Sunday, September 30, 2007
Pre-Moving Day
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Do one good deed...
So that's why I really like these commercials. I know nothing about the company but I like the message the commercial sends. I think it's important, I mean when is the last time you witnessed a random act of kindness? It would be nice if the world was really this way, well I think it might be...it could be. ;-) peace
Part 1
Part 2
Do one good deed...
So that's why I really like these commercials. I know nothing about the company but I like the message the commercial sends. I think it's important, I mean when is the last time you witnessed a random act of kindness? It would be nice if the world was really this way, well I think it might be...it could be. ;-) peace
Part 1
Part 2
Do one good deed...
So that's why I really like these commercials. I know nothing about the company but I like the message the commercial sends. I think it's important, I mean when is the last time you witnessed a random act of kindness? It would be nice if the world was really this way, well I think it might be...it could be. ;-) peace
Part 1
Part 2
Packing, Packing and More Packing
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Beautiful Day
Today is another beautiful day for artist Jay Rolfe and everyone in the vicinity! I had some computer problems today which I have to get fixed. Since I'm using my wife's computer, I will not post a photo today. I'm still working on administrative and marketing matters.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
68 degree swim
Today is a beautiful day! It was in the mid-60's for our morning walk. The afternoon temperature is now 90! I just took a swim for the first time in several weeks - I stopped when two 40 degree nights dropped the pool temp from the mid- to upper 70's to the 60's. It was 68 a few minutes ago, and it felt cold to me. It seems strange, as been in the ocean and lakes that are colder than that. I guess it's just my mind's expectation for a pool.
Today artist Jay Rolfe, having recently completed 2 major works, is catching up on administrative and marketing matters. Today's photo is of the artist and one of his recent works, Thunderbolt.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Only a half of month in the Apartment
More TV

Monday, September 24, 2007
Heroes!
Heroes!
Heroes!
TV is Back

Chuck - I have to admit I watched this premiere because it was on before Heroes and it looked somewhat interesting. After it was over I enjoyed it enough to watch the next episode.. it didn't blow me away. I did like the mix of comedy and action. Some of the fighting scenes were great and the action scenes where fun too. I look forward to seeing where this show goes. It has one of my favorite guys Adam Baldwin.. I'd watch just for him.
Heroes Season Two - This is the one series return that I have been looking forward to the most and it didn't disappoint. I thought it was packed full of information. They caught up with a few of our favorite Heroes and introduced a few new ones. I loved the whole Claire/Noah stories. The family sitting around the dinner table being bored out of there minds... priceless. The Hiro/kinsei story is good, I am a Hiro fan and I just hope they don't spend to much time on his story. I knew Nathan and Peter were coming back so seeing Nathan was no biggie and I kept waiting for Peter to show up. I did like Mr. Nakamora calling Mrs. Petrelli out about their sons and was cheering when Nathan kicked his mom out. And I'm not so sure Mr. Nakamora is dead.. he may have a power, maybe he can heal?? And it was great to see more heroes with the say powers, ie the boy Wes who was floating and watching Claire, creepy.. yes.. but cool. Can't wait for the next episode and see what's going on with other Heroes.
And finally Journeyman - So I watched this new series and I enjoyed it.. I was a bit confused as to why he was jumping and I'm sure they will explain more as the series goes on but it was enjoyable.I really liked that you thought through out the episode that he was there to save the man's life but really he was there to make sure this man's unborn child was born to be a great man... that was awesome. I look forward to next weeks episode.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Songs of Sunday
So Mecca, who is way younger than I am, felt the same way today, but she was shooting Tequila so, um...she has an excuse. The last time either one of us went out was on my birthday!
In any case, we were both a wreck this morning and I'm really thinking of like, joining a Bunko group on my Saturday nights! ;)
Today's videos is Mika's Big Girl video...I love the tune and the video is cute, well anything with Mika in it will be cute. ;-) Skinny bitch! (oh yes, I'm so a hater today!)
Have a great week everyone! ;-) peace
Songs of Sunday
So Mecca, who is way younger than I am, felt the same way today, but she was shooting Tequila so, um...she has an excuse. The last time either one of us went out was on my birthday!
In any case, we were both a wreck this morning and I'm really thinking of like, joining a Bunko group on my Saturday nights! ;)
Today's videos is Mika's Big Girl video...I love the tune and the video is cute, well anything with Mika in it will be cute. ;-) Skinny bitch! (oh yes, I'm so a hater today!)
Have a great week everyone! ;-) peace
Songs of Sunday
So Mecca, who is way younger than I am, felt the same way today, but she was shooting Tequila so, um...she has an excuse. The last time either one of us went out was on my birthday!
In any case, we were both a wreck this morning and I'm really thinking of like, joining a Bunko group on my Saturday nights! ;)
Today's videos is Mika's Big Girl video...I love the tune and the video is cute, well anything with Mika in it will be cute. ;-) Skinny bitch! (oh yes, I'm so a hater today!)
Have a great week everyone! ;-) peace
Our New House
Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Saturday, September 22, 2007
Rainy Day
"Thunderbolt"
Artist Jay Rolfe was finally able to hang his new 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas painting Thunderbolt and photograph it. It's height of 10 feet was quite a challange, as the moveable wall constructed to hang and photograph paintings on is at most 9 1/2 feet high.
So here is today's photo of Thunderbolt, the latest 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas painting by Jay Rolfe. These photos are amateur photos, and not touched up or even lighted professionally. They just give you an idea of the power of the painting which is awesome in person. I'm excited!
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
A Shout Out
Jessica the letter you wrote me just now reached my mailbox. You accidentally addressed it wrong. But no worries, because I finally got it yesterday. And I want to tell you, you rock the house! Thanks for writing me!!!
"Star of David"

In honor of today being Yom Kippur, artist Jay Rolfe has chosen as today's photo his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas painting Star of David which is 8 feet in diameter. It was one of his most complicated paintings to create. Each of the 6 tips of the star recede from a depth of 6 inches to about 1 inch. That was difficult to create. Star of David is part of a larger work titled Give Peace A Chance (a/k/a Peace In Our Time) which is 8 feet high and 35 feet wide.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Friday, September 21, 2007
"Duchamp At The Middle East Peace Table"
Duchamp At The Middle East Peace Table is the latest work by artist Jay Rolfe. It is a large sculpture, his first. It is shown in today's photo in installation view. It consists of a Peace Table with a Peace Symbol top on an Oil Barrel base and 4 participants set on stools around the Peace Table, each represented by a symbol. Three symbols represent religions, Christian, Jewish, and Islamic. The fourth symbol represents Marcel Duchamp.
Duchamp At The Middle East Peace Table represents a lot of creative activity, time, and considerable effort, but the finished piece is well worth it to me. It looks amazing in person. Remember, this is an amateur photo in my dining room (which I had to empty out to take this).
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Courbet's "Nude Reclining By The Sea"
When artist Jay Rolfe saw this painting, Gustave Courbet's 1868 painting "Nude Reclining By The Sea," at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he realized it must have been inspired by Manet's 1863 "Olympia" which is in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. Apparently both Courbet's "Nude Reclining By The Sea" and Manet's "Olympia" were inspired by Titian's famous 1538 painting "Venus of Urbino" which is in the Uffizi in Florence. That in turn was inspired by Giorgioni's 1510 "Sleeping Venus" which is in the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden. It is believed that Titian, who was a pupil of Giorgione, completed the sky and landscape of
Giorgione's "Sleeping Venus" after his death in 1510. Photos of all 4 paintings are included in the order from top to bottom of Courbet, Manet, Titian, and Giorgione.

This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Optical Illusion
Artist Jay Rolfe wants to share a truly unusual painting with you. It's not really one of my favorites, but it is amazing. It's an op-art piece done in 1961 by Richard Anuszkiewicz and called "Knowledge and Disappearance." It's a 2 dimensional painting that's an optical illusion. Seen straight on it just looks like a perspective painting with the center receding into the distance. Then seen from either side or from high or low, the center appears to move. So today's photo is 3 different views of this painting which is on view at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, front and center, from the left, and from the right. What a great example of op-art and optical illusion.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
"Thunderbolt"
Artist Jay Rolfe completed 2 projects today. First is his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas painting titled Thunderbolt. It's 10 feet high by 3 1/2 feet wide and more than 8 inches deep. So I don't have anyplace to hang it in my studio or home. So photographing it is hard. While it was laying on a table, I tried taking a photo of it from a ladder with my head and the camera against the ceiling. It is taken from the bottom end of the lightning, so the perspective distorts the size. You can see what I mean, because here it is, today's photo.
The second project is my large sculpture Duchamp At The Middle East Peace Table. I'll attempt to photograph it tomorrow and post a photo of it.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
We got the HOUSE!!!!!!!
We planned to meet at a local McDonalds and sign the lease at 7:30. Of course work was hell and I really had to force myself to leave to make it on time. I got home around 7:15 and couldn't find my tax forms so I started to panic. I did manage to fine an older tax paper and a Dec 06 paystub with my total gross and I did print out my balance in my savings. So we headed to McDonalds, where Bill was just finishing up dinner. We sat down and I showed him my paperwork, he looked it over and said.. looks good. So we started to go over the lease and the pet agreement and I signed on the dotted line. We now have a one year lease with an option to sign another one year lease. After I signed we sat there for an hour or so and just talked. Come to find out that, that house has been up for three or four weeks at $1850 and he has had alot of people look at it but he didn't feel the chemistry with them. He said there was on girl and her boyfriend who were very close but the day he was going to call and give it to her she called him and said boyfriend got cold feet and didn't want to move in together. He had just lowered it the day I saw it and have gotten hundreds of phone calls about it. Bill told us he didn't care about the money he wants good people who will really enjoy the house as much as he did. It was the first house he and his wife bought, they raised their kids there. The house means alot to him. We really connected with Bill. He's going to be an awesome landlord. So we feel very privilege that Bill chose us out of quite a few people. As I type this I still can't believe we are going to be living in a house. We now have a month to move in since we are paying rent at our old place and the new place. So it should be a fairly stressless move.
Painting
Today artist Jay Rolfe is working on parts of his large sculpture. Today's photo is of Jay Rolfe painting some of the details of a small part of the sculpture.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Random Thoughts...
Happy Hump Day tomorrow. ;-) peace
Random Thoughts...
Happy Hump Day tomorrow. ;-) peace
Random Thoughts...
Happy Hump Day tomorrow. ;-) peace
House Searching
Well I called and a man picked up the phone. I told him I was interested in house. He had a friendly voice and we chatted a bit about the place. He told me that he was showing the house tonight at 7:30 and gave me the address. I told him I wasn't sure what time I was getting off work but we would drive by and check out the area and then give him a call.
I did manage to get out of work early and I called him up and told him we would love to stop by and check out the house. He asked that we get there at 7:45 so he could show the house to a couple right before us. We got there a little early and we really liked the area. It's a lived in neighborhood but not run down and the house was cute and had a well taken care of look to it. Just as we pulled up three people walked out of the house and talked in front for about ten minutes. This couple was very interested and he gave them applications and they left. We got out of the car and walked up to the front door and met Bill (the owner). Just like he was on the phone he was a very friendly guy. He showed up inside and told us a little history of the house.
The living room/dining room is fairly small but nice, we then checked out the three bedrooms, Master bedroom is a good size, second one is a bit smaller and the third one is the smallest. It has a pretty nice bathroom and there are tons of cabinets and closets. The house was built in the 50's and has really cool architectural features. We next went to the kitchen, there are no appliances and it's fairly small but it's workable. Next was the backyard and that did it. The house is cute and nice but the backyard is AWESOME. The house sits on a 3000 sq feet lot and the house is about 1300 sq. feet so the back yard is about 2500 sq. feet. It has a nice patio area and an extra concrete rock patio on the side. And it had a one car garage.
It was everything we were looking for. The owner Bill was a super nice guy. We told him we were interested and really wanted this to work out. Bill seems to really like us also. He gave me an application and told me to fax it over to him first thing in the morning. Keep your fingers crossed that we get this place... we will be very disappointed if we don't.. it's perfect for us.
Small Piece Of Large Sculpture
Artist Jay Rolfe worked yesterday and today on pieces of his new large sculpture. Just a few more days until I'm finished, I hope.
Today's photo shows artist Jay Rolfe applying a protective coating on the tabletop portion of the sculpture. The fumes are terrible and quite dangerous even according to the label. I know the breathing filter I'm wearing in the photo doesn't do much, but I hope it's better than nothing.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Taking a Tumble

Today while at work I was trying to remove ceiling panels from the unity room to relieve some of the heat from the machine. Well I was using a plastic chair and as I tried to lift the last panel, when the chair started to slid so I grabbed onto the bookshelf next to me. The next thing I knew I was lying on the floor with a ton of video tapes all over me. I had broken every shelf on the bookcase, as I slid down it and all the debris fell on me. Of course there was a loud crash and everything came running. I managed to only hurt my right leg, badly bruising my calf muscle. I'm pretty sore but it could have been alot worse.
220th Constitution Day - Freedom For Artists (And Everybody Else Too)

"We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
You probably recognize the Preamble to the Constitution. Today's a fine fall day, blue sky, bright sun, and cool, about 40 degrees when we went for our morning walk. It's the kind of day I imagine it was 220 years ago when the United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787. It replaced the Articles of Confederation - that didn't work very well - which were adopted after the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution is an incredibly important document for artists, lovers of freedom, and indeed all citizens, residents, and guests in these United States. It guarantees our freedoms from government interference.
Today is a great day to read, or reread as I am doing, the Constitution. The National Constitution Center two blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia is a great resource. http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ You can read the full text of the Constitution at http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/TheU.S.Constitution/index.shtml. You can print out a copy at http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/TheU.S.Constitution/PrinttheConstitution.shtml.
You can also read the text of the Constitution and/or print out a copy from the National Archives website at http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution_transcript.html. You can also download a high resolution copy of the actual handwritten document from the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/charters_downloads.html.
Artist Jay Rolfe has a copy of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence which he bought at Independence National Park and had framed. These documents always hang in my home to remind me of my rights and the rights of all citizens and the limitations on governmental power.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Golfing nut!




Golfing nut!




Golfing nut!




"Arab Chief"
Artist Jay Rolfe and his wife Randy Rolfe spent the day gardening and having fun at the Chester County Restaurant Festival in West Chester. It's an annual event featuring almost all the local restaurants, thousands of people, music, and lots of great food. It was a perfect day for it, sunny and the temperature in the high 60's. Then we stopped at the Four Dogs Tavern and ran into my photographer Michelle Snyder of Bella Photography in Downingtown PA. It was a fun day.
Today's photo is another of my favorites from the Philadelphia Museum of Art (I posted another favorite on Friday, 2 days ago). This is titled "Arab Chief" by Mariano Fortuny, a Spanish painter, and was painted in 1874. It's large, detailed, and wonderful to see.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Packing up my Toy Room
The Average Lunch
Here are my top choices:
Signature Salad from Cosi
Chicken Guacamole sandwich from Breadline
Aloha Pineapple from Jamba Juice (yum, liquid lunch!)
Buffalo Chicken Sandwich from Old Ebbitt Express
Hot dog from Five Guys
Mac & Cheese and a salad from Au Bon Pain
What are yours? (Cue: You leaving a comment)
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Vermilion
"It's--fantastic."
J doesn't usually use such strong (yet favorable) language to describe his meals! Usually a nod and a smile with "it's good" suffices for him. But before we get to the lamb, let's start from the beginning.
Appetizers! J had the cream of cauliflower soup with seafood sausage. When his mostly empty bowl arrived with just the sausage and a floret or two of cauli, he seemed confused. Then, the server poured the very creamy soup out of a teensy teapot, and ta da! Soup. My salad was the Davon Crest Blend, greens with a blackberry vinaigrette, with two blackberries and two goat cheese fritters on the side. The fritters were divine, crunchy on the outside but creamy on the inside--still warm. I wish I could go to a happy hour and just get a basket of those with an ice cold beer. Mmmmm. Are you listening, Chef Chittum? Are you adding that basket to the bar menu?
Our main courses brought J French-cut pine nut crusted lamb with a sweet syrupy glaze, and a cucumber and onion salad on the side. Consider the opener a spoiler alert--he loved it. He then compared it to other things he'd eaten recently, as in, "That pork chop at Evening Star was really good, but this is way better," and also, "My steak? At Buck's? It was good. But this...this is...::eyes roll with pleasure::."
I read that a great thing about Vermilion is that if you are a vegetarian, you aren't confined to side dishes and appetizers. If my dish I hadn't existed, I probably would have went for the chicken, which I'm sure would have been good, but I didn't really feel like chicken. The caramelized gnocchi was a dream of gnocchi, caramelized onions, fresh herbs and olive oil, and oven-dried tomatoes. As a general rule for the past 23 years, I don't even LIKE tomatoes. But I believe that in a dish, every ingredient, every line of sauce is there for a reason, and in that dish it was just fabulous. Best of all, it was nice to have gnocchi without feeling like I needed to be rolled home after. Instead of being in a thick creamy sauce all goopy-like, my gnocchi definitely hit the sautee pan, and overall the dish was inventive, light, and fresh.
J noted that one dessert choice was obvious, because it had the "F" word. No, not that F word you dirty bunch. FIG. The goat's milk cheesecake with caramelized figs was airy and delightful. As fluffy and white as the cheesecake was, the nutella bombe was just the opposite. Described as "hazelnut anglaise, salted filberts & chocolate sorbet," to us it was small round thing of super dense and delicious chocolate, with some ignorable chocolate sorbet and nuts to its right. Leaving the accompaniments aside, that anglaise was delicious. J enjoyed scraping a bit of each dessert onto his fork and eating them together. So wild.
We've been heading back to Alexandria over and over recently, and admittedly this particular evening was inspired by The NY Times.
The atmosphere in Vermilion was nice--I knew if the lounge was crowded the first level could get loud and smoky, two things that would make me sad. Neither of those things occurred. It was slightly noisy, but I'm not convinced that being upstairs would have made a difference. The lighting was not too light or too dark, the red color (or "vermilion") throughout was warm and inviting, and the gas lamps were charming. The seating was funky, especially in the lounge--similar to Tallula, Vermilion's sister.
My only complaint is that the bathrooms did not match the dining room in the slightest. Not in color, class, or style. Outside, the warm red color and stylish decor ruled. Inside the bathroom were walls horizontally striped with a circus-y purple/yellow/blue and stall doors that were once covered in black paint, but were now chipping. Badly. Also, for some reason right inside the women's bathroom was an old chair that looked like 500 mothballs woven together.
A sure sign you've had a fabulous, mind-blowing meal is when you can't imagine not have dessert. Everything has been so incredible, that you are so curious about what's next that you must have it. It helps that our courses were perfectly spaced. We didn't starve between each course, but we were definitely not rushed or overwhelmed by too much food at once.
I almost forgot about my drink! My very delicious drink! I had a King Street Lemonade, a mix of Absolut Citron, lemons, mint, sugar and a splash of soda. It didn't taste at all of alcohol and had a great balance. Too many drinks I order have been tooth achingly sweet lately, but I could have had three or four of these--good thing I didn't.
So if you don't go into the bathroom, allow Chef Anthony Chittum to surprise and delight you with every bite you take. I'd like to go back to Vermilion soon, it's one of the best places we've been to in a while.
Vermilion
1120 King Street
Metro: Blue or Yellow Line to King Street
House Hunting
After my morning with Christopher, Harry and I went house hunting, we had two places to look at today. One was in North Hollywood and one in Burbank. We first drove by the North Hollywood one and kept on driving. The area is really run down and we didn't feel safe living there. The Burbank house was on a very nice friendly street. It was a back house so we stopped and checked it out. The house had a living room, which was an okay size, a smaller kitchen and then two medium size bedrooms and a small bathroom. The cool thing about this place is it had a fenced off backyard, not super huge but a nice size for Daisy. During the walk through I was getting weird vibes from the owner, he wasn't the friendly type. After we left, I told Harry I didn't feel comfortable with the owner and in fact the house was a little too small for all the stuff we have.... so we continue to search. We have a month and a half to find a new place to live.
Harry Potter on PS3

This morning I hung out with my good friend Christopher, we went out to breakfast and then back to his place to play some Harry Potter on his PS3. We played Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is by far my favorite Harry Potter game and for that matter any game that I have played. It was a lot of fun, can't wait to play again.
Creating A Base For Sculpture
Artist Jay Rolfe is finding out some of the intricacies of creating a large sculpture. Just making a simple base is complicated, time-consuming, and required a new very long drill bit.
Today's photo is of artist Jay Rolfe holding an unpainted base for a portion of his new large sculpture.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Friday, September 14, 2007
"The Moorish Chief"
Artist Jay Rolfe spent today working on some of the unseen parts of his new large sculpture. A lot of tedious work. It involved 2 trips to the hardware store today, and one yesterday. The day was cool and threatened to rain but didn't.
Today's photo is of one of my favorite paintings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It's titled "The Moorish Chief" (also known as "The Harem Guard") painted in 1878 by Eduard Charlemont, an Austrian painter. It's quite large and very dramatic and detailed. This photo doesn't do it justice - just as most photos don't do justice to most paintings.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Rockin' N Rollin'
Two nights ago this HUGE kick butt storm hit my little island. Big, big, BIG gusts of wind were barreling down through my campground. Unfortunately, my awning was out (I wasn't about to go wrangle it in with the down pour and wind) (In hind sight I should have). Me and Guapo, my trusty pooch, were holding onto our RV just a rockin' n a rollin'. And the awning was acting like a sail. Of course if the awning would have been in, none of this would be an issue and I wouldn't be blogging this story right now.
So the next morning I venture outside and see that my awning is completely stretched out just a flapping away. Well, being new to this lifestyle, I resort to asking my RV neighbors what I should do. They unanimously vote I need to wind it up and re-let it out in order to reset the spring in the mechanism.
Okay, so here I go. I recall my RV training session when I first bought it, how to do everything on the RV. Unfortunately, there's a lot of stuff you learn in that training session, and somewhere along the way I blanked out on the awning portion. So I press this lever, and tug that rope, and give a little kick to the frame, and perhaps a kiss for good luck. And before you know it, I'm wound up in the awning. Yes, folks, in the awning.
Dangling from my perch, I casually call across the campground, "Yoohoo! Can someone help me?" This family turns and looks (at me dangling) and they all bust out laughing. Glad I could amuse them.
Needless to say, they managed to unwind me and help me down from my dangling perch. Luckily, they were experts in RV living and showed me how to unwind and rewind my awning. And you know I totally made them stand there and watch me do it over and over again until I had it down pat.
At least I gave them a good laugh for the week.
Le Pain Quotidien
If it wasn't such a spectacular sunny but mild day, we could have sat inside at the large communal table. To many dining around us on the adorable (and spacious) patio, the place seemed more like Le Pain in the Tush. Service was admittedly slow, simple lunches took a long time to arrive, and no one was quite sure how to pay and get out of there. It was confusing--when we walked in we saw a small line, and assumed that at 12:30 that would be a line for sitting. Nope, that's for takeout. You seat yourself at Le Pain Quotidien, and then anxiously (if you're me) hope that a server notices that you've arrived and are indeed new! In need of menu! Starving!
The good news is that the food was mostly good. They translate tartines to simply "sandwich" on the menu, which may be the reason why some people furrowed their brows when their plates arrived. The tasty herbed roasted turkey sandwich consisted of 5 tiny triangles of thinly sliced wheat bread topped with a a thin layer of turkey and a squirt of dill mayo. The curried chicken salad was the same, but more generous with the topping. I was curious about how to go about using the cranberry sauce on the side, and ended up awkwardly spreading it on top of the chicken salad. Open-faced sandwiches create some problems! The black bean soup was watery and lacked flavor. The chamomile mint iced tea had the some problem--it tasted exactly like water.
When I go back to LPQ, I'm going to make it brunch. The blackboard out front boasted a goat cheese and asparagus omelet, but you've got to arrive before 12pm.
The best part about the meal, hands down, was the slice of baguette that came with the soup. It was absolutely fabulous, crusty and chewy, and all that a baguette was meant to be. There were some interesting looking salads, but I was hungry and felt like a smallish $12 sandwich wasn't going to pack the punch that I needed to keep going. And don't leave without getting something from the bakery--the chocolate chip cookie is great, as is the Belgian brownie.
Overall, I prefer the quicker and more reliable service at La Madeleine for now, but LPQ has only been open a week or so. There's more time!
Le Pain Quotidien
2815 M Street NW
Metro: Foggy Bottom or DC Circulator to Georgetown
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Perez Hilton
The first video the night? One of my fave songs...Nickelbacks Rockstar! Why can artists say bitch on the radio waves but they can't drugs? You can say ho and ass and bitch, but you can't say drugs? Amazing. In any case...enjoy this vid...how many "stars" can you find in the video?
Was that Wayne Gretsky??
I love Paul Wall...anybody know who that is in the Vid?
Well if you don't here he is in a Brooke Hogan video...yum.
Perez Hilton
The first video the night? One of my fave songs...Nickelbacks Rockstar! Why can artists say bitch on the radio waves but they can't drugs? You can say ho and ass and bitch, but you can't say drugs? Amazing. In any case...enjoy this vid...how many "stars" can you find in the video?
Was that Wayne Gretsky??
I love Paul Wall...anybody know who that is in the Vid?
Well if you don't here he is in a Brooke Hogan video...yum.
Perez Hilton
The first video the night? One of my fave songs...Nickelbacks Rockstar! Why can artists say bitch on the radio waves but they can't drugs? You can say ho and ass and bitch, but you can't say drugs? Amazing. In any case...enjoy this vid...how many "stars" can you find in the video?
Was that Wayne Gretsky??
I love Paul Wall...anybody know who that is in the Vid?
Well if you don't here he is in a Brooke Hogan video...yum.
More Cutting
Here's artist Jay Rolfe cutting some pieces for his stretcher frameworks for his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings yesterday afternoon. It turns out that yesterday involved rather more time cutting than I had imagined, 7 hours of cutting. In addition to cutting out pieces for my new large sculpture, I cut pieces for stretcher frameworks for two 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings. Working outside in the sun for 7 hours was exhausting.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Toothache
ISO
Creating Sculpture
What a beautiful day! A perfect day for artist Jay Rolfe to go outside and cut out pieces for his new sculpture. It's sunny, blue sky, and slightly autumn cool. The photo is of Jay Rolfe cutting out a piece for the sculpture.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Plumbing Problems...
Plumbing Problems...
Plumbing Problems...
Loving the pic!
Btw, just wanted to share something I thought you all might get...was trying yesterday to convince a higher-up in my company to allow me to do an event at the company's headquarters. She was hesitant, worried the book might "conflict with the company's values." I'm okay with that, but then she said, "I still think it's so cool, though, that our employees have, like, aspirations and stuff."
It's been over twenty-four hours, and to be perfectly honest, I'm still not sure whether I should be insulted or not.
Artist Jay Rolfe With "Black Hole" 3-D Painting
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.
Today's photo is of artist Jay Rolfe and his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas painting "Black Hole" which is hanging in the artist's dining room.
It rained today, wiping out my plans to be outside using my saws to cut some pieces for my new sculpture. Instead, I went on errands to gather materials for other projects.
Hard working
Monday, September 10, 2007
Creating A Sculpture
Today's photo is of artist Jay Rolfe painting a part of his new large sculpture. I worked on several parts of the sculpture today.
This is the latest step of artist Jay Rolfe on his Journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You may view some of Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea, his 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas paintings, on his website at http://www.3dssc.com/.