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"By the strength of my arm, by the sight of my eye, By the skill of my fingers, I swear, As long as life dwells in me, never will I Follow any way but the sweeping way of the wind." I first learned of Everett Ruess and his artwork shortly after moving to Southern Utah, and his story immediately captured my imagination. Everett Ruess was a young poet and artist who vanished into the Utah wilderness in 1934 at the age of 20. He had spent several years wandering alone with his horses and burros before he disappeared, exploring remote canyons, mountains and deserts. He associated with the likes of Ansel Adams, Maynard Dixon and Dorothea Lange.. often boldly introducing himself to people whose works he admired. Although his life was short, he created wonderful artwork based upon the things he saw and his writings are still in publication. You can see samples of his work and read about his brief remarkable life on the website created with the permission of his family. Part of the legend of Everett Ruess has been that the mystery of his disappearance was never solved. Some claimed he was murdered, others that he lived on in the wilds. But now part of the mystery is over and another part begins- his remains have at long last apparently been found and identified. But he was not found anywhere near where he said he was going in his last letter- how he got there and who or what killed him remains a mystery. "Beauty isolated is terrible and unbearable, and the unclouded sight other kills the beholder. His only refuge is in insignificant things, in labor that keeps the mind from thought, and in companionship that gives back to the ego some of its former virility. But he who has looked long on naked beauty may never return to the world, and though he should try, he will find its occupation empty and vain, and human intercourse purposeless and futile. Alone and lost, he must die on the altar of beauty." -Everett Ruess
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I'm finally getting around to posting about last weekend... my excuse is that I've been painting and haven't felt much like writing! Bad me. I really did have a good time in Las Vegas. The convention, Xanadu, was quite small but we had fun and to top it off made a profit even after our adventures. The location was the Plaza at the end of Fremont Street, so in the evenings we had but to stroll down the way to get food and drink. My table in the dealer's room was located between the tables of the wonderfully gifted Lubov and the amazingly talented Popeye Wong WARNING: MATURE CONTENT. It was really great chatting with them and meeting Popeye Wong's lovely and gracious wife, Anita. It made the time pass quickly to have them as neighbors. Popeye gave us this stunning original piece and I'm looking for just the right place to put it! I also got to chat at length with Shaughnessy, creator of many fabulous things. I met a number of other people, had some great conversations and got to hang out with my BFF Michele Gault and the Grumpy Wolf Robert, who was true to his name after a 10 hour involuntary World of Warcraft marathon, until properly fed. We had many tasty meals, including one at Shizen Japanese Restaurant where I got my sushi and sashimi and tempura fix, the Original Pancake House, and Mickie Finnz where we got a great big fruity alcoholic drink served in a fish bowl with four straws as well as some pretty tasty food. There was a Scottish event going on in the Fremont Street area, so bagpipe bands were playing all around in between the "Experience" showings. The funniest Fremont Street scene I saw was a drum major from one of the bagpipe bands having a conversation with a grass skirted hula girl with tiki torches blazing in the background in front of Mickie Finnz... unfortunately, we didn't have a camera with us. On Sunday after taking down the convention display, we hurried over to another part of Las Vegas to attend the wedding of the incredible sculptor and all around great guy Jim Humble to a lovely lady named Brianna. They live in Denver, but decided to tie the knot in Las Vegas, which was great for us because it meant we got to attend. It was a very nice ceremony and I'm very happy for them. I know I'm forgetting something, but I just feel lazy right now...like being a couch potato and breaking out my new Venture Brothers season 3 dvds for a marathon, lounged on by a fuzzy old kitty of course. Nothing like being a slug, especially after a busy week. Maybe I'll even pop open the J Lohr cab I bought for an added touch of decadence.
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In Pagosa Springs, Colorado, we stopped to see the Fred Harman Art Museum. Fred Harman was famous for the Red Ryder comic strip. After he retired, he spent his time painting western scenes at his studio in the town. Many of the paintings are on display, along with sketches and original Red Ryder and Little Beaver material. The studio was more or less as he left it when he died. This was a really fun stop and one worth making if you're ever in Pagosa Springs. Enough posting for tonight...tomorrow it's on to Mesa Verde and Hovenweep before returning home on Sunday.
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contemplative
lazy
cheerful