July blog
Greetings Everyone.
Happy July. I trust all my friends are staying cool. We’re very much into the rainy season here in Thailand, but, so far, no evidence that floods will occur. After last year, the local government dredged the river that runs in front of my bungalow-studio, so hopefully we’ll be safe from flooding this year. Of course, nature only warns us after the fact.
Since my last entry, a great deal has been going on in my house of projects…so let me get started. First door on the right: The Morris Graves Book Project has finally moved into the fund-raising stage. We anticipate the book’s arrival in the Fall of 2013. You can find a good deal more about the project at the official Morris Graves Book web site, still more at the Morris Graves Book Project Blog, and further still, look for it on it’s own Morris Graves Book Facebook Fan Page. The book is being co-published by Marrowstone Press along with Process Media, in association with the Museum of Northwest Art. MoNA is an absolute treasure of an art museum, located in La Conner, Washington and dedicated to the preservation and education of our vast cultural heritage in the Pacific Northwest.
A mock-up of the book’s cover jacket.
The Morris Graves Book Blog has been created to reflect personal recollections, reflections, or influences by Morris Graves and the enduring impact his art has had on so many of us in so many different ways. Please do check out all the various site activities, and we avidly welcome participation in the blog.
Before we leave this room completely, however, if you poke your head into the top box in the far corner, you’ll see a folder with the word ‘Sbagliato’ written on it. If you were to sift through the folder, you would see various notes written between web magician Tim Davies and myself. Tim easily cancatervates my ‘discombobulates’ with swift and proficient results. Together we’ve created all our various web sites and any one who might be interested in having a custom web site designed need only holler. Sbagliato offers custom design and online implementation at a very modest price. When Sbagliato’s own web site is completed, it too will have it’s own room. Stay tuned.
Ok. Down the hall, to the left, through the green door, we enter a room of nothing but windows through which there is only an expansive view of the sea. Here we have a new collaboration between Peter Weltner and myself. Last year, our first collaboration resulted in The One-Winged Body, a book of Peter’s poems and my photographs, published by Marrowstone Press. Our second collaboration, Everything Is Water As Far As He Can See, will be out this summer and available through Amazon.com. Many of the paintings in this new book can be seen on my web site /art/Elegies.
As we leave the blog-house, you’ll notice other doors that congregate in the long hall, holding rooms in secret obedience, empty of all but air or thoughts that might eventually take shape. Or those that don’t–projects grown dark with procrastination as happens in the busyness of our elaborations. At the end of the hall is the main room, in which the hearth–fire of the heart– lives and illuminates those sacred dreams we call art.
‘Grass‘ Galen Garwood ink on paper, painted with Papyrus blossom
Outside, across the river near an idyllic grove of bamboo and elephant grass, you’ll notice something new. Panom Tours is now sprouting. It’ll be officially launched in a very short time. In fact, I’ll be dedicating most of my next blog about Panom Tours with Chang Lek. You’ll learn more about Lek, his family and his wonderful spirit. The tours will offer up-close experiences with our amazing Asian elephants, with an emphasis on why we need to protect them and not use them nor abuse them. There will also be special tours into the hill tribe country, among Lek’s Akha clan, and various other hill tribes, all co-existing in this remarkable country of Thailand with it’s pervading Buddhism, it’s art, its exotic culture, and exquisite cuisine. Lek has been working in this capacity with other groups of visitors for a number of years now and has finally decided to venture out on his own. More on all of this is coming soon.
Thanks for strolling through the house with me.
Until next time, panom, Galen
