spuck....there aint much easier on earth than getting an artist to talk about his work....but thanks. the larger box of money "lunch money" took six weeks to carve and six weeks to paint. i never push it to far. if i get burned out i go do something else. i'm an avid surfer, snowboarder, and like to fish. i just try to keep it in balance so its always fun. as the project nears completion it gets to be more entertaining for for me. its pretty satisfying to go a long distance with no guarantee of success an then get there.

Randall, you're ruining the image of the tortured, recluse artist, snarling from behind closed curtains. :lol:

if thats the image i ruined it completely. once someone told me

"it is impossible to be a good artist and a good athlete at the same time. so your art must suck".

i live in a 130 year old tool shed near the water on eastern long island. went fishing from the canoe today. i dont take my blessings for granted.

Fishing from a canoe, is definitely athletic... tough on the legs. Always the possibility of a Nantucket sleigh ride, too. ;)

the canoe is a battle ship compared to the kayak. i have had one real disaster and one great ride. there are guys here that swim out in the ocean at night with fins and a fishing rod.............

There are also guys that say, 'hold my beer and watch this', but I'm not doing that either.:crazy:

How big are the wall sculptures of the leaves?

they run in size from 2 foot by2 foot to one at merck pharma thats about 18 feet long. you can tell how big each is by the leaves...life size.

Life size, yeah, that's what I was wondering. You know, if you want a bunch of Oak leaves, it's easier to not cut the wood, and let mother nature use it to make a bunch of leaves while you're fishing. :lol:

on another site a guy thought it would be better to just put a bunch of baseball cards in a box and call it a day. his comment "why bother"?

That's just ignorant. From the very beginning -- the cave drawings -- a big, central part of art is representing real life in other forms. What you choose to represent is the soul of the piece.

The baseball card guy isn't alone. The crowd that buy plastic tableaus from China, and velvet paintings on the street corner, may arguably be valuing a very, very, loose definition of art, but will never understand craft... ever. At least couple of generations have grown up never seeing anything made by hand, not even basic utilitarian items. Everything is store bought, without a clue as to how it's created. What Norm Abrams does on TV is just showbiz magic. Even if they take a class trip/vacation to someplace like Sturbridge or Williamsburg, the candle maker/blacksmith/furniture maker they see, are related to history. Completely disconnected from their lives. Sadly, fewer and fewer will experience the pleasure of creating something with their hands.