Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

may this year bring you blessings and peace, wherever you are.

sven.

blue.

the swallows of columbus.

led zepplinz.

guten morgen.

the folk artist sven.

furry animals.

though you may work hard.

and your back may break.

though your mind may play tricks on you.

and you've run out of things to say.

may the air you breathe smell of scotch pine.

and your coffee stay hot.

may your ears hear good music.

and summer last forever in your mind.

sven.

wether report.

this vital wether report now in:

last night, above. today, below.

melting. soon, spring come to moors.

sven.

wintermoor.

she offered up to me,

these words she said were true:

there is no time on tuesday,

so waste no time at all.

as those who rest in slumber,

and like the oak and crow,

may their winter home forever,

lie here at wintermoor.

sven.

(april, 2013. columbus, minnesota. iphone)

winter witch.

the witch of the north is showing herself.

the timber trembles.

the wind is lost.

sven.

winter come back to moors.

the evening brings the same.

in the morning the pen.

winter is back.

sven.

if the sandhill cranes return...

 remember she said:
you hear before see them.
always on sunday. rainy.
if the sandhill cranes return...
sven.

cracked actor.

she held him a long time.
it was no use she said.
he never learned the truth.
sven.

spring come to moors.

a giant silver coffee pot.

sun pouring onto a rug by the door.

it was a long time ago.

sven.

morning comes.

 moon is full.

she is not here.

and morning comes.

sven.

city and country.

   I had to go the big city yesterday, there were not too many people out and about. these are some of the skyscrapers there. below, see the hennepin co. library with several tall buildings behind, including the ids tower. the ids was the only tall building in minneapolis for many years giving the downtown area a very distinct look. it's definitely changed over the years...

   

   I worked for 2 years at the top of the ids, at the orion room / cleos. it was kind of a hassle to come and go, but it was a really cool place to work. years and years ago this was... there was quite the cast of characters working there at the time.

   cathy the dishwasher in the elevator after work: beautiful people who have just had very expensive dinner and drinks are now traveling with the person who's still sweating from washing their dishes. she was a little indifferent to the other passengers as she used to click her jaw madly to assuage the pressure in her ears from the ride down. 

   lori barbero: lori was a very nice girl and definitely tough. she would come to work dressed very punk and transform herself (as much as possible) for the floor. one night a british band, 'the lime spiders' came to 1st avenue. lori (and I, but not with lori) attended - and left with the boys on their bus after the show. no more lori. next thing I heard of her was that she was the drummer for 'babes in toyland'

   several other musicians, artists, actors and dancers worked in a tiny back of the house / kitchen, that I always thought of as like being in a submarine perched high in the sky. it was a very interesting place.

every once in awhile, late at night after work was done: mix a drink, turn on the 'oldies' channel, go into one of the smaller rooms, turn off lights, enjoy. beautiful.

   here's the armory. I saw a few concerts there. It's acoustics are not good but this is my kind of venue. I wish all indoor concerts were held at venues like this. I just much prefer the old school - industrial - utilitarian vibe of an old civic center, to these modern 'softeez toilet paper center' joints.

   70's concerts: $8-$10, mostly kids, a cloud of smoke fills the 'sky' for the evening. bottles and frisbees flying around. halls filled with colorful long haired kids in various states of buzzed. fire crackers and rock music blasting. fun. 

   in august 1978 I drove my '67 fury III from stacy to blaine, where I picked up greg marx. his father was a strict authoritarian and their family was run in a very unhappy manner. the family was basically doing homesteader stuff: big garden, everything home made etc. that day his father had ordered him to return a rabbit to the wild of my house before he could go anywhere else. he agreed and we set off, 15 blocks further and it was freedom for blinky the bunny into the nearest field we could find.    

   then we took off for bloomington to see my 1st concert: the eagles, steve miller band and pablo cruise at the old met stadium (current site: mall o' america), tickets were $10. the attendance for this show was a record 80,000 outside in the pouring rain that only let up towards the end of the night. I more or less purposefully 'got seperated' from greg at the beginning of the show and spent the rest of the night 'alone' with 80,000 other revelers... there's parts to this story that can't be told here, what with this being a family operation and all...     ...quite the introduction to concerts for me.

when I came back to the country this is what I saw:

a cardinal, perched in the blue spruce next to our house.

I like the city.

I like the country.

sven.

come taste the band.

morning.

antartica?

sven's up to his old tricks again.

the latest from tricky corner studio:
"important things going on
today in my folk art lair"

hmmm...  1. do some tidying up.

2. work on mobile started at bree's.

3. repair empire state building.

that should about do it...
...now, let's get to it!

though I struggle conceptually, I won't lose heart. I close my eyes and begin to intuit...a flurry of funky movement transforms the mobile.

...must take a break...pushing too hard. let's see about that empire state building:

it looks bad...

?

breathe.

careful!

no monkeying around!

a break through...cald-tastic!

it's been a busy day here at tricky corner studio!

happy st. patrick's day!

sven.