Little Discoveries

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We’ve had a stretch of unusually dry, balmy days, forcing the ‘flowering quince’ (Chaenomelles Japonica) to bloom early. As you may have noticed, our land was planted with many exotic species by the former owners, and there is always something in bloom, and usually something to pick and eat. I walk the grounds when I take a break from the studio and  feel as if I’m getting to know the people who settled this land as I make these Little Discoveries. I’ll continue to document flora and fauna throughout the coming year.

Interview With Jason Takeuchi-Krist

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I’m beginning to feature an ongoing series of interviews and studio visits with other makers/artisans/crafters. If you would like to introduce yourself and your work to a growing Deep Craft network, I invite you to visit the PARTICIPATE page of this site. Meanwhile, allow me to introduce you to Jason Takeuchi-Krist, blacksmith.

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What Makes a Good Day?

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I saw this Purple Shore Crab yesterday (Hemigrapsus nudus) while I was Having A Good Day. Our projects overwhelm at times and it can be challenging to keep the perspective on their origins and intentions, the contour of individual days lost in a whir of activity. The conceptual underpinnings of my work and collaborations with Ene have their roots in meandering walks and talks, and are the byproduct of a familiar default mode for us all, What Makes a Good Day?

As we stress about money and gophers, I’m finding it increasingly necessary (and productive) to reverse engineer the Good Day outside of the scope of projects. Yesterday was a lovely example. After breakfast with the family, I joined Richard and Pierre for a few hours of ‘chainsaw yoga’. We loaded a couple of cords of tan-oak into the dumptruck, including two 10′ lengths of figured, clear-grained chestnut, which I will season and make into furniture.  After smoothies back at home, Ene, Aili and I headed to the beach for the afternoon. It was sunny and warm for January, and I took a three mile run, changed into my wetsuit and braved the chilly sea (50 degrees?) for some body surfing on a glassy left hand break. Back home, Aili and I made a scrumptious dinner of salmon burgers with homemade tartar sauce (Aili’s speciality), fresh noodles (with homemade pasta leftover from our recent pirogi fest), and collard greens from the garden with lots of garlic. We were famished.

Rural Flaneur

 

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I’m becoming a rural flaneur. Between projects I roam around meadows and forests, between the river and the beach, noticing things and making connections, looking for trends. The challenge will be to align my projects with these seasonal wanderings, to align my inner state with my surroundings, which I see as an ideal state of comfort. Somehow this is easier in an urban environment, more passive a process. Culture is oddly more familiar than nature, which I tend to approach the same as I would a new neighborhood or friendship. I’m treating nature like culture. Spending time this way in a ‘natural’ environment is a lot like learning a new language or living in a foreign city.

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The Pacific madrone has new growth. (Arbutus menziesii)

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Our camellia bushes are beginning to blossom. (Camellia cultivar)

Holly Berry

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The new year brought the early return of the robins (Erithacus rubecula), who swarmed our holly trees and stripped them of berries over the past week. The birds seem to prefer this variegated variety, which I have not yet been able to identify. ivermectin-pyrantel- generic to heartgard plus 12 months ivomec for cows The berries are very bright red and mildly fragrant, and I’m experimenting with making a dye from the skins of the remaining fruit. to buy ivermectin medicamento securo I’m beginning to chronologically catalog the flora and fauna of our property, and will be making regular posts as the seasons progress.

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Brain Stand

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The sea perch have been running so I spent the incoming tide surf-casting at Doran Beach. I had major strikes at every cast but was unable to land any because I did not have any #6 hooks on hand. ??????? I noticed how fishing seems more poetic when no fish are caught, more of a metaphor for a state of mind. pour-on ivermectin for horses It becomes about the posture of standing and waiting, staring out to sea in a shifting contrapposto as the sands shift under foot with every retreating wave. My brain works well in this state, when my body feels like a Brain Stand. buy ivermectin nz ???? ?????? ??????? ????????? ???? 2022

My path to woodworking roughly follows this trajectory: fishing: baseball: architecture: rock and roll: woodworking. Fishing and baseball require standing and waiting in gestures that help me feel connection to the past. My father taught me about fishing and playing baseball as soon as I could walk, and I’ve always enjoyed the rituals attending both more than actually catching fish or ‘winning’. Architecture seemed to involve a lot of sitting so was lost on me. Rock and Roll required a kind of anxious standing and caused me neck pain. At its best, woodworking resembles fishing and baseball in both gesture and mental state, with the added benefit of producing predictable outcomes. how much ivermectin for chickens I look forward to fishing more while the perch are running and I ponder upcoming projects in the shop. ??? ????

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