyoming one day last week. It really was brilliant and that night I came back to the studio and began to lay this out. While working on this imaginary sign, it came to my attention that the owners must be some hardy immigrants (an Indian family maybe?) that were just trying to make an honest living in the rugged west. Touching and re touching the paint job on their sign. Making repairs to the weather beaten wood. Trying to represent a safe and cozy night in a harsh and sometimes unwelcoming landscape. At one point they tried to bolster interest by offering WiFi, but given the recent decline in tourism could no longer justify the expense. They also stopped serving "Free" breakfast around that time but got too many complaints from the few travelers they still hosted, so they once again started to lay out miniature boxes of Frosted Flakes to accompany the half rotten fruit and stale yet still soft danishes.

Debtors Sweepstakes Puzzle Set

2011-11-30T13:58:00.004-05:00

"Lots for Lease"

"We Finance"

"Enroll Today"

A set of three new paintings I made last week here at the Brush Creek Residency.

Each piece is 7 1/2" x 12"

Back in the Saddle

2011-11-26T12:18:00.005-05:00

After a long fall filled with lots of working for other people, I am back to making just for the sake of it. In style I might add.

My current location is at the Brush Creek Ranch outside of the Medicine Bow National Forest in south-central Wyoming. The past few months have been those where I question the validity of this not-so-glamorous life as an artist. Countless hours cobbling together a patchwork existence for the chance at making something that my grandchildren might enjoy. That pessimistic realism always crumbles apart sooner or later though and this time it is my Brush Creek Residency that has shattered this self-loathing to pieces. A 13,000 acre ranch with log cabin studios, a cedar sauna, and dinner that you don't have to cook will do wonders for you soul.

In fitting with my rural location, I also paired down my arsenal of studio gadgetry. I left behind my computer(I am doing this post from the resident's communal office) and various digital counterparts for paper, paint, and some brushes and it feels quite refreshing.

Welcome Trailriders!

2011-10-15T03:24:00.001-04:00

Wendy White

2011-10-06T10:03:00.003-04:00

Text-based painter that will be showing soon in Chattanooga.

http://www.wendywhite.net/

2011-09-06T00:18:00.002-04:00

2011-08-31T21:23:00.003-04:00

I had heard of but was not entirely aware of the Oxford American until, just a few weeks ago, they asked if they could use my image, "Teepee" in their upcoming issue. Just received a couple of complimentary copies the other day and was pleasantly surprised at not just the reproduction, which is fantastic, but the magazine itself seems like real gem. Tis an honor to be printed on their pages.

My first Van Dykes, oh my!

2011-08-23T23:12:00.004-04:00

"Double Wide - Sequatchie Valley, TN"

"Road Runner - Sequatchie Valley, TN"

"No Parking - Charleston, SC"

"House - Charleston,SC"

"Telephone Pole - South of the Border, SC"

Some small, 6" x 6" Van Dykes as learned from the mentor herself, Alyssa Salomon... thanks.

Paper as Paper

2011-08-18T11:18:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, the premise of the recent workshop I assisted at Penland was to make our own paper to print photographs on. I set a bad example early on when I realized that I like the paper for what it was, without any pictures on it. I was also getting really excited about these silly catch phrases that I found repeated on all of our signs and billboards.

These pieces are made by laying down a base sheet of a certain color paper. Then I would pull a second sheet of a different color paper that had vinyl text attached to the mold, preventing pulp from settling in that area. Finally, I would lay that sheet on top of the previous one, and where the vinyl letters were, the base sheet would show through. My mind is still racing over all of the possibilities here.

Post Penland, Installment #1

2011-08-14T21:09:00.004-04:00

Somehow I made it through another session at the Penland School of Crafts. My 15th to be exact. You would figure, with the 14 prior classes under my belt, that I would know what I was getting myself into. One might think that I would have learned how to pace myself, how to deal with studio assistant needs, and how to avoid staying up till 3 each night after working in the studio till 1am. Next time, I might just go in expecting the unexpected...

Really though, it was another amazing workshop. It was called, From Pulp to Print and was co taught by the paper maker Helen Hiebert and alternative process photographer Alyssa Salomon. The fabulous Jamie Knight and myself were their noble assistants and together we moved that "big ship" through the process of making our own paper, doing alternative process photographs on that paper, and finally, to create some kind of sculptural form from the prints... a lot to learn in 2 1/2 weeks. Jamie and I did manage to find some time for our own work during the class which I will share with younz over the next few posts, starting with these two Cyanotypes on handmade paper.

how about a little self promotion?

2011-07-21T10:23:00.006-04:00

CreateHere has done it again. The same folks who provided me with the grant that allowed me to spend more time working for myself than for other people has now made a video about it. There have been lots of "firsts" in the past year, and now I can add a silver screen appearance to the list. Oh, and the music playing during the interview is by the Chattanooga band, Big Kitty. I am humbled to be in their presence...

MakeWork Grantee Shane Darwent from CreateHere on Vimeo.

Valley Fields Farm - High Point, NC

2011-07-14T20:25:00.004-04:00

I am working on a commission(my first ever!) to document an old college acquaitance's family farm. I am still rifling through the rolls of film but I wanted to post a couple images that might not make it into the portfolio for Lucy.

Then again, she did ask me to take the pictures. Perhaps it was this unassuming concrete fence that she wanted to remember always...

Civil War Workshop

2011-07-05T11:51:00.003-04:00

Tell Your Friends...

I will be teaching a workshop on albumen printing with some wet plate collodian knowledge thrown in for good measure. The class will be at the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga on Thursday, August 18th from 6-8pm and is only $25.

Holla! (link to register)

A 4th on the Farm

2011-07-04T15:37:00.006-04:00

I have, for the past couple of months, been working part time on my friend's family farm. Located at the south end of the Sequatchie Valley in Tennessee, not far from the Georgia and Alabama borders, sits the Sequatchie Cove Farm. What started out as a CSA vegetable farm has turned into a wonderland of grass fed beef, heritage breed hogs, Katahdin sheep, chickens, a full dairy and cheese operation, rows of healthy berry bushes, and yes, still a bunch of vegetables.

So, I ask you, what better way is there to celebrate our collective americanism than to hang out on a farm, waltzing thru the fields, swimming in the swimming holes, and then eat some piggy that just a short time ago, was doing the very same thing, on the very same farm.

solar panels facing off against the sun-worn shed

on the Little Sequatchie that was, "as werm as baith werter"

mule wagon with van seats

the trailer

the hog

the thawing pork chops

the grill

Sequicentennial -150 years later

2011-06-07T11:34:00.005-04:00

I went to the Hunter Museum here in Chattanooga this past weekend to see an exhibition of Civil War photographs from the George Eastman House collection. I could not find many of those images online but in searching found some other equally valuable time travel talismans...

View of Chattanooga from my current stomping grounds,

The North Shore (of the Tennessee River that is)

hand tinted magic lantern slides of dead soldiers and other interesting things

another hand tinted lantern slide. can you understand my fascination?

It's (A)Live!

2011-05-19T21:31:00.005-04:00

"The Faceoff"

41" x 32"

Acrylic Transfer on Wood

Yes Folks, its true. I now have a WEBSITE!

New Work

2011-05-17T11:48:00.005-04:00

"Concrete Truck Remembered"

Acrylic Paint w/ Transfer on Wood

30" x 30"

I decided I wanted to take my "painted prints" and supersize em'. This is one of a couple large works that I made for the show at Leo Handmade Gallery that hung here in Chattanooga during the month of April.

Collaboration with Marianne Dages

2011-04-18T22:15:00.003-04:00

I thought it might be nice to share some images from a project that the wonderful bookbinder/printmaker/artist extraordinaire Marianne Dages and I worked on together. We did this collaboration for a show in Raleigh this past winter.

I sent her black & white prints of basketball goals I shot from the Midwest and Southeast. These prints then served as a starting point for some fantastic paint and collage work she did overtop.

Rather than adorn what was already there, Marianne's color and collage seem to call to question the notion of a goal altogether.

There is even one piece where she completely covered up the basketball goal, with the resulting image leaving you searching for the subject.

And though I am not sure of her conceptual intentions with this collaboration, I am pretty sure that I like them.

Oh, and she also made quite the elegant clamshell portfolio to house these prints. Soon, we plan to print a limited edition run of these pups that would each come in its own hand bound folio.

For inquiries on this project please contact me. Or, to check out more of Marianne's work you can visit her website.

Showdown at the Leo Corral

2011-03-31T19:42:00.003-04:00

It is official. The show is up, the time is set, and the booze is startin' to flow.

April 1st from 6 till 9

Leo Handmade Gallery

22 Frazier Ave.

Chattanooga, TN

If I Ever Have Grandchildren...

2011-03-23T10:07:00.004-04:00

If I ever have grandchildren and if those grandchildren are willing to sit down beside me, on whatever we are using for a couch 40 years from now, to look at my photographs - they might be curious.

"Where are all the pictures of you and your friends," they might ask.

"They are here with me in this picture," I would tell them, "see the words on that sign are kinda funny and they make me think of my ridiculous friend Anderson..."

"And that crumbling wall with the gnarly, bent rebar, in there is my buddy Edwin who made these tragic paintings of tortured souls..."

"And here I am in this picture, really. There in the bottom right corner you can see my shadow. It is just my torso and my head is cut off in it but that really is me. Whats wrong with you kids anyhow? Has no one taught you about the epic beauty in a crumbling concrete plant?!"

MakeWork Update...

2011-03-08T19:16:00.005-05:00

This is my Short Term Goals photograph and post.

I received a postcard from myself the other day. Well, I should say that I wrote it but that those amazing grant givers, CreateHere, sent it. During our most recent grants in progress session, they wanted us to fill out two postcards, one with short-term goals and one with longer-term goals. On Saturday the short-term card arrived and on it was written, "...have a local showing of my photographs and sculptures...". Well I am proud to say that in one month from now I will have a show at the fabulous North Chattanooga gallery/record shop/boutique extraordinaire, Leo Handmade. Chattanooga is really lucky to have Leo in it's midst and I am thrilled to be showing my work on their hallowed halls. I am plan to show a series of Painted Prints as well as some brand spanking new mixed media transfers on wood. But don't hold your breath, for the show opens on the first Friday of April which happens to be none other than the first day in April, or is it..?

A couple more from the flea market...

2011-03-05T18:43:00.001-05:00

Somewheres deep in the Carolinas

2011-03-03T22:28:00.004-05:00

My lady and I took a stroll through a flea market somewhere in the south sometime last year.

man who sells everything

vintage china & crystal vendor

every flea market needs a sword guy

Newk's Wood Werks

yup, you guessed it - puppy dog vendors

If I had died and gone to heaven.

2011-02-13T02:06:00.005-05:00

So, South of the Border, 99 miles ahead... Some of you may know this amazing gem of a road-side attraction just south of the North/South Carolina border on I-95. And if not, well I would not say that it is worth jumping in your car over, but then again, maybe it is. Anyway, these next few photos are from that exit, but just on the other side of the freeway from the fiberglass gorillas and really big sombrero. I really could have spent hours wandering around this defunct spectacle of Americana, but I was on a slight time constraint and well, was limited to an epic 45 minutes that I will look forward to revisiting. I hope you do too.

My Boy Eddie B

2011-02-08T21:30:00.002-05:00

Gangsta

8 hours before I took this shot, Ed, Mike, Juan, and myself where throwing back whiskey shot after whiskey shot at some place called the Dive Bar in Raleigh, NC. 8 hours later we would be on our way to my show opening at Rebus Works, still fighting off the night before. I just picked up my work from that show a little over a week ago and it is hard to believe that two months has already passed. It is also hard to believe that I got this photograph developed and scanned in that same two months.

Just the other day Ed told me that he had his own solo show coming up this summer in that little town of New York City. He is an incredible painter and has been an inspiration to me since we became friends in the college days of yore. Hopefully I can make it up to his show to deliver an equally impressive hangover to him on his special day...

Click here to check out the mad world of Edwin Bethea.

Trachodon Interview

2011-01-22T13:30:00.002-05:00

My good friend and collaborating partner Katey Schultz asked me some pretty insightful questions for an online interview published by Cheekteeth this month. Click here to unravel the mystery.

MakeWork Update from the Snowy Nether Regions

2011-01-13T10:38:00.007-05:00

Well it has now been almost 6 weeks since the opening for the show in Raleigh and I am finally able to think about life going forward. Here is what has been happening in my southern and snowy environs...

I finally scanned in the last straggling film from 2009. Ironically enough it was the film that I shot last year over the holidays. I have come to realize that my turn around time from shooting the film to processing it, then scanning and posting it is about a year, which is ancient news in today's world of iPhone craziness. To hell with it though, these puppies are built to last.

Hunting Island, SC as seen by my then new Pentax 645 camera

The landscape here was incredible. There was some major erosion happening to the shore and there was essentially part of the beach-front forest that was underwater during high tide. My fam was probably happy that I was so low on film otherwise I might have gone missing.

I also took the time during the recent snow storm to go out and photograph my neighborhood. The same streets that Elspeth and I walk nearly everyday told a different story on Monday. People emerged from their quiet little houses with big wonder-filled eyes, whole families geared up and controlled the streets from their 4-wheeler thrones, and corny boxwood bushes turned into mysterious mounds dotting the brand new landscape. Look for epic photographs of a lumpy boxwood-landscape in about a year...

Woodland Heights Represent!

And last but not least, I have begun a new sculpture. The kind of piece that seems like it was started three years ago, and every sculpture since has been working towards this. No picture yet, but stay tuned...

Oh, yes, and how could I forget. I will be featured in the new arts journal Trachodon. There will be a half dozen or so photographs in their print journal along with my bio and statement. In addition to the photos in their print journal, they will also be featuring a full length interview with additional photographs on their web accompaniment, Cheekteeth. Check em out and support those guys as they are doing a good thing for all of us.

Show Opening in Raleigh, NC

2010-12-08T12:19:00.003-05:00

I have compiled a slide show of some photographs for the exhibition I just hung in Raleigh. Considering that my folks drove up from Charleston, 3 good buddies flew in from Vermont, New York, and Miami, my brother took a Chinatown bus overnight from Manhattan, and my girlfriend worked her Christmas craft fair from long distance, I would say that the event was one worth remembering. This show had been in the making and in my mind for a long long time and so when we finally left Raleigh and drove into the snow flurries of early December, it felt like I had left a little piece of myself. From as far back as the summer of 2008 this body of work had been brewing and so it only made sense that I would suffer a little postpartum at the end of all this, I just never imagined how strong that feeling would be.

And so, the book has been published, the work has been hung, and I suppose all I can do now is to sit back and wait till I get famous....

Ok, not funny, but click here for the Rebus Works Recap.

Want to Take a Trip into America?

2010-12-07T11:05:00.005-05:00

So here she is, 120 pages of perfect binding bliss for your

at home exploration! 2 residencies, one grant, and a year

and a half later I have finally compiled a comprehensive

edit of last years' rambles into a sweet lil' book. You can preview 15

pages here and then order it for you or a loved

one to reveal the rest of the story... I am working on a

sidebar link for this blog that will make it fast and easy

for those who can't get enough.

Thanks to so many folks who have made

this whole project possible!

The Flag in Our Hands by Shane Darwent | Make Your Own Book

V I A P E N L A N D show

2010-12-01T17:32:00.002-05:00

Hullo! This is Shane's official artist assistant checking in-- having temporarily upgraded from girlfriend to pedestal mover, brick painter, and general water girl. Shane is busily measuring walls, pencil behind his ear, drill in hand, and screws at the ready. He's been to and fro in front of a white strip of wall all day, prepping with intent. This friday, December 3rd, will find him the Featured Artist at Rebus Works' annual VIA PENLAND show, a gathering of work by artists associated with Penland School of Crafts. We may have to give the shaggy boy a trim to live up to the honor. Shane's now installing an impressive array of (terrifically self-framed) photography, wooden sculptures, and collaborations. If you happen to be in the general North Carolina region, we'd love to have you stop in for a visit. Friday evening-- 6-10- will be quite the night-- with music provided by Shane's dear friend straight from Vermont's cold reaches: Michael Roberts of Wooden Dinosaur. (I think he'll be playing atop a cabinet of flat files). The show will be up through January 29th, leaving plenty of room for perusing. Click here to check out some of Shane's work from the exhibit and to find more information about the show. Hope to see you around and about!

30 Years of the Ucross Foundation

2010-11-15T15:25:00.005-05:00

"Into the Fog" Oil on Linen by Travis Ivey

I had the amazing privilege last fall to attend a residency at the Ucross Foundation in rural, North-Central Wyoming. In conjunction with the Nicolaysen Art Museum, also in Wyoming, they just hung a huge retrospective show of a select group of past residents and I was invited to be a part of it. I didn't get to see the show but below is a link to an article about the happenings...

http://trib.com/lifestyles/weekender/article_97e7a823-1247-5035-840b-2d90ad4d3f02.html

MakeWork Update from the Collaboration Station...

2010-11-12T11:48:00.005-05:00

Here are a few pics from the collaboration that I just finished working on with the Raleigh-based book binder, Kathy Steinsberger. She made this incredible accordion fold book that is 8" x 8" with 10 total 8" x 16" spreads. The book is in an edition of 2 and has some of my portraits from East of the Mississippi / Below the Mason-Dixon, which also happens to be the title. I paired photos of white folks next to those of black folks, attempting to show both our similarities and our unique differences...

- oh, and she used my bicycle route through this area, which is when these photos were made, and printed it on vellum for the back of the book

Florida Foreclosure Photography

2010-11-08T09:35:00.005-05:00

The Magnum photographer Bruce Gilden is doing some really interesting work about one of my favorite subjects... houses. The link below will take you to a short film recently made about the foreclosure fanatics currently taking place in lovely lil' Florida. Well worth checking out.

http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/foreclosures

Collaboration in the Works

2010-10-26T14:54:00.002-04:00

For my upcoming show in Raleigh I am collaborating long distance with 5 book artists on a few different edits of my work. I am not totally positive on all of the details for most of them, well, any of them really, but I suppose that is what makes collaborating exciting. The images below are from a project that I am working on with Robyn Raines, former Core Fellow connection from Penland. For my part, I printed an edit of houses from last years travels onto a frosted and semi-transparent film that will somehow sit over the maps that I designed to correspond with the location of each house, and the rest is up to Mrs. Raines... Here are some of em...

MakeWork Update

2010-10-14T00:30:00.005-04:00

In an effort to give myself as much work to edit as possible for the upcoming Via Penland show at the Rebus Works Gallery in Raleigh, I have finally finished scanning all of my photographs from 2009, well almost all of them...

These next few are from a visit my lady and I made to Austin, TX last fall. This was a fitting part of my travels last year cause I was born in Austin but knew nothing of it because, well my sister had to be born in Corpus Christi just some months later and then my bro had to go and get born up in Massachusetts and well, then we moved to South Carolina...

Anyway,

I returned to Austin, Texas and these lousy color photographs are all I brought back...

The Unveiling

2010-10-05T12:36:00.003-04:00

I hovered over my printer like a hawk as I watched the photo get printed over the painting and was pretty stoked with the results...

Painted Prints in Progess

2010-09-27T21:51:00.006-04:00

WARNING! If you have an aversion to bad digital images you might not want to look at this post. I know, this is getting old, and yes, I am a photographer, but I shoot in film, and while I am soooo thankful to have a lil' digital point and shoot I do think this thing is from the 80's, really.

Anyway, thought it would be nice to share a couple of images of the painted prints, pre print. For those just tuning in, what I call painted prints are my attempt to remember the color/atmosphere of a place from my travels from last years. I start out by painting the scene and then I digitally print the original black and white photograph over the top, hopefully in register. I keep getting closer to what I think I am trying to find, in particular, the skies. So yup - real excited to print on these, probably tomorrow... wish me luck. Oh, and check back for the results sometime soon.

a somewhat wintery wyoming scene

some of you folks might recognize this one

a behind the scenes glimpse of our mud room turned studio

A MakeWork ShoutOut!

2010-09-07T18:31:00.007-04:00

Never before has working for myself felt so real and exciting. This week has been filled a variety of tasks, most of which make me feel very lucky to be doing what I am.

I started the week by preparing lil' tests of different collage and transfer techniques to bring up to Saint Andrews Sewanee School where I will be doing some workshops in conjunction with the show that I have up there right now... http://www.sasweb.org/sasgallery/index.aspx

I also got to start thinking about my next show that will happen in Raleigh this winter. I sent out some emails to some sweet book artists that I will collaborate with on some pieces for this show and also made my first public sculpture mock up in hopes of making my first public sculpture to coincide with the show...

And last but not least, I am printing, framing, crating and shipping some work for a show at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Wyoming. The idea for the show is to exhibit the past Ucross Residency residents as some sort of retrospective for that rad cattle ranch that cradles an art residency gem on the rolling prairie . Below are a couple of images in the show that I have not printed until now...

Thanks CreateHere, for helping me to focus my attention on my work. I still pinch myself everyday.

Back from the Hills with new tricks up my sleeve

2010-09-05T09:22:00.003-04:00

I have been back from the sweet, misty-mountain that is the Penland School of Crafts, for about a week. Thanks to my good pal Mark Boyd, who among other things, runs the photo studio there, I was able to assist a guru in the field of alternative process photography. Scott, not to be confused with Vince, McMahon was such an incredible force. He came down from Pennsylvania on his way to a residency in New Mexico equipped with his own inflatable cactus, chili pepper, and some pretty rad chili pepper lights that hung above our picnic table while we wound down and around each evening. Between helping Scott with the demos and cleaning crusty Cyanotype brushes I managed to make a few prints myself.

3 color Gum Bichromate of a structure on a playground in

Hale County, Alabama

Gum Bichromate over a Cyanotype of my best Dali meets Weston image

Cyanotype of a Deer Family in Eastern Tennessee

Cyanotype on some nice handmade paper by Jenna from the

kick ass paper class happening next door

Let your eyes adjust on this Anthotype, which was my favorite process from the two weeks. This is a sheet of paper coated in Crape Myrtle blossoms that has been exposed through a positive transparency in the sun for about 3 1/2 days. The sun bleaches out all of the areas that let the light through while the color remains in the blocked out areas.... ...MAGIC!

Why it Matters

2010-08-17T20:59:00.006-04:00

My good buddy Andrew gave me a book the other day that should have been in my library a long time ago. In the introduction to William Eggleston's Guide, John Szarkowski contemplates wether or not the art of Eggleston's photographs lies in the places that he has turned his camera on, or if it lies in his interpretation of that place. Having spent a great deal of time on the road last year I had the chance to witness the magnificent museum of irony that is America. And at countless junctions I was greeted by those moments where people, place, and nature collide in a way that made me feel both grounded in my role here today and anxiously curious and concerned for tomorrow. Like Eggleston, I feel compelled to capture this world as it is before me and to pay homage to it's countless artful creations. Through the interface of art I am able to share my passion for our world with those around me. Through art and I am able to breathe a full breath.

Saint Andrews Sewanee

2010-08-10T21:05:00.002-04:00

Wow, what a day. I just got back from the Saint Andrews Sewanee gallery after installing my first solo show. Feels mighty nice, I gotta say. Taking the work out of my living room studio with yellow walls, brown trim, and bad, bad lighting to fresh white walls with track lighting.... yup, it felt real special. And to top the day off in true americana style my lady and I ate at the Monteagle Diner on our way back home. This place is a distillation of everything that I have been so fascinated by this year. It is in an old gas station that has kept everything but the pumps. The old rusted sign, the awning, and the sweet locals (that happened to be meeting for gospel night) made this a place worth hanging on to. I want to thank both Wyoming residencies I was at last fall and also CreateHere in Chattanooga for making this possible. And, here's to the last time I borrow someone else's tools to make my frames....!

Some Sculptures

2010-07-24T14:38:00.006-04:00

Its been a while since I got to make sculpture, so these felt real nice to work on. Seems like I had been thinking about em for a while and by the time I got around to making them, I couldn't work fast enough. Guess that means there will be more to come. oh, and they range in size from about 8"x10" to about 3'.

the universe is telling me sumthin

2010-07-05T16:49:00.006-04:00

Well folks, I will try to remain humble in my near ecstatic excitement. Last Friday, July 2nd, I was checking my email in the very same grocery store that my photographs still hang, the store that has switched from a locally owned Greenlife to that not so local WholeFoods in the time of my work being up, and received some pretty good news. All of the residencies, grants, and shows that I read rejection letters for this spring seem as if they were obstacles just to toughen my skin and refine my words and keep at it, for I have just been awarded something that has made me quickly forget those lame and apologetic emails. Through the CreateHere organization here in Chattanooga I was given a MakeWork project grant for $8,700.

The project is the same one that I have been using this blog to refine and is work created from and inspired by the 20,000 plus miles I traveled throughout the good ole US of A last year. In my application, I asked for money to publish a compilation of the photographs and stories through a self published venue. I asked for money so that I could purchase the tools I need to continue framing my own work so that I wouldn't have to borrow them each time. And lastly, and seemingly the most crazy, I asked for money to pay myself so that I could work on this project to make my upcoming shows as stout as they can be...

"Well Shane," my boss Andy said in his best California throwback slang, "...the unviverse is telling you something bro."

Below are the pics I sent as a part of my application

The Saftel Spread

2010-06-16T12:14:00.003-04:00

I have been working outside of Pikeville, TN, or Packvel as I have begun callin' it, for the painter Andy Saftel a couple days a week since I moved to Chattanooga all the way back in late December. I met him in my last waning days at Penland and tuned into his studio assistant needs that in some ways propelled our move to the southeastern part of this here god blessed state. Andy does pretty damn well for himself and it has been great to see someone support themselves, and others, off of what they love to do. Anyway.... been house sittin for him while he is down in Mexico printing a multiblock wood cut that I helped him carve earlier this year. Elspeth and I feel like we get to try out this truly adult existence while he is gone, picking greens from his garden, drying clothes on his line, and even working a bit in his studio. These shots are from last fall when I spent a week working with him. Just a glimpse into the timeless world of the north Sequatchie Valley.

Some Southern Color, Volume 1

2010-05-16T17:33:00.004-04:00

Currently working on scanning some of the color film I shot last fall in Lousiana. Little bit of New Orleans, Lafayette, and Grand Coteau for y'all with a hankering.

From what I have learned since, this wild man from the By Water in New Orleans plays music with a group called the Jazz Vipers. Here, he installs a post for a chain link fence.

My girlfriend and I spent a night in Lafayette at her sister Aaron's apartment. I don't remember how we became witness to her amazing closet but in that sweet morning light I just had to capture the rainbow.

An old fast food restaurant turned tax center turned vacant.

Painting the white house white, next to the UL campus.

This is Edward with the flag from the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau on a muggy September afternoon.

Coming to a Grocery Store Near You

2010-04-26T12:13:00.004-04:00

I have been working towards putting together my first showing of a small portion of the photographs from last summer's bicycle trip. The work is hung in the local organic grocery store here in Chattanooga that has more people coming through its doors than just about any place in town. So, wether the audience has time to notice the work while they balance bunches of swiss chard, shiny laptops, hot coffee, and crying babies, I am not sure, but, as a guy shoveling dirt recently told me, "You caint contrul the wether..."

Here is a little bit of process leading up to the grand unveiling.

Big O' Prints

2010-03-11T16:33:00.006-05:00

I have been waiting for these to come to life since before I ever processed the film. I might go broke making these prints but damn it will be the best broke I have felt. Just dropped off the files with this fella named Chris here in town. He is a Dutch guy, I think, who smokes Camel Filters and has one helluva sweet raspy laugh. Wouldnt trust this job with anyone lesser.

The Bball print will be 30 x 60 inches of goals from Missouri to the Carolinas.

The portrait print will be titled, "East of the Mississippi, Below the Mason Dixson" and is 30x30 inches of, well, just what the title suggests...

And the house print is 26x51 inches of homes from California to Charleston...

A Hale County Pilgrimage

2010-03-03T17:47:00.004-05:00

Last year this time I was headed down south to spend the spring in ole New Orleans, a place I still think about daily. But on my way down, on Mardi Gras day as it happened, I had something I needed to do. After looking at maps leading up to my trip from Eastern Tennessee to Louisiana I had realized that I was going to be headed straight through, if I were a bird anyway, Hale County Alabama. It just so happens that the photographer William Christenberry had been a major influence of mine over the year prior and Christenberry's work has been based in this county for the better part of his career. Hale County, where the photographer grew up, was also the subject of that Fortune Magazine article turned infamous documentary project, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, by the writer James Agee and the photographer Walker Evans. And though Christenberry's work gave me a pretty incredible glimpse of the poorest county in Alabama I just had to see it for myself.

So, as the Daffodil bulbs begin to rise from the ground here in Chattanooga, TN, I am reminded of that fertile day headed South. Here are some pictures of that trip.

Some Folks About Town

2010-02-17T10:59:00.005-05:00

For a time there I thought I might never take a picture of anything that moved. I thought that everything we needed to know about our culture existed in the objects we built. One day I became friends with this photographer kid named Rush who had all these amazing images of just people that were in his life. Well, Rush became a good buddy and travlin partner of mine and I am thankful that he turned me on to this revelation of the living.

My brother Brandon and his pup Chico. Chico has a sister pup named Allie who was our sisters dog. Chico and Allie are those dogs that end up reflecting their owners to this hilarious degree that only grows more pronounced each time I visit home.

Jesse Dutton in her store, Dutton's Grocery, outside of Knoxville, TN. What you don't see here is her wall of Coca-Cola memorabilia, her huge creepy doll collection, and her styrofoam coffee cup with pick lipstick around the rim.

14 yr old deli worker from an east Tennessee grocery store.

Belle and Beverly tending to their garden in Western North Carolina. I cant remember which is which.

Alvin's hat said, No Money No Honey. He was from New York but followed his family down to Aiken, South Carolina. He was looking for work and they were joining family. After a month down South and no steady job he was waiting for the bus to head back North. It came just a minute or two after we talked.

Postin' Up

2010-02-01T13:26:00.006-05:00

I remember the first one vividly. It was in downtown Charleston. With my dad driving our maroon red Honda Accord I would look out from the back right, always the back right, as we would pass it on our way to and from the soccer games that he coached us through. Sitting on the right side of the car I always had a much better view on the way back home. It was on the other side of a chain link fence that kept the boarded over row homes separated from the crosstown traffic that flowed back and forth between downtown and the suburbs. An orange milk crate with no bottom that was nailed to a damp and molding telephone pole rising with a gangsta' lean from the glass covered asphalt.

Memory Jog Romance

2010-01-18T13:18:00.004-05:00

So this is some work from this fall that I made at the couple of residencies I was at.

I was working with all this b&w work from the past year. A year that was made up of many highs and lows but all I could seem to remember were, of course, all the highs.

I am not alone in this selective memory, over embellishment, romanticization thing. As far as I know, we all do it.

So I started to paint in the saturated atmosphere that I remembered each place to have. I would begin transferring the key lines from an image to this crazy plastic paper called Yupo. Next, I would summon the color gods to jog my memory of each scene. Then, I would print that image over top of the painting, and close my eyes and wait.

And see where my memory took me.

These are some. There are others, and more to come. Just a little game of memory jog romance.

Wandering with Weights

2010-01-12T12:48:00.003-05:00

Lamar, CO

As I sit in my new local coffee house in my new town I remember this guy. He was walking his groceries home through the tall grass field at twilight. As I navigate the web for jobs in Chattanooga, Tennessee I remember his story. He used to work at the Alco, a smaller more regional version of Walmart. As I get redirected from one application forum to another I remember his wandering. He now walks the streets of Lamar with his food that comes from the Walmart that has now replaced the smaller Alco. As I wade helplessly in this anonymous sea of 1s and 0s I think of this guy.

Chapter Next

2009-12-10T19:52:00.002-05:00

A painter friend was describing his process the other day. He starts out by putting down a landscape, arbitrarily, in oil. He will then wait a couple of days for it to firm up and proceed to paint over it, also arbitrarily. Finally, he scrapes around the new paint, and gouges the old paint that has had a chance to form only a hard outer skin. The scraping turns the top paint muddy while the gouging brings fresh color from below to the surface and adds a new life to the mud above.

In numerous ways I have been reminded that the retelling of my visions from America in 2009 do not need to be so exacting, so chronologically predictable. Now ends this linear trajectory.

Let the melting pot begin.

Their World as They Know It

2009-12-05T12:14:00.004-05:00

It appears as if life in rural Utah has been this way forever.

That the cars did indeed sprout up from the ditch.

That the tree grew pale white with no intention of forming branches and the plastic kennel erupted from the rubble one stormy afternoon, a long time ago.

The rocks here were born painted, the signs born into distress.

And the boy has always been friends with the burro.

Patriot Poems

2009-12-01T13:07:00.007-05:00

Flagpoles rise

Devotion to that which flies freely

Trampolines settle

Silence only springs know

Tourists proceed

Caravans feed their velcroed soles

Indians gaze

Silently devoted to their caravans of yesterday

The Fastest Growing Religion

2009-11-28T14:08:00.006-05:00

Twelve children once crawled through this house and under the table, shooting marbles and getting splinters.

They ran around the yard, shooting bb guns and playing with their dolls.

Some were too young to play, they laid in their cribs drooling a little.

Others had stick wars, sometimes they bled.

On Saturdays some played soccer. On Sundays they all went to Church.

Probably not much different from what the kids were doing in my neighborhood, but then again, I am not sure.

Life in the small towns of Utah wanted to be elusive. I came in with my own stereotypes about Mormon culture. Multiple wives with multiple children. Strange things happening behind flaking wooden doors. Truth is that I did get creeped out a little bit, but I was not able to tell wether it was from my preconceived notions, the desolate and expansive landscape, or if the locals out here were actually giving us the third degree. One Truth is for certain however. And that is that when Rush's wheel went 4 spokes out of true who came riding down the road but a Mormon couple and their Saturday cycling crew. With matter-of-factness the man told us to follow along, that they were headed back to his house, just ten miles from here, and that he could help us out. Well, 3 showers later we were sitting at their dining room table with leftover spaghetti, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and fresh popcorn. Already Rush's bike had undergone a complete overhaul and we had been invited to see live music at a pizza joint down the road.

This is not to say that I agree with or even care about the beliefs that Joseph Smith cultivated, but I guess I sit here and realize that it does not matter. We were in need, they provided an answer, and we left, on smooth rides with full bellies, and appreciation for those who had been the butt of our (or rather my own) jokes for most of the state.

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas

2009-11-24T18:48:00.006-05:00

Pass Go. We pooled our resources and played a one dollar round on the penny slots at MGM Grand. The game ended before we learned what to do.

Don't look down. The sidewalks beneath your feet are covered in business cards for call girls.

Look Professional. Times are tough when your entire city's backbone is built on gambling and the consequent spending of surplus cash, especially when you are a cook at the diner.

Get Married. Vegas gives out steak diners and casino cash for those committed ones. Not married? Just head down the street to the chapel and then cash in. You just might break even.

When all else fails, listen to Billy Joel. There is a bar in New York, the one on the corner of Tropicana and Las Vegas Blvd., that looks like a scene from somewhere in Little Italy. Weird right. Anyway, it appears to be this great little pizza joint with brick ovens and a cozy atmosphere and Billy Joel plays there. Well not really Billy Joel, actually he looked nothing like Billy Joel but he could sing though, pretty well if you ask me. Such a good singer in fact that he had a dozen middle aged blonde women wearing tight blue jeans and tight black sweaters swooning over his sing a long classic version of Piano Man. Working the crowd with his dancing fingers and occasionally flexed forearms he scanned the bar to reel in further his captive audience for the final chorus. Shit..., I thought we he caught me smiling and singing along, ... I'm busted, no longer just a passive observer. If I wasn't already broke and borrowing money from my girlfriend I would have said fuck it and gone in and bought shots for my friends and I, and one for the Piano Man too, the good salesmen that he was. But I was broke, thankfully, and our hotel, a quite and dark - slot machine free resting place, was just a couple of blocks away.

A Mirage...?

2009-11-22T17:20:00.006-05:00

Death Valley, CA

Ok, so just imagine this woman wading aimlessly around the shallow end of the pool. She does not lift her head high enough to make eye contact with you and is murmuring what sounds like cryptic Latin prayers. The sun here can really make you delirious and I was rather confused at what was happening. I would have said that she was just another crazy European tourist, angry at herself for choosing to visit the hottest place on the planet in the summer, of course she would have some things to say to the big guy. But then again, that afternoon did give way to Elspeth's stolen ukulele and the complete seizure of Rush's bottom bracket.

At the Doorstep of Death (Valley)

2009-11-21T17:02:00.007-05:00

En Route to Panamint Springs, CA

We woke up early for this one. Temperatures here were reaching 110 by noon so we would set the alarm for some time around 4 and as long as I was not the one who set it then we would hit the road soon after for a pre-dawn start. I had a bad, or good depending, habit of hitting the snooze so quickly that Rush or Elspeth would not even stir, at times for an hour or more. Nice for the extra zzzz's, that wonderful state of early morning lucid dreaming, but not so great for escaping the heat.

The downhill to follow this pass was itself something out of a dream state, a desolate and winding road that cut its way back and forth through the arid mountain landscape. It finally flattened out just a few miles away from Ballarat Road, which lead to the Ballarat ghost town and former hangout of the Manson Family.

High Heat, Low Humidity

2009-11-20T15:09:00.005-05:00

From Ridgecrest to Trona, CA

Danny Devito visited Trona and was so inspired by its odd nature that he made a movie about it called Just Add Water, adding itself to the list of others filmed in the area such as Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Planet of the Apes. The town is a result of a potash mine and processing plant and is a community of largely boarded up homes where the high school football team apparently plays on a dirt field (thanks Wikipedia...). We arrived there on our bikes at twilight and it smelled as if the whole town was cooking meth in their living rooms. Minus the gas station we stopped at, we did not see a soul. That night, as the purple evening shade gave way to the glowing green factory lights we set up camp in the middle of town. The processing plant across the street clanked and smoked, creaked and rattled as we pitched our tents on a concrete slab underneath a picnic area awning. The factory, it seemed, was this giant, self propelled machine that needed a community of laborers around just to sweep the floor and grease the hinges.

Hard Times

2009-11-19T01:10:00.003-05:00

Lake Isabella, CA

Do not worry. This guy is not stranded on the side of the road and he is far from helpless. He is waiting for his welfare eligibility to begin in Colorado. Until then he is roaming the land doing all he can to prevent himself from having to work while he raises his family. When I met him here he was staying down the road next to a river on some beautiful BLM land, just kickin' it, killing time until the big Rainbow gathering. Here's 3 bucks for the road homie, and take a hit for me when you get there will ya.

The Sierras

2009-11-17T11:56:00.008-05:00

When we finally scaled our first steep section into the Sierras we found ourselves in a totally different environment. I had only known these mountains through a week long stay in Yosemite, which is quite possibly the most pure and euphoric memory I have. A little different to the south, the landscape on the southern end was one of Joshua Trees scattered across bare rock mountains, smattered with sickly homesteads. I imagined them all to be spooky religious communes that fell apart when it was realized that they chose the least sustainable environment possible, one that was useful for nothing more than the isolation that would allow them to be as strange as they wanted. That, or the occasional income from renting their compound to a B grade massacre movie... I don't know. I was picturing the eyes of creepy little kids staring through the venetian blinds, their backs hunched over, knees resting on the foam now showing yellow through the worn brown couch. The most colorful part of their morning, watching our spandex wardrobes putt slowly across the dusty expanse. Yup, the South end of the Sierras much different from the flowing falls of Bridal Veil with ole' John Muir shining his majestic wand of comfort ore' your cozy campfire...

The Central Valley, part III

2009-11-12T14:21:00.011-05:00

From Blackwell's Corner to Wasco, CA

So we were told that somewhere around 70% of our nation's produce comes from the Central Valley in California. And we also heard that in some places there is as much as a quarter mile or more of top soil that once ran wild with Jack Rabbits - that is until they were cornered and beaten by prospecting farmers armed with baseball bats... yeesh. What we saw were groves of almond, pistachio, and orange trees, fields of garlic, artichoke, carrots, and onions in a landscape with concrete walled rivers, made up of diverted mountain water from far and farther away. Tumbleweed walls clothed the barbwire barriers that kept passers by from the latino workforce, laboring in the endless groves.

Thanks California, for providing me with the strawberries I had on my cereal for breakfast, the orange I had for lunch, and the almonds I had for a snack, I appreciate it...

The Central Valley, part II

2009-11-09T19:20:00.006-05:00

Cholame, CA

So night number one in the Central Valley was spent at a rather magical place. It was the first of many experiences to come that consisted of picking a dot on the map for our end of the day arrival and the dot turns out to not really be a dot but rather where some cartographers hand slipped and landed, pen down. "Cholame," we said, "...yeah, we will make there tonight." Well, after peddling for a considerable number of miles that day, with our energy rations running low and the image of the BEWARE OF RATTLE SNAKES sign still stuck in our head we were relieved to see the ubiquitous, rectangular green sign for... Cholame! That little green beacon turned to a silly joke though after reading the Population 109 section. We had no intention of staying in a hotel or anything like that but at least give us a gas station where we could get cold water and fantasize about Heath Bars or even the possibility of grass to sleep on or a tree to sleep under. Nope, no amenities, just a town we could shoot a marble across.

When I say no amenities I am not being entirely truthful however. There did appear to be a functional building and it was right across the street from our little green rectangle. The Jack Ranch Cafe was situated in the center of a rather large parking lot with a railed fence left to determine what was parking and what was not. Rush went inside and spoke with the manager/cook/bartender/dishwasher and he came out with great news. We could hang out in a side room until they closed and then we could pitch our tents out back in the small patch of grass that appeared an oasis in the wash of beige. With that we were happy and each orderd something cold to sip on. Rush and I milkshakes and Elspeth a Rootbeer Float.

Post cold treats we retreated to our exclusive side room. The first thing you noticed was the almost life size James Dean cut out leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. Then as you panned around the rest of the space you saw posters for all his movies as well as paintings of him with other famous actors and musicians that had also died their own premature, tragic death. With minor surface scratching we found out that not 1000 yards down the road was where Mr. Dean had flipped his Porsche and ended his young life.

Later on, when it was time for our already famous rice and beans, we set up our camping stove out in the parking lot, next to a monument that had been sculpted by a mourning Japanese artist. The sun sank in the sky and it was soon dark, minus the lights that had been recessed around the base of the sculpture. A couple came by not long after and talked of a James Dean apparition that frequents this highway. They were just out for an evening cruise and sometimes stopped here. Not knowing where they had come from or where they were going they left, but were soon replaced by semis that seemed to take refuge in the big parking lot that is Cholame.

The Jack Ranch neon soon went dim and the nice man who granted us our overnight privilege locked up and said goodnight. We were still full from diner but decided to check the dumpster for french fries or hush puppies but to no avail. We then retired to our grass patch, setting up and diving in our tents as fast as we could before they inflated with mosquitoes. That night we slept with the dinosaur hum of the tractor trailers, sounding as if they were nestled right next to us, as in fact they were. Falling into sleep I got a slight chill up my spine when I thought of the denim legs and leather clad torso of a ghostly James Dean walking that dark and lonely road, he too, searching for respite in the neon signs of The Jack Ranch Cafe.

Into the Central Valley, part I

2009-11-06T17:08:00.005-05:00

Cambria to Blackwell's Corner, CA

After heading south along the scenic HWY 1 for the first few days of our trip we held a sense of nervous anticipation for our embarkation east. For the first time we would start to make ground towards the other ocean and out into, what was at least true for all three of us, the great unknown. The Pacific Ocean, though filled with some pretty tough biking terrain, offered a sense of comfort. In the constant flow of water and the semi methodical placement of towns we could rest assure that we might end up high or dry, but not both. Once we turned off onto HWY 46 out of Cambria there was an almost instant feeling of vastness that the interior owns in such a different way than the ocean. Maybe it is because I do not know the ocean in the same light that the sailor type might but it is also because I have spent just enough time in the middle of nowhere to be reminded of the feeling.

That first night, perched underneath a tree high on the hillside that seemed to be the apex of the coastal range, we could still make out the ceaseless horizon of the ocean. We knew that it would be quite sometime before we would run into sister Atlantic but after several days of getting into shape on the winding and windy cliffs we were all just fine with that.

Smokestacks, Seals, and Ships, oh my!

2009-11-03T15:20:00.003-05:00

Moss Landing, CA

We had seen these two smokestacks coming for miles and as we rode further and further into their reality my eyes could not stop scanning the landscape for something to contrast them. Including the ominous in the landscape became a serious bone for me to chew on during the countless hours spent thinking while on the bike. I did not want the documentation of this trip to be about an America made up merely of contradictions and environmental eyesores. I did not however want to pass up the moment when seals and smokestacks got to share the same frame...

Homes from a Homeless Lens

2009-11-02T17:31:00.003-05:00

HWY 1, California

So I am not positive where my interest in the domesticscape originated from. Perhaps it arose due to my itinerant existence as of late or maybe it comes from a general fondness of architecture and its place within the land. Either way, I ended up with a wide range of these scenes from all across our country. It is true that some of my favorite experiences during this summer's bicycle ride were when we would roll into a town or development of some sort. It was then when we could relax a bit, cruise a little slower, and peer into the lives of those who inhabited each settlement, asking myself, "How did someone get so lucky as to live right there, with all that amazingness..." or similarly, "Why the hell would anyone ever chose to live there, don't they know what else is out there..."

But what do I know? I am still homeless and sometimes anyplace is better than nowhere.

Alright, so this is the deal...

2009-10-31T19:49:00.005-04:00

3 bicycles, 2 fellas, one sweet lady, 3,750 miles, bunch o flats, 12 states, 11 weeks, 10 bucks to my name for most of the trip, 3 back wheels for Rush, 2 for me, one for Elspeth, a shitload of rice and beans, and more peanut butter and banana sandwiches than I can ever bear to think about-ever...

Twas the night before the bike trip...

2009-10-30T18:13:00.005-04:00

Oakland, CA

The day before we were dropped off on the South Side of San Francisco to begin our pedal trip, Rush and I ran around Oakland taking pictures of the concrete landscape. It was not the last of the grey jungle we would see but for sure the biggest display until we would reach the never ending network of Las Vegas. Oh, and right after hanging out under the overpass we ran into a buddy of mine I had known from Charleston, the same town we were about to spend the next three months venturing to, just setting the tone for the ridiculous irony that this big ole country is so good at serving up.

View from Studio Window

2009-10-28T12:32:00.003-04:00

Ucross, Wyoming

I thought that I would add a splash off color and a little context to the studio where I will be scanning, editing, and posting pictures throughout the fall. This is how it all looked yesterday afternoon anyway. Later on today it appears as if this same landscape will be covered with 4 inches of snow. As long as I can keep my eyes off of the shifting light and changing weather I just might get a lot done this fall.

Starting from the Beginning

2009-10-27T00:03:00.003-04:00

Arizona

Well, I have arrived... in Wyoming that is. Which means that I will now have ample time to sort through the summer past. These two pictures were made while still traveling by way of a luxurious and climate controlled motorized vehicle. We were on our way to the Bay Area in California when we took some casual detours. One to the Grand Canyon of course and the second to a Native Americanized gas station equipped with fry bread and the necessary teepee with bars over the door.

On the Road

2009-10-14T23:54:00.006-04:00

HWY 46 in California, east bound

Finally, a picture from the bicycle trip... !

This barn looks as if it were lonely. And then I remembered having to wait for the right time when I could release the shutter in between the frequent semi passing. Still though, Hwy 46 could feel rather desolate at times, especially when Rush or Elspeth or I had peddled out of site of each other.

One more for the road from the land of Acadiana

2009-10-11T14:02:00.006-04:00

Arnaudville, LA

Well it seems as if my time on the bayou is bout' run out for now. I've been down in Louisiana, north of Lafayette, for 2 1/2 weeks and tomorrow lady Elspeth and I will begin the journey to the vast terrain of Northern Wyoming. In stark contrast from here it will be cold and dry and though my allergies will be thanking me kindly it will not be easy to leave this area rich in culture, color, and charm.

Time in Southern Louisiana has been filled with bike rides underneath the sleepy live oaks, walks through the Marigny in New Orleans, and some Gulf Coast crabbing followed by the traditional crab boiling. Also of accompaniment were the gators, the Brahman cattle with their egret counterparts, cardinals, blue jays, rosette spoonbills, gulls, hummingbirds, and of course the mosquitoes. It is also here, in my girlfriend's parent's attic, where I have begun to scan the first of the pictures from this summer's bike ride. I have seen just enough to make me terribly excited for Wyoming where I will have 7 uninterrupted weeks to play with a binder full of Kodak...

This final (for now) set of pictures from Arnaudville is just down the road from where I have been staying. I took these pictures last spring on my first pilgrimage here, not knowing if and when I might ever be back. I am glad to have had a chance to spend more time listening to the accordian and hearing the rain storms and feel good to have one more place in the country that feels like home.

Ole' Grand Coteau

2009-10-01T17:45:00.004-04:00

Grand Coteau, Louisiana

This town has more fantastic scenery per acre than most places I have been. What the b&w film does not capture here is that the barn in the distance is of the most wonderful shade of faded yellow. Close your eyes and imagine...

En Route to Houma

2009-09-28T16:00:00.004-04:00

These images were taken outside of Houma, Louisiana during the Spring time earlier this year.

My roommate in New Orleans at the time and one third of this summer's bicycle ride, Rush the 21 year old college drop out Jagoe, and I were travelin' there daily for a Craig's List labor job. An hour and fifteen minute commute, we were leaving the still sleeping city at around 5:30 in the morning trying our best not to spill the Cafe Du Monde on our laps as we traversed the bumpiest streets ever formed. At times it seemed worth it though as we got to watch the sun rise ore the swamps and see the first ripples form on the inlets below.

Upon arrival in Houma we geared up in our full body Tyvec suits, strapped on our respirators and tool belts, and waddled into a new government housing unit each day for eight hours of sheet rock removal. We were trying to combat what was never addressed 3 and 1/2 years earlier, mold damage from hurricane flooding. The work was awful but the pay was good and the classic experience even better. Rush and I were working with people who had traveled from all over and some who had grown up just down the road, all of us looking for something that would keep us on "this" side of the unemployment line. The most classic example of migrant workers was a pair of young men in their mid twenties who had made the trek all the way from the region surrounding Detroit, MI. On the way down they had smoked about two packs of cheap cigarettes apiece that they kept in gallon sized ziploc bags after they rolled them from the bulk loose tobacco. They were pitching tents at the nearby campground, working by day and chasing armadillos by night. Neither of them was a particularly good worker but they were doing what they needed to get by.

The landscape that lined our drive solidified the range of ironies we encountered in our Houma experience, the opportunity and hope present in this troubled riddle. Rush and I were tired by the end of each day but made the commute back to New Orleans feeling lucky to have a place to call our own.

Tiger Truck Stop

2009-09-24T14:15:00.005-04:00

Grosse Tete, LA

I am not sure if much needs to be said for this truck stop/gas station/restaurant outside of Baton Rouge other than that Louisiana State University is located in the capital city and that their mascot means a great deal to them. They have had live tigers in captivity at the gas station for the past 13 years- the prize white tiger is now preserved above the restaurant salad bar. Perhaps their pride in the Bayou Bengals has helped the college football team win the BCS title twice in five years...

A Lost Cause?

2009-09-23T16:27:00.005-04:00

A Beached Barrel

2009-09-08T01:20:00.005-04:00

Rutherford Beach, Louisiana

Catholic Country

2009-09-04T15:58:00.006-04:00

Grand Coteau and New Orleans, Louisiana

Winter 08-09

2009-09-03T00:10:00.006-04:00

Western North Carolina

Sparta, TN

Greensboro, AL

Akron, AL

The Time Has Come

2009-09-02T23:44:00.002-04:00

A brief beginning with a long hiatus and I am now eager to begin posting pictures again. Since finishing the Core Fellowship at the Penland School of Crafts I seem to have become somewhat of a rambler. I have had the opportunity to travel a lot, working here and there, just enough it seems, to support the photographs I have been so excited to make. Most recently I took an 11 week bicycle ride across the country with two dear people. We are all in different places at the moment, attempting to assimilate back into the next step of who knows what and I am feeling quite nostalgic for all that I have been able to see this year.

I find myself, at the moment, back in Western North Carolina processing the 73 rolls of film that have been taken over the past three months and it is like christmas in the summer time. I am eager to share the images that I hope capture some of the spirit of our country. I thought however, that I needed to start by posting some photographs that led up to the summer's ride. These first few pictures mark the beginning of my exodus from Penland in February and the trek to Tennessee followed by a pilgrimage through Hale County Alabama en route to New Orleans.

In December of 2010 I will have a show of the photographs from this year's rambles at Rebus Works in Raleigh, NC. It will no doubt prove a challenge to edit the work so any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks and enjoy....

Our Domestic Landscape

2008-12-10T21:29:00.002-05:00

Start...

2008-10-16T21:26:00.001-04:00

This image is from a recent trip to the pacific ocean that I was fortunate to take. To our left -the local hardware store, to our right - Haystack rock and the Oregon coast, beer drinkin fishermen just below with stars and bars straight ahead baby...

2008-10-15T22:37:00.000-04:00

So here we begin...

aaahh, the internet. here you are - so big and so anonymous. i feel secluded and naked at once.

ok, so i take pictures of things and have for more than a few years by now. as i become further enamored with the role a camera takes in my life i realize that these images i make just keep piling up. where shall they all go...? my folks have more stuff than they know what to do with and my vision is not as benign as the athletes i used to draw in school.

thanks for your time invisible ones