Monday, April 25, 2011

Week 3 Day 8

Morning Pics:

Boats

Bugs

And baby ducks!

I woke with a start at 7 and racing to the station ended up missing the 7:36 train by four minutes. As a result, I was left with an additional 20 minutes on top of the following hour train ride to get into Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems by Richard LaMotte. This is kind of an amazing book that eplains what Seaglass is and how it is made...in detail sharing information such as the history of glass, the complexities of glass chemistry and coloration and more.
It is interesting to sit in this in between state. On one side I am interacting with people everyday to whom Seaglass is often not a part of the common lexicon or public culture. On the other side is a culture, that I have to admit that I'm a part of, where this material or object has achieved the status of phenomenon. From the thin strong roots of nostalgia that I experience to the deeply set hold of almost fanatical collecting and appreciation.
Again this material that is the result of alchemy of the mind suprises me in the extent that it is waste turned to jewel. Trash to treasure.
The questions are flowing now as the structure comes together for the machine.

I wonder how can Seaglass be effectively shared with the people of Holland???


Can it have the same affect that is start of my simple fascination?
Can it have the same affect that results in things like: http://www.seaglassassociation.org/ ?


What is that affect?


Is the source of that affect rooted in the nostalgic experience?


What is the process by which the human mind develops a nostalgic association?
i.e., where does nostalgia come from?


Is it possible to play and active role in that experience?



s the structure of this machine comes together and the process of exploration goes on I'm hoping to achieve some sort of understanding of this element of human experience.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Week 2 (days 5&6 -ish)

Morning Pic:


I'm bit behind in my writing, but the pieces are starting to come together...




Doesn't seem like much yet but the pieces are coming together...
Enough so that I could take some time off to frolic with some special guests.

Mom and Mim arrived just over a week ago now. I kept up with my business but was able at long last to share this wonderful land with two of my most favorite people.


Atop Kijkduin where James Turell created a portal to the entire universe of the mind as well as the physical surroundings.

One path led to the Tulips...which have come early this year.
Yes it is a touristy thing to do. But every tourist is perfectly justified in such a jaunt. Every single time I see them I cannot help but to gasp at the intense visual experience of saturated color.







They were here for a week and I think I ran them ragged...or they me.
The last day Lida and Nienke brought them to meet me at the ZZM(Zuiderzee Museum)
I got to share this project with them and then do some exploring of my own.
We drove across the Ijselmeer on the Houtribdijk to Harderwijk the home of my friend Kees who's finishing up a semester abroad at the School of the AIC.





We finished up the trip with a wonderful dinner at the Amsterdam Cafe formerly the site of a major pump station for the city of Amsterdam....keeping the city safe from seepage.



Saturday morning early, they headed to the airport. After dinners at their small apartment off of the Nieuwe Markt, breakfasts on the terrace of the BlueWave Houseboat, and fire alarms at the Lloyd hotel we were sated, bellys full of experiences.

I spent Sunday afternoon listening to jazz at the Engelbewaarder reflecting on the pleasures.

Thanks and love.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Zg - Day 4(and 1-3)

18 April 2011






Just barely made the train today. Distracted by the crisp air and the clear sky while biking then walking to the station, one thinks he has all the time in the world.

So I jumped through the doors just as they were closing and here I sit watching the waking city pass by.

After last week, progress is good on the machine:

Day 1:
Morning Pic:


I arrived mid-morning and after dropping off my Vrijwiliger's contract, I headed to the buiten museum to meet with Peter Loos the facility manager for site confirmation and to talk about electricity. To my relief, thumbs up came easily. My only worry came from the absence of the steel that I'd ordered. Though as Peter and I walked to the site my fears were quelled by the arrival of a large flat bed ruck bearing the word Metaal.

So I had all the metal and as soon as I could I set about cutting. Doors wide open, sun and fresh air streaming in. Me stumbling over "Goede Morgen" to all the passer's by...to my new colleagues for the weeks to come. I carved my way through 32 to meter's of steel over the next five hours.



Day 2:
Morning Pic:

With clouds in the sky and a chill in the air, I closed myself in the workshop and spent the day/6hours drilling, drilling, drilling. I have to boast a bit as I am proud of the jig that I made to make the marking and drilling go a bit faster...(steel plate and two broken M6 drill bits ground into center-points)






Day 3:
Morning Pic:

Welding. Jack the Metal workshop technician is in today and in a mixed English/Dutch interaction we touch base.

After a few moments he is aware that i can barely call myself an amateur arc welder. To my eternal gratitude he takes the intiative to set me straight and give me a concise lesson in Dutch and welding.
"Makkelijk, eh?" is his punctuation every time. ("Easy, eh?")
The art and craft of welding with electrodes comes clearer to me as i spend the day in the cool sun challenged by joining pieces of steel with hot caterpillars of metal.
Only one incident in which I knocked my table over sending 60 Kg of metal crashing to the ground. A few demerits noted with a sidelong glance from the Meester.
The guys from the Painting workshop are fascinated by the "foreigner" making art in their back yard.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Season Opener of the Buiten Museum-ZZM

Friday I had the opportunity to participate in the season opener for the Buiten Museum at the Zuiderzee Museum.
The Buiten Museum, the quaint historical replica/recreation of 19th century Holland will be the location of the Presentations by myself and my fellow Sandberg Institute participants. It officially opened to the public today(though our show opens on the 26th of May). Yesterday was a special opening for the entire Museum collective. I was invited to set up my manual Zeeglas machine and share it with what must have been over a hundred employees and colleagues of the museum. There was a lot of positive reaction and I look forward to working amongst these enthusiastic people. It seems it is all coming together.

Here are a few images and short films from the day.