Identity Enhancement and Objets d'Art

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Eckhart Tolle says that the unconscious compulsion to enhance one's identity by association with an object is built into the very structure of the egoic mind. This is exactly what Marketing Mastermind Seth Godin concludes about the near cult-like…

Hot Patina Heart Art

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This is another of those "let's see if I can make it/do better" projects. I saw a large metal heart for sale in a gallery in Sedona, AZ that was so basic it was borderline annoying that someone was selling it. Probably 30" square with some…

My Crucible

This piece isn't a 'real' crucible any more than Arthur Miller's play The Crucible was really about the Salem Witch Trials.  But it is one of the pieces I made at The Crucible in Oakland.  And yeah, it kind of is a crucible. We'll get to…
Clyde, The Fish by Mark Rafter

Clyde, The Fish

In late 2016 I attended a Welding Immersion workshop a The Crucible in Oakland. Five days of 10am to 10pm instruction and work time and access to one of the most complete metal working shops imaginable. They also bring in lunch and dinner so…

Garden Weave

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This piece is another of those things that just popped into my head and then became something "I had to make." That is literally the case in a number of my pieces; they are never intended as a series wherein I will make some quantity, varying…

"No Time For Flowers, Man"

Another of my concept pieces. I'd say High Concept but that just sounds ... stupid. I'm fading away from my engineering career and starting up as an artist. This piece was emblematic of my years wanting to do that very thing and not being able…

Bringing Art to Life

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When you are an artist, do you become your art?  I have written about the flow state of creating, when you are so absorbed in your work that time suspends, flows happens and your creative powers/juices/mojo literally go on auto pilot. I…

Why Do We Make Art?

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What I am pondering today: It is an interesting philosophical exercise to consider the joy and flow one can realize in the making of art juxtaposed with the not infrequent challenges of creating. Let's start with just why do we do this? There's…

Controlling the Universe ... Not

My wife Marsha and I attend the Unity Center in San Diego.  Sunday services are led by the Rev. Wendy Craig-Purcell.  A week or two ago, Wendy  had this gem to share as a part the day's topic: "To the extent that we are controlling, we are…

Full Tilt Bozo

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Lots of people associate artists with madness.  Admittedly, we have our share of folks that historically were case studies for many generations of psychologists. Crazy is often a synonym for madness.  I look at it slight differently: You…