Such Great Heights...

"No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings." 

- William Blake

Left: Detail from the Lament of Icarus by Herbert James Draper.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...

The new teaser trailer for the latest installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise has just been released!  I'm a big fan of the J.K. Rowling books and have enjoyed the movies so far.  CLICK HERE for a link to the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Birds of a Feather...

"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds."

- Aesop

Left:  Detail of the Egyptian goddess Ma'at from a mural from the tomb of Nefertiti in the Valley of the Kings.

Balance...

"What I dream of is 

an art of balance." 

- Henri Matisse

Left: Detail from "Woman with a Balance" by Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer.

Go...

"The wisest men follow their own direction."

-Euripides

Left:  Detail from one of the scenes from Genesis depicted by Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Sistine Chapel. 

New Anne Choi Bead...

Besides unpacking, I've come into the nasty dilemma of trying to sort out my mail situation.  I had almost given up hope and thought this new cast silver Anne Choi bead was lost.  Luckily I found it!  I stole this picture of it, her most recent artistic endeavor, off her website. Isn't it great!?  I love Anne Choi and her creations and I love owls - simply a great combination!

Beauty...

"There is no excellent 

beauty that hath not some 

strangeness 

in the proportion."

- Sir Francis Bacon

Left:  Portrait of a Lady done 

around 1460 by Flemish painter, 

Rogier Van Der Weyden. 

Vision...

"The real voyage 

of discovery consists not in seeking new 

landscapes but in 

having new eyes." 

- Marcel Proust

Left: Detail of one of my favorite portraits of Saint Lucy from the Griffoni polyptych altarpiece by 

Francesco del Cossa.

So Long, Sophia...

I just found out that actress Estelle Getty of The Golden Girls just passed on.  I can't deny that I'm a little saddened by this news.  Although not something I'd normally enjoy (or at least admit to), one of my secret indulgences has been watching this surprisingly witty and charming sitcom.  The feisty character Sophia endures as my favorite.  We'll miss you!

The Time It Takes...

I wrote earlier about transitions and about honoring my spirit.  The ball is rolling.  It may be rolling slowly, but at least it is rolling.  Right now I am focusing a lot of attention on streamlining my day job so that I can pursue my artistic endeavors more freely.  It hasn't been easy.  Many of the plans being made are contingent on others and will require patience on my end.  But I am hopeful.

While Waiting for the Train...

After I got out of work, I headed for the train station.  I usually walk up to Union Square where I can catch the express train and hopefully shorten my trip a little.  It was a hot and muggy night.  

Local train, after local train passed by.  I stood waiting for the express.  Sweat dripped down my face.  Drowning out the world, I had my iPod plugged in and was listening to Ani Difranco.  I wasn't really paying attention to anything but the task at hand - getting home.  

All of a sudden there was a tapping on my arm.  Needless to say, I jumped nearly two feet off the ground.  Before me were two strangers I had spotted a little down the platform.  I instantly assumed that the older of the two would ask me for directions.  (People are seemingly drawn to me like that and will often ask me for directions, or if I'm in a store, they will ask for where things are.)  She smiled and said, "Are you Andrew Thornton?"

Hearing your name out of context is a little startling.  It's kind of like getting a letter from the IRS.  Before you open it, there's always a little sense of panic.  At least for me there is.  I always try to scroll through my memory of what I did wrong.  In this particular case, in the moments that it took me to respond, I flipped through my memory to try and match up these two ladies' faces.  I came up blank and said, "Yes, that's me.  Who are you?"

Apparently these lovely strangers were Carol and Mary, a mother and daughter visiting New York on vacation.  Both of them are avid beaders and recognized me from Stringing Magazine and from my blog.  I don't really think of myself as remarkably memorable.  I just make my work and try to make it through the day mostly.  So, when they said that they knew about me and my family, I was a little taken aback.  I was even more stunned when Carol showed me her necklace, which was loosely based on a design I created called Golden Secret.  What an incredible surprise!

Westmoreland Milk Glass Owl...

One of the biggest challenges in the move has been unpacking my extensive owl collection.  As soon as I think I'm on the verge of finishing, I find another owl friend hidden away.  The job isn't made any easier by me continually adding to the collection.  For instance, I picked up this little gem at an antique store in Port Jervis last weekend.  It's a Westmoreland Milk Glass Owl "toothpick-holder" and I love it!  

Smoke From Distant Fires...

My good friend, Jen Tong, is participating in a group show in LA at Lab 101 Gallery titled, "Smoke From Distant Fires."  Her work will be shown with pieces by Faryn Davis and Elesavet Lawson.  The show opens tomorrow, Saturday July 12th at 2PM with the Artist's Reception from 6PM to 10PM.  If you're out in those parts, you should definitely check it out!

The Ride Home...

Today was another long day.  It seems as though I've been having a lot of those lately.  It doesn't help that I haven't been able to sleep well.  I've got too much work to do and too much on my mind to really be able to relax enough to sleep well at night.

Even though I haven't been able to sleep well in bed, I do have a nasty habit of falling asleep while standing up.  This has gotten me into some trouble in the past.  For instance, I fell asleep standing up next to the subway tracks and fell in.  Luckily I got out in time and didn't break my teeth or any bones.  I've also fallen asleep in the shower, which is quite painful when your hip connects with the tiling.  Ouch!

Tonight on my way home, I caught a very busy train.  Due to delays or service work on the tracks, there were fewer trains.  Which meant that the ones that were running were just packed!  When it gets that crazy, I close my eyes and pretend as though I'm not there.  The gentle rocking of the train and the warmth of so many people crowded in one space made my eyelids droop with tiredness.  If my eyes weren't already closed, I might have closed them again!

I kept dosing off and almost falling over, which led me to the bump into people.  It wasn't on purpose.  It just kept happening.  I kept bumping into this little Asian lady.  After the fifth time, I profusely apologized.  She looked at me and said, "It's okay.  I'm tired too."

Honoring One's Spirit...

I think somewhere along the trip, perhaps while I was walking in the woods by myself, a thought occurred to me.  At first I wanted to reject it and not let it enter my thoughts.  But slowly, step by step, the realization began to sink in and I could not deny the Truth of this thought.

What might that thought be?  Well, the thought that crossed my mind was that I was not honoring my spirit.  Somehow I've gotten caught up in the game of keeping up, stuck in survival mode with the simple goal of keeping afloat and making ends meet.  I haven't been able to spend as much time focusing on my art or of the making of things.  My happiness, I think goes hand in hand with me creating things.  I am an artist and that's just what we do.  We make things.  Without this, much of the zeal of life is syphoned away.

In many ways, I am very happy.  I am very fortunate to have friends, family and people that genuinely love me as I love them.  But I feel as though much of my energy and focus is being redirected.  I am not honoring my spirit and this is causing me not to appreciate what I am blessed to have.

It feels as though I've entered myself in a race that simply can't end well.  My trip reminded of what it was like not to be exhausted or stressed out.  For a little while, that old inner peace came back.  It invited me remember what is important and to fight for it.

What this will mean in practical terms is hard to say.  I haven't yet come to a full decision about anything.  Though I think some big changes are on the horizon that will allow me to honor my spirit the way that it needs to be.

At the Lake House...

Laurence, a friend and collector of my artwork, invited a friend and I to go up to his log cabin on a lake to celebrate the Fourth of July.  It is located just outside of Port Jervis in the Catskill mountains.  For various holiday weekends throughout the summer, Laurence invites all sorts of artists, writers, and non-profit-do-gooders to meet and mingle.  It is definitely a good time.  I had so much fun and spent a lot of time resting and relaxing, making new friends and catching up with old ones, and participating in all kinds of activities like canoeing, throwing horseshoes, bowling, playing badminton and board games, swimming, and hiking.  CLICK HERE to go to my Flickr account and see more pictures.

I got back from the Lake House last night.  I would have posted then, but I was just so tired and had much work to catch up on after having been away for a few days.

 

While we were there, we discovered a strange jelly sac in the shallows of the water.  Left:  A picture of the unidentifiable object in the water.  Alas, we could not identify what exactly it was.  However, we started to create all manner of stories about how the egg sacs were actually made and what they contained.  We started off thinking that it might be fish or frog mass of eggs, but couldn't find anything to back that claim up.  So, instead, we invented further stories about Water Babies.  Right:  Cover of an edition of The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley.

Aftermath...

It was quite a lot of work moving everything.  I am now in the process of unpacking and it is quite a daunting task.  At the end, I rushed to pack everything away and ended up throwing everything into boxes.  I will be sorting and organizing for weeks!  I also discovered that some of the furniture is a little too big for the proportions of the space.  I'll have to think of something before I unpack anymore.

Needless to say, the past few nights have been late ones.  After I get home from work, I work on the space, slowly chipping away.

I think it's time for a little break. 

That's why a friend and I are going out to a friend of mine's lake house in the Catskills for the long holiday weekend.  I won't have the internet or much cell phone service, so I'll be out of the loop for a little bit.  But hopefully I will return refreshed and ready to tackle the big projects at hand. 

Heather Wynn on Fusion Beads...

I am so proud of my friend Heather Wynn!  Her talents are now featured on FusionBeads.com!  CLICK HERE to see her new selection of hand-stamped silver pendants and polymer delights.  Heather Wynn is one of my favorite bead artists and jewelry designers and Fusion Beads is one of my favorite online bead stores.  Togther, combined, great things are bound to arise!   

Moving Blues...

So, I am in the thick of moving. Packing more boxes and trying to make arrangements with moving vans - this has been my existence for the past couple of days. As counterproductive as it seems, I am easily distracted by the window. The view from my apartment, which for all intensive purposes is not anything extraordinary or spectacular, is capturing my attention. It captures my attention more than I would like. For I am moving and sitting at the window, staring out on the view is not productive. I know this. However, I feel as though I am saying goodbye to a friend and we have to spend time together before I depart.

I have sat at this window for two years, noting the changes of the seasons and the observing the skyline and the neighborhood below.

It is different than when Sheila and I first moved here. The old tree in the backyard is long dead and much of it came down in the storm last week. Where will the birds perch and sing their daily song now? Much of the skyline has been altered completely by the building of new condos. Our building, for a time, was the tallest around. Another neighbor building has fallen. Another new condo has sprouted up in its place. Our building now is a dwarf amongst giants. Will it be next?

The church service spoken exclusively in Spanish that drew hundreds of parishioners every Monday night held in our neighbor's backyard no longer meets. It is quiet now except for the shrill car alarms going off every time a vehicle passes or some neighborhood kid gets too close. They are angry now. They don't sit out on the stoop anymore laughing and saying hello to the people who pass, helping people with their groceries. Do they sense that they are slowly being edged out?

I used to pass an empty lot that used to store shipping containers, listening to the birds and seeing the morning glory vines blossom. I would watch the house sparrows throwing themselves down in the dust and rolling about, leaving little circles where their bodies were. It has been razed to the ground. Plywood sheeting has gone up along the fence to conceal their digging. For what? No one knows. Perhaps the foundations of another condo.

The view from the window is different now. I am different now. It is strange to leave a place that for a time has been so much about my everyday story. It is strange to not call a place home anymore.

Polymer Tour De Force...

In Milwaukee, I was tipped off that the wonderful Pam Wynn was starting her own Etsy site!  It's great!  I am so proud of her.  If you were thinking, "Hey!?!?  Where do I know that name from?"  Well, you might have seen it in several different magazines and books or are familiar with her sweet daughter, Heather Wynn.  Together they create their own polymer tour de force!  CLICK HERE to visit Pam's Etsy Site.

Juno: Not the City in Alaska...

Another of the films on my list of Oscar-movies-to-see list is a charming movie called, Juno.  All throughout the movie, I kept thinking, "How clever!"  It was definitely a quirky film, loaded with fast-paced colloquialisms, a wicked sense of dark humor, and studded with seemingly genuine emotion.  Not to mention that the indie-folk rock soundtrack fit like a glove!  I totally recommend it. 

New Discovery...

In 2001, the Taliban destroyed two statues of Buddha in Bamiyan.  Behind the statues were caves that contained murals, many of which were damaged in the attack, exposed to the elements, very old and in much need of restoration.  Due to the publicity of the attack, researchers and restorationists moved in on the caves and made an interesting discovery.  I distinctly remember an art history class that firmly attested that oil painting was "invented" in Europe during the "Renaissance."  What researchers and scientists found was that these caves were home to even older specimens of oil painting.  The paintings that utilized poppy and walnut oils (among other things) pre-date the European paintings by a couple of hundred years.  I think this is yet another example of how much credit for innovation and invention is often given exclusively to Western origins until hard scientific facts change that perspective and open the lens to include other "non-Western" peoples.

La Vie En Rose...

I've been quite behind in my movie watching lately.  For instance, usually I try to make a point of watching all the movies nominated for the Oscars.  Alas, life has been all consuming.  However, I've stolen a few hours (probably ones I could have spent catching up on rest) and watched La Vie En Rose.  The movie is based on the life of Edith Piaf, The Little Sparrow.  I found it heartbreaking and soulful - a movie capturing the aching trials of a tragic and talented performer.  This movie is beautiful.

It reminded me of a summer spent in the studios, sitting around a formica table laden with oranges and wine bottles.  The faint smell of clove cigarettes and Nag Champa wafted around, dancing in the air with each turn of the oscillating electric fan.  My hands were smudged with charcoal and flecked with paint.  In the background, we played Edith Piaf on repeat.  It was the only album we could all agree upon.  The movie brought back many memories.

Below is a YouTube clip of the actual Edith Piaf performing the song the movie was named after, La Vie En Rose:

Train Reading...

The latest book I finished reading on the train was Once Upon A Time In The North by Philip Pullman.  I am glad that he's making installments to the world(s) that he originally created in the His Dark Materials Trilogy.  This novelette focuses on the character Lee Scoresby and how he originally met the armored polar bear Iorek Byrnison.  Just like Lyra's Oxford, it was a perfect little tidbit to tide me over for his forthcoming book, The Book of Dust.

Gifts from Paradise...

Being between two places, I've found it hard to keep on top of my mail.  So, it was quite a nice surprise to see a package all the way from Hawii from my talented friend, Candice Wakumoto.  She sent me a little care package from paradise.  In it, she sent these great Japanese chocolates, some haupia coconut pudding, and a set of miniature food!  To the left is a picture of my tiny tropical feast!  I love it!

Stringing Magazine: Summer 2008...

I just saw the latest issue of Stringing Magazine. It's awesome! The magazine is one of my favorites and not just because I'm one of the contributors. (You can see two of my necklace designs, Trocadero and Sakura in the latest issue.) I love the magazine because is expertly edited and selectively curated and because it is the quintessential designer's guide to jewelry today. That may sound like rather grandiose praise, but it is an excellent cross-section of artisans and jewelry designers from across the globe and what they're making. I know that whenever I pick up a copy, I'm instantly inspired and my fingers itch to start stringing.

Moving...

I forgot what torture it is to move. Even when it isn't rushed like many of my recent moves have been, it still is tedious and laborious. Not very fun when you're already tired from working all day. I am hoping to get done with a big chunk of it tonight and tomorrow morning so that I can go to the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island tomorrow afternoon. I haven't been out to the beach yet this season and I desperately need some rest and relaxation.

Thank You...

I just wanted to thank everyone who voted in the Bead Star competition.  It was truly an honor to be selected as one of the finalists and participate with so many talented designers.  I believe it will take some time for them to come up with the results.  Wish me luck!

I haven't been blogging very much lately.  Instead I've been spending a lot of energy on getting back in touch with friends and family.  The progress has been slow in coming, but I think well worth it.

Thanks again to everyone who voted!

VOTE FOR ME...

So a few of my designs are finalists for a beading competition called, Bead Star.  It's presented by Interweave Press and Beading Daily.  Vote for me!  Pick my designs!  Join Beading Daily and vote!  Here are my designs, their numbers, and the categories you can find them in.  CLICK HERE to vote!

Stones #20

Crystals #2

Glass #19

Under $25 #2

Heather Wynn's Blog...

Oh, what wonderful news!  Heather Wynn has started her very own blog.  It's great!  I know a good many people who've been waiting for this for a long while.  I can't wait to keep up with my good friend through the blogsphere.  CLICK HERE to visit her new blog!