Row Houses and another Wee City

Row houses on an old storm window, 28 by 47 inches.

And another wee city of 6 by 8 inches.  Happy New Year everybody!

Junket: Tossed and Found

Have you been to super cool new vintage store, Junket: Tossed and Found? 

Owner, Julie Kearns, is being so kind as to allow me to hang a few windows in her place.  She's open every other weekend.  She has lots of great stuff.  Here's to hoping all stop in and check them out.

Address:  4047 Minnehaha Ave S, Minneapolis-Longfellow

For hours and details visit her site here: http://www.facebook.com/junkettossedandfound

Some of my windows as they hang at Junket:





Leonard Cohen

In the very early 1990's, I worked as a bellman at the Whitney Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.  We were really the only upscale hotel in town at that time, so we got all the musicians, actors, and general celebrities.  My goodness, that was a fun place for a college kid to work.  Anyway, one early afternoon I was summoned to the room of Mr. Leonard Cohen.  He and his then girlfriend, actress Rebecca De Mornay, had laundry that would need to go out.


After arriving at their room, we spent a few minutes chatting as they sorted their clothes.  How cool it was to be there, just the three of us (I wonder if he and Ms. De Mornay remember it as fondly as I do).  Anyway, Leonard Cohen, one of the world's great songwriter/poets called me "man" perhaps 50 times, "hey man,"  "thanks man," "how you doin' man?"  After a few minutes I was handed five identical button-down gray, Dickies style "work" shirts , all monogrammed in script with  Leonard Cohen over the left pocket.

Leonard Cohen, nice guy, genius.   And I love this quote, now in glass on a beat up old window:

Bottles and Flowers

I've had this piece going in my basement, in some way, shape, or form, for approximately one year.  I'd started and stopped it over and over again.  Well it's finally done. And I am happy with the way in which it turned out. 

Wee City

I had wee bits of free time this weekend, just enough to complete a wee city skyline of 12x5 inches.

The Cabooze (and The Joint)

The Reverend Horton Heat was my favorite band (still love um, I'm just too old now for the gymnastics of a mosh pit).  They're from Dallas, Texas and combine, deliciously, the world of punk and rockabilly (now referred to as "Psychobilly").  The Rev introduced me to this entirely knew genre of music one winter night in 1989 or 1990, at Minneapolis music club, The Cabooze.  I know that show took place in the winter because the band arrived late having been slowed by a blizzard as they made way through the Dakotas.  Just a few riffs in and I was hooked, for life.  I have probably seen the Reverend play 30 times, in five cities, and two countries.  And it all started at the Cabooze. 

Similar happenings also occurred at The Cabooze with funk legend, George Clinton, and his 20 or so band members.  Saw them several times, but I saw them first in 1991 at the Cabooze.  I fell in love (so to speak, not literally) with surf music and surf guitar god, Dick Dale, at The Cabooze around the same time, I've seen him many times since.  I was there for Bo Diddley and his legendary square guitar, saw him shred the Cabooze stage in grand fashion.

In related lore, one day a couple years ago, a coworker and I made plans to see Gypsy punk band, Gogol Bordello, play a bar, The Triple Rock Social Club, just down the street from The Cabooze.  When trying to decide when and where to meet up before the show, the conversation between the two of us went something like this:

me:  "Where should we meet up tonight?"
friend:  "Let's just meet at the joint"
me:  "The joint.  You mean the bar, The Joint?"
friend:  "Yeah, yeah, let's meet at the joint, 7 o'clock."
me:  "OK, so we'll meet at The Joint, 7 o'clock, and then we'll just walk down to the show from there?"
friend:  "yeah, sounds good."

Well, in classic Laurel and Hardy fashion, my friend is not originally from Minnesota, and he did not know then that a mere 3 blocks from The Triple Rock Social Club, and adjacent to The Cabooze, sits perhaps Minnesota's proudest biker bar, The Joint.  (See where this is going?)  I sat by myself at The Joint, swilling beer nervously from a can, wondering where my friend was.  He wasn't answering the repeated phone calls I placed, PROBABLY BECAUSE HE COULD NOT HEAR IT RING OVER THE LOUD PUNK BAND PERFORMING WHERE HE WAS, three blocks away at The Triple Rock Social Club (you know, "the joint." "We'll just meet at the joint").  I finished my beer and went home.

Now in glass, it took forever, done on a large old storm window (36"x54").  The Cabooze and The Joint, two Minneapolis classics, now included in The Dive Bar Series.

Cave Point, Wisconsin

I've never been to Cave Point in Door County Wisconsin, but my coworker, Mary, has.  So when Mary was moved from a small cube in the middle of the School of Education to a swanky office with four walls and a door (and in a corner), she requested I help fill a bare wall with some art.  She requested Cave Point.

So, as seen hanging in Mary's office, Cave Point,  Door County,Wisconsin, in glass.

The Spot Bar

The neighborhood "below the hill," the West 7th neighborhood in St. Paul, has, to me, always seemed straight out of Charlie Brown.  Small, charming, older homes, stacked close together with little parks.  And lots of neighborhood bars (also small, charming, and older).  And considering Charles Schultz is from St. Paul, perhaps this is not coincidence?

Anyway, when traveling down the hill on Randolph Avenue, a few blocks beyond 35E on the northeast corner of Victoria Street, you have arrived at The Spot.  And on this spot, since 1885, has stood a bar.  In the beginning called Wittmer's Saloon and Tobacco Shop, now, The Spot.

About 20 years ago, I knew an older retired man who hung out at The Spot.  He drank scotch and worked the New York Times Crossword puzzle at that bar with great regularity.  Probably still does. He once told me that one day while there, and having finished off a few rounds, he put money on the bar to pay his tab.  Only to be informed that his money was not necessary, "drinks are free this week," because the owner had won $5000 in the lottery.  That's The Spot.  One night while I was there with friends the bartender disappeared for about 10 minutes, then returning with a bucket of fried chicken from Roosters up the street.  He sent the bucket around the room allowing patrons to take what we wanted, it was complimentary.  That too is The Spot.  And as of the last time I was there, it's been a couple of years, it was not possible to order a drink that cost more than $3.00. That's just how it is down there.  And I Promise you this, if Charlie Brown had been allowed to age into adulthood, he too would drink at a place called The Spot.

Now complete, next in the Dive Bar Series, and the first trip into St. Paul.   It's The Spot, in glass, 32x19 inch. 

 

Glass-O-Lantern Returns

Glass-O-Lantern made his return to my front window this weekend, there to scare the kids through Halloween.  Yes, I know it's only September, but it feels like Fall, and hey! Menards now has Christmas junk on display in their stores, so I figure I've got the right.

 

Back from Siesta and a Fiery Red Tree

So the LOLA art crawl was another complete success and is now easily my favorite weekend of the whole year.  It did rain some on Saturday, forcing us to scramble into the garage for about an hour and a half, but people still stopped by and we were able to move back into the yard after that.  Sunday's weather was perfect, the day started slow, but by afternoon we were hit with one wave of people after another.  It was fantastic!  Thanks to all for stopping by, hope to see you in my yard again next August.

I really haven't done much mosaic since the crawl, as illustrated by my lack of posts in recent weeks.  I did make one small piece two weeks ago as a donation to a fundraiser silent auction, but because we are in the midst of some major surgery on my house I haven't had a lot of free time.  A break in construction did recently offer some time, and with that a new tree is born on an old storm window measuring in at 50" x 24".  Seen below, two shots in different light conditions, lit from the front and lit only from the back.  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Bunker's Music Bar

Bunker's is a little brick building located on Washington Avenue North, in what is now a very trendy part of the Minneapolis warehouse district.  But in 1987, the first time I set foot inside Bunker's, it was buried deep in a dark, cold, part of town.  Among warehouses either shuttered or open for business only by day.  Bunker's, back then, was in the middle of nowhere.  At that time I was 18 years old, not of drinking age, but Bunker's didn't check ID because there was no reason to do so.  It was a "biker bar," everyone knew everyone, and the bouncers they had simply concerned themselves with keeping the peace as opposed to sitting by the door looking at ID's.  And I remember seeing some big fights there between those bikers.

But in 1987 Bunker's was also experiencing a change in culture.  Largely due to a band that played there every Monday and Tuesday night, Dr. Mambo's Combo.  This was a "cover band," but not just any "cover band," they were loaded with talented musicians, who had themselves been touring musicians at one time and essentially got together now to jam.  As word spread about these guys, the general public began to show in large numbers every night, and the bikers were slowly forced out none to happy to lose their hangout. 

Any touring musician that found him or herself in Minneapolis on a Monday or Tuesday inevitably made way to Bunker's at night.  One such night I found myself talking to a guy who was without question involved in the Goth movement.  He had ghost white skin and big whipped up jet-black hair. He had an English accent, and his name was Roger.  He was a nice guy and through conversation I learned that he was Roger O'Donnel, keyboard player for 1980's mega-group, The Cure.  He was in town to hang with a friend of his who had been hired by Prince to handle the
lighting for an upcoming Prince tour.  While Roger and I stood talking near the back restroom, one of the biker regulars took offense to Roger's appearance and started to verbally assault him, before Bunker's manager, Jimmy, stepped in and threw the biker out.  The change in culture was in play, leather and Harley Davidson were rolling out, and Bunker's was beginning to look a lot like the First Avenue crowd shots in the Purple Rain movie.

I saw Prince play at Bunker's many many times.  Sometimes he'd just sit and strum the guitar off to the right side of the stage.   On one occasion he showed up with his full band and played an entire set as they prepared to go on tour.  And for awhile he would arrive with then girlfriend, Kim Basinger, on his arm.  She was a complete bombshell.  I once sat on the pool table, a few bodies down, from music legend, Jeff Beck (Yardbirds et al.).  Percussionist, Sheila E, was a regular, often parking her baby blue 1960's era Mustang convertible just out the back door of the bar.  I remember being amazed because she had a car phone, a big deal in 1989 or whatever it was.  She would either just hang with friends for drinks or perhaps sit in with the band.  Others I remember seeing there, jazz musician, Ben Sidran, Dutch saxophonist, Candy Dulfer, members of heavy metal band, Tesla, saxophonist, Kenny G.  Donny Osmond sang one night.  And there are many I've forgotten.

For quite some time I did not miss going at least once a week.  And often it was both nights.  What a great place.  What a great scene.  What a great band.  Dr. Mambo's Combo is now, The Combo.  A few musicians have come and gone but they are still very good, and they now play every Sunday and Monday.  But as mentioned in previous blog entries, I'm an old person now and don't get down there very often anymore.  But I will never forget the great times I had at Bunker's Music Bar in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

Now complete, another installment in the Minneapolis dive bar series, in glass, Bunker's. 

A Few New Pieces and a Mirror like I used to make

I'm still in the midst of LOLA art crawl preparation, now just three weeks away.  I'd accumulated four 11x7 inch pieces, finished within the last few weeks, that until now had not made way onto the blog.  They are now pictured below.  And here again is the link to the LOLA website, http://lolaartcrawl.com/

 

Also, a few weeks ago we visited some friends in Chicago.  It had been a couple years since we last stayed at their place, and I'd forgotten about the glass on wood mosaic mirror they have hanging in their living room.  I gave that mirror to them several years ago, theirs is a square frame, perhaps 10 by 10 inch, mostly in red.  Before being introduced to the glass on glass style of mosaics that I now do, I used to make those glass on wood mirrors very frequently, but it has been several years since giving this style of mosaic consideration. 

Once back home I remembered I had a rather large piece of mirror, about a foot wide by maybe 4 feet tall, and a wood frame I'd made for it at least three years ago, both collecting dust in my basement.  Inspired by the mirror in Chicago I got started on mine, it's of glass with a smashed ceramic tea pot used in the corners.  This is unfortunately not the best picture of my new mirror, but I am quite happy with the finished product when viewed in person:

                  Broken tea pot used for corner

LOLA Art Crawl

In about September of last year I began planning for my next appearance in the LOLA art crawl, which until recently was something to look forward to "way off in the distance."  A quick invitation here to anyone interested, we are now just under one month away from this year's LOLA (League of Longfellow Artists) art crawl, August 25-26.  Please stop by my place to say "hi" and have a look.

Check out the LOLA website for directions and links to the 115 participating artists (largest LOLA art crawl ever!):  http://lolaartcrawl.com/. 

I'll be bringing this up again as the crawl draws even more near.

Al's Breakfast

Blueberry buckwheat pancakes or "The Spike?"  This is the question I considered more often than any other while "attending" the University of Minnesota my freshman year.  It was 1987 and I was one of 60,000 students there, at the time the nation's largest student body.  It is probably no surprise then that I survived on that campus just one year, that's two semesters, before "taking my talents" elsewhere. And I do believe I skipped class and dined at Al's at least once a week then.  The Spike, a two-egg cheddar cheese scramble, with garlic and mushrooms, oh so good.  The pancakes, especially the buckwheat blues, I have NEVER had pancakes as good as those.  Al's, I hold you partially responsible for my lack of success at the University of Minnesota!

Al's Breakfast, opened in 1950 to a width of 10 feet and a length of 14 stools, perfectly placed in a neighborhood by the name of Dinkytown.  A friend once told me he walked into Al's one morning and then New York Knick basketball player, Patrick Ewing, all seven feet of him, consumed the back corner of Minneapolis' "narrowest restaurant."  One day I sat at Al's, a couple of stools down from former Viking linebacker, Scott Studwell.  Like bears on a bicycle these guys at Al's.  While waiting to be served it was common practice for my friends and me to inspect the large amount of clutter on the other side of the counter for some sign that Bob Dylan had eaten there.  "Meal books," which allowed regulars to pre-pay for meals, are stacked amongst the knick-knacks, many are very old and have the customer's name written on the cover, but we never did see one for Dylan, who did live just up the street a couple of decades prior. Dylan must have eaten there.

Al's Breakfast in glass, definitely not a bar, but I include it anyway as the third installment in the Dive Bar Series.  As I've mentioned before, sometimes I like to show two pictures, one with the lights on and one back lit only, that's what you see below.  I'm hungry.

Row Houses

It seems as though it has been awhile since I posted anything new, partly because I have been working on a lot of little 5x7 inch pieces, and I rarely post those to the blog, and partly too because I have had this large row house piece going for a couple of weeks and finally got around to grouting it. 

My dad made this frame for me out of some cedar scraps I had sitting out in the garage.  He wrapped it around a piece of glass I rescued from the curb when someone was replacing house windows, it's pretty big, the glass itself measures in at approximately 12" x 50."  Thanks for checking it out!

Old Main, Hamline University

In preparation for the big art crawl (LOLA) in August, I have been working on a lot of smaller pieces lately, in the 5"x7" range.  One such piece I like from this past weekend is Old Main, a building on the campus of Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Also done, an 11" x 10" small Dylan quote I like.

"Normal," "Eh," and Some Miscellaneous

To me a good quote has to say a lot in as few words as possible, and I think both of these do just that.  I could find no original author for either (I wish it were me), though musician, Emy Lou Harris, did once use the "normal" quote.  I will, however, now take credit for commemorating both in glass.  

Also posted today are a couple of flower related pieces created over the course of the last couple weeks

The Gold Medal Flour Building

A couple weeks ago I walked past a guy on Lake Street in Minneapolis who was wearing the coolest

t-shirt, it had nothing on it but a painted picture of the Gold Medal Flour building located down on the Minneapolis waterfront.  

Instantly, upon seeing this guy, I knew I wanted to do that building in glass and I just so happened to have a large old storm window in waiting.  I also had all of last week off work, a week in which we would receive record rainfall (a "perfect storm" so to speak).

It is quite large, but I was able to complete the entire piece in my basement while riding out the rain and hail THAT NEVER SEEMED TO END.  Next up, perhaps, an ark.

The CC Club

In 1996 a friend and I quit our jobs and backpacked around Europe for a few months.  One night in Prague we went to a rock club in an old military building called The Bunker.  In concert that night, from England, legendary old-school punk band, The UK Subs. We arrived early and found ourselves chatting for quite some time with the lead singer of the band, Charlie Harper (a very nice guy by the way).  At one point Charlie asked me where I was from, and when I responded, "Minneapolis," he enthusiastically jumped forward (in his heavy English accent) with "Minneapolis! a lot of great sh** comes out of that town."

By the end of the1970's Bob Dylan had "made it," Prince was about to "make it," and the Minneapolis music scene was erupting.  The Suicide Commandos, The Suburbs, The Wallets, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, Gary Louris/The Jayhwaks, and The Replacements (to name a few) were about to turn things upside down in our city.  At a time the rest of the world was doing the disco, on the Uptown corner of 26th and Lyndale, Oar Folkjokeopus, had become a record store and hangout to the smoldering punk underground of the Midwest.  All the musicians hung out at Oar Folk (as it was known until it closed in 2001 and became Treehouse Records). And most then made way, kiddy-corner from Oar Folk, to a little bar by the name of the The CC Club, another hangout to that scene.  Peter Jasperson, former Oar Folk employee and Twin/Tone record founder, once said, "if a bomb was dropped on that corner (26th and Lyndale) it would've wiped out 90% of the local music scene!"      

The CC Club is still going, though I haven't been in many years, because it is one of those places geared to quantity, and I can't drink like that anymore.  Though I was never "a regular," I do have fond memories of the place.  So, now finished, the second in "the Dive Bar series," The CC Club, in glass.  

 

Charlie Harper was right, a lot of  "great sh*t" does come out of Minneapolis, Bob Dylan, Prince, and Paul Westerberg, musical geniuses.  And nothing quite sums up the CC Club like the Paul Westerberg song, Here Comes a Regular, supposedly penned one day while sitting at the CC (something he famously often did).

Nye's Polonaise Room

Oh Nye's, how I do love thee.  Heck!  Esquire magazine named you "best bar in America" back in 2006, and not much has changed there since then.  Actually, though some of the players have passed on, not much has changed at Nye's since 1950 when it opened.  Brian Setzer, Stray Cats et al, lives in Minneapolis and he's tilted a few there, he even name checks Nye's in his song, The Hennepin Avenue Bridge, and there aren't many on Earth cooler than Brian Setzer, so nuff said on that!

I remember well sitting at the piano bar in the early 1990's on the birthday of Elvis, singing and swaying with the rest of the bar while Lou Snyder played "Love Me Tender" and "Viva Las Vegas," and "Don't Be Cruel."  Sweet Lou first sat down to that piano at the age of 31, she retired last year (2011) at the age of 71.  Nye's/Minneapolis will never be the same.

My friends and I had dinner on the piano side a couple of times back then too, though I don't know that we were all that hungry really.  We just wanted an excuse to sit in one of those high-backed-sparkly- "banana seat"-booths, and to be the recipient of one of their three-tiered relish trays of pickled Herring, Cherry peppers, green onions, and the like.  Decadence!

But most of our time was spent on the old side, the rowdy side of the bar, with the Ruth Adams Band-"Worlds Most Dangerous Polka Band!"  Joe Hayden on trumpet, famous to my friends and me for his use of the Ronco product, GLH, (seen in infomercials then as the aerosol, in a color to match your hair, that when sprayed on covered the annoying bald spot at the top of the middle-aged head).  And Al Ophus, drummer, our friend.  He was in his 80's when he told my wife and me he was involved in a long distance relationship with a younger woman (she lived in St. Paul, he in Minneapolis, she was in her 70's).  Al died in 2003 at the age of 88, he was a really nice man.  Ruth Adams, accordion, started the band in 1974, she passed away in 2011.  And Roger, the dancer that knew all the waltzes and polkas, always on the look out for a cute girl to spin, dip, and delight on the dance floor.  He may still be at it over there today, I can't say for sure.

My wife and I held our Minneapolis wedding reception (we had one in Seattle too) in the basement party room of Nye's, December 2001.  On that night, several months prior to Al's death, we were handed a Sharpie, like many before us, to sign the snare of his drum kit, I think we wrote "Chris + Chiharu" in a heart, or something like that.  When Al passed away that drum kit was moved to permanent display at the Minnesota History Museum in St. Paul.  I've been told our signature is visible.

Anyway, all noted above because Nye's Polonaise, in glass, is now complete.  Placed on a large old window, chewed into submission by a squirrel that made it's way down a chimney and into the living room of a friend up Nordeast, not that far from Nye's Polonaise Room.  SKOL! 

Congratulations! Neal and Teasha

For two friends married in Seattle a few weeks back, set in a frame made of my old cedar fence, two Daisy's in a field of weeds. 

It's a Glass Off!

Last week I particpated in the 14th annual Glass Art Show (second annual for me) at Glass Endeavors in Minneapolis. The piece I entered, "Eat Spam and Art," is shown below.  It was really fun to be a part of this show, thanks for having a look!
http://www.glassendeavors.com/index.htm

The Barn

Some pictures arrived in the mail a few weeks ago of an aging barn in Northern Minnesota, with a request to capture the scene in glass.  I love crumbling to the ground barns and this was a lot of fun.  My wife and I made the frame with wood from an old cedar fence, and it gave us an excuse to buy the biscuit joiner my wife has been interested in (I know, my wife wanted a biscuit joiner, and she loves to fish too.  A dream wife for sure). 

Israel and Glass

I spent three weeks of this past January in Israel, "chaperoning" (for lack of a better word) a Hamline undergraduate class studying the Israeli Arab conflict.  We almost literally (and the writing teachers cringe) visited the four corners of the country, to say the trip was interesting is a major understatement.  Hamline instructor, Nurith, and our Israeli guide, Amir, lead the class.  Amir lives in a beautiful home with gorgeous big windows that gaze the outer edges of Jerusalem. Lots of light, even on the stormy day we visited, and I now had a plan.

Days later, as we traveled South on highway 90 along the border with Jordan, we stopped to visit a memorial, Andartat Habikaa, high on a hill and dedicated to a group of Israeli soldiers killed in battle near here in the late 1960's (pictured below) .

While our group gathered to hear the history of the area I spotted a green bottle halfway down the side of the hill on which the memorial stood.  Needless to say I climbed down and got that bottle.  With the exception of a dozen or so flies no longer among the living, the bottle was in nice shape, didn't even have a label I'd have to remove.  Then while in Tel Aviv a few days later I found a nice aqua blue bottle, I took that as well.  Now I would need just one additional color, this I would locate in the flea market in Jaffa the day we were to fly home, a brown glass cup purchased from a vendor for about $3.00.

Once home, and with hammer, I broke the two bottles and the cup into many pieces and melted all in my kiln.  From there the pieces were cut to shape and placed onto the frames as you see them below, the green bottle provides the stem, the blue bottle the petals, and the brown cup the bud (the background colors I already had at home).   It's not really possible to see in these pictures, but I think both pieces turned out nicely since the chunks of glass that make up the flowers are thicker, giving a bit of a 3D effect.  So from glass collected in the beautiful country of Israel come four beautiful flowers.  My first "international" pieces!  And my hope, the one in yellow looks nice in a big bright window gazing the outer edges of Jerusalem.

Red Stripe and Rectangles

My wife and I recently met up with a couple of friends we'd not seen in quite some time, so it was only fitting we all go to a bar in town we'd not been to in quite some time either, The Cabooze.  While there I noticed many people drinking enormous Red Stripe lagers, turns out they're 24 ouncers, and with a PAINTED LABEL!  If you've visited this blog in the past you may then know, old windows and bottles with painted labels always catch my eye, and I had to have a few of those bottles. 

It's a strange thing, sneaking empty bottles out of a bar.  I'm not sure "sneaking" was even necessary, and I don't know what I would have said had someone stopped us ("no, no, see what I do with them, Mr. 400 pound bouncer, is I melt them flat in my kiln and attach them to old windows"), they were empty after all, and between my friends, my wife, and me, we got four of them out, and it felt a bit odd.  But I can report that I've used a couple of my "smuggled" Red Stripe bottles, slumped them, and created a new strain of Sunflower to slip inside each.  From Red Stripe bottles comes the Red Stripe sunflower. All on a full sized storm window given to me by a coworker

Also new today, a series of colorful squares and rectangles on an old kitchen window that sat partially started for several months in my basement

And a small (about 14 x 8 inch) set of row houses on a frame of cedar left from the construction of a fence last summer