More than Ants

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Found this on Thriving Too, a blog that I have linked to on my blog (at the very bottom of the page). Visit the list if you haven't yet. There are some cool sites found there.

A Dollar Bill and so much more

I come from brothers, I am a brother, and I am father to brothers. When my father died in 1963, my Uncle took a dollar bill from his brother's wallet and kept it. When my Uncle died a few years back it came to me. I often wondered why my Uncle did that. I did not get a chance to ask him, but I would guess it was a simple attempt to hold onto something from his beloved brother. What would have happened had my Uncle invested that dollar, say in stocks? I guess that was not the point. There are more valuable things that pass between family members. That Uncle who took the dollar taught me a more valuable lesson about sticking by family. I watched and learned as the decades rolled by and he cared for my grandparents through thick and thin. My brother and I had a long talk this morning about the recession and the many ways it is eating at our lives. My sons text message each other and have their cell numbers memorized. There are so many ways to share a name.

Rainy Day with Charlie

I had come to the mountains to camp and ski with my son's youth group. The rain and cold had kept us from hiking in the woods so we decided to urban hike along King Street in downtown Boone, North Carolina. After picking up some dark chocolate at Mast General Store we headed for the Turchin Arts Center. In an upstairs gallery I discovered Charlie Brouwer's installation "Hope Remains Part II" The big tree in the middle filled the room with a strong presence (the artist's? ) but it was the 30 monochrom drawing /paintings that captured my attention. Each image was uniquely designed and carried a layer of meanings; a working man figure, trees, leaf outlines, and words. Each work was mounted to the wall with simple white tabs and thumbtacks. I liked this approach and will borrow it for my own paper works. Each picture seemed at first hastily drawn but on closer examination betrayed a master's eye. The paper seemed to stretch and bend internally, pushing itself off the wall at times- giving it another layer of life. Brouwer has lived long enough to find heros like Joseph Beuys who echo his own love of nature and mankind. I enjoyed my travels around the room looking at each drawing. I recognizing many leaf shapes and found from time to time the working man figure. Although the words at time seemed too close to greeting card quotes, I found the artist's honest sharing and depth of hinted at wisdom refreshing. Not a bad substitute for a real walk in the woods. Thanks Charles.

PG animation shows plight of Gaza

This animation speaks the truth for many Gaza citizens. Though it goes light on the effects of violence, it creates a memorable image of what it must be like to live in Gaza today. BTW, this was made by an Israeli illustrator. Read more here.