The Mastodon Drum

After several weeks of working on this mammoth piece of wood, we have reached a new plateau. After Eddie finished carving out the interior and sanding the exterior, we were left with 270 lbs of dense maplewood. I then took over creating a design, which took on a very Nordic/Celtic feel, incorporating a design from a Viking shield and lots of spirals. I carved in the designs then resanded and then started applying the colors. At the point this was taken I spent about 6 more hours applying color in very fine swirl patterns before my hand started cramping too much and Heather, Liam, Eddie and Meaghan all had to pitch in to help finish the design before I started oiling the drum the next morning and getting ready for the next phase.
Oh, yeah, and it started snowing ... a lot.
... but luckily I had a knightly dude to protect me.

Deakstock II poster

The Burning Bush

Kiss my kiss

"Pog mo phog" taken both from the Kila song, "Seo mo Leaba" and from the Song of Songs, comes Kiss my kiss which explores the many aspects of love that just can't be discussed in English.

The Nordic Horseman

"Marcach Lochlann" The Nordic Horseman, which some of you may have seen at DeakStock II. The original sold, but I am putting this on the website, and will probably offer it as a limited edition lythograph soon.

Heather's Birthday Tea

For Heather's 28th Birthday, we went to Old Town Occoquan, Va., for a lovely Sunday Brunch Tea. We were blessed with the presence of many friends, and well wishes from those who couldn't make it ... and here's a little photographic proof.

The Colonel and the Commander swill Earl Grey and Russian Caravan in the Pink Room
The ladies and gentlemen gather outside for a well hatted photo
Stacy looking mod
Man in Skirt with Pink Bicycle loving aging beauty with a foo-foo frills hat.

Playing Catch-up

BAY MINETTE, Ala. --- So we arrived back at mom's house for a few weeks around Thanksgiving. I completed the mastodon drum, or at least it's current state for a while and we left the comforts of Red Oak Mountain Road with Meaghan and Eddie yesterday and drove through the night to avoid two long days of riding in the car for Liam.

We have come equipped with plenty of projects ... Heather has wool for sweaters, I have tweed for jackets and somewhere in there we have some plaid for kilts, so hopefully when we leave here, I will have a work kilt, a hiking-in-the-woods kilt, and three new argyll jackets and a hoodie sweater. 

We also left Meaghan in charge of putting the website together for Loime Studios grand opening for business. Hopefully, that will be up on board soon as well, but for now, I'll try to get a few pictures up for everyone to see.

TV

So, quick note for everyone. I was scheduled to shoot a band on Tuesday and went to a TV studio where they were going on a show called ARTSCAPE. They were praising my work prior to me getting there and the producer decided to interview me as well, so after a 16 minute show, I have exceeded the Warhol Scale by a minute. Hopefully it won't be the height of my career, but for the moment, its a great boost. The drums are looking great and will be completed by Wednesday next when we head south for the holidays.

I'm getting a little quicker at this

We have returned from the hills of Virginia for the weekend for a baby shower, a soup get together and Heather's birthday tea which we'll be holding in old town Occaquan, Va, just outside of old town Alexandria.

I've been knee deep in creating illustrations to go into production soon, as well as carving a 270 lb. drum, which should be completed by next Friday and ready for the auction house. My artwork should go online in a few weeks, as I've got to photograph all the artwork and we have a few decisions to make about printing lithographs, marketing and e-commerce issues.

I'm also shooting an Irish pub band on Tuesday, but I'll try to make it to a wi-fi hookup and upload some new photos soon.