Friday, December 28, 2012

Found Art and Annual Report

Art Ranger's yearly digestive bisquits, here they come.  What the Happy newyears time slot conjures up is that to be human and present in today's world, we mark time in strange ways, some people wearing tiny hats with tight elastic strings.  But somehow we must attempt to clear the decks. Year end Clearance is to consider the inventory and deficits, inside and out.
Wrestled from Restless thoughts left on Postit Notes..
To live here in america, (in various formats and platforms) we keep on watching the badgood tv movie of ourselves unfold. We sift through the clutter and try to make sense of (at least ) our own lives. We try to know where to put everything old, new, and vastly inbetween.  In our relationships, our identities, our social interweavings, our communities, our country.

Last week it caught her eye, an article with this headline:  "U.S. Mint testing new metals to make coins cheaper:  http://www.mercedsunstar.com. Come to find out, it costs more than two cents to make a penny and more than 11 cents to produce and distribute a nickel. "The quandary is how to make coins more cheaply without sparing our change's quality and durability, or altering its size and appearance." There is a 400 page report describing two years of trial and error recipes, concluding that none of them met the ideal.
"nonsense dies" used to practice. ie Martha Washington wearing that hat
This "quandary" seems a fitting metaphor for our so called "fiscal cliff" impasse/ crevasse/ morass.  Which is where people are trying to get more of something for less, and where people are not taking into account the true costs of our actions. In chemistry, metals boil down to their essential elements. We are using more and more and more of things that are actually finite.  Certainly by now a penny physically costs more to make than the concept of its "worth".  The true cost of a penny, if we took stock of the huge environmental impact of metals mining on the planet, would amount to so much more than 2 cents. We are (so like) subsidizing even our money in this country like we do the corn.  The "Fed" is feeding it. While we the people are, of course hemoraging it.

Where the workingest ones are staggering with the heavy-lourdes-double-mucho-pesado weight of it all (and often simultaneously consuming vast amounts of cheap high fructose corn-fed diets with their own costs down the road).
While the latest exorbitant financial sponge creature morphs; the jowly hedge fund manager or credit default obfuscation swap debt suckers uppers of america still run the show (insider trading duh) sitting on fancy desk chairs with high blood pressurized mouse clicks. They are betting and hedging while lobbying and lining and stacking their pockets courtesy of their own private banking system.  All policies still in place for their own self- perpetuation, certainly not for true costs, true value or any greater good.

Yep, they got us a fiscal cliff allright, a chilly winter one with a deja vu of dangerously bad playground manners.  That is Art Ranger's 2 cents.  Well, she's ranting again! Now stop that.  Phew!
 Insert soothing interlude with cucumber slices over eyelids
As a form of radical activity, in honor of our image-celebrating tradition, we are now going to have a year-end collection of some faves from our correspondents during the 2012 earth rotation, blogging season:
from Michelle Aranda's Nevada City series:  http://artranger.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html
 This one from Richard Piscuscas
from Los Angeles
who also brought us this:
 
 And two from Bonnie Hotz practicing her craft outside Salinas
Who ya gonna call? (from down south somewhere)
And so have yourselves a sweet new year while simply acknowledging what you are looking at:
Gull head, from Jim Lindenthal in Pacific Grove

The Art Ranger will be very glad, as usual, to receive your images and thoughts about daily existence in 2013.  Afterall, it's going to be an odd year so please don't hold back :)  Send love to FAF@homelandinspiration.org

Friday, December 21, 2012

Found Art Friday 107, bare root pain


Dear Ones,
Moments of silence could never be big enough for the sad horrific America-gone-toxic event of last week. Going to sleep with this perversely chilling episode in our minds, the funeral bells of six year old children and their teachers.  What's the world coming to?  Despite many of our good intentions.  
NOW cut it out we're GONNA TRY AND SHIFT GEARS unlike the shiny seamless botoxical newsmans ...
And carry on with our story of images:
Because of what day is near, we have collected some moments in commerce:
 #1
 Parked Her Car for Lunch:  "If you say so" said she to the window.  It's not looking too mosaic-like quite yet.
#2  The new Mascot for FEDEX.  Okay, really?  Your package arrives courtesy of a frog with a mushroom chef hat?  Impulse buy area for Alice in Wonderland?  Suddenly, we don't feel like we're at a Fedex Kinkos store, but maybe the Whackamole Booth at the county fair after having eaten something fried with powdered sugar on it. 
#3)  Moment of profound non-art.  Amount of packaging used to send the Art Ranger two pair of socks.  Gosh!
# 4,  Proud moment in world of commerce.  A hand-made shopping bag made by art store employees 
  http://searleartandframing.com
******

Now we shift themes again: BLESSED BE THE SOLSTICE - a few things just are, no matter what we humans are doing on the surface.

Frost Painting 1

And even on the day of the year with the least amount of day, Hidey our 4 yr. old chicken, aims to lay a magic egg.

Big Useful Bird doing her job
And a most lovely shade of red


Wishing you well over your holidays and beyond .... when in doubt, take a little picture. Even then, you can't be sure.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Found Art Friday 106

Dear Citizens of the Blogoshpere,
Have you had a disgustingly busy day? Here are the findings that we almost forgot to share due to the unrelaxing time of year.  Alas ......
"Sea creature needs a break" witnessed by Normi Burke and her dog, Lucky.  

This made Art Ranger pine for a repeek of an offering from 2010: 
"Park Bench Mickey", all the way from Caracas, Venezuela courtesy of Gary Ghirardi
That same day, she is reminded of a Salinas classic
Just to keep paying homage to stuffed things and give a new twist and optimistic squeeze to the Holiday spirit, we had to commit the radical act of stopping the car to celebrate motel phonebooth pride.
I hope they are going to say "I love you" a lot in there and send $$. 
Peace out youall, and don't let the neck ache get a grip on you.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Found Art Friday 105

Dear ones,
Today has found it's Friday in the bottom of a cup.
Richard Piscuskas on the job site, "Serpent Found
And even more amazing are the words he said about it:
 This all began as a cup of water in which a 1" chip brush I used for spreading glue on a cabinet had been saved for the next day by total immersion.
On that next day I needed to dump an excess of glue that the brush was holding, so I pressed it against the lip of the cup.
The glue did its dripping down and the serpent dis its slurping up, birthed all on his own,
ready to sip to its morphing content of the hospitable grey water.
Bless those serpents
for they are often thirsty and know not from whence
to satiate that thirst. 
Until they are born
While waiting, not dashing around, Bonnie Hotz witnessed this in Salinas
Ranger's son in passenger seat, early evening
leaving the schoolgrounds

And from friend in the Bay Area, "pseudo street signs"

Well, recently, the algorythms at Google Blogger alerted the Art Ranger that she has used up her amount of free images to be hosted by their service. She now owes them $2.99 a month in order to Maintain the Department of Homeland Inspiration Archives. Plus they see that we haven't put up any advertisements ... Have you been reading about how much energy it takes our cloud to exist?  Anyway, we will probably continue pursuing this small contribution to the images detritus and maybe some day add a book list off to the side. Please send us yours: FAF@homelandinspiration.org




Friday, November 30, 2012

Found Art Friday 104

Dear Blogosports:
Recently, Art Ranger transported herself to the other edge of the country for the occasion of a dear friend's birthday, a reunion from another chapter.  En route, we witnessed this airport eco-crime against the (:) apple:
it's a genetically engineered petro-chemical experience, america is.  
With the heightened and naive attention of a visitor from another planet, the Ranger witnessed new colors, smells and textures as a travel diarist out-of-her-ordinary.
  Here in Tamworth, New Hampshire the people were trying to recover from being a swing state.
We ate homemade apple pieMilk from down the road. The lunch spot was also the hardware store.

Someone years ago in the tiny town had the foresight to create a foundation so that there is a town nurse, over decades saving oodles of healthcare dollars and miles of driving.



Behold the skin of the Pickering, manfolk brought home mirroring the ripple of the river.

Climbing over Rocks that got that way because of this happening for millenia:


Though this blog is not exactly about photography, photography is a scaffolding upon which the whole Homeland Inspiration enterprise and service rests.
In the current take-picture- therefore-I-am generation,
when do you think something
forges or stumbles its way to
being art?
In living amongst images, we aspire to parse out what a "stock photo"
is
not.
Please send us yours:
FAF@homelandinspiration.org




Friday, November 16, 2012

Found Art Friday 103

Dear Ones,
While the Art Ranger was at large last week, The Department of Homeland Inspiration gladly received items in the community mailbox. (Doesn't that sound all down home and unelectronic?)

 Two images from Bonnie Hotz contributing to the series, moments in fencing:
tangled up in blue

 Recently, hundreds of Humboldt squid came mistakenly into the waters of Monterey Bay riding a warm El Nino current.  Jim Lindenthal captured their short-lived squishy orange activities along the shore in Pacific Grove.
Facts about these vivid creatures: they're poised to survive climate change.
They eat 50 to 60 different species of fish, can adapt their size from generation to generation to deal with varying food supplies, and they are able reproduce in huge numbers.  Large females create translucent egg sacks the size of a small car containing 20 to 30 million eggs.
Harbor Seal meal
A Big Bird sighting by Friend in the Bay Area
 And finally from Richard Piscuskas working on location in Ontario, California:
a man who can bring out the expressive capabilities of almost anything.

Between now and then, we hope you enjoy the giving thanks and sharing traditions.
 Can you say wattle?



Friday, November 9, 2012

Admiring the fruit (again)

Since the Art Ranger is "at large" this Friday and not technologically active, she must offer a re-run of a post that got taken offline by accident.  Perhaps you've seen this and already made applesauce:

Today, instead of Found Art Friday we will take time to chew on an exceptional and humble food.

Whereas peach is a short-lived exciting summer guest, and tomato is month-long flavor extravaganza, the in-season  apple is our steady friend. Yes, apple is there for you - with a bit of in-between sustenance.
Cheerful dispositioned apple has that bright crrunch when perfect, yet not too squeaky and green to cut the gums. Both yin and yang In flavor. The lucky tree apple has the "you are the apple of my eye" excitement of saturated color and fall leaf rattles.
 Time in sun stored up as red; with slightest tug, tree relinquishes fruit to palm.  How does anything use color so well?

The regular imperfection of the home grown apple, fine with disparities in size.
The almost scabskin lived-though-change areas.  Even a small ohwhynot worm.
And fruit doesn't fall far from the tree does it?  Yet some will roll with all that gravity.  

Bringing extra bold deer, who take their time staring back at you while snacking, and large-earred hares with soft feet in the night.  Half-eaten decaying colors enrich hues of seasonal ferment.

You have just the right amount of time to think about something during an apple break.  To chew on it while still fresh in your mind. This "fruit of knowledge" can nourish or cleanse the palette, moving us along for the next big or little job with some zing.  Hmmmm, often involving an Apple computer.
  Have you seen any lots of anythings lately, or even a sun torn scarecrow?
Please send to: FAF@homelandinspiration.org

Friday, November 2, 2012

Found Art Friday 102

Dear Blogowaterers,
Now that you've witnessed the Squashed Abandoned ground series, it's probably time to look up in the sky that gives us smallness. Whatever patch to see that it is always changing.  Not too long ago, the Art Ranger expressed admiration for the sculptures used in space travel. Since her inbox was, well not full of community contributions, she is asking you to appreciate UFOs today.
***

Nephi Crop Circle
Googled on UFOs. Really like the shape of the doorway.
And finally, we're hoping and praying that Mitt Romney's hair is finally not enough to gain him the job.
Peace to you and your kin, and please consider sending some surprise images to: FAF@homelandinspiration.org because that is what got this thing to grow to the 100 and tooth  time.
(*** = Reflection of upside down CD on wall  )